Jack and the Boat Trip

The door to my stateroom was open, and I looked over Amy's head to see Julie standing there. "Is everything okay?" she asked, looking at me as I held her friend. Amy turned, and Julie's eyes widened at the expression on her face. She slipped out of my embrace and went to Julie's side.

"Show her, Jack."

I bowed my head. "Okay... but please, Jules, don't freak out. Please don't freak out." And I slowly turned around. After a moment, I turned back, and Julie had the same expression Amy had a moment earlier, both hands over her mouth, eyes wide. Amy had both arms around Julie from the side, head on her shoulder, and now she was starting to cry. Jules looked pitifully at me.

What could I do? I went to her, and I put my arms around both of them.

"I'm okay, I promise. I know it looks bad. Listen, as long as we're up, let's check the anchor and then I guess it's story time."

After a quick check - all secure - we went back to my cabin. The girls didn't want to leave me, so I climbed into the middle of the bed, sitting up against the headboard, and they snuggled in beside me.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Amy wanted to know.

"Umm... It's not something I like to talk about, honey," I answered, "and you know I hate for you girls to worry."

"But Jack!" Jules protested. "It's us!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I still have nightmares sometimes. I was having one when you woke me up."

Julie squeezed me a little tighter, and I kissed the top of her head.

"Okay, you deserve to know." And I told them. Everything, from arriving in the desert, the attack, and my rehab. As I talked, they slid down to lie beside me, quietly listening, and occasionally asking a question.

When I finished, I scooted down between them. "I'm mostly okay, really. You two are helping, I promise."

"We love you, Jack," Julie said, simply. They both kissed me on the cheek, and when they showed no signs of leaving, I sighed, pulled the bedspread up over us, and closed my eyes.

They were still there when I woke up. Amy had one arm across my chest, and Julie... well Julie's hand was on my stomach, nearly on the waistband of my boxers, and she was lazily stroking her fingertips up and down across my abs.

I snuck a peek at her, trying not to move, and she seemed to be asleep, but was that the tiniest hint of a grin? Then I felt Amy's hand on my chest start to rub circles around my nipple, and I narrowed my eyes at her. She was definitely trying to hold in a giggle.

"All right, you two little hussies. Stop molesting me and go get dressed. We need to get an early start!"

"Awww!" they pouted. But I shooed them out, trying to maintain my scowl. I rolled my eyes heavenward once they'd gone. What the fuck was happening?

><><><><><

We followed the plan, and two days later we were in a slip in Cape May. We had refueled, resupplied, then grabbed an Uber to get Amy her new phone, and had just returned from lunch. We were debating whether to get started or wait til morning, when I noticed a black Dodge Charger with blacked-out windows driving slowly around the marina parking lot.

My hackles rose, and I said urgently, "Girls? Please get below, out of sight. Keep your heads down, and go quickly. No questions, okay?"

They both gave me a worried glance as they complied. "Oh, and Ames? Lift the settee cushion and you'll see a storage space. Get what's inside, and then you two go to one of the staterooms, okay?"

Meanwhile, I went to the pilothouse, grabbed my Glock, and stuck it in my waistband. I was wearing board shorts, so I was praying it didn't fall out.

I watched from inside the pilothouse as the car slowed, then stopped. A fairly average-sized Hispanic-looking man got out, his eyes searching the boats. Finally, his gaze settled on Rocín. I saw him look around, before returning his attention to my boat. He started to amble his way toward us.

When he finally reached the bottom of the gangway, I exited the pilothouse and walked to the boarding door. As he stepped onto the gangway, I held my hand up.

"Don't spend much time around boats, do you?" I asked.

"Pardon?"

Speaking slowly, I repeated, "I said, you don't spend much time around boats, do you?"

He looked at me, confused.

"It's considered polite to ask permission to come aboard," I explained.

"Ah," he smiled broadly at me, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "May I have permiss-"

"No."

"What?" He looked confused again.

"No, you may not come aboard. I don't know you, or what you want. You can talk from down there."

Something flashed in his eyes, but he hid it quickly and gave me the shark's smile again.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Bill Mazeroski," I said. "What's yours?"

"Marco Ramirez." Damn, he was a cocky bastard.

"How can I help you, Mr. Ramirez?"

He stood there, one foot on the gangway, and scratched his head. "Well, let me be honest, Bill - can I call you Bill? I'm looking for my wife."

My eyes widened. "On my boat?"

I was thinking hard. The only way he could have found us this quickly was if he first; knew who I was, and that I was a friend of Amy's, and second; had been monitoring our credit card usage. If she left her phone at the coffee shop, he might have had time to download her contacts. Mentally, I was kicking myself. I had been worried about Julie and Georgia, but never considered that he'd be watching me as well.

Thinking some more, I guessed that paying for Amy's phone this morning would have told him generally where we were. Then I had paid for fuel here, which gave him pretty much our exact location. Third, he knew he was looking for a 'big trawler,' as the teens back in Occoquan had described. And now, here he was.

"A friend of mine said he saw her come aboard back in Virginia," he lied smoothly.

"Well, I can assure you, your wife is not onboard. Just me."

"Pretty big boat to handle by yourself?"

When I didn't reply, he sighed, and said, "You won't mind if I take a look, then?" and started up the gangway again.

"You don't hear very well, do you?" I growled as I blocked his way. "I said you're not coming on board. Why should I believe your bullshit story? Like I said, I've never seen you before in my life. You could be a fucking terrorist for all I know."

"You're making a mistake," he hissed.

"No. I'm really not. Come back with the cops and a warrant."

I could tell he wanted to try and force the issue.

"Try it, please," I taunted.

I saw his hand start to move, and I let mine slide behind me as well. He saw, and his eyes widened.

I just stared at him, until finally, he spat, "This isn't over," and stalked off.

As soon as he drove off, I was starting the engines and hollering at the marina attendant to come help me cast off my lines.

I poked my head inside and said, "Stay down there for a bit longer, please... just to be safe. I'm good for now."

I heard Julie say, "Okay, Uncle Jack," and I got us moving. Good thing I had them keep out of sight, because sure enough, I saw the black Dodge sitting along the shore on the west side of Cape May Inlet, right where it meets the Atlantic. I know it was childish, but I flipped him off as we sailed past.

I decided to head southeast, just til we were out of sight of land. It probably wouldn't throw him off for too long, but it might. I needed to figure out how to get around the credit card issue, though. Fortunately, Robbie had installed a marine satellite terminal, so we could get internet even out at sea. Thank you, Uncle Robbie!

Finally, when the last vestiges of land faded from the radar, I told the girls it was okay to come up. Amy was shaking, and she handed me the shotgun that she had retrieved from under the settee.

I was glad I had spent so much time with all three of them at the shooting range when they were younger; they all were proficient with the weapons I had onboard. So I wasn't surprised when I checked it; the safety was on and the chamber was clear. I nodded at her and put it back.

When I returned, she was pacing. Angrily she spat, "I heard him! That fucking bastard! How did he find us?"

I explained my theory about the credit cards. "He has to be in law enforcement. Or some alphabet agency."

"What are we going to do?"

"I have some cash onboard. Maybe I can figure out how to withdraw some more, without him finding out. Hopefully, he's just looking at credit cards. Which reminds me, we should call Georgia to let her know. And your dad, Amy. Maybe he knows someone who can dig a little deeper into this guy?

"One good thing... he's not gonna find us out here!" I joked.

"So, where are we going?" Julie wanted to know.

"I'm thinking Block Island." It was small, with an excellent anchorage, about 15 miles northeast of the tip of Long Island. "It's going to take us a bit over a full day to get there. I can't stay awake the whole time, so we will have to take turns sleeping."

The girls started to look a little nervous.

"Don't worry, it's not like I won't be here, you can wake me up if something happens." I showed them how the radar worked, and to wake me if anything got within 10 miles.

Amy said, "I'm too wired to sleep, I'll drive first."

"Okay," I said. "You two take the first watch, and I'll get some sleep. I'd rather be up later on when we get closer to the shipping channels in and out of New York."

I set the auto-pilot, so all they had to do was watch the course on the plotter, keep an eye on the radar, and keep a visual lookout. "You'll be fine. Just holler, for any reason." I hugged them both and went below.

I got about six hours of sleep, and it was dark when I went back up topside. Amy was sitting in the captain's chair, watching the radar, and Julie came down to the galley to chat, as I busied myself making coffee and a midnight snack.

"All good?" I asked her, as she leaned against the counter, and stretched. I tried not to stare as her t-shirt pulled tight across her breasts. She was clearly not wearing a bra. I stared fixedly at the coffee maker, as she answered.

"Yep, pretty quiet. We saw some lights, but nothing got close."

"Good. Go get some sleep; I'll go relieve Amy."

"Okay, Jack." She gave me a hug, which I returned, and she slipped below.

Taking my mug and my plate up to the pilothouse, I peeked over Amy's shoulder at the displays. Everything looked good.

I put one arm around her from behind, and said, "Great job, sweetie. I just sent Julie below, why don't you join her and try to get some sleep."

She yawned. "Okay, Uncle Jack. Night!" She surprised me with a kiss on the cheek, and then she too went below. I settled in for a long, hopefully quiet, night.

><><><><><

I got my wish. I did have to maneuver around one big merchant - those guys do NOT slow down or change course - but otherwise, my biggest challenge was boredom. At sea, I'll take boredom over excitement any day.

It was about seven in the morning when I heard the girls stirring. Pretty soon, I smelled coffee and shortly after that, Amy appeared with a fresh mug for me and a bagel with cream cheese.

"Thanks, Ames. You girls all ready to take over?"

They nodded.

"Okay, I'm gonna try to catch a few hours."

I was able to sleep til a little after noon, then went up to the galley and made lunch for all of us. I brought the girls their plates and took the helm. I figured we were about 60 miles from our destination, which would bring us into harbor just before dusk.

They sat with me as I spent some time teaching them more about sailing in general, and the boat in particular. When I had bored them sufficiently, they hopped up and went below. I thought they were going to have a nap, but I was surprised to see them a few minutes later, headed forward.

I figured it out later; those two little minxes knew exactly what they were doing. They sashayed onto the foredeck and spread out their towels. They each had on a tiny bikini, the kind that had just a little triangle of material in the back that did absolutely nothing to cover their bottoms. Which were spectacular, by the way - speaking as an impartial observer, of course. Amy's suit was black, and Julie's was sea-green. Not quite thongs, but the next thing to.

They had all played field hockey throughout high school and college, and had well-defined calves and thighs. And I may have mentioned already, perfectly formed asses. Can't forget asses, especially when they were practically naked in front of me. They both had Venus dimples above each cheek. I let out a long breath. So hot. Then I shook myself. Don't go there, Jack.

They spent quite a while arranging their towels to their satisfaction, which for some reason took a lot of bending over and adjusting. Eventually, they both stretched out on their stomachs. I had to remind myself to check the radar, I was staring so hard, despite myself.

I saw Amy whisper to Julie, who nodded, then got up and knelt beside her friend, while grabbing some suntan lotion out of a bag. I then saw Julie ask Amy something, which caused her to reach back and undo her bikini top. Tan lines are bad, I agreed.

Julie squirted some lotion into her hands, then started to massage it into Amy's shoulders and back. Damn, Amy must spend a lot of time in the gym; her back showed the same definition as the rest of her. Julie took her time working on it, too. She went back to the lotion several times, making sure to get Amy's arms and sides.

Then Julie shifted position and started working the lotion into Amy's feet and calves. When she got to Amy's thighs, she nudged them slightly apart so she could ensure complete coverage. I stared, mesmerized, as she worked the lotion into the back of her friend's thighs, moving higher and higher until, as I gazed in rapt attention, she slid her hands right up over Amy's butt, then in a circular motion, brought them outward toward her hips, then down and inward toward that enticing shadow between Amy's thighs, then back up again, repeating those circles again and again. Her thumbs were spreading Amy's cheeks apart very slightly as she worked the lotion into every bit of exposed skin.

It looked like Amy was starting to squirm when Julie finally patted her on the butt and lay back down.

Amy just lay there, until Julie poked her and jerked her thumb at her own unprotected backside. I 'suffered' through a complete reenactment, just with the roles reversed. Except Amy 'forgot' to put her top back on, and her perky 'B' breasts were on full display. Her pink nipples looked to be pretty erect too. Julie had slightly bigger breasts than Amy, and there was some lovely pale side-boob smooshing out. Amy made sure those got a good coating of lotion too.

The girls lay there for about thirty more minutes, then got up and headed aft. I was almost glad they remembered their tops this time, as I wasn't sure how much more I could take. Just as they passed out of my line of sight, Amy looked up and winked. God damn, I was going to need some alone time. Soon.

A short time later, they came up to join me. They brought me a bottled water and sat on the little padded bench beside me.

I eyed them suspiciously. "Just what are you two up to?"

Julie looked at me. "Nothing? Just hanging out!"

"Don't play Little Miss Innocent, Jules... what was that act down on the foredeck earlier?"

Amy jumped in. "You wouldn't want us to get sunburned, would you?" She actually tried to bat her eyelashes, and I laughed out loud.

"You're just too fun to tease, Uncle Jack," Julie giggled.

I just shook my head. "You two..."

I looked at the plotter. "We have a few more hours til we hit the entrance buoy; did you have any more shenanigans planned, or can I ask you to make me a sandwich or two?

They hopped up, smirked at me, and went below.

><><><><><

As predicted, we eased into an anchorage as the light was slowly fading. I was glad it wasn't dark; Block Island can get pretty crowded. But we found a relatively secluded spot, set the hook, and shut down.

I let out a sigh as I flopped down on the settee next to them with a beer. "Wow, that was a long passage. You girls did awesomely; you should be proud."

"Aww, thanks," they chimed.

I had them call their folks while I called Georgia, and we updated them on everything that happened in Cape May. I told Georgia to be careful with her credit cards, and Preston agreed to see what more he could find out about Ramirez.

"Don't worry, Jack. I talked to the owner, Mr. Anders, and he gave me the green light to use our in-house security on this. I believe his exact words were, 'This company is my family, so a threat to my employees or their families is a threat to me.'"

Preston was the CFO of Hospitality Business Solutions, a company that provided all kinds of tech services to hotels and restaurants, from point-of-sales software to property management, reservations systems, revenue management, and more. Their IT department was second to none.

"Keep your heads down and I'll handle it from this end," he advised.

"Thanks, Preston."

He also promised to talk to Julie's folks, and with that, we threw together a late supper, double-checked the anchor alarm, and finally turned in.

><><><><><

I was awoken by the sound of thunder. Shortly, I also heard a timid knock on the door, followed by Amy's somewhat shaky voice.

"Jack? Can I come in?"

"Sure Ames, let me just..."

As I was pulling on a T-shirt, she came in. She stared at my chest for a second, then looked down, and just stood there nervously, in a camisole and some very skimpy panties. I groaned inwardly.

But I took pity, knowing her fears. "Storm bothering you?"

She nodded.

"You want to stay in here til it passes?"

She nodded again.

I sighed and scooched over. She scampered over and slipped under the covers. I put my arm around her, and she sighed and snuggled against me.

After the next crack of thunder, I heard another knock. "Not you too Jules?"

She ducked her head, smiling shyly, when another crash shook the boat. Her eyes flew open, she screamed and leapt into the bed on my other side.

Now you'd think it would be highly enjoyable to have two young, nubile, scantily clad female forms pressed against you, and you'd be right. But they were scared and just wanted to be held, and besides, they were my sister's friends!

When I came home from the Marine Corps, Georgia was about nine, and had just started playing Parks and Rec field hockey. I was living nearby and working heavy equipment repair, and took Georgia to her practices and games whenever I had the chance. Michelle teased me that I spent more time with her daughter than she did.

Julie and Amy were teammates of Georgia's that first season and they became fast friends. After their parents got to know me, I was often asked, and was more than happy to take the girls to games, and practices, and the mall, and the amusement park, and... well, you get the gist.

After two seasons of P&R, they tried out for a travel team. I wasn't at all surprised when they made the roster, and suddenly I was driving them to more practices, away games, and even some tournaments, when their parents couldn't make it. I can remember playing Marco Polo in more than a few hotel swimming pools. I had babysat them, for god's sake.

And now here I was, snuggled up in bed with them. I could feel them flinch with each new crackle of thunder, but as the storm moved on, they eventually drifted off to sleep.

><><><><><

I woke up feeling the boat shifting. I carefully extricated myself from the girls and went topside. It looked like we had dragged just slightly during the storm, but not enough to set off the alarm. Now, as I watched, we didn't appear to be moving any longer.