Beach Bum

Author's Note:

This is a follow-up to Castaway. If you haven't already read that series, I encourage you go back and read Castaway parts 1-5. Not a lot of sex in this one, but hopefully you will come away feeling like you know this group better. I don't feel the need to warn anyone about anything on this one, but I will say that I didn't break any laws when I wrote it, and none of the characters were harmed during editing... much.

Thanks to my friends sbrooks103x and Guinahart, for assisting and editing. I appreciate the time they donated to making this a better read.

Enjoy!

*************

"Howard, you need a refill?" James asked, looking over at me from my mini-bar.

"Sure, I could use a top-offfff," I replied, already slurring a bit. Shit, it's only one-thirty in the afternoon and I'm already slurring. Oh well...

Six months had gone by since James' daughter's wedding. Madison was a beautiful bride, as was her partner, Sarah. I still remember the night, well most of it anyhow, I did have quite a bit to drink. I do remember watching James walk her down the aisle, and thought about my little girl, Clarissa, sad that I was never able to walk her down the aisle. Time had not healed my wounds, only dulled them a bit.

We were sitting in the main salon of my yacht, Purgatory. I'm pretty sure that I'd already had at least three of his nearly famous "Beach Pineapple" drinks, and was quickly on my way to complete inebriation, as it should be.

"So how are things with you and Tanya?" I asked, redirecting my thoughts.

"Great, I think. We really are very compatible, once you strip away our professions. I honestly think had I met her when I was twenty, we would have been together instead of Caitlin and I."

"That's great, my friend, but she would have been what, FOUR?" I roared loudly, unable to contain my laughter.

James nodded, and looked pensive. "True... So how is retirement treating you around here? Bored with lazing around your little boat yet?"

"LITTLE?" I asked, somewhat indignant. "This YACHT is over one-hundred and forty feet long, SIR!"

James immediately started laughing, that laugh that comes from down deep in the belly, almost doubling him over. Damn. He got me... again. Would he never tire of trying to goad a reaction out of me?

I took a moment to compose myself, "Well played, Sir," then hiccupped. "About that drink now?"

James took a minute to get his laughter under control, then brought me a tall glass with more of that great juice mixture. I had a sudden thought, that this stuff might be worth some money. The light bulb didn't click on yet, but the filament was starting to warm up. Just then, I heard some noises from outside. James jumped up and walked to the sliding rear door.

"That'd probably be Tanya. She told me she would join us after a run into town."

He stepped out, and I heard them profess their love in a whisper to each other, before they entered the salon holding hands. It was almost disgusting, how mushy and in love they seemed to be. I was happy for them, but couldn't help but feel bitterness, too.

"James, when the hell you going to put a ring on that one?" I asked, obviously having had plenty of social lubricant.

Tanya blushed a bit, and James just smiled. Perhaps I should slow down, it still being early afternoon.

"THAT, Sir, is none of your business, but she's worth waiting for," he replied with a huge grin.

Tanya beamed at his words, and hugged his arm tightly. Those two continued to puzzle me, not that it really mattered. I was just glad that my pal was happy. I remembered what it was like to be happy. A long time ago, there was a family that had loved me too, or so I had thought. Now I only had these clowns. If they only knew...

"James, damn it, give me that drink!" I barked.

"Sheesh, hold your damn horses, old man!" he laughed back, totally used to my shit by then.

I just harrumphed and walked towards him, well, more like wobbled would be a better description. I got to the bar, anyhow, and grabbed my drink from him. I tossed it back and set the cup back down, truly enjoying the burn going down my throat.

"I don't think I've ever heard how you two met," mentioned Tanya. "I mean, I met James after you did, so you both know how that happened."

"Well, Tanya, you see..." I began.

"This old guy stumbled up to me at a bar, and hit on me," James added, deadpan.

I felt the angry heat rise in my cheeks, until I realized that he was fucking with me again. I was going to kill him one day! "God damn you, James!"

He was laughing at that point, and Tanya had a grin on her pretty face. The heat melted away when I looked at her. When the laughter died down, I continued. "As I was saying, we met right after he got here, at that resort lounge."

"I told him about my problems at that time, and he laughed his head off at the end," James added indignantly.

"Oh, I'm sure I would have laughed, too," replied Tanya, smirking again.

After rolling my eyes, I went on. "So... after he told me the sob story, I gave him the number of someone to help him find a place. He moved in, on... to... that little dinghy..." I said, suddenly confused about what I was talking about. I really needed to cut down on the booze. I must have been really damn tired, because I passed out.

*************

The Sun rose on the horizon, and the light woke me up. My head hurt, my stomach felt like a grenade had gone off inside, and my back ached from sleeping on the couch, again. I really needed to cut down on my drinking.

Somehow, I made it to my cabin and immediately stripped to take a shower. The hot water began to work its restorative magic on me as I washed off. After drying, I brushed my teeth, popped a couple of Advil, and chugged a glass of water.

I shook my head, looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw. I looked more tired than ever before. My demons were catching up to me. Just then, I heard some noise out on the aft deck. Naturally, I put on my sandals and went to see who it was.

"Good morning, Howard!" James yelled out.

I cringed, holding my head. "Damn man! Keep it down, will ya?"

He just smiled and walked towards me. I turned and waved him to follow me back inside. We moved into the salon, sitting on couches adjacent to each other. I groaned, as my stomach grumbled loudly.

"Hah, you haven't eaten yet?" James asked.

"Just woke up, actually." I couldn't lie to him, so why bother? "What's got you up so early?"

"Aside from making sure you were still alive? Oh, and it's almost noon. I would hardly call this early," he taunted me. I hate him.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You know I'm just fucking with you," James said. "Seriously though, I just saw something that made me think of you, so came right over to discuss what I was thinking about." I just gave him a look, like, "hurry the fuck up."

"Our favorite hangout is for sale," he added.

Now, that was news to me. We frequented a place down on the beach, having light bar food and drinks there quite often. James and I had often good-naturedly grumbled about the older owner and his wife. They ran the place together, but it was more like just something for them to do in their semi-retirement than to make money. It was my favorite place to spend time, aside from my yacht.

"Hmpff," was about all I was capable of.

"Howard, I think we should buy it. We could split it, as equal partners... What do you think?"

"I think I'm going back to bed."

"Seriously, I don't want to see it close, and this gives us the opportunity to make it the way we like it!" he exclaimed. His excited volume made me put my forehead into my hands, trying to soothe the pounding going on there.

"James, what the hell do we know about running a pub?"

James didn't immediately answer. He got up and walked out of the salon, returning with a sandwich on a plate, and a bottle of water. He handed me two more Advil and the water. I took the pills, downed the water and grabbed the plate.

"You really should hire some people to help you run this big beast," he commented. "Your galley is a MESS!" he laughed, chuckling at his own pun.

Still a huge dork, that one. I just groaned at the lame humor, but had to agree that a small staff would be welcome at this point. I put that idea in the back of my mind for now. Right now, he was talking about us buying a bar together. Oh, what the hell, why not?

"Okay, James. Let's do it," I said.

He was beyond happy for some reason, and I wasn't going to stop him from enjoying the moment. When he stopped acting like a little schoolgirl before prom, he pulled out his cell phone and tapped the screen. A few seconds later, I guess he got the response he was hoping for.

"Okay, Tanya just told them that we'd like to buy it," he proclaimed.

I was flabbergasted. "What? Did you leave her there while you came here? Damn, man, what's the rush?"

James ignored my grumbling and went on. "We need to start planning for your big day coming up!"

"We are most definitely NOT celebrating my getting older!"

"Yes, we are. You're one of my closest friends, Howard, and there's no way I am letting you drink that entire bottle of eighteen-year scotch by yourself!"

Damn. He knew the plan for my seventieth birthday. I hate him. How the fuck did I get so old?

*************

June, 1967

I was twenty years old and spent my summer at our family lakefront cabin. I was working as a lifeguard at the local church camp, simply for something fun to do. My parents were rich, so it's not like I had to worry about money. My dad had struck it rich in oil, having found a huge deposit of it under his parents' property. I wasn't exactly raised with a silver spoon, but by the time I was in high school, he had made his fortune and then some.

My time at camp was great, if allowing me to be just a bit irresponsible. I just enjoyed the summer as any other young, red-blooded American man would have. The days were filled with sun, water, and girls. The evenings were busy with bonfires, beer and good friends. I truly miss those easier times.

That summer was when I met the woman of my dreams. Her name was Ellen and she was an angel. She was working at the camp as well, as one of the counselors for the kids. Every week we would get a new batch of them to entertain.

We had a fairytale romance that summer. A whirlwind escapade of warm summer nights, spent naked on the beach under the moonlit sky. She understood me on a level that no one ever had before. She used to tease me about being rich, and how I had all the ladies swooning over me. I told her she was full of it, but needless to say, I was hooked.

We spent as much of that summer together as we could, and were not looking forward to going back to school in the fall. We would be apart, and there was little we could do about it. We promised that we would wait for each other, and we did. Those summers and breaks during the holidays were too short, but we made the most of the time we had together.

She really was my better half. After graduating, I proposed and she said yes with misty eyes. To this day, I still don't know what she saw in me, but at the time, I was thankful that she did. I would come to wish I had remembered that a few years later.

My parents helped us with a down payment for our first home, and while they were still loaded, we had to find our own way. My dad was not the kind of man to just hand out money. In his eyes, every man or woman needed to earn their own way. I had a lot of respect for my father.

We were well on the path to our dreams. Ellen got pregnant, and delivered our beautiful baby girl, Clarissa. She was the second angel in my life, and we adored her. Things were good. Ellen stayed home with the baby, quitting her job as a telephone switchboard operator. We discussed it, and for the time being she wanted to just stay home with our little girl. I supported her no matter what she'd decided. We also talked about having more kids, but it never seemed to happen. We were happy, and life was good for what seemed like a long time.

When Clarissa was about ten years old, I was promoted to the head of my company's local office. I was working as a mid-level manager at a car parts factory, one of several across the state. With my promotion, I got a new office and even a secretary. She really turned out to be more of an assistant, but the title of Administrative Assistant wasn't being widely used yet.

Her name was Candice, and she was a redheaded fox. She was married with no kids at home, and a husband that worked out on the oil derricks in the Gulf of Mexico. She used to joke about her roughneck husband, Kyle, and his schedule. He was away for weeks at a time, so when he was home, she would regale me with tales of their active sex life. Meanwhile, at home things were good with Ellen, but we hadn't really returned to the passion we had before Clarissa came along.

"We should go out on a date tonight," I mentioned to Ellen, one Friday night.

"Oh Howie, what about Clarissa?" I really loved it when she called me Howie.

"Well, can't we find a sitter, or something? Can't your parents watch her for the night?"

"On this short of notice? How about we wait for her to go to bed, and watch a movie or something?"

That was my life. It was good, but felt stale at the same time. I felt a need to be more alive, to enjoy life to its fullest. We did end up watching a movie, and that night in bed, when I tried to go down on Ellen, she stopped me and hurried me to just climb on and get it over with. It felt like a chore for both of us at that point, and I didn't get much enjoyment from it.

The following Monday over coffee, I mentioned my lame weekend to Candice. "I just don't get it. We used to have such a great sex life, but now it's like a chore to her," I lamented.

"Well, Kyle and I had a huge fight on Friday night, about his work schedule. I want him around more, even if that means we take a pay cut. He doesn't want to hear it though," she replied. "We had a very chilly house all weekend."

"Sorry to hear that," I replied, not knowing what else to say.

Sitting across from one another, she gave me a sheepish look. She put her hand on top of mine and smiled. That touch was like a spark, jolting me. I smiled in return, and we got back to work. Towards the end of the day, I called Candice in to dictate a memo that would go to all shift managers. She came in and shut the door behind her. This was a bit unusual, as we generally worked later than most in the office, and left the door open.

After she finished taking her notes, she stood and walked around my desk. I stood up, and she moved right in front of me, her face mere inches from mine. My heart was pounding and my breath got caught in my throat. She put one hand on my neck, pulling me in for a soul searing kiss. Candice pushed me towards the couch in my office, being about as subtle as an air horn.

I'd like to say that I resisted her, but I didn't. I was as spooled up as ever, and my hot secretary wasn't giving me a chance to think. She unbuckled my belt and trousers, pushing them down and then me onto the couch, pants around my ankles. Candice got down on her knees and bent over, sucking me into her mouth before I could even form a coherent thought.

When I did gather my thoughts, I was so far gone by that point that I didn't care. I was enjoying it, and pushed thoughts of my wife and daughter out of my mind. Candice did her very best to make me forget them, too. She bobbed up and down in my lap for a minute, before standing and straddling my thighs. She put a knee on each side of my legs, and sat in my lap. I felt only bare skin under her dress, and the sensation was exquisite.

She slid forward, grinding her trimmed womanhood against my very hard erection. All blood had rushed to my groin by that point, and my hands worked their way onto the pliant skin of her ass. Without any further warning, she slid up and positioned me just where she wanted, and slid all the way down. It felt like heaven, and she worked her way up and down my pole with gusto.

Before long, she was moaning loudly, groaning as she came all over my lap. I was right behind her, and released into her inviting pussy. After a minute, she lifted her head from my shoulder and smiled.

"Now THAT is a great way to finish a workday!" she enthused.

By this point, I was in shock and feeling the guilt of my cheating closing in on me. My face must have reflected my thoughts, because she moved her lips to within an inch of mine.

"Now you listen here, you're a good man, and as long as our spouses never find out, it'll never hurt them," she reasoned.

I should have told her no, right then. We both just chose to ignore the possible consequences of our actions. Stupidly, though, I went along with what she said. We kissed again passionately, then she got off my lap and proceeded to get back down on the floor in between my legs, to clean me up. That woman was insatiable. We continued our office affair for nearly two years, before everything fell apart.

It was a Wednesday, and I will never forget it. I had called Ellen in the morning, again telling her I would be about an hour late, but still in time for dinner. She had been tired a lot lately, so I had recommended she go visit the doctor. She said she should be home in time to cook dinner, so I would ask her about the visit when I got there. I never got that chance.

It was about five o'clock and my door was closed again. Candice was on my lap, riding my cock and facing away from me, when my wife burst into the room. She had a confused look on her face for a second, and then all hell broke loose. Candice jumped up, panicked and ran for the door. I quickly pulled up my pants, as Ellen just gave me a strange glare. The hurt in her eyes at that moment nearly killed me. There was nothing I could have said or done to take back the pain I caused her.

Ellen was holding onto some papers, which fell to the floor. She turned and walked out quietly, not saying a word. I went to pick up the papers, and found that it was some forms from the doctor's office. I really couldn't tell what they meant, but I couldn't miss the word biopsy written and circled on the page.

Life got very hard, with no more joy in our house. Ellen was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, and wouldn't touch me. We argued for a while, but she eventually just gave up. She had lost the will to fight, and it had been all my fault. I tried to reason with her, even begged her to kick me out, if that's what it took for her to get treatments. Nothing I could say to her, would give her the spark back. My selfish actions caused that, and she died within a few months of that horrible Wednesday afternoon.

My daughter didn't know all the details, but she knew that I had cheated, causing her mother a lot of pain. She was furious with me for hurting Ellen, and when the cancer took her from us, I lost my little girl. She and I spoke to one another, but only when we had to. She seemed depressed all the time, and no amount of begging on my part ever got through to her. We lived together that way until she graduated high school. She packed up some things and left that first week of summer, while I was at work.

*************

I haven't talked to my daughter since she left. Eventually, I did track her down. It required several private investigators, and nearly two years' time. When I found her, she was living out in California, with her then-fiancé, Glenn. The PI report told me that he was a nice guy, working in the movie industry on some kind of prop construction crew.

"Earth to Howard!" yelled James.