IslandAffair

I could be called back at any time to testify against
him. Even if he’s convicted I don’t know what kind of life I’m going to have, I
might never be safe again.” He closed his eyes briefly. “And despite all that
I’m askin’ you to come with me, be with me…for however long we have here.”
    He held out his hand and stood. Robin hesitated, feeling as
though he was about to step off a cliff. “All right.” He put his hand in John’s
and hoped the fall wouldn’t shatter him.
     
    John’s heart thundered in his ears as his lover took his
hand. That brief hesitation had felt like an eternity. This was probably— no ,
definitely—a mistake. But he still pulled Robin into his arms, knowing he could
not bear to let him go. And yet, he might not have any choice. As though
sensing the bleak direction of his thoughts, Robin raised his head from his
shoulder and stroked his fingertips along John’s jaw.
    “Did I tell you why I came on this trip?” A mischievous
smile banished the trace of sadness from his eyes.
    John shook his head and couldn’t help but smile in return.
    “Well, back home I am your typical ‘boy next door’. It’s a
small town and I’ve lived there all my life. So I’ve never done or said
anything I shouldn’t. No one but my sister Joanne has any idea I’m gay so I
never date. I smile at the girls friends try to set me up with and sometimes
even take them out but every night I am home in my own bed. Alone.”
    He nipped John’s chin with a boldness that belied his words.
    “I love my home but I needed to get away from that, live up
to my own expectations for a while. So here I am and here you are…and
let me tell you, John, I am not thinking boy-next-door thoughts at all.”
    “So essentially you want me to help you free your inner bad
boy.” John sent his gaze skyward. “I feel so used.” He grinned as a wash of
pink warmed Robin’s cheeks. The man was such a wonderful combination of
innocence and seduction. John found it unbelievably sexy and his cock twitched
at the picture Robin made. Pushing the thoughts of the future out of his mind,
he kissed Robin and took his hand to lead him down the steps. Halfway down Robin
missed his footing, almost falling, and John caught him in his arms, laughing.
    “I warned you, I am a klutz. It’s a miracle I made it to my
twenty-sixth birthday.”
    “I’ll take my chances.” John set him on his feet. “Besides,
I have bodyguards, remember?” He ducked Robin’s punch and took his hand again,
leading him along the shore.
    * * * * *
    The days passed more quickly than either of them would like.
They had spent almost every moment of them together but as the sun began to set
again, Robin suspected that it wouldn’t be enough. He sighed and John’s arms
tightened around him in silent understanding. They lay on a blanket on the sand
in front of his cabin and watched the blazing orange-and-pink horizon darken
toward twilight. Robin thought of his job and his hometown and how much he
loved them. Right now they seemed very far away.
    “John?”
    “Mmm?”
    “Do you miss your work? New York?”
    “Yes, I do. Though not as much, now, as I did to begin with.
You should have seen me when I first got here.” He chuckled softly. “I was so
used to the fast pace and the challenge of keeping up with it mentally and
physically that I didn’t know what to do with myself.” He ran his fingers along
Robin’s bare thigh in a gentle caress, skimming along the bottom of his trunks.
“What about you, do you miss the wee ones you teach?”
    “Yes. It’s what I always wanted to do, work with kids.
Though one day I would like to do more than just teach them to swim. Maybe go
back to college.” He shifted to look at John’s face. “If you could do anything,
what would it be?”
    His lips quirked in a lopsided smile. “Believe it or not I
like what I do. I love working with numbers. I was that geeky lad in class who
always got As in math. But I also used to love working with my hands. My
granddad taught me carpentry when I was younger. Back in Scotland I had a small
workshop but there isn’t much space for that in a New York apartment. No time
either.” He paused, sighed. “MacAllister Accounting is my father’s company,
it’s everything to him and I know he wants me to take it over but he’s never
forced me to work there. I enjoy it…but I don’t want it to mean so much to me
that I miss out on other things. Don’t get me wrong.