Chapter 7 Captain Clarke

Westly was furious with Luka. How could he risk his life hanging from the railing and moving along with one arm at a time?He’s a damn daredevil. He put everything out there to reach his goals. Too bad he didn’t have better goals, but then those were what his father had asked him to help his son find.

They plowed through a bunch of sweaty men dancing. Suddenly, the music seemed louder, the colors brighter. He took Luka’s hand, his heart pounding a wild rhythm against his ribs. They moved together as one. Westly took a direct, unhurried path to the elevator and stepped onto it when the doors opened.

“How could you take a chance like that?” Westly asked him again when they stood inside the elevator alone.

“I get off on taking risks.”

“You’re just an asshole. You’re going to see how much of one you are by what’s going to happen as punishment for taking that risk.”

“Are you threatening me again?”

“I don’t threaten. I act against stupidity by dishing out consequences. If you had fallen into the ocean, others would have had to risk their lives rescuing you.” What really irritated Westly was the boy acted like he was a hero for escaping his room to attend a party. He was a spoiled rich boy who had never paid the price for his actions…until now.

When the elevator stopped at their floor, they walked down the long corridor to Luka’s cabin. Westly unlocked the cabin door, which creaked open, revealing total chaos. Westly motioned for Luka to precede him and he inched inside as if he didn’t care to rush on anyone’s account. Crumpled towels and clothes littered the floor and empty soda cans perched precariously on the nightstand. The air hung thick with the aroma of stale sweat, sea salt, and something Captain Clarke couldn’t quite identify.

Luka stood sheepishly in the middle of the room.

Westly stepped carefully so as not to disturb the discarded socks and crumpled papers. “What the hell happened to this cabin?”

Luka flushed a deep red. “Yeah, sorry about that, Captain. I rushed out of here to go to the party.”

Westly raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen a cabin in such a disarray!”

He surveyed the room again, his gaze lingering on a stack of luggage threatening to topple onto the bed. Clothes were draped over every available surface—chairs, the bed, even the porthole, effectively blocking any chance of a glimpse of the sea. “Luka,” he said, his tone firm but kind, “this ship is our home for the next year. We all have a responsibility to maintain it. Before our conversation, pick up this room.”

Luka’s shoulders slumped. “Do you have me confused with one of your marine recruits?”

“No, smart ass. Just clean up this room.” He loved the way Luka took a serious situation and turned it into a lighter one. He had a way of disarming Westly’s anger.

Luka took his sweet time picking up all the clothes from the floor. Every time he bent over to pick up something, he made sure his ass pointed at Westly. It was almost comical, but there was a sense Luka was trying to tease him. The body of this young man was enough to get Westly hard. It wasn’t just his body though; it was him. He wanted Luka to be his.

“Unpack every single item in your suitcase and put it in its proper place.”

“Proper place? And how would I know that?”

“Figure it out.”

This time, he moved faster, tossing things into drawers.

“I’ll be checking your drawers. Fold everything properly.”

He folded his clothes, then hung up his jeans and shirts. He put everything away. As Westly scanned the room, he saw the contraption he must have used to open the door.

“I’m done, sir.”

“Put your suitcase inside the closet.” Westly made his way to the makeshift lockpick and stuffed it into his uniform pocket.

“Yes, sir.” He hurried as he put it inside and slid the door closed.

“Sit down and we’ll talk.”

Westly grabbed two waters from the refrigerator and handed one to Luka.

“I’m not happy with your disrespectful and risky behavior. I have one rule on my ship. Respect me or you’re off. You not only disrespected my rules, but you also flaunted your disrespect in my face. Give me one reason I shouldn’t notify the authorities and drop you off at the next stop.” He didn’t mean to raise his voice.

“I promise to follow the rules and accept the consequences. I won’t ever ignore your rules or disrespect you again.”

“Treat me and your cabin with respect and be grateful you’re not in prison.”

“Are you going to let me stay on the ship, sir?”

“Stand up and face me.”

Luka jumped out of his chair in an instant and made direct eye-contact.

Westly stood face to face as close as he could get to Luka. “No, I’m going to give you another chance. But your shenanigans have consequences. Tomorrow morning, you will report to Mr. Griffin on deck five and he’ll put you to work scrubbing floors and toilets. When you’re done, you will return to your cabin, take a shower, and wait for me. No meals in the crew mess hall this week. You’ll be eating alone here. You will not ignore my orders again.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m sorry I disrespected you. I wasn’t thinking. This was my first chance to go to a gay party, but it’s not an excuse for my behavior.”

“There’s plenty of time for you to go to gay parties, but this year you’re doing time for a crime. It’s as simple as that.” Westly saw the look in Luka’s eyes and either he was a good actor, or he was genuinely sorry for committing a crime and had to do time for it. But mostly he was sorry he got caught at the party. He wanted to hook up with someone. Westly wanted to hook up with him, but it wasn’t the right thing to do. His feelings grew stronger even when Luka pissed him off, like tonight.

“I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Why haven’t you gone to a gay party before?”

“I was afraid someone would see me and out me.”

“Why were you afraid to come out?”

“My father is about as macho as you can get, and my mother thought I was a saint and could do no wrong. I didn’t want them rejecting me.”

“What happened when they found out?”

“My mother said she already knew, and it didn’t matter, but she argued with me over Maleko. I was never sure if she hated me for being gay or if she hated Maleko. My father told me to be who I was and whatever I was, he loved me. And so, I did.”

“How did you meet Maleko?”

“Surfing. He was the first boyfriend I had. So, I don’t have a lot of experience. You said you would talk about you, not just me.”

“Let’s sit on my balcony with a drink and talk.”

“I’d love to, sir. I want to get to know you better.”

As soon as they entered the other side of the cabin, Westly made them two frozen Pina Coladas. Luka beamed at him, which made Westly feel like a hero. The poor boy had little to smile about these days, but then he should have thought about that before doing what he had done.

“I don’t have lots of experience either, as far as relationships go. I see tons of gay men on the gay cruises, but I’m too busy to get to know anyone. It’s never a good idea to mix business and play.”