Ethan got up from the table and disappeared out the door, only to return a few seconds later with a satellite phone in his hand.

"Here ya go, mate," Ethan said as he handed the phone to Hunter. Ethan sat back down and continued eating his English fry up and sipping on his milk laden Yorkshire tea. He had no idea he'd just handed Hunter an opportunity that came with a heavy decision. Hunter just stared at the phone in his hand. His heart beat rapidly and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He glanced at Ethan, who continued to eat with properly proportioned fork fulls going in his mouth. Then he looked at Brice, who was looking back at him with concern.

"The only way to acknowledge this opportunity is to first, accept it. Once accepted, it becomes available and therefore a real possibility. Then all you have to do is choose," Brice said quietly.

Hunter took a long look at Brice who met his gaze steadily without blinking.

"When did you become so smart?" Hunter asked quietly.

"Years of boarding school. I'm top of my class and that didn't come from sitting around wondering what to do when opportunity strikes."

"Ouch."

"Sorry, I just don't want to see you let this opportunity slip by. Of course, the phone will always be here, but right now, in this moment of time, it's in your hands."

Hunter gave a small nod. He took a deep cleansing breath. Then he looked up at Ethan.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to step outside for a moment," Hunter said softly.

"Sure, mate," Ethan said smiling. Hunter got up and started for the door only to have Brice grab him gently by the arm. Hunter looked into the face of his new friend.

"Tough choice you are about to make. Are you going to be okay?" Brice asked, his face full of worry. Hunter nodded with a small smile. Brice patted him on the arm and Hunter went outside.

After following the well manicured path through the perfectly groomed boxwood bushes, Hunter found himself standing on the dock by the big ass yacht. Hunter looked at the sat phone in his hand and sighed.

"Well, now that I've taken the steps to give me this option, I shouldn't waste it. The only question is, do I call him or not?" That question repeated itself in his head over and over again. It was a slow agonizing debate.

On one hand were Jesse's hurtful last words. There was no denying the crystal clear meaning of that exchange of words. Jesse did not want anything to do with Hunter. The punch in the face drove that point home.

On the other hand, there were Dan Dutton's words about Jesse being worried and being at the Coast Guard Station every day. What was that all about? Jesse was at the station every day? Hunter knew that Jesse's father was the lead officer on any search and rescue mission out of Jacksonville. That meant the jet that flew over the island was probably Jesse's dad. That also meant that Jesse was privy to all the information concerning each day's search. If that were the case, his dad would fill him in on all the particulars every day. So why would Jesse feel the need to be at the Coast Guard Station? It just didn't add up.

Finally, Hunter punched in the number he knew by heart and paused his finger over the 'call' button. This was it. Decision time. Hunter looked up in the sky. He could see the gray-white outline of the moon in the blue sky of the morning. He thought about the Little Dipper and the North Star at the end of the handle. It guided him when he didn't know where he was. That little point of light gave Hunter hope. Hope he desperately needed then and hope that he urgently needed right now.

Taking a deep breath, Hunter firmly pushed the call button and held the phone up to his ear. He heard a few clicks as the phone accessed the satellite, then a ring, followed by another ring, then another and finally …

* * * * *

Jesse Westphal sat on the back steps of his house and watched his dog. Astro was playing with a stick. His father brought Jesse home from the Coast Guard Station a short while ago. Jesse was sure that he was in for at least a verbal dressing down by his father. You don't cuss out the commander, his father's boss, without repercussions. His father had been nonchalant about the whole thing, telling his son that he understands the way he feels.

Astro kept bringing the stick back and dropping it at Jesse's feet and barking. Jesse picked up the stick, threw it as hard as he could and watched Astro race after it. This was done over and over. Each toss of the stick helped ease the sadness that consumed Jesse when he heard Hunter had told him to go to hell. And Hunter had been shot and went down. No one knew his condition. All they knew was that Hunter's friend had steered the sailboat out of the lagoon. Surely if Hunter was badly wounded, he would have asked for medical help. Surely.

The conversation with his father and the commander helped, but it was ultimately Hunter's words that cut the deepest. Those words were not totally unexpected, especially after what he had said to Hunter. Jesse just wanted to hear something different.

* * * * *

"Hi, you've reached the voice mail of Jesse Westphal. Sorry I can't chat right now but leave me quick message and I'll get right back to you." Beep.

"Ah, Jesse, it's Hunter. Ah, I'm okay. Got shot by the Coast Guard, but it wasn't bad. Just grazed my thigh and bled a lot, but it's okay now. Umm, look Jesse, Dan Dutton told me you've been at the base almost every day and that you're worried about me. I just wanted to call and let you know I'm okay. No need to worry. I still don't know why the Coast Guard is shooting at me, so I'm kinda on the run. Sorry I can't tell you where I am, but until I find out why the Coast Guard wants me, I've gotta keep, ah, well, under their radar. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself and I have friends that are helping me. Umm, ah, look, there's something else I need to say and it's really hard for me … look, ah … I'm really sorry we can't be friends anymore, but I understand … but I need you to understand that … I can't help the way I feel. I just can't! Believe me, I've tried to not feel … like this … but I do. I just can't help it! So, I'll stay as far away from you as I can, just like you asked. But the one thing … the one thing I can not do … is stop loving you." Hunter couldn't hold back a sob but continued with a shaky, crying voice. "I love you Jesse … and I always will," Hunter pushed the end button, dropped to his knees on the dock and wept.

* * * * *

Jesse finally stood up. Enough was enough, sorry Astro. He made his way back inside with Astro scampering in beside him. Jesse smiled at the smells coming from the kitchen. His mom was an excellent cook and Jesse looked forward to dinner that night. Walking down the hall to his bedroom, Jesse's thoughts again turned to Hunter. He walked into his room and sat down on his bed. Looking over at the nightstand, he noticed his phone was blinking. He picked it up and swiped the screen. He had a voice mail from an unknown number.

Jesse tossed his phone back on the charger and headed for the bathroom. Hands covered with dog slobber needed to be washed before dinner. Thanks Astro. Jesse looked at himself in the mirror and decided he needed to wash to tears off his face as well. He looked miserable. A quick scrub later followed by a rub of the towel and Jesse looked much better. Out of habit, he grabbed his phone from its changer and again glanced at the screen.

"I don't get many scam calls, so this must be something maybe I should listen to," he thought to himself. Jesse hit the voicemail button and put the phone to his ear to listen.

Jesse's face lit up with joy as he listened to the first few sentences of the voicemail, but then he frowned. Finally, tears streamed down Jesse's face as the voicemail's last few sentences ended.

"Dad!" Jesse screamed. His father heard the scream from his son and raced back to his son's bedroom only to find his son crying hysterically.

"Jess, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked as he grabbed his son by his shoulders and hugged him tightly to his chest.

"H-hunter!" Jesse cried out through a torrent of tears. "He … he's okay," Jesse whimpered.

"What?" his dad asked. Jesse stood back and looked at his father.

"V-voicemail," Jesse said as he pressed the voicemail button and passed the phone to his dad.

Max held the phone to his ear and listened as Hunter poured his heart out in an emotional shot across the bow. Max's own eyes teared as he listened to the distraught teenager's message.

"Dear God," Max said as the voicemail ended. He looked at his son and smiled. "At the very least, we know he's okay." Jesse's red, tear stained eyes and frowning face were greeted with eyes of optimism.

"I tried to call the number back, but there was no answer and no voicemail," Jesse sobbed.

"We should take this straight to the commander. He needs to hear this," Max said. Father and son raced to the Coast Guard Station and knocked on the commander's door.

"Enter."

"You should hear this commander. It's from Hunter." Max played the voicemail on speaker phone.

"Mary, Mother of God," the commander said. He reached up with his right hand and wiped a tear away. "Well, at least we know he's alright. The problem we have right now is Hunter thinks the US Coast Guard is his enemy, after all, we did shoot at him, damn it. Now he's on the run for not one fucking good reason!" The commander's eyes widened at his use of the 'f' word. "Sorry about that, but the fact remains that this needs to be resolved. The commander turned his eyes on Jesse. "You have to fix this, son. You're the only one he'll listen to."

Commander Walsh made it very clear that Jesse and Hunter were to be given the opportunity to talk so open hostilities could be brought to a close. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, the commander would make it happen. He had an ace up his sleeve but he wasn't sharing. Not now, anyway.

* * * * *

Ethan and Brice finished their 'fry up' and excused themselves from the table. They headed for the family room when Ethan suddenly had an idea.

"We should take the fishing boat out and have lunch at sea."

"I think I know what your idea of lunch is darling," Brice shot back.

"Am I that predictable?"

"No, I just know you and what you like. Having lunch on the boat is actually a great idea. Hunter is going to need a distraction. He's out calling his 'used to be' best friend. Oh, by the way, we're incognito right now. The Coast Guard is after us for some reason I have yet to understand."

"Well, I'm certainly able to provide a distraction."

They both giggled, but turned their attention to the front door as Hunter walked back in. Brice walked over and wrapped him in a hug.

"Are you okay, Hunter?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm okay now. I said what I needed to say and, well, so be it," he said matter of factly. Hunter handed the sat phone over to Ethan, mumbled a thanks and moved toward the dining room table.

His appetite had dissolved despite the remains of Ethan's fry up.

"It's gone cold I'm afraid, but not to worry. I can have the ladies in the kitchen warm it back up for you," Ethan offered.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary. I'm really not hungry now."

Brice thought this was the perfect time to give Hunter a distraction.

"Ethan has suggested we take the fishing boat out and have lunch at sea." Hunter slowly turned his head to look at Brice, shook his head and finally gave him a small grin.

"Okay, sounds like a good idea, but must I continually remind you that it's not a fishing boat, it's a big ass yacht," Hunter said with a full on grin.

"Well, first of all, you know I come from a family that positively swims in money and anything less than extravagant is simply … well, simple," Brice said with a smile.

"Trust me, it's a big ass yacht," Hunter said with a smile.

"Okay, it's a big ass yacht. So, let's take her out and have lunch."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go," Hunter said with a smile. The boys went to the kitchen and Ethan instructed the staff to prepare a light lunch. Ethan ran up to his room and came back with three bathing suits and a grin.

With a large basket firmly encased around Ethan's arm and after a great big thanks to the kitchen staff, the boys headed for the big ass yacht.

"You know the Coast Guard is still looking for us and I have no idea why," Hunter said as he climbed the ladder on the stern.

"I don't give a simple hot shit," Brice said. "Let's go out and have good time."

"Not you too, Bricey?" Ethan started. "Have you become a barbarian? Such language."

"Shit, shit, shit and shit. Come on Ethan. It feels good. Say it. You can do it."

"Sh-sh. I can't do it."

"There's sexual favors involved," Brice teased.

"Okay, sh-shit. There. I've become a neanderthal too."

"Will you two cut it out and come aboard. We need to make a plan," Hunter said. Brice and Ethan joined Huner in the main salon.

"Ethen, you can leave the lunch basket in here unless anything needs to be put in the refrigerator," Brice suggested.

"The staff has everything kept cool. It'll be fine."

"Okay you two. I need both of you on the dock to untie lines. I'll haul them aboard when you untie them."

"Hunter, you do realize that the United States Coast Guard took shots at us?" Hunter glanced down at his wounded leg and pointed to the dressing.

"Yeah, I got that message loud and crystal clear. What's you point, Brice?"

"It confuses me as to the 'why.' They shot at us, but why … unless we have something they want," suggested Brice.

"What could we possibly have that they'd be willing to shoot for?" Brice looked around at the opulent main salon, when suddenly his eyebrows shot up to his hair line.

"The boat! They wanted the fucking sailboat!" Brice yelled out, grabbing Hunter by the shoulders. Hunter's mouth dropped open.

"Of course! That's really the only thing I had, but why would they want it so badly?"

"Who cares?" Brice said as he smiled. "They have it now so they won't be looking for us anymore. We're free to do whatever we want," Brice beamed at Hunter and gave him a big hug. Ethan joined in the hug as they all laughed and celebrated.

"Well, let's get this big ass yacht out of here and go have some fun," Brice suggested.

"Okay, you guys grab lines and help us get untied?" Hunter asked with a smile.

"Come on Ethan. And just so you know a line is a rope."

"You're so nautical, Bricey."

"I'll catch the bow line first," Hunter said as he started forward.

"Aye aye Captain Bligh!" called out Brice.

Hunter was momentarily stunned by Brice's words. He heard the exact same 'Captain Bligh' saying from Jesse. He had to literally shake his head to clear the memory.

Not registering how his words had affected Hunter, Brice turned to Ethan.

"The bow is the front and the stern is the rear."

"Do I have a nice stern Brice?" They both giggled and headed for the dock. All three boys worked together made short work on casting off the lines.

Hunter started the engines once the boys joined him on the flybridge. Moments later, he eased the bow and stern thrusters to push the yacht from the dock. Once clear, Hunter eased the throttles forward.

"Where to gents?"

* * * * *

Ensign Ryan English sat at the AIS screen wondering why he got AIS duty. Coast Guard life was always filled with interesting adventures, but AIS duty was boring. Hundreds of ships filled the screen as he looked for 'Seas the Day.' He hovered his mouse over little green, blue and red ship shaped icons on the screen. He had been given the latitude and longitude of the private island and was told to search a twenty mile radius. Unfortunately, the island was only fifteen miles from a major shipping lane, which put a lot more ship shaped blips on the screen. The commander had been quite clear that the moment the boat appeared, Ensign English was to report to him immediately.

A sudden blip appeared on the screen and caught Ryan's attention. He rolled his mouse over and hovered on the blip. 'Seas the Day' popped up in the information box on the screen indicating the vessel was on a current heading of a hundred and ninety degrees at fifteen knots.

"Okay, the commander's boat is on the move," Ryan said to himself. "Best alert the old man." This was a moment he was going to shine. He quickly left his post and rushed to the commander's office.

A quick knock was followed by 'Enter.' Ryan stepped through the door.

"Commander," Ensign English started while standing at attention. Commander Walsh looked up and nodded. "That yacht you've had me looking for is on the move." Commander Walsh immediately stood.

"Show me," he directed. Ensign English quickly turned and headed for the AIS room with the commander hot on his heels. Once at the console, with the CO of the station breathing down his neck, Ensign Ryan English quickly clicked on the 'Seas the Day' icon and the information popped up. Commander Walsh picked up the phone and dialed.

"Lieutenant Westphal, 'Seas the Day' is on the move. Get in the air and find that yacht. I'll have the AIS coordinates sent to you as soon as you're in the air," the commander paused, listening. "Okay, good. Get in the air as soon as you can." Commander Walsh hung the phone up and turned the Ryan.

"Good work, Ensign." Ryan beamed. "Keep an eye on her and let Lieutenant Westphal know exactly where she is as soon as he's in the air."

"Yes sir, you can count on me sir." The commander smiled and nodded. Ensign English beamed at the praise.

* * * * *

"There's an island with a nice beach about ten kilometers south of here and nobody lives there. We can stop just offshore, have a nice lunch and go swimming if we want to," Ethan said while pointing out a spot on the horizon. Hunter looked at the navigation screen and pointed to the screen.

"Ethan, is this the island you're talking about?" Ethan looked and nodded.

"Got it in one, mate." Hunter smiled and nodded. He tapped the island on the screen, then tapped the 'steer to' button and finally the 'go' button. A line appeared from the boat icon on the screen straight over to the island. The yacht turned slightly from its present course.

"Nav system says we'll be there in twenty-two minutes," Hunter said as he joined his friends on the comfortable bench relaxing while the autopilot steered the yacht. "It's so nice to have a navigation system. It was pure hell on the sailboat with literally nothing, not even a compass and not even knowing where I was."

"What … the … fuck … mate?" Ethan stammered. Hunter glanced at Brice.

"Sorry, I didn't tell him. We were kinda busy with other things, if you know what I mean," Brice grinned and blushed at the same time.

"It's fine. I guess I didn't really tell you everything that went on cuz we were kinda busy with other things too," Hunter said with a huge smile. Ethan's mouth fell open.

"You guys … fucked?" Ethan asked shocked.

"Yep," admitted Brice. Ethan turned to Hunter, crossed his arms across his chest and glared at the young sailor.

"And what the fuck is wrong with my ass, mate? You fuck him and you won't fuck me? I happen to be exceptionally talented in bed. You don't know what you're missing, mister," Ethan huffed. Hunter burst out laughing, but then quickly shook his head.

"I'm not laughing at you, Ethan. I'm just laughing at the way you said it. And before you say anything else, I think you are a very cute young man with a wonderful butt."

"To right mate, cheers! Oh, Hunter, I've been told it's called a stern." Ethan said with a smile. Hunter busted out laughing again. Then Ethan turned serious. "We will be addressing this oversight of my stern on your part later. Now what about this sailboat bit being hell?"

"I was lost at sea on a sailboat with no mast, no navigation and a dead captain," Hunter explained matter of factly. Ethan gasped and Brice suddenly stood up, shocked.

"What?" asked a shaken Brice.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. I even got shot at by a drug boat, but I shot one of their engines and they limped away from that fight."

"Jesus Christ, Hunter," Brice exclaimed as he sat back down, hard.

"Yeah, looking back on the whole thing, it was pretty intense. The captain got killed in a bad knockdown early on in the storm that came up out of nowhere. I tried CPR, but, ah, it didn't work."

"Hold on, what's a knockdown?" asked Ethan.

"Basically, the sailboat goes completely sideways with the mast almost level with the water. A gigantic wave came out of nowhere. The wave along with super strong winds just knocked us over. The captain was below deck when it happened. I guess he lost his footing and hit his head. There was a lot of blood and …"

"Hunter, my God, you went through that? How are you even here?" Brice exclaimed.

"The thing that really got my heart racing was the drug boat. It came straight for me and started shooting. They even shot a hole in my shirt." Ethan gasped. "I grabbed the captain's rifle and started shooting back. I really let the lead fly and blasted a hole in one of their engines. They limped away from that fight, but the whole thing scared the shit out of me." As Hunter told about the shoot-out with the drug boat, he found himself so wrapped up in explaining not only what happened, but what he was feeling at the time that he literally started shaking. The adrenaline came with the vivid memories.

"Scares the shit out of me just hearing about it," Ethan said. Brice glanced at Ethan.

"Ethan, you said shit"

"Being with you two yanks has turned into gutter trash," Ethan said with a grin.

Hunter continued to tell his story to his new friends as the auto pilot steered the big ass yacht toward the island and their lunch destination.

Hunter was almost overcome by his own retelling of his story as he realized everything that he had been through. He had never actually taken the time to reflect on it all. The storm itself had been frightening, terrifying even. The hours and days that followed had been hard to endure as well.

An alarm sounded from the navigation system that startled all three boys. Hunter cut his eyes to the screen. He tapped the screen, silencing the alarm and grabbed the wheel.

"We're here," he announced as he started pulling the throttles back, slowing the yacht and finally stopped just offshore of the island. Hunter searched the steering station and after a few seconds, he found what he was looking for and flipped the port switch. The port anchor dropped into the clear blue water with a lot of clanging.

"What's that?" called out Ethan with a shriek. "Did we break something?"

"I just dropped the anchor. We don't want her drifting away," Hunter explained.

"Oh, oh cool, thanks mate." Hunter glanced at the clock on the console. Eleven fifteen.

"Look, it's kinda early for lunch. You guys wanna swim first?" Nods of agreement were followed by the three boys stripping. Hunter started to grab one of the swimsuits Ethan had provided but stopped and looked at the naked boys he was with.

"It's only us. Let's skinny dip," suggested Brice. Hunter barked out with a laugh.

"Spot on, mate," Ethan said as he wiggled his hips making his dick flop back and forth.

"Let's go!" Hunter yelled out as he jumped off the side of the yacht.

* * * * *

Max Westphal, along with his copilot Ted Hagan, were racing their helicopter across the Atlantic Ocean, headed for "Seas the Day" with coordinates provided by Ensign English. In the rear jump seat, strapped in tight, was a very anxious Jesse Westphal.

"Jesse," his dad called out through the headset.

"Yeah dad."

"We're about five minutes out. I'm going to ask you to take a deep breath and calm yourself. I know Hunter has a friend out here. I just don't know what kind of friend. There has been some … speculation, but not one other soul on the planet has the history that you and Hunter share. So, stay strong son." Ted Hagan nodded in agreement. Jesse thought about his father's words. He knew there was a possibility Hunter met someone else. He'd heard the casual comments from the other flight crews too.

Rejection was a true possibility, after all, that is what he had done. At this point, Jesse didn't care anymore. He just wanted his worry to end. It was like a bolt of lightning had struck as Jesse realized that this is what Hunter must have felt like just before admitting, well, what he admitted.

"Love! That's what Hunter admitted to," thought Jesse. "And I'm going to admit to it too."

"Jesse?" his father called out on the intercom again.

"I'm good, dad. Thanks for the pep talk," Jesse said with a smile. It was down to the wire. Jesse thought back to the day that Hunter had bared his soul. He remembered his response too. It had been ugly.

Now it would be Jesse's turn to sit in that same seat and bear his soul to Hunter. If he got the same harsh response, then so be it. But Jesse was determined not to give up without a fight.

"Thar she be Capt'n. The 'Seas the Day' is directly ahead. I don't see anyone onboard yet," Ted called out over the headphones as he looked through his binoculars. "She's at anchor. I can see the anchor rode trailing down to da water, but still no sign of nobody. Let's do us a quick three sixty." Max came in low and slow … at fifty feet, he could easily see the bottom through the clear water. He maneuvered the chopper around the big yacht while Ted looked intently through the binoculars.

Jesse's nose was glued to the window as he too looked down at the huge yacht below. Hunter was on that yacht. All the time spent worrying, anxiously waiting and just the simple fact of not knowing culminated in this one moment. This was it. This was the moment Jesse had been waiting for. Now was the time for action.

Jesse quietly released his seatbelt, stood and walked to the door. He grabbed the handle and pulled with all his might as the side door of the chopper rolled open. At first, the look down gave Jesse a wash of vertigo but he held on to the handle by the door.

"Jesse, sit back down. It's dangerous to be by the door," his father said over the headset.

Jesse Westphal looked at the huge yacht just fifty feet below. Hunter was on that yacht and Jesse was not going to let this critical moment in his life pass by as he pulled his headset off. Jesse moved to the edge of the door, glanced back at his father, gave him a quick wave, then jumped out the door.

* * * * *


On to Chapter Ten
"Leap of Faith"

Back to Chapter Eight
"Swish and Flick"

Chapter Index

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Email me at jevic@tarheelwriter.com