One Fine and Frisky Life Book 2 Chapter 1

Illysette and the guys motored back into Last Harbor’s cove late Sunday afternoon. Dusty had Cody under his wing, coaching him with an eagle-eyed gaze on both their progress and the electronic displays as Cody crept toward the Second Favorite Toy’s berth in the marina at a sea slug’s pace.

“Good job, Cody. Just like that, slooow is smooth, Mate.”

He put a comforting hand on the young man’s shoulder as he picked up the mic.

“Deck hands, let’s get those bumpers in place, just like I showed y’all,” he instructed over the ship-wide comms.

“Skipper, do you mind keeping an eye on that evolution? I need to concentrate with Cody.”

Lysette nodded. She had taken a place out of the way on the Toy’s bridge to watch Cody lose his virginity. He had taken the boat out from its mooring several times, but this was the first time he was docking the Toy. It was warm but Cody was sweating more than the temperature demanded. His anxiety was obvious, but her boy was totally focused, listening to Dusty’s guidance as he eased the Toy toward the dock at a slow and steady pace.

She went out to supervise their temporary deck hands as they deployed the bright blue and white, fat rubber fenders over the side. Neither Pete nor Dave fell overboard during the process and the task got handled with admirable efficiency. She gave them a thumbs up with a pleased nod of her head then returned to the bridge.

Surprised to find that she was not nearly so nervous as Cody, Lysette paid just as much attention to Dusty as he coached the procedure. He was calm, confident and comfortable. That professionalism seemed to rub off on Cody. He relaxed his hunched shoulders, began breathing easier as he maneuvered the Toy into her berth.

He got the baby yacht lined up as Dusty expertly gauged their position, then softly told him to chop the throttles. Lys’s Second Favorite Toy drifted precisely into place, coming to a halt with a gentle bump of the balloon fenders against the dock. Dusty nodded at him, bumping Cody’s shoulder with one fist. Then picked up the mic again.

“Deck crew, let’s get the lines out and get the Toy tied down. Dave, you’re throwing, Pete get onto the dock to secure the mooring lines. Without getting wet, if you please.”

That was a little out of the ordinary. On any given day, it’d be Dusty waiting for the tossed lines in his role as the marina’s senior (frequently only) dock hound. He hoped Pete didn’t go swimming during the transition from ship to shore. As with the bumper deployment, the high school athletes turned temporary crewmen did a great job at it. Soon enough the Toy was snug as a bug in a rug, bobbing gently on the rolling swells.

“Shit hot, gentlemen,” he relayed over the mic. “It’s Miller time.”

He turned to Cody as Lysette came up to give her boy a high five. Dusty walked him through the shutdown procedures. Cody was trying to play it cool but as soon as they secured from the mooring evolution, he broke into the happiest smile he owned. Both Dusty and Lysette smiled back at the proud (and very relieved) young man.

“I’m going ashore. I want to make sure the guys got the lines right. I’ll catch y’all in the salon?”

Lys nodded, kissed him on the cheek. Cody was making final entries into the electronic Ship’s Log.

“Good job, Dusty. Just like you knew what you were doing,” she teased.

He stuck his tongue out at her as he turned to go below. He joined Dave and Pete, had a short, congratulatory hot wash regarding their performance then descended to the dock to inspect Pete’s work. Dusty was back aboard in no time. The kids had not let him down.

*****

“Guys, get your gear packed up. You did good. The Skipper is taking her crew to dinner at the Pirate’s Den before you head home. By the way, thank you so much for not getting sea-sick over the weekend.”

There were some amused chuckles at that as the boys went to the cabins they had never gotten to use while aboard to gather their things. Cody said he was going to shower first, wash the fear sweat away. That got a chuckle from Lysette and Dusty, too.

“I’m impressed with you, Dusty. Your skill and ability made this trip run like clockwork. Thank you.”

“Just wait til you get the bill, Skipper.”

She hugged him then went to her cabin to change clothes. When Cody was ready, they all set off for the Den where cute Suzy, their waitress during the bikini contest, had them seated in her section. She wanted to hear all about the trip. Pete thought he might like to demonstrate a few of the friskier details of the cruise with the effervescent blonde cutie some evening. He chatted her up every time Suzy came to their table.

“Do I need to be jealous, Pete?”

He gave Lysette a startled look before registering her grin and sparkling sea green eyes.

“I don’t know,” he whispered, “do you think she might be better in bed?”

Lysette’s jaw dropped before she began laughing so hard tiny tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

“Y’all have gotten sassy. Have a care young man, it’s not too late to have you walk the plank.”

Once again, Lysette thanked her lucky stars for these guys. What a wonderful time they had together. Their food came and Suzy refilled their drinks before leaving them for other guests as more dinner time customers began to arrive. No one got dessert. They just sat awhile after the table had been cleared shooting the breeze. Dusty excused himself during a lull in the conversation.

“I should get over to the Office, Skipper. Let Harry and Veronica know I’m back.”

“We need to be going too, Illysette. Mom and Dad may already be planning to rent out my room.”

“There’s always room for you aboard the Toy, Pete.” She winked.

They shared hugs and fist bumps then he and Dave went back to the Toy to get their gear. Lysette sighed and settled back into her seat. Cody put his elbows on the table across from her, chin resting on his intertwined fingers.

“Well, that didn’t suck.”

Lysette feigned shock. She kicked her boy’s shin under the table.

“How quickly they forget!”

Cody and Lys returned to the Toy after settling the bill, leaving Suzy what was probably going to be her best tip of the day. Cody took his deck shoes off, laid on one of the sofas in the salon and patted the cushion in front of himself. Lysette wiggled in next to him, holding his arms where they crossed over her tummy. He breathed softly near her ear for some time before asking her what was on his mind.

“As the potential co-owner of this fine vessel, I’m asking officially, Skipper. Are we going to offer Dusty a position as crew?”

She strained a little to look back over one shoulder at him. The thought had been on her mind but was very much reinforced as she watched him coach Cody during the docking procedure. She turned back to rest her head again. They had briefly discussed the path the future could take during some quiet time at sea. Lysette had plans, none firm yet, about how to monetize the Toy and their new situation. Cody as a business partner made a great deal of sense to her.

“Could you live with that? Taking orders from one of your employees? Because the position I would offer Dusty is being the de facto Captain of the Toy, Cody.”

“Mom, there’s no one I can think of who’s better suited for that job.