Page 38 of Free Wind (Lifeguards of Barking Beach #2)

As the catamaran pitched over the Southern Ocean’s choppy waves, Damo held on, grinning. He loved the sea spray in his face and the wind in his hair—though he’d knotted his ponytail into a bun. A few strands escaped, tickling his cheek.

“Too good!” he said to Blake in the chair beside him on the upper level.

Blake smiled and nodded. “Awesome.”

“You right?” Blake’s smile had been a little shaky.

“Totally!”

Damo wasn’t quite sure he believed him. “We can go down if you’re feeling crook.” The boat staff had explained that the lower level was better for sea sickness, so Tasha and Tony had insisted to Cooper that they stay there.

“No, I’m fine! We took our ginger tablets. Hey, dolphins!”

They crowded to the railing—getting there with lurching steps—with a few other passengers as the captain pointed them to the dolphins on the starboard side.

The pod jumped in the dark waves, and if anyone could watch dolphins in the sea and not feel that life was bloody good, Damo didn’t want to know them.

The day was gray, so he kept his sunnies hooked to his shirt under his jacket. It was tempting to try to take pics, but the last thing he needed was to drop his phone into the ocean as the boat rolled. He’d leave it to the professional photographer on board who’d be emailing the pictures.

They’d been warned to always be holding on to a railing at all times, so Damo kept one hand on the metal and the other snaked around Blake’s waist as they watched the three dolphins leap and play.

When he’d woken that morning sprawled on his stomach in bed with Blake’s arm over his back and warm breath on his shoulder, Damo hadn’t wanted to move a muscle.

It had taken a few seconds to process where he was and remember that, for the first time in seven years, he wasn’t waking in his old twin bed with creaky springs.

And that he was naked with another bloke. Blake the bloke. His boyfriend. It had sent butterflies flapping through his tummy, and he’d tried to hold onto the joy without letting the guilt in.

All he could do was try, right?

At least he’d come clean to Blake about his dad and what it was like at home. Well, he hadn’t gotten into the nitty gritty, but that could wait. He hadn’t planned on saying anything, but suddenly, it had felt right.

The words had tumbled out, and he was glad of it in the light of day. Blake had understood the way Damo’d expected. And they’d gotten off and laughed, and Damo had slept like a baby in Blake’s arms.

It was a far cry from the awkward, uncomfortable night with Shaz at home when he’d barely been able to relax enough to doze, lying awake for hours, rigid in his own bed until it had gone from bad to worse. Poor Shaz had only wanted to get closer to him, but neither of them had been ready.

Was Damo ready now? He was getting there, at least.

As the dolphins broke away from the boat, Blake cleared his throat. It was only a little sound, but Damo frowned. “Let’s go down.”

“I’ll be fine when we get out there.” They both gripped the railing as the boat pitched.

“It’s at least fifty Ks out to the Bremer Canyon, mate. We’ve got an hour and twenty to go at least.” Damo pointed to the staircase in the middle of the catamaran. It was a few steps down, then a turn and a few more, then the last steps to the main deck.

“Want to go down?” a young crew woman asked. She held out a hand. “Give me your bag.”

Blake did, and as they stepped away from the railing, the deck heaved and they toppled forward. The rail at the top of the stairs jammed into Damo’s side, and he laughed. “Southern Ocean is going off!”

Blake’s answering smile was half-hearted, and he didn’t argue as another crew member below on the stairs told him to sit and go down on his bum.

Damo did the same, asking the girl, “Is it always this rough?”

“Oh yeah. It was worse yesterday.” She held up a white plastic bag with a hard plastic rim. “You need one?”

“Nah, I’m right.”

When they reached the bottom deck, he realized half the passengers were puking their guts out. The main deck had benches at the back and several rows of metal chairs. There was an indoor cabin with plush seats as well, but Damo reckoned people would feel even sicker in there without the fresh air.

Tasha and Tony were bent over in their chairs holding vomit bags while Cooper spewed into his. Blake almost lost his balance trying to get to the seat beside Coop, and Damo dove after him, grabbing Blake’s arm to steady him.

Cooper hiccupped, his eyes shiny with tears. “But—but—we took the tablets.”

Blake wrapped an arm around Coop’s shoulders. “I know, buddy. The water’s just too rough.”

Crew members went around collecting puke bags and passing out new ones. They offered little cups of water and advised people to sip slowly and keep their eyes on the horizon. Damo had to look away as Tasha hurled again into a fresh bag.

Inhaling slowly through his nose, he watched the steel gray line of the horizon and tried not to listen. He’d never been seasick, but it was tough listening to it. He held a cup of water for Coop, watching Blake try to keep it together. He motioned to a crew girl nearby for a bag.

Blake reached for Damo’s knee beneath the hem of his boardies. “Okay?”

Damo nodded. “It’s for you.”

“I don’t need it.”

He had to laugh. “You’re gonna.”

Blake tried to fight it—he really did. He comforted Cooper, murmuring encouragement, all the while breathing harder and harder. Tasha and Tony would lift their heads and check in on Coop before apologizing and crumpling again.

Lips sealed, Blake’s nostrils flared, and Damo pushed the bag into his hand. “S’okay. Go ahead and spew.”

Blake shook his head sharply, keeping his focus on Coop. He was gentle and reassuring, rubbing Coop’s back slowly as the poor kid had another vomit.

It wasn’t sexy, but somehow it was? Damo watched from the chair across from them, wanting to kiss Blake and tell him how much he liked him.

Because he liked him so much.

Damo spotted the moment Blake lost the battle, and he thrust out the bag, perching at the edge of his chair so he could squeeze Blake’s knee as he hurled up brekkie.

As the journey continued, he monitored Blake, Cooper, Tasha, and Tony, handing off used bags to the crew and holding water for them and encouraging small sips. On the benches at the stern, some people were huddled under blankets, heads down and eyes shut, utterly miserable.

“We’d better see some damn whales,” Tony moaned.

Cooper’s bleary eyes widened. “What if we don’t?”

“We will!” Blake insisted, looking a little gray. “The captain has a plan.” He chanced some water. “I’ll make sure we see some whales,” he told Cooper.

Of course, Blake had zero control over the whales, but Damo loved that he wanted so much to give his son the experience.

Damo went into the cabin to fetch dry biscuits for everyone to nibble, and as they neared the canyon where the killer whales hunted and the boat slowed, he made cups of tea.

Blake sipped his and gave Damo a weak smile. “You must be part mermaid.”

“Got the hair for it,” Damo replied with a wink.

Blake’s smile widened, and he snagged Damo’s fingers as they looked at each other.

“You two are disgustingly cute,” Tasha said before sipping her weak tea with a smile that turned to a grimace. “How many more hours will we be out here?”

“Uh, I reckon five or six?” Damo answered with a wince.

“We have to see the whales!” Cooper whined.

Of course it was never guaranteed, but Damo didn’t say that. “We will, mate. I can feel it.”

“He’s one with the ocean,” Blake said. “He knows.”

Damo would’ve felt like a right dickhead if the whales had stayed away, but they showed up not long after.

First, there were a few in the distance, and Damo maneuvered Coop to a prime spot at the side of the boat, holding him steady as they crossed the deck.

Now that they weren’t moving as quickly, it was more stable, but the boat still pitched.

With Coop in front of him and Blake at his side, Damo watched the killer whales surface. Even though the whales weren’t super close, they had a great view. It wasn’t just a few dark blobs on the horizon—the whales were clear as they surfaced.

The boat hunted for more whales, and when they spotted some, the marine biologist on board told everyone to make noise to attract them. They hooted and hollered, Cooper bouncing on his toes and practically screaming in excitement, his upset stomach forgotten.

Blake and Damo shared a smile, and Damo couldn’t resist stealing a kiss. Blake’s eyebrows shot up. “I must taste terrible.” He glanced around. “And there are people here.”

Damo shrugged. “Just had to kiss ya.”

“I’m not complaining.” Blake grinned, then stumbled as the boat turned.

Damo steadied him, and they kept Cooper in front of them at the railing. Of course, the whales were first on the other side of the boat, but soon enough the animals appeared right in front of them.

Gasping and pointing, they watched the whales roll and play and made more noise to keep them interested. The whales seemed content to hang out, having a cruisey morning.

Eventually, they disappeared under the surface, and the boat looked for another group. There were wraps and fruit for lunch, though even Damo didn’t have much of an appetite. He ate the sliced pineapple and berries off a skewer, watching the horizon again as more people got sick.

“Not out this far too often,” he said to Blake. In all four directions, there was only the gray sea and cloudy sky.

“It’s a strange feeling, isn’t it? Not just the nausea.”

Damo laughed. “Yeah. Like, it’s a bit scary on one hand.” He was farther away not only from land than he’d been in years, but the farthest from home. Ever.

That thought predictably made him feel guilty, but with no mobile signal at sea, he couldn’t text home even if he wanted to. It was out of his hands.