A Man at Sea [COMPLETE]

Chapter 6

"I'm sorry about the other day," Matim said.

He had brought Eneas over to a corner of the mess hall, pretending to have some comments about the breakfast. Eneas raised his eyebrow. "Do you really want to talk about this here?"

"I can't get it off my mind," Matim said. "I feel so terrible. I want you to know that I didn't want you to feel like I was embarrassed by you. But I feel as though your secret is now our secret to keep. If someone were to find us, sure, they might make some conclusions about me, but they might also know something about you."

"That's... true," Eneas said. "Still, in close quarters like this, a corner of the ship is better than nothing."

"But the navigator's room was right there. Who knows if Eduardo saw us--"

"I don't care," Eneas grunted. "If one person catches us. Because they will at some point."

Matim crossed his arms. Looked down at his empty porridge. "We need to find a spot," he said. "Somewhere that's ours. Somewhere where we can't get interrupted."

Eneas smirked. "Good luck finding that."

"Look, I'm just trying to find something that will work."

"Yes," Eneas laughed. "Come find me when all the other men are busy, and we'll get right to work."

He turned and returned to the kitchen, where Jon immediately asked him what Matim wanted. The boy was so eager, it almost made Eneas want to give in to him out of guilt.

"Matim didn't want anything," he said. "I can't believe I ever let him near me."

"How did it happen?" Jon asked as he began washing dishes.

"He--" Eneas looked away. "He found me changing. He sort of bumped into me."

"Huh," Jon said. "Sounds like he won't be bumping into you again any time soon."

"No," Eneas grumbled. "He won't."

That night Eneas awoke to the crack of thunder. The hammock above him came into view blearily, as he blinked his eyes awake. Slowly, he watched Jacinto lurch out of his hammock and onto the ground, then saw him extend a hand to shake Eneas further awake. "There's a storm," Jacinto said. "All hands on--"

Jacinto's eyes fell downwards and it was then that Eneas realized to his horror that he was in his nightgown. He was sure that the outline of his round breasts and perhaps the dark hair between his legs had caught Jacinto's attention. In shock, Eneas looked down to see how beautifully his breasts had been pushed together by his arms in this sleeping position. There was no doubt as to what was running through Jacinto's mind.

"All hands on deck," Jacinto finished, his cheeks blushing.

Eneas barely had time to explain but he said, "I--um--I can't be seen like this."

"No," Jacinto laughed in agreement.

The two frantically searched around as Eneas slowly curled himself out of the hammock, covering his breasts with his crossed arms.

Another crack of thunder, and the swaying of the ship, sent Eneas into Jacinto's arms. The two of them looked quite embarrassed now, Eneas too sleepy to even be sure where he had brushed Jacinto's body. He was awake enough to notice that Jacinto's gaze could not stop flickering to the sheer fabric covering his body.