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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
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1,672
Chapters:
1/1
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8
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1,467

Midnight Swim

Summary:

Judson indulges in a midnight swim.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Midnight Swim
By Donna S

Gabe stretched slowly as he twirled around in the chair. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Oh Hades, how I hate the grave yard shift." Gabe sighed as his dark head fell back. "Why did Judson pick me? Mac loves this shift. She can be all secretive and such, while I am just plain tired."

Gabe grousing was interrupted by a huge yawn. His eyes drooped even more as he continued to mumble on about the unfairness of the situation.

Mackenzie Previn, on the other hand, snuggled contentedly in her bed. Her arms wrapped around her pillow like an oversized teddy bear. It was probably a good thing no one could see her like this. This did not fit the hard-as-nails image Judson Cross and Gabe Chandler had of her.

Mac burrowed her head deeper into her pillow, her black hair sliding like silk across her bare back. "Oh honey, you shouldn't have," Mac murmured with a dreamy smile on her face. "Oooo, don't stop that feels soooooo good."

Mac's midnight ramblings faded into soft coos of delight and a smile of pure contentedness.


Judson Cross was not asleep. Not even a bit sleepy. If the truth be known, Judson was restless and hot. No not that hot, but room temperature hot. His room felt like an oven.

He had already discarded his white tank and shucked his pajama bottoms for a pair of knit boxers. Fingers interlaced behind his head pulling already taunt abdomen even more into relief. There were a few old white lines from past scars, but nothing to really detract from the sheer beauty of the man.

Finally, Judson could take it no more. He swung his legs over the bed and padded softly to the door.

'I am going up on deck. It has got to be cooler there than it is in here.' He thought to himself while quietly walking past Mac's door.

He worked his way to the top deck. He looked in the window to see Gabe snoring softly into his cradled arms.

Judson laughed to himself. 'I know someone who will be getting an earful about this tomorrow.'

He made his way to the side of the boat. The moonlight reflected on the rippling shallow waves. The water looked clear, cool, inviting. A lover's embrace just waiting to ease the tensions of the day.

"What happened to me?" Judson sighed to the wafting breeze. "I used to be so free and open. Now, I am cautious, secretive, timid even."

A nearby fish jumped as if in response. "I don't mean on the job, but with myself. I still love the adventure and danger, but I feel that something is missing."

Judson walked slowly back to the diving platform and dangled his legs over the side.

"Why is it that I cannot let Mac see a different me. I mean Gabe and Mac. Oh hell, who am I kidding. What is it about Mac that troubles me? I have never been good with the serious relationship stuff--not just romance, but even the everyday friendship."

The stars winked on and off in the inky blackness as Judson layed his heart bare. "What do I feel for Mac? Is it friendship? I have never had anyone I trust more than her. She would do anything for me and I her. Sometimes I wonder if it is love? Yeah right, the elusive Mackenzie Previn paired with a wandering pirate."

Judson laughed softly at the image of himself with a patch and Mac in a flowing dress. She would look beautiful, but not Mac.

A sly look came over Judson's face as he slowly peered left and right. "Forget about worrying over things that won't change, instead I will go swimming."

Now Judson had made it a cardinal rule that no one goes swimming in the ocean alone and especially at night, but he was the captain so....

He stood up and stared at the quivering blackness below. There was enough moonlight to highlight the waves and the area beyond the ship. Judson paused for a moment, then suddenly he reached and skimmed the knit boxers off his body and threw them on the floor.

In one perfect motion, he dove into the inky blackness. Immediately his senses were bombarded. The silence entombed him. The coolness of the water caressed his bare body. With his lungs burning, Judson made for the surface.

He lept from the water like a dolphin, throwing his head back in abandonment. Mac and Gabe would not have recognized their team-mate.

Smooth, strong, tan arms sliced through the water. The muscled legs kicked with confident strokes. The moonlight bathed his bare body creating a moving marble statue.

Judson dove, played, and careened through the water with the enjoyment of a child at Christmas. 'Oh, how he loved the water. Here he felt like a god.'

Anyone looking at him would have to agree. Judson did not notice his own perfections. The wide muscled shoulders that could carry a heavy load or hold a sleepy head. He never paid attention to the sheer masculine beauty of his face or the way his golden hair, golden body and blue eyes were the stuff of dreams.

Cavorting in the water naked, Judson resembled a fabled merman. Waiting to entice some young woman away from her mortal family and into his passionate embrace.

Tiring of his energetic play, Judson lay on his back and floated in the moonlight. Normally, he would not be so bold as to display himself, but he was assured that Gabe and Mac were fast asleep.

Finally, Judson made his way back to the boat. He reached the platform and readied his body for the leap back to reality.

"I thought you always said that swimming alone at night in the ocean was dangerous."

Judson froze.

"Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe you are not the venerable Judson Cross, but a creature of myth that has lost your way."

Judson sighed and looked up at Mac. "How long have you been there?"

Mac smiled slowly, a light burning behind her eyes. "Long enough to know that you sunbath in a swim suit."

Judson groaned in disbelief and dropped his head back to the platform. He felt more than saw Mac sit down beside his head and drop her legs in the water.

It disturbed him somewhat to have Mac there beside him. In the dark, him naked, and her bare feet just a few inches from him.

"Judson," Mac began softly. "What is wrong? I mean not with the skinny dipping, which of course is perfectly all right. I mean, I have skinny dipped myself once or twice, but never in the ocean at night. I wonder what it is like...?"

Mac stopped abruptly as Judson's hand closed over one of her ankles dangling beneath the water.

"Mac, you are babbling." Judson said as his hands stroked the smooth and silky flesh of her calf. "Nothing is wrong. My room was an oven, so I came out here to cool off. The water looked so inviting, that I just wanted to......get away."

Mac tried to concentrate on Judson's words, but the feel of his calloused fingers molding her flesh distracted everything else.

Judson mistook her silence. He floated closer to her and laid both hands on her knees. Floating between her parted legs, Judson raised his hand and cupped her face. "Mac, you are the most important person to me. I trust you just like you trust me. Don't worry. Everything will turn out all right."

Mac's mind was in a state of confusion. This was Judson, her best friend, her confidant, her.....There her mind quit. She was not ready to finish that thought.

For all her toughness, Mackenzie Previn was vunerable. Her one weakness was the belief that she was not destined for love. Her life so far had not been that great in that department. She needed Judson to much to love him.

With a silent sigh, Mac shook her head and adopted a smart ass smile. "Oooo, you are so going to owe me. Now, what do I get for NOT telling Gabe about your midnight excursion? Hmmm....I know no grave yard shift for the next three days."

Mac waited expectantly for Judson's reply.

Inside Judson felt his heart drop. He had all but declared his love, and she only thought of him as a friend. Closing his eyes for moment to file away the pain at losing the possibility of Mac's love, Judson bowed his head.

He then gave a theaterical sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "If, and I repeat, if Gabe never hears of this, I will consider your request. Now would you, please hand me my boxers?"

Mac fingered Judson's boxers which she had been running through her hands. She could swear she still felt the warmth from his body. "Well, I guess so. Here catch." With that, Mac threw Judson's boxers up in the air.

Judson had to make split second decision. Leap out of water and catch the boxers, thus giving Mac a potential eye full, or wandering back to his room in wet underwear.

'What the hell!' he thought. He leapt out of the water and caught the boxers in his hands. When he turned back to the boat, Mac was no where to be found.

Judson climbed back aboard the boat and slipped his boxers over his damp body. It would be long time before he would ever forget this night.


Gabe sighed as he slowly opened one eye. He glanced at his watch. Only 20 minutes had passed. He watched Mac leave the diving platform with her face downcast and troubled. A few minutes later, Judson also wandered back towards his room.

Gabe mirrored his friends troubled look. He then reached for the controls and moved the temperature setting for Judson's room back to its normal position.


THE END

Notes:

This orphaned work was originally on Pejas WWOMB posted by author Donna S.
If this work is yours and you would like to reclaim ownership, you can click on the Technical Support and Feedback link at the bottom fo the page.