Work Text:
Sun Worship
by Juli
“This is a *what*-optional beach?”
The agitated tone in his lover’s voice caused Derek Rayne to pause as he spread out his towel. “A clothing-optional beach, Nick. I thought you knew that.”
The older man had kept his voice deliberately mild, trying to placate the more volatile ex-SEAL. His mate had been on pins and needles for days now, ever since Rachel Corrigan had decreed, in her professional opinion as a psychiatrist, that the two of them needed some time off. It wasn’t that Nick had disliked the idea of having a vacation, but the young man hated having someone *tell* him was going take one, whether he wanted to or not.
As for himself, Derek had initially resented Rachel’s high-handed tactics... until he’d taken a close look at his love. The cares of the normal Legacy wear-and-tear had started to take a toll on the younger man, not that Nick would ever admit it. His athletic body was just a bit too thin and his skin just a shade too pale for the Dutchman’s peace of mind.
So, no, Derek hadn’t protested too hard when Rachel had insisted that he and his lover take a bona fide vacation. He’d fussed just enough so that Nick wouldn’t get mad at him too, but then had embraced the idea wholeheartedly. The Caribbean paradise of St. Maartin, being both tropical and at least partially Dutch-owned, had seemed an ideal location for both of them to retreat and get some much needed rest and relaxation.
The first couple of days, they hadn’t made it out of the bed, Nick releasing his earlier frustration of an enforced leave in a frenzy of lovemaking that left his partner breathless, quite sticky, and utterly satisfied. By the third day, they did make an effort to leave the bedroom, to give the resort staff a chance to freshen the linens, if for no other reason. Unfortunately for the sake of their stained and weary bedsheets, they only made it as far as the living room and its inviting couch before giving in to their bodies’s impulses again.
The fourth day brought a discreet phone call originating from the resort from which they’d rented their vacation cottage, inquiring as to their health. The staff didn’t want to infringe on their privacy, but were concerned by the ever-present “Do Not Disturb” sign warning everyone away. Realizing that they’d have to leave their bungalow at some point, to allow the housekeeping staff in and to reassure the management that their guests were still among the living, Derek and Nick had managed to pry themselves out of their rooms and venture out to the nearest beach.
Orient Beach, which Derek, who had visited the island before, had conveniently neglected to inform his lover was clothing-optional.
Nick looked at the older man’s amused eyes and suddenly his earlier pique about not having a choice about going on this vacation in the first place came rushing back. “And you forgot to mention this because...”
Derek became absorbed in smoothing the wrinkles out of his beach towel. “It slipped my mind.”
“Really.” Nick said wryly, looking over to where a bald man, nude from the top of his shining pate down to the end of his hairy toes, was currently flexing at each group of tourists that went past. “Some sights, I think would stick with you.”
The Precept followed the other man’s gaze and chuckled. “Come, now, Nick. You were in the navy... a sailor. Surely you sowed a wild oat or two?”
Nick snorted and plopped down on his own hastily rolled out towel. “Sure I did. But most of my wild oat sowing included getting thrown out of local bars, not letting my family jewels hang out for God an’ everybody to see.” The ex-SEAL frowned as a couple of middle-aged women tentatively passed the bald exhibitionist and the nude man flexed his “assets” at them.
Derek intercepted the frown and grabbed Nick’s arm before his lover could intervene. The young man was sometimes a little too quick to go to a lady’s aid. “Wait a minute. Do they look like they’re in distress to you?”
Since the women in question were tittering behind their hands while throwing appreciative glances back at the nude bald guy, Nick had to concede that no harm was being done. Relaxing, the young man settled back onto his towel, giving the rest of the beach and its denizens, about a third of which were at least partially nude, his attention. “Still doesn’t seem right. Not at a public beach.”
The Dutchman started to chuckle as he adjusted the beach umbrella to give him some shade.
“What’s so funny?”
Derek stopped fussing with the umbrella and looked over the top of his sunglasses at the annoyed ex-SEAL. “It’s just that sometimes I forget how American you are.”
Nick looked him askance. “‘Scuse me?”
“Americans,” Derek started, offering with a gesture to adjust the umbrella so that it shaded his young lover too. When Nick waved him off, the Precept continued. “Americans, despite all their fascination for youth and beauty, have a tendency to be a bit prissy when it comes to the human body.”
“... Prissy?...”
Caught up in his lecture, Derek didn’t realized his mistake. “Americans are so self-conscious about the body. You worship young actresses and models – but from afar. You’re much more prudish about real bodies. Like a woman breast-feeding her infant in public, or heaven forbid!, someone who hasn’t used enough perfumed soap to mask their natural scent. In Europe, we are more cosmopolitan about such things and more connected to our physical beings.”
“Oh. So seeing people let it all hang out in public doesn’t bother you?”
“No. You Americans always equate nudity to sex. This,” he waved at the beach, “is entirely different.” Silence reigned for a few moments, before Derek broke it with a question. “Aren’t you going to go into the water?”
“Nah, not yet.” In fact, it had taken them so long to pry themselves out of their cottage, that it was well into the afternoon and the beach was crowded. “I’m just gonna soak up a few rays first.”
Knowing his kinetic lover the way he did, Derek doubted that Nick would be able to sit still for long. The Dutchman looked over where Nick was lounging in the sun, head thrown back as if to let the warm rays caress him. Pulling his eyes away from the sight, the older man removed his sunglasses, closed his eyes, and let the sound of the ocean lull him into a light doze.
After a few minutes, however, the Precept could feel his companion squirming around on his towel. Smiling a bit to himself, Derek deliberately kept his eyes closed lest Nick see the amusement there. He’d known that the ex-SEAL wouldn’t be able to be lazy for long. The sounds of Nick shifting his body lasted for several moments and the older man idly wondered how long it would be before Nick got comfortable.
“Hey, Derek. Pass me the suntan lotion, would ya?”
The Precept handed over tube in question, never bothering to open his eyes and break the peaceful spell. But as his nose was tickled with the lotion’s coconut scent, it occurred to his sleepy mind to wonder why Nick needed to apply more of the protective oil. After all, the sensuous diversions that applying sunblock offered was the main reason they didn’t get down to the beach earlier in the day...
“Didn’t I get enough lotion on you earlier? It couldn’t have worn off already?” Derek asked, eyes still closed in his determination to continue with his nap.
“Not everywhere...”
Derek lazily turned his head towards his lover and cracked one eye open. Nick was on his
stomach, bare back and buttocks open to the sky. Smiling at the sight, the Precept turned to back to return to his snooze before he realized what he’d seen.
Bare buttocks?
Sitting up swiftly, the Dutchman almost got a crick in his neck, so fast did he whip his head around to stare at his lover. Sure enough, when he thought Nick had been moving around to get a more comfortable position on his beach towel, the young man had actually been taking his swimming suit off. Ass bare to the world, the ex-SEAL was currently stroking his lotion-covered hands over his own cheeks, long fingers occasionally dipping into the cleft before resuming the overall circular motion.
“Nick, what are you doing?”
Lazy eyes opened to look at him innocently. “What does it look like I’m doin’? I’m puttin’ on suntan lotion.”
“But, you said.... I thought you thought that....”
Whatever the Precept was trying to say was lost completely when the ex-SEAL finished his self-administrations and flipped over on to his back. Grinning at his disconcerted lover, the young man offered up the tube. “You want to get my front?”
“Nick!”
“I decided you were right, us Americans are the biggest prudes in the world. So, hey, when in Rome....” Seeing that the older man wasn’t going to help him, Nick squeezed out a generous portion of the protective oil and started rubbing it into the skin of his cock.
“Nick!”
Nick’s grin got wider. He let his fingers linger over his sex for a moment or two before giving it a final pat and moving up to his knees, leaning in order to whisper into the taller man’s ear. “Wouldn’t want me to get a sunburn, would ya? That might interfere with our fun later...”
The ex-SEAL caught the older man’s still-sputtering lips in a quick kiss before getting up. “Gonna catch some waves for a while. Keep my towel warm for me, will ya?” Striding rapidly, the young man approached the water, turning and giving his lover a jaunty wave before submerging himself in the waves.
Still in shock from Nick’s rapid change of mind, the Precept watched him. He could see the athletic young man frolic in the water, gaining occasional glimpses of Nick’s rounded ass as the ex-SEAL body surfed. It was crowded and there were hundreds of tourists playing in the waves, but that particular butt, he’d know anywhere.
As he watched his nude lover play among the clothed, semi-clothed, and other naked swimmers, Derek shifted as his body made its pleasure in the sight known. The Dutchman was wearing a sensible set of boxer-type trunks, but there wasn’t a swimming suit in the world that would hide this reaction. The Precept heard a couple of feminine giggles and quickly scrambled to grab the book he’d brought with him, opening it and positioning it to conceal his lap. Only then did he feel brave enough to see where the sound originated.
Much to his chagrin, the two female tourists that Nick had been concerned about being flashed by the nude beach bum earlier had positioned themselves fairly close behind him. The beach was crowded enough that he couldn’t ask them to move, but it put him close enough in proximity to the two that, whether he wanted to or not, he could hear their every word. It soon became clear that they hadn’t been giggling at the erection he was sporting, but neither did their comments make him feel much better.
“So this is a clothing-optional beach.” The first one said.
“I guess so,” the second one answered. “It’s too bad, though. The people opting *not* to wear suits really should have thought about it more....”
“You got that right, honey,” her friend replied. “Why is it always the over-the-hill tubby guys that drop their suits and the young studs stay covered up?”
“Ooooh, except for *that* one.”
Warned by the heated tone the woman used, Derek jerked his eyes back to the water. Sure
enough, Nick was emerging from the ocean. His playing in the water had left his hair slicked back and the bright Caribbean sun magnified the twinkle in his eye. Seeing that his lover was watching him, the young man added a bit more swagger in his step, causing his penis to sway in the most hypnotic fashion.
The two women near him fell into awed silence and Derek didn’t blame them a bit. His lover looked like an aquatic god. Mesmerized, the Dutchman couldn’t take his eyes off Nick and, damn him, the ex-SEAL knew exactly the affect his performance was having.
The young Poseidon stopped just short of his lover and, since Derek was still seated, that meant that the Dutchman’s eyes were right at the level of Nick’s gently bobbing penis. The Precept watched as a drop of ocean water traveled along the cock’s length before dripping off its mushroom tip. Derek swallowed, suddenly seized with a urge to see if the salt of the water matched the salty essence of his lover’s natural taste.
Swallowing convulsively, Derek blindly reached for Nick’s towel and thrust it up at the smaller man. “Here, put this on.”
Nick put his hand on his hips, causing a choked exclamation from the suddenly silent female tourists behind Derek. “What’s the matter, Cosmopolitan Boy? Don’t like the view?”
Putting action to words, Derek stood and wrapped the towel around Nick before bending to get his own. Leaning in until their noses were practically touching, he growled at his mate. “The beach is clothing optional but the walk to the cottage is not.”
Laughing, Nick let Derek grab his elbow and begin to propel him off the beach. “What’s the matter, Derek? We just got here....”
Derek stopped and jerked his arm, pulling an off-balance Nick into his arms. “I am going to take you back to our rooms, lick every drop of suntan lotion off of you, and then have my wicked way with that body you’ve been parading around in front of everyone.”
Still chuckling, Nick decided that the Americans had won this round. Even so, he couldn’t resist one last quip. “So much for ‘Sex on the Beach,’” he said, delighted when his words provoked another growl and another increase in the pace of their retreat.
The last thing the two men heard as they made their rapid way off the beach was a feminine voice saying, “Well, *that’s* something we wouldn’t see at home...”
The end