William

 

By Paul Jamison

pauljamisonuk@googlemail.com

 

Chapter – 29

 

Author’s note: - If you wish, you can quite easily follow the route of this trip using Google Earth, inputting Great Hayward, Staffordshire, will give you the start point. As you zoom in you will see Great Hayward Boatyard flagged. That is the start, follow the canal west from there to the open water of Tixall Wide and follow on – have fun.

 Paul Jamison.

 

Will’s point of view

I woke up with a start when I heard a loud quacking and wondered what on earth a duck was doing in my bedroom and then I remembered that I was on the boat and some ducks were swimming around just outside the window as I looked out across the canal. The sun was out and it was bright and not rainy like the day before had been. I looked back from the window and saw Jus still fast asleep under his duvet and was thinking of something naughty when I realised I just had to go use the bathroom. I padded through the galley to the bathroom and took care of business and as I operated the loo heard Rick call out

“Put the kettle on whoever, please.”

“Yeah, okay. It’s Will,” I called back.

“Thanks, Will,” Paul called out. “We need to get up and started,” he added.

I went back through the galley and filled the kettle, lit the gas and set it on the hob before returning to our bed and giving Jus a quick poke in the ribs.

“Come on sleepyhead,” I said grinning at where his face was under the duvet as he came to.

“Urrrgh…” came from beneath the duvet, then a grinning head appeared and he looked around. “Wassatime?”

“Time you got up,” said Rick appearing from their cabin already dressed.

“Oh cripes,” we both said as we scrambled into some clothes and put our bed to rights as a table once again.

The ducks came back and gave us all the benefit if their alarm calls for a good few seconds, before giving up on us as a source of food and pushing off down the canal to try  elsewhere. A few minutes later I heard some thuds and bangs from the back of the boat and then after a few moments some more thuds followed by the engine starting up and then slowly running. Liam and Craig then appeared with really mucky hands and said

“We’ve pumped out bilges and done the tube greaser. Anyone else need greasing?” they said and with wicked grins advanced down the boat towards the galley, where Jus and I were making tea.

“Gerroff with those messy things,” Jus squeaked and headed towards the bow door and out onto the bow well deck.

Liam and Craig retreated to their cabin and came back a few moments later with clean hands and helped themselves to a mug of tea. Paul appeared and after taking a tea handed to him by Rick said

“We need to get going so as soon as you’ve gulped that down. You guys go and open the lock for us and we’ll be away from here in a few minutes. We’ve to use all the available daylight at this time of year. So we adjust our days to early starts and early finishes. I’ll get some bacon and sausages on and we’ll have that in bread rolls while we cruise, okay?” he explained.

We quickly finished our tea and then me, Jus, Liam and Craig went out through the stern hatch, grabbing a windlass as we did, and headed up along the towpath to the lockside. The lock was full, so we opened the paddles to let the water out.

In the meantime, while we were waiting for the lock to empty, Rick got off the boat and knocked out the mooring posts and put them back onboard with the mooring ropes. Then he gently pushed the bow out from the bank and hopped back on at the stern as Paul pulled away and slowly headed for the lock. We’d just got the gates open as the boat arrived and before long we were into the swing of it again.

As soon as we were through that lock we got back onboard and had an ‘on the move’ breakfast of bacon and sausages in rolls with red or brown sauce and more tea. I just felt it was a bit cold to drink Coke at half past eight in the morning! We did ten locks that morning and travelled about five miles in all. Then we pulled in at a boatyard at Gailey, right by a lock, to fill our water tanks and to use the rubbish facility. It took twenty minutes to re-fill our tanks and I enjoyed the break. I bought some postcards in the boatyard shop, an old watchtower, to send to a couple of friends and one or two to show my dad when I next saw him. I sat down in the cabin while we were filling water tanks to write one to the twins, one to my Dad on his ship and one to Granddad too as it was ages since I’d seen him. I was really hoping that he was getting better from the car crash in the summer. I’d done some address labels on my new computer, so stuck them on and put the cards in the paper bag so they did not get mucky and hoped we could get them posted sometime that day or the next.

* * *   * * *

Rick’s viewpoint

We’d made good progress as I just knew we would because Paul, true to form had us up early and on our way to make best use of the light. I was enjoying the break to take on water at Gailey and had bought some postcards in the quaint round tower shop that had formerly been the toll-keeper’s watchtower from the days of working boats when a canny boatman would always try and slip into a section without paying the tolls. I was writing them to our friends, in particular to James and Adrian for letting us have the narrowboat for the week gratis from their ownership allowance. I’d just finished when Liam and Craig jumped back on board and I heard the clattering of the hose being put away into the bow locker and the mooring ropes being loosed ready for departure again. A few seconds later the engine burst into life and we were off again down towards the junction with the Shropshire Union canal at Autherley, almost eight miles, but no more locks. I’d reckoned we’d be there for a late lunch, but if I knew Paul he’d want to press on and have an ‘on the move’ lunch as well as breakfast, so as ‘not to waste the daylight’, as he’d no doubt tell us.

I went through to the stern to find Paul supervising Craig at the tiller and with very little help he’d got the hang of it and was making good progress along the canal. I sat on the locker seats and watched the world go by at that ever so pleasant pace of three or so miles an hour. About half an hour later we passed the boatyard at the old Hatherton Junction that used to have a small branch of the canal going off to the Birmingham canal system, now derelict after the first lock. We didn’t stop and made steady progress for another hour past a lovely canalside pub at Cross Green where I remembered having stopped overnight on a previous trip on this circuit route. Liam, who’d been studying the route guide, turned round and said

“We go under the motorway soon.”

“Which one?” Craig asked.

“Um… the M54 according to the route map,” he replied. “We go under it again when we go back up the next canal we go on.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Paul added. “The next junction’s where we make a very sharp right turn under a bridge and up to a lock. It’s the ‘bottom’ of our circuit. We travel back up from there from the outskirts of Wolverhampton and then into open country again.”

“What’s the next canal called?” Craig asked from his steering position.

“It’s known as ‘The Shropshire Union main line’, and goes all the way up through Chester and ends at Ellesmere Port,” Paul explained.

“How far is that?”

“Oh, about fifty miles and a lot of locks,” I said laughing. “It’s too far for us in a week. You’d need two weeks to do a big trip like that and more daylight hours so you’d be able to get a ten or eleven hour cruising day as well,” I explained.

“Oh, I see,” Craig said.

“Crikey,” Liam exclaimed looking up from the route guide. “There’re fifteen locks all close together at a place called Audlem.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Paul grinned, rather wickedly I thought, at them. “Yesterday, today and tomorrow are the easy getting you used to it days. Tuesday morning the real fun starts, okay!”

The boys were quiet for a few minutes, just watching the scenery pass them by, and we approached and passed under the motorway bridge, the traffic streaming by overhead, which strangely seemed to be part of a world we were no longer engaged in at that time.

About twenty minutes later, after passing through a very deep and narrow cutting that had just a couple of passing points for boats to wait or pass each other as the canal was too narrow in that stretch. It was quite a sight too. We reached Autherley, the junction with the Shropshire Union Canal. Paul took the tiller to do the tight turn that required some reversing to get the bow pointing through the bridge arch. We then continued up to a lock. Justin and Will came through and grabbed a windlass each and I said

“Take them, but you may not need them. this is an odd lock with only a six inch rise. It’s called a stop lock and was there to prevent working boats in the old days slipping through without being stopped to pay their tolls for use of the waterway.”

“Oh, okay, it’ll be easy then?” Will asked.

“Always has been before when I’ve come through,” Paul replied. “As soon as we are through here, I’ll get us some lunch organised, okay?” he added.

We worked through the lock that proved to be simple. It took just a few moments for the levels to equalise and the boat to pass through. Once going again Liam had a turn on the tiller and Paul went below to organise some lunch.

 

*   *   *

 

Paul’s viewpoint

I went down through the stern hatch and into the galley looking for Will and Jus, but couldn’t see them until I heard a loud giggle coming from the bow seats. I opened the cabin door and found the pair of them sat out in their warm fleeces just watching the scenery as we passed by, chattering away to each other.

“Ready for some food?” I asked.

“Yeah,” they both replied. “What is there?” Justin asked.

“Are warmed up Cornish pasties and a mug of soup all right?” I asked.

“Yeah, great. Do you want us to do anything?” Justin asked.

“No, enjoy the rest. It gets exciting after tomorrow. You can both learn to steer this afternoon, okay?”

“Oh, great, Jus replied. Who’s steering now then?” he asked.

“Liam or Craig’ve been steering most of the morning,” I told them as I went back into he cabin and got the pasties into the oven to warm through. I pulled a couple of large tins of soup off the store shelf and opened them into a saucepan and had just set that on the hob to warm when I heard a loud

“Lookout!”

Shouted from the bow followed by a scraping noise along the bottom of the boat and then we stopped. We were aground! I took the soup off the cooker and placed the pan in the sink with a lid on it for safety and went aft to see how well we were aground.

“Well done. Who was steering?” I laughed, as I came up onto the stern deck.

“Me,” Liam replied sheepishly. “Why’s that happened?” he asked as there was seemingly plenty of water all round the boat.

“You navigated too close to the outside of the bend and it’s never full depth there. The trick is to keep to the inside of bends and this usually doesn’t happen then,” I laughed. It’s not a problem. We always go aground a couple of times on most trips. Now put the engine in reverse and gently increase the throttle,” I instructed.

There was a churning of mud from behind the boat, but no movement at all. So I said

“Okay, plan B. We push her off. Bring the engine to tick over.”

I asked Rick to take the tiller and making my way along the narrow side deck reached for the long push pole that was provided as essential boat equipment and standing in the stern got everyone there to push on the pole to make sure that the stern and therefore the propeller, was in the centre of the canal. Then we moved forward to the bow and pushed as hard as we could to ease the boat off the mud. I was fairly sure that as the stern was free in the channel it wouldn’t take too much effort to get us off the mud. We pushed and pushed and aided with occasional bursts from the engine gradually the bow slid back off the mud and into the channel. Rick reversed a little more into the channel and then brought the boat back onto the course around the bend in the canal, this time keeping to the inside of that bend. Liam took over the tiller once more and I went back to the galley to get the lunch under way again.

Jus and Will came into the cabin to wash their hands all muddy from putting the barge pole back on the roof where it belonged and said

“That was fun. Does that happen a lot?”

“Can do,” I replied. “It depends a lot on the time of year, how much rain we’ve had, condition of the canal banks and all that sort of thing, but wide bends are especially dodgy. It’s always shallower on the outsides of them and the canal is often deceptively wide at those points, but not necessarily deep all the way to the banks,” I explained.

“Oh, right. Is the food ready?” Will asked.

“Nearly,” I replied. “Just waiting for the soup to heat through now. Would you put half a dozen plates and mugs out on the table, some knives, the sauces and condiments?” I added.

“Yeah, sure,” the boys replied and did as asked.

A few moments later Craig and Liam came through and said

“Rick says can you take his up to him at the tiller. He’ll carry on going while we eat.”

I ladled out the soup and got the tray of pasties from the oven and served them onto the plates. Then taking two of each for Rick and myself I made my way to the stern deck to give Rick his lunch and enjoy mine as well. Rick and I took turns on the tiller and at eating and so managed our lunch just fine. We were making excellent progress and would, I thought, easily make the pub stop I had planned for that evening.

I went into our cabin and fished out my mobile. I’d not touched it since we’d set off, a sign that we were indeed in a different world for a while. As we approached the village of Brewood I checked for a signal and made a call to the pub and booked for the six of us for that evening. I thought with a party that size they would appreciate some notice that we were coming and wanted meals. We’d about another five miles to go and more than three hours of daylight left. So leaving Will and Jus having turns on the tiller with Rick, I went back down to the cabin and suggested to Liam and Craig that they might like to begin sorting showers out as we’d be going out for a meal after we had tied up in a couple of hours and having showers while moored outside the pub might not be too much fun. They laughed, took the hint and started taking showers and getting dressed for going out for a meal.

We reached our stopping point just short of bridge 20 after going through the seven foot drop Wheaton Aston Lock and to save time the next morning we took on water again as most of us had had showers by then. Daylight had all but faded and we relaxed in the cabin before going to the pub for dinner.

“So, what did anyone notice about that last lock?” I asked when we were all sat in the cabin. There was a pause and then Liam said

“We’re going downhill now?” he asked.

“Yes, we go downhill for a while now then back up again after Middlewich all the way up ‘Heartbreak Hill’ as it’s commonly known! But more about that when we get to Middlewich on Tuesday night, okay?” I laughed.

“Heartbreak Hill!” Jus said looking worried. “What’s that?”

“Not to worry. All will be revealed on Wednesday,” I said.

Will, who’d been studying the big chart I’d just marked our position and stopping time on, looked up and said

“It’s a thirteen mile stretch with thirty one locks!” He looked up from the map and with a distinctly worried look said “Do we do all that in one day?”

“Yes. By then you’ll have the teamwork all sorted out and we’ll do the lot in nine hours, okay?” I grinned back at them all.

We chatted for a little longer until Rick, the last to get a shower was ready and we locked up the boat and walked down the towpath to the pub. Everyone was very hungry. The fresh air and the exercise had done its work and appetites were high. We all chose a roast dinner main course followed by a dessert. The service was pleasant and the food good. It was all in all a very relaxing and enjoyable evening. We stayed in the pub after our meal enjoying another drink and the traditional log fire in the lounge and as we lazed Will’s phone bleeped a message signal. He checked it and said

“It’s the twins. They wanna know if we’ve sunk yet? Cheeky sods! Oh and they’re bored rotten as everyone seems to be away and stuff,” he finished.

I thought for a moment, then quickly studied the cruising guide I’d brought to the pub with us, then said

“Ummm, if, and it’s a big if, their parents give permission and they can get themselves to the King’s Lock Pub, in Middlewich by seven pm on the Tuesday, bring sleeping bags with them, they could join us for the ‘Heartbreak Hill’ stretch and be collected on the Thursday night again at The Packhorse Inn at Longport. I’ll give detailed instructions for finding us if needs be,” I suggested and waited for a reaction. “But,” I added. “It’s got to be okay with all of you to have extra guests on board and they’ll have to sleep on the forward cabin floor, okay?”

Will and Jus looked at Liam and Craig for a moment then Will said

“If their parents say its okay, um… are you all right with them coming for those two days?” he asked hopefully.

Liam looked at Craig, who nodded back at him, then with a mischievous smile came out with

“Oh, no, not the terrible twins! Now, if it’d been Dazzer, I’d have said yes at once.” He collapsed into laughter as he watched Will and Jus’s expression change from disappointment to disbelief and then to a distinct look of ‘having been had’, as the penny dropped!  “Yeah,” he continued, “the twins are fine. If they can come that’s okay with us,” he finished.

“Right,” I said. “You’d better text them back and ask their parents to call me now, while we’ve got a signal here, okay?”

Will set about doing that, while we got another drink from the bar and enjoyed the relaxing evening in front of that log fire. A few minutes later Will got another message back and after checking it, looked up and said

“The twins can probably come, but their parents want to talk to you about the arrangements and stuff,” he said.

“I rather expected that. Did you send them my number?” I asked him.

“Oh, no not yet,” he admitted.

“Do that right now and we’ll wait here till we get their call,” I suggested.

A few minutes passed and I got a call and moved to the entrance porch so as not to disturb the others. It was the twins’ mother, who was quite happy for them to join us. So I gave some detailed directions, explaining how easy it was from the motorway and promised more when we met them for the pickup point. Once concluded, I returned to my fireside chair and my drink. Will and Jus were animated about the twins coming and Liam and Craig listened amused by the younger boys’ excitement and added a thought or two from time to time to the general chat.

At about nine thirty we made our way back to our boat and gathered in the cabin round the table and on the easy chairs. I then explained how we’d work through a group of locks that were close together. With a crew of six it’s possible to send two crew members on to the next lock ahead and get it ready. Then, when we leave the one we’re in, we can go right into the next one, bringing down the working time a flight of locks takes to navigate considerably and is pretty efficient team working also. I suggested that Craig and Liam might like to start at the next flight of locks that we’d soon get to the next day and see how it went. They all agreed and after a bit more chat we all headed for bed as it would be another earlyish start in the morning.


*   *   *   *   *   *  

Liam’s viewpoint

I was just getting used to my new found freedom of living at Rick and Paul’s house when they reminded me of the half term break canal holiday they’d planned, which before I moved I’d thought would be very hard to get my mother to agree to, but now they’d simply just included me and suggested I brought a friend. Life had changed so much. There were no more rows or arguments, but my mother had created quite a fuss and involved the authorities. They’d come down on my side and I was just so happy to be where I was now. I was still having trouble believing it all had happened.

Shortly after I moved in, I met a new boy at school and Craig Sutherland and I soon became friends. A little after that I plucked up courage to ask him over to a meal and that had gone so very well that we became rather more than friends that night. We became boyfriends. We agreed to go at it slowly, despite the best efforts of Will and his sidekick Justin to get us hitched up, and get to know each other properly over the next few months, to see how things went. I was only too happy with that. I learnt my lesson over the odd tease or two that I’d given Will and Jus, as they got me back good on that first day on the boat with a very low torpedo of a comment that went right home… did it just. But it was also very funny too. Now I was on holiday with five other gay people, one of whom was my own boyfriend, and I loved every minute. It was all so totally amazing compared to anything I’d known before.

The first night on the boat when we all went to bed, Craig and I got undressed and just slipped into our beds, said goodnight and were asleep in seconds. I don’t remember a thing till I heard ducks quacking early the next morning. I came to and saw Craig sitting up in his bed reading a book. I grinned a hello and said

“It’s light now. I ’spose we’d better get up and do that pump out and greaser thing the boatyard guy showed us?”

Craig gave me a lovely smile and said

“Oh, you mean give the stern tube a good greasing?” and giggled.

He gave me such a seductive smile after he’d said that and I’m sure he wiggled his eyelashes at me that suddenly I dared not get out of bed as a certain something had just sprung to life and was fighting my boxer briefs.

I muttered about getting dressed when Craig slipped out of bed and wow he was excited too so I thought ‘what the hell’ and did the same. He snaked his arms around me and we had a lovely kiss. I ground my groin into his and kissed him deeply while letting my hands run down his back and over his curvy bottom.

We were both brought suddenly out of it with the ducks quacking loudly again. Then I heard someone use the forward loo and Rick calling out for the kettle to be put on. We broke away and I gave Craig a look full of promise and said quietly

“Um… we’d better stop. It’s a bit crowded here just now. We’ll find some time and space later, okay? Let’s get some clothes on and do those jobs?”

Craig reluctantly let me go and we both hurriedly dressed and went up onto the stern deck and pulled up the engine cover. I turned down the greaser handle and Craig pushed the switch for the pump. For about a minute water flowed out of the outlet into the canal and then stopped. I helped Craig get the deck cover back over the engine and we turned the key to start up to re-charge the batteries we’d used overnight. It burst into life and I set it to run as I’d been shown.

We looked about us and it was a lovely bright, but chilly morning. I’d greasy hands and so had Craig. We both looked at each other and with a grin made our way back through the boat to the forward cabin where there was tea being made. Will and Jus scuttled off out of reach of our oily mitts. So we cleaned up. It wasn’t long before we were off and doing more locks and having an amazing time too, just being with people I knew I belonged with. There followed a superb day of canal cruising, working the locks and I learnt to steer and went well aground too! We ended the day in a lovely canalside pub where we had a great roast dinner before lounging in front of the log fire. Craig and I were on an old two seater sofa and he snuggled into me as much as he could without causing attention and it was such a nice feeling to be there like that.

 
* * *    * * *

Paul’s viewpoint

The following morning was bright again and we were all up and about just after eight. I really hoped to cover some distance that day and also have some time out in Market Drayton where we could post our cards to friends and replenish our supplies. We got going again at eight fifteen and the boys set about preparing a breakfast of boiled eggs and toast with tea for us all. Rick was at the tiller and there were no locks on this section until we got into the afternoon. There were about four and a half miles to go to Cowley, where the first of two tunnels on our route would be navigated. This one, the shorter of the two by far, was just over eighty yards in length, which we reached in just over an hour’s cruising. The tunnel used to be very much longer, but due to many rock faults had had to be opened up during construction in the eighteen thirties so was now approached from the south along a steep sided rock cutting to the remaining eighty plus yards of the tunnel. We then continued onwards towards Norbury Junction, a former branch off to Newport, now long gone except for the name and the first few yards now used as a dock. We were going to take on water and dispose of rubbish.

I took the opportunity of a nice slow morning to sit out in the stern seats as Rick steered and got stuck into my book as the countryside went by. After a while Will appeared from the cabin to ask if anyone wanted a drink, to which Rick and I said yes. So he disappeared again returning a few minutes later with Justin and four mugs of coffee. We all sat and watched as Will and then Justin enjoyed having a go at steering and this time we had no groundings on the bends. Both boys were certainly getting the hang of it, but were understandably nervous on their first attempts at going through the narrow bridge holes and both managed to bump gently the first time. I asked them where Craig and Liam were

“Oh they’re both sat up in the bow chatting,” Will replied.

“They’re getting to know each other,” Justin added with a smile.

I smiled back and said nothing and we continued along the cut enjoying the bright, sunny, but not too warm a day. We passed through the junction stopping just long enough for water tank filling and rubbish disposal and I purchased one more lock windlass before moving off for Market Drayton, a distance of around eleven miles with a flight of five locks close together beginning just after bridge 59.

“What’s the extra windlass for?” Will asked me as we got going again after our brief stop.

“We’ll then have six between us and the twins won’t be left out of the fun on Heartbreak Hill,” I replied.

“Oh, good plan,” Will said approvingly. “Can’t have them lazing about, can we?” he added grinning widely.

“No way! They can work for their dinner!” Justin added grinning too.

“So, how about hot dogs with onions and stuff for lunch?” I asked them both.

“Yeah, great,” they both replied.

Rick took over steering and assisted from time to time by both Justin and Will we headed on as I went down to the galley to prepare our lunch. Once I had sorted out the food I went forward to see how Liam and Craig were getting along and found them chatting and laughing away together in the bow deck seats, watching the scene go by.

“Ready for some lunch soon?” I asked them.

“Yeah, cool,” they both replied.

“Anything need doing?” Liam asked me.

“No, it’s all taken care of. We’ve some more locks to do soon after lunch and a few more at the end of this afternoon,” I told them as I went back to the galley.

“How many?” Craig called after me.

“Ten altogether, five at Tyrley and five at Adderley,” I replied. “But we’re taking a break at Market Drayton to do shopping and have a wander around,” I added.

They both smiled back and carried on with their chatting. We had lunch a few minutes later and not long after that arrived at the Tyrley flight of locks. Rick got off with the boys and they very quickly got themselves sorted out with Liam and Craig in a pair working ahead at the following lock and Will Rick and Justin working the lock the boat was at. We did the five locks in fifty five minutes all told, a good result. We carried on the last mile to Market Drayton and moored up by bridge 62 and went off to do our shopping, post the cards to friends we had written and have a little break from the sturdy work we’d just done on that last flight of locks. The boys had really got it down to a fine act of teamwork of closing the gates behind the boat as it enters and raising the paddles at the exit end of the lock as soon as the entry gates are closed with little delay.

“Should I post the card I’ve done to the twins, seeing they’re coming with us from tomorrow night?” Will asked as we found the pillar box outside the town post office.

“Yes, they may well get it tomorrow morning before they set off to meet us at Middlewich,” I replied. “It should get to them with a first class mail stamp,” I added, hopefully.

We returned to the boat with all our shopping and got quickly under way again. I was keen to get through the locks at Adderley before tying up for the night. We only just managed to achieve this as it was distinctly dusk as we left the final lock and moored up at bridge 73 for the night.

We set about getting ready for the dinner I’d got started on by putting the large steak pie in the oven that I’d made before we set off, which together with six large baked potatoes and vegetables we enjoyed enormously after our efforts during the day. I opened a bottle of wine which Rick and I with Craig and Liam enjoyed with the food, while Jus and Will preferred to stick to their favourite Cokes.

After dinner we got the wood burning stove going that was in the cabin corner and we had a cosy evening reading, chatting and planning the following days cruising. Will and Jus were keen, as their friends would be joining us at the next stopping place for a couple of nights, to know exactly where we’d be stopping. At ten thirty we all turned to our beds so as to be fresh for another early start the following morning.

* * *   * * *

Will’s viewpoint

The others had gone to their cabins and we’d sorted our bed out from the dining table, made it up and got down to our boxers to slip under the duvet when Jus snuggled right up to me and rubbed his hands over me from behind. I giggled and said

“Mmmmm nice… But dare we have fun? What if we disturb the others?” I asked Jus quietly between my giggles.

“Let’s sit up a bit and then check to see if everyone’s asleep in a few minutes, okay?” Jus murmured back to me.

“Okay,” I whispered and sat up on the bed with my back against the padded back that was the seat during the daytime. Jus slid up to join me and we cuddled and kissed quietly for a few minutes. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of snoring from the stern cabins. I giggled at Jus and said

“Well, they’re either all fast asleep or they’ve all woken up, but I think that’ll cover what we do?” and snuggled down on top of Jus and gave him a long kiss. Then as all seemed quiet, I followed down from his nipples with my tongue and then eased down his boxers to reveal a rock hard cock that I slowly teased the end of with my tongue until Jus was wriggling and trying so hard not to make his usual throaty noises. I giggled a little to myself and then slowly took Jus’s cock into my mouth and gave him a slow and gentle suck. Jus moved under me and before hardly a minute had passed he gripped the duvet we were lying on and shook as he came three times into my mouth. I swallowed quickly and reached out for some tissues to clean up with. Jus relaxed and looked right up at me and in the low light of the little bulkhead reading lamp. I could make out his smile. So I leant down to kiss him again.

“Change places,” he whispered to me as we broke apart.

I slid down onto the bed and he knelt alongside and soon had my boxers off. He took my cock in his fingers and gently teased me till I too wriggled as he’d done just a moment or two before. Then, he used his tongue so tantalisingly up and down my cock that I had hold on to the duvet tightly to stop myself moaning out loud. I just managed to keep it to a low moan. He then went right to work and just as quickly as he had done, I very soon felt my balls tighten and holding tight to the duvet on each side of me I came in his mouth. It was quite an explosion as we’d not had time for any fun since our sleepover the previous weekend. I relaxed and grinned at Jus as he cleaned up. We tiptoed to the waste bin in the galley and got rid of the used tissues and then listening carefully at the partition cabin door could only hear the steady breathing of sleep. We smirked at each other and padded quietly back to our bed, snuggled down for the night and within a very short time we’d drifted away into sleep.

 

* * *   * * *