Chapter 45

The next morning was crazy around the house. My brother and Frank hadn't packed and were scrambling to stuff the things they wanted to take into duffel bags. I finished in the bathroom, sharing it with the two boys as they came in and out like I wasn't there. I laughed as I showered, thinking about how things would be on the boat.

After putting the last of my toiletries in my bag, I took it out to the kitchen to be loaded in the van. Eddie and Frank were finally ready and took the things out to the van. Mom gave us two shopping bags of food and told us there were things for breakfast in the bags. Aunt Sally and Dad sat at the table and drank coffee as we flitted around the house.

Mom gave me a slip of paper with the name and telephone number of the hotel where they were staying. She said they would be there tomorrow afternoon and would call us on the boat when they arrived. I put the paper in my purse and promised to call home when we got into the marina.

After repeated goodbyes, we left to pick up Brad, Kathy, Cindy and Kevin. Erin's dad was taking her to the boat and we were supposed to meet them there in less than twenty minutes.

It took us ten minutes to say goodbye to Cindy's mom and to Brad and Kathy's parents. We headed to Kevin's house and found him waiting on the front porch. His mom came out, and said hi to all of us, wished us luck and we were on our way to the marina.

Erin and her dad were waiting in the parking lot when we arrived. The moment we parked, Erin was out of the car and over to the van. She had a suitcase she was pulling on its wheels and a beach bag over her shoulder. Erin's dad helped us carry the things to the boat and waited for us to get it warmed up and ready to go before starting to tell Erin goodbye.

At six thirty, we pulled away from the slip and headed out to the ICW. Erin's dad stood on the pier and waved as we motored out of the marina.

"How is our fuel supply?" Eddie asked me as I made the turn out of the marina into the channel.

"We have about six hundred gallons. That will be plenty for now, we can top off in Miami," I said.

"Are you going to take the ICW or run in the ocean?" Kathy asked as she sat down next to me.

"I think we'll go down the river a ways and then head out if we get tired of dealing with the bridges. I want to give Erin a chance to drive for a while," I replied.

"You're going to let me drive the boat?" Erin said. "That'll be so cool!"

Once we were in the ICW, I told Erin to take the helmsmen's seat and began teaching her how to drive the boat. She started out over steering, but soon was heading straight down the channel. The sun was up and just breaking over the tops of the houses and buildings along the east side of the waterway.

We came up to a scheduled bridge and I told Erin how to hold the boat in place while we waited for the drawbridge to open and let us pass. I explained to her about the difference between the bridges that only opened on a scheduled time and the ones that the bridge master would open when you signaled.

"There is so much to learn, Jenny. How do you keep all of this straight?" Erin asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don't know, I just do. After you do it enough times, you remember."

We went south for an hour and decided to head out to open water at the next cut. I explained the rules of the road and about right-of-way to Erin as we approached the turn. There were several other boats headed up when we arrived and I told Erin to wait until they passed before making her turn.

Once we hit the ocean, I told Erin to speed up and she cautiously pushed the throttles forward. When we were out far enough, I set the chart plotter and told Erin how to read and follow it. I let her drive for another hour before I showed her how to set the autopilot.

"That's so much fun, Jenny. Thanks for letting me drive," Erin said.

"It's important that everyone knows how to operate the boat, Erin. If there was an accident or something, you might have to get us back in. You're doing really well for the first time. After you get a little more comfortable, I'll teach you how to take her into a slip," I said.

"Is anyone hungry?" Cindy asked. "The guys fixed breakfast."

"Why don't you and Kathy go eat and Erin and I will come down after you're finished. You two can take the helm while we eat," I said.

"Okay, Kathy and I will be right up," Cindy said.

Cindy left and Erin and I relaxed for a while. The seas were very calm and we were making good headway. I felt a little guilty about what I did with my cousin, but I was hesitant to tell Erin. I was also a little worried about Brad, but I figured he would understand.

"How are you feeling about yesterday, Erin?"

"Fine, in fact, I feel really good about what I did. It was really liberating for me."

"Did your dad say anything about you going topless?"

"We talked at Cindy's house. Cindy's mom told Dad about how she was real mad at Cindy at first, but after while she realized it wasn't a big deal. When Mrs. Hogan told Dad that she didn't see any harm in it, he said he understood."

"Cool, what else did you guys talk about?"

Erin giggled and said, "Cindy and I talked about sex. She told me that she didn't like giving Kevin blowjobs and how she got sick the time she did."

"I know, she told me about that too. I guess it's not for everyone, but I like it."

"I'm going to form my own option. I'm tired of other people telling me what to like and dislike. I talked to Dad after we left Cindy's house and told him I would probably be sharing a bed with Frank on this trip."

"Really! What did he say?"

"After an hour long lecture about safe sex, he told me I was old enough to make my own choices and my own mistakes. He also told me that I had to accept the consequences of my decisions, good or bad."

"I guess we all do, Erin. Mom says it's part of growing up."

Erin giggled and said, "Yeah, I guess it is. You know, I wish I'd have met you when I was twelve; I never would have done what I did with the asshole."

"What you did wasn't that bad. It was when he wanted to control you that things went wrong, right?"

Erin stared across the water as she thought about what I said. "I guess you're right, Jenny. It wasn't that bad at first, it was kind of fun. When he started to treat me like he owned me, I wanted it to stop, but he didn't. Part of it is the fact he was like my brother. Well, sort of. Wouldn't you feel guilty about fooling around with your brother?"

Without thinking, I said, "No."

"Really? You wouldn't feel bad about having sex with Eddie?"

Erin looked at me and then said, "Oh my God, you and Eddie?" I nodded. "Jenny, are you telling me you and your brother have been having sex?"

"Erin, you have to keep this between us, you know, the people on the boat. If anyone found out, my family could be in big trouble. Eddie and I learned about sex together and I have no regrets that we did. Erin, I'm in love with Brad and Eddie and I don't fool around anymore, not really."

"I won't tell anyone, Jenny. I hope you won't tell anyone about what I did either. If you and your brother want to fool around, it's up to you guys, not me or anyone else."

Everyone came up to the bridge and found seats. Eddie told Erin and I to go eat before the food got cold and he took over at the helm. Erin and I went below and ate the French toast and bacon that was left on the table for us. When we finished, we cleared the table and started doing the dishes.

"Can I ask you something else?" Erin said.

"Anything."

"Have you ever thought about messing around with a girl?"

I started to giggle and then laugh. Erin looked at me and shook her head. "Yes, I've thought about it. I've done it. I've also had group sex, with Kathy, Brad and Eddie."

Erin leaned back against the counter, her mouth hanging open. She shook her head in disbelief as my words sank in. "Why?"

"Why did I have sex with a girl or why did I have sex with Kathy, Brad and Eddie?"

"Well, um-both-I guess."

I couldn't help laughing even though Erin was being dead serious. "I fooled around with Cindy to see what it was like, you know, we kissed and touched. I really like boys better, much better, but girls are nice too. As far as the group thing; it just happened and we all had fun."

"I could never do anything like that, Jenny."

"Anything like what?"

"Either, you know, fool around with a girl or have group sex. It would make me feel..."

"Erin, I don't know everything about sex, but there is one thing I've learned, the word never doesn't apply. If you make up your mind in advance, you may miss out on a lot of things and not just sex."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about the last few days. Did you think you would ever sit around topless in front of your dad?"

Erin shook her head. "No, not in a million years."

"Are you sorry you did?"

"Not now. I was really embarrassed at first, but after a while, I didn't really realize I was topless. Just like you guys said. What's your point?"

"My point is, you did something you probably said you'd NEVER do."

"True, but that's different."

I giggled again. "What's different? You did something you said you'd never do. Why don't you try thinking about things in a different way? Why not change from saying you'll never do something to you'll never do that again."

Erin scrunched her face.

"What I'm saying is don't judge something unless you've tried it. I'm not telling you to go out and have sex with a girl or get involved in a group, just don't count it out. What the hell, you may find out you really like doing things some people think are wrong. Don't let anyone do your thinking for you."

"Your mom tells you all this stuff, doesn't she?"

"Mom tells me a lot, but not everything. Some things I just figure out on my own. Like what I like and dislike regarding sex."

"What don't you like when it comes to sex, Jenny?"

"I really don't know; I haven't found anything yet that I don't like."

Erin laughed and we finished cleaning up in the kitchen. When we went back up to the bridge, the rest of our group was sitting around and enjoying the ride. Erin went to Frank and plopped on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. She kissed Frank on the cheek and giggled.

"Did you miss me?" Erin said, her voice bubbly.

"Yes, what have you two been doing?" Frank asked.

"We were just cleaning up your mess and talking, is that okay with you?" Erin said and then she laughed. "You boys can really make a mess of a kitchen."

"Was the food good?" Brad said.

"It was delicious," Erin said. "I'm not complaining about the kitchen, just making a comment."

Kathy, Cindy and I all laughed at Erin.

"We better not complain or we'll be doing all the cooking," Cindy said.

Eddie turned in his seat and said, "I want to head out and see if we can find some fish today. I figure we can get in a couple of hours and then go to the marina."

"How far are we from Miami?" Brad asked.

"About an hour," Eddie said after looking at the chart plotter. "We should start heading out to deeper water now. Why don't you guys start rigging?"

"Sounds good to me," Kevin said. "Let's go, I want to fish!"

While Eddie turned the boat east, the rest of us went down and began getting the rods out and rigging them for marlin. Brad and Kathy showed Erin and Frank how to tie the knots we used and attach the lures and teasers. The upcoming tournament required the use of artificial baits and we wanted to see what would raise the fish.

Once the rods were prepared and in their holders, we went back up to the bridge to sit with my brother.

It took an hour to get to the area Eddie wanted to try fishing first, an area we'd had some success in before. The last time we fished there, we marked the location in the chart plotter, making it easy to return.

"Okay girls," Eddie said. "You guys take the cockpit and get set up, we'll take the next shift."

Erin, Kathy, Cindy and I went down to the cockpit and waited for Eddie to slow to trolling speed. Once he had the boat on track, he yelled down to us and told us to start fishing.

With all four of us working, it only took a few minutes to set the lines. I pulled out four deck chairs, set them up and we all sat down to watch the rods. It was almost noon before we heard Brad yell down and tell us there was a fish following the starboard teaser. I got up, grabbed a rod and gave it to Erin and told her to send the lure back to the fish.

I stood next to Erin and gave her tips on how to control the speed of the reel with her thumb and to be ready to lock the spool when the fish took the lure.

"The fish is following the bait," Brad said. "Set it, Erin!"

Erin locked the reel and began to wind in the slack line. When the line became taught, she pulled back on the rod just like I'd told her to. The reel screamed against the drag as the fish made its first run.

"Oh my God, oh my God," Erin yelled as the fish continued to run. "I'm going to run out of line, Jenny. What should I do?"

"Just hang on and keep trying to reel in the line. Eddie will start to chase the fish once the other lines are cleared," I said, trying to reassure her. I put the harness around her middle, fastened in and smacked her bottom. "Go get it!"

"We're clear," Kathy yelled to Eddie as she finished bringing in the last teaser.

Eddie turned and Erin was able to gain some line on the fish. For the next half an hour, we chased the fish, trying to get it close enough to tag. Erin was finally able to tire the fish and bring along side the boat. Cindy tagged it and Kathy cut it free.

"That was about a six hundred pound marlin," Eddie called down. "Nice job, Erin."

"Thanks, Eddie, that was a blast!" Erin said. "That was a real big fish."

I giggled and said, "Yes, it was a big fish."

We switched with the guys. They went down to the cockpit and reset the teasers while Kathy took the helm and started to troll along the same track we ran before.

"How did Eddie know there would be fish here?" Erin asked.

"Well, we caught fish here before and there is a shelf that runs north and south," Cindy said. She told Erin to stand behind Kathy and look at the fish finder. "See how the line slopes up over here?" Cindy pointed at the screen.

"Yeah, I can see it. Is that the shelf?" Erin asked.

"Yup, I guess the smaller fish, bait fish, run along the drop off and the big fish come to eat them." Cindy giggled.

We spent a few hours running back and forth along the ten-mile track and caught two more fish. I told Eddie we should go in closer to the shore and see if we could find some sails, in case we can't find marlin during the tournament. Eddie agreed and I took the helm.