The Rip

by Mark Peters

Chapter 10

About twenty minutes after leaving the caravan park and after pulling up at one of the small corner stores on the edge of town to pick up some eats for the day, we pulled into Diggers Cove.

It was a quiet little place out on the south side of town and was one of the few designated nudist beaches that we had in the area. It was also the one beach in the area that most of the gay population tended to visit.

Weekends were when it was usually busiest, when it was mainly frequented by people from Macquarie Harbour, as it was actually closer to that city than it was to Thompsonville. On weekdays, though, it was usually fairly quiet and today was no exception, with only one other car being visible when we pulled into the parking lot.

As we had driven into the place I made sure that I had looked across at Justin when we had passed the sign at the entrance, to see what his reaction would be when he found out it was a nudist beach.

'Bloody hell! I haven't ever been on one of these before,' he had said. 'And how often do you come here then?'

'This is the first time in ages,' I replied, truthfully. 'I figured that today was as good a day as any to give it another go.'

'Works for me,' he remarked with a sly grin, as I pulled the old truck to a stop in the shade of a clump of Silky Oaks.

We sat there for a few minutes looking at the pristine beach, which stretched before us between two headlands, simply watching the waves roll in and trying to see if we could spot the occupants of the other vehicle. There was no sign of them anywhere though.

'Maybe they're off in the bushes somewhere having a quickie?' I said.

'Well, it's a nice enough spot for it,' Justin remarked, while sliding over on the seat to be closer to me and placing his hand on my bare leg.

It was amazing to me how quickly we were settling into this newfound familiarity with each other. It was like we had been together for years and had always been like this.

Placing my hand over his I gave him a gentle squeeze, then brought it up to my lips and kissed it.

'How about we find out all about how nice a spot it is later on?' I said to him. 'Right now, all I want to see is you naked and in the water.'

'Is that all?'

'Well, for now anyway,' I replied, kissing him again before then opening the door of the truck. 'Like I said, the rest can wait till later!'

'I'm gonna hold you to that,' he said to me, as he followed me out the driver's side door.

We were standing between the truck and the grove of trees and so we just stood there for a few seconds, looking around to see if we could see anyone else, but the place still seemed deserted. There was nobody around the lone car at the other end of the car park, and from what we could see there was no one in the water or on the beach.

'Well, I suppose it's now or never?' I said to Justin, as I turned and faced him.

'Yeah, I suppose it is,' he answered, looking a little uncertain about the prospect of stripping off.

'Relax, mate,' I whispered, trying to reassure him. 'Everyone who comes here comes here to get naked. It's not like they won't have seen it before!'

'Yeah, I suppose that's true.'

'And besides,' I added. 'We're the only people here… well, that we can see anyway. So, it's not like anyone is going to be perving on you or anything… except me, of course.'

'Oh, very cute!'

Hooking a finger through the neck of his tank top, I pulled him to me.

'How about I try and make it easy for you?' I said to him.

'And just how do you plan to do that?'

Without answering him I reached down and took hold of each side of his top, and started pulling it upwards, with him raising his arms for me as I did so and allowing it to pass easily over his head.

'See… just like that,' I said to him.

As I tossed his top into the back of the truck, Justin reached forward and started to undo the buttons of my shirt, his actions slow and deliberate and his eyes holding mine for the entire time.

After undoing the last button, he slid his hands over my shoulders, passing them beneath the thin fabric and allowing me to feel his warm touch, then pulling the shirt down the length of my arms until I was free of it, before tossing it into the back of the truck with his own top.

'Is that about it?' he asked.

'You're getting the hang of it,' I replied. 'Now comes the hard part.'

'Well, not yet it's not, but how about you just give me a few minutes?'

'Hmmm… looks like I'll just have to see what I can do about that then,' I said to him, as I knelt down to where I was eye level with his groin and hooked my thumbs into the waistband of his shorts, before then starting to tug at them.

I looked up and could see that Justin was grinning at me, and as I pulled slowly on his clothes it wasn't long before we came to the hard part we had spoken about. We quickly managed to pass that hurdle however, and before we both knew it he ended up with his shorts down around his ankles, while putting his hands on my shoulders to balance himself as he tried to step out of his clothing. With his rapidly hardening cock waving in my face, he started giggling, which I do have to admit was a habit that was becoming infectious.

As tempted as I was to just wrap my lips around him, I somehow managed to resist that urge and climbed back to my feet, while running my fingers gently over his abdomen and chest, before finally cupping his face in my hands.

'It must be your turn now?' he said to me.

'I suppose it is,' I replied.

'You think you're ready for it?'

'Maybe,' I shrugged.

'C'mon, get a little bit excited, won't ya?'

'Oh, mate, I think I'm excited enough already,' I remarked, before taking one of his hands and placing it over the zipper of my shorts.

'Oh, so you are then!' Justin replied, before starting to rub me up and down.

'Hey. Easy does it there, Tiger,' I had to say. 'Let's save the fun stuff for later, eh?'

'Whatever you say, boss,' he replied, before dropping to his knees and burying his face in my groin.

It felt rather strange, yet at the same time quite comforting and natural, as we walked down to the water's edge a few minutes later. We were both as naked as the day we were born, and now feeling as if we were the last two people left alive on the planet, yet both of us were safe and secure in the knowledge that each was there for the other.

Justin reached out his hand towards me and I immediately took it in mine, looking across at him and into his eyes as I did so and receiving a grateful smile in return.

'You want to know something?' he asked, as we made our first tentative steps into the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean, feeling its waves wash against us and leaving us slightly unsteady on our feet as we stood in the shifting sands with the water rushing back out again.

'What's that, babe?' I replied.

'Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but it's just hit me. Up until this very minute… I haven't lived! I've spent eighteen years being too afraid to be myself. But as from today, I reckon that has all changed, hasn't it?'

'I certainly hope so, Jay. You are your own man now, and I want you to remember that.'

'Aren't I your man though?'

'Mate, you are whoever you want to be,' I answered, while taking both of his hands in mine and turning to face him, holding our hands together between us at chest height. 'Justin, I hope and pray that you'll be a part of my life for a long, long while to come. One thing that we can both be certain of, though, is that from this day forward, no matter what may happen, both of our lives are going to be changed forever. Each of us will be learning to live again, and there is so much that we will both now be experiencing together for the first time.'

'Yeah, I guess there is,' he replied.

'All we can do is just take each day as it comes, one day at a time and all that! No matter what happens, you just remember that. Alright?'

'I will,' he answered, before putting his arms around me and hugging me.

'What was that for?' I asked him when he had let go of me, being surprised by such an instant and open show of affection from him.

'Because I felt like it,' he answered.

'Well, here's something that I feel like,' I said to him, while pulling him to me and kissing him firmly on the lips.

He kissed me back also, leaning his body into mine, opening his mouth and eagerly accepting my probing, while the waves continued to wash against us. We were both totally oblivious to anything that might be going on around us and when we finally separated, we continued to gaze into each other's eyes for a long stretch, both content just to be held by the other.

'You know, we can't stand here like this all day,' I finally said to him.

'Yeah, I know.'

'How about we go for a swim then?' I asked. 'Then after that, well…'

'Sounds fine by me,' he said, cutting me short.

'Yeah, I reckoned it might.'

I let go of him, then took one of his hands in mine and turned my body, while at the same time trying to move my feet. Nothing happened. Justin tried to do the same, but it seemed he was stuck fast also. We had both become trapped by the shifting sands beneath our feet, which had been moved by the waves as they flowed in and then rushed back out to sea.

'Bloody hell, we're stuck,' I laughed, knowing that all that had happened was that we had sunk a few inches into the mire.

'Well, we're going to have to get ourselves out, you know!' Justin giggled.

'Yeah, I suppose we are.'

'Stand still will you and let me lean against you. I'll try and step out of it,' he said.

'Well, I don't think I'm going anywhere in a hurry, mate!'

'Good. Now stand still!'

Putting his hands on my shoulders and balancing himself against me, Justin started lifting one leg, trying to drag his foot out of the sand. It wasn't easy, as the sand was so wet and gluggy, but he eventually managed to free himself… or partially free himself that is.

'Okay then, now the other one,' I said to him.

'Don't move then!'

He was standing slightly side on to me now, with one arm draped over my shoulder. Even if I could have moved, I wouldn't have wanted to.

When he finally dragged his foot free there was this loud sl-u-u-u-rp type of sound, as water and air rushed into the sandy void from which he had extracted his foot, which only caused us both to giggle.

For some reason I was feeling like a teenager again, although I guessed that probably had something to do with the fact that I was falling in love with one.

How does that old saying go? You're only as old as the boy you feel!

I guess that could be taken in any number of ways.

'Alright. It's your turn now,' Justin said to me. 'Lean on me and I'll hold you up.'

'Yeah, right!' I said to him.

'C'mon, Scott. Trust me a little will you!'

'Of course I trust you,' I replied, while giving him what was obviously an unconvincing look of reassurance, judging by the look he gave me back.

'Just lean on me and pull your goddamn foot out of the bloody sand will you!'

Doing as he said, I put my arm around his shoulder and leant against him, however as I was a bit bigger than him I didn't really expect him to support all of my weight.

'Now lift your leg,' he commanded of me, so I tried to do just that, eventually hearing that same sl-u-u-u-rp sound as my right foot came free, which was once again followed by the pair of us giggling.

'See, it wasn't too hard now, was it? Now, how about the other one?'

It wasn't easy, but with a bit of effort I managed to get the other leg moving, while leaning heavily on Justin and thinking more about how nice it was to be in such close contact with him than I was about freeing myself from my sandy manacles.

The suction that wet sand can have is just amazing, however, and it took all my effort to drag my foot free. I guess that we must have sunk a little deeper than I had first thought?

'Man, you are stuck!' Justin said to me.

'Uh huh,' I replied. 'But we're nearly there. I can feel it coming free now.'

Despite the constrictions of the wet sand, which felt like cold cement around my ankle, I could feel my foot gradually starting to move. It was steady going and I found myself leaning heavily on Justin, which neither of us seemed to mind however.

'How about I give you a tug?' Justin asked me.

'Excuse me?'

'Not that type of tug!' he replied with a giggle. 'How about I try and pull you out of the sand?'

Without waiting for an answer, he leaned forward and placed one hand behind the knee of the leg that was still stuck fast,

'Hmmmmm… I think I'd rather a different kind of tug.'

'Can you think about anything but your dick for just a few moments?'

'Hey, I'm standing naked, on a beach with a gorgeous young man… who also just happens to be in the same state of undress… we have our arms wrapped around each other! What the fuck else am I supposed to be thinking about?'

Justin looked up at me and smiled, then gave my leg another tug. I could see the mischievous gleam in his eye as he did so and was unprepared for what came next, when all in one motion my foot suddenly came free and I was turned and speared backwards into an incoming wave.

Justin landed directly on top of me, pinning me down while water rushed over the pair of us, then he planted his lips directly over mine.

Pushing him away slightly, I managed to roll him over and land on top of him, this time pinning him to the sand.

'Hey, two can play that game,' I said, then leant down and kissed him, only to be rolled over once more by Justin and be pinned to the sand once more, this time with my arms somewhere above my head.

His hard young body was pressing down on mine and grinding into me, with his weight and his hands holding me down, while his tongue worked its way down my throat. He was hungry for me, and I was no less hungry for him.

'You're out of your league now, mister,' he managed to say after removing his mouth from mine for just long enough.

'Oh, you think so, do you?' I replied, before using all my strength to throw him off me and roll over onto him, pinning him just as he had pinned me. I was now grinding my hips into him, our bodies covered with sand and water, and our naked erections rubbing against each other in a way that defied description.

It felt like we were the stars of an old black and white movie that I'd seen on TV once. I can't remember the name of it, nor can I remember who the actors were, but I can remember some big hunk of Hollywood superstar rolling around in the surf with his leading lady, with their lips locked together and waves washing over them.

'Don't you know that you'll never win?' Justin said to me, throwing me off him once more.

This time he didn't try to pin me down though, instead preferring to roll away, out of my reach, before getting to his feet and kicking a plume of water in my direction.

'Hey! No fair!' I called out to him, laughing.

'Hey! All's fair in love and war! Don't you know that?' he replied.

'Love, huh?'

'Could be,' he answered, while kicking more water in my direction, then turning and running out from the beach, jumping over small waves and laughing like a five-year-old kid.

'We'll see about that then!' I said, getting to my feet and taking off after him.

We crashed through the waves like a couple of children playing, then I saw him dive over a slightly larger wave before starting to swim.

'You bastard!' I called out to him, but I doubt if he heard me.

I had to wait until the next wave had crashed past me before I could dive and start swimming as well, and by that time he had something of a lead on me, although where we were racing to exactly, I wasn't sure.

I just knew I had to catch him. And after that? Well, he would pay for his playfulness.

Once we got out past the spot where the waves began to form, I found that there was a bit of a swell on the ocean and every now and then I would lose sight of Justin as he sprinted ahead of me, his competitive spirit obviously not wanting to let him be caught.

At first I wasn't too concerned, but then I started thinking about the danger that may lie ahead. This wasn't a patrolled beach and on more than one occasion there had been accidents here, with unwary swimmers getting caught in the offshore rips.

Worrying a little, I tried calling out to Justin, but the fact that he was swimming for all he was worth, plus the sounds of the ocean and the waves crashing on the beach just behind us, meant that there was next to no chance of him being able to hear me.

I had to catch him and stop him. That was all I could do.

When I found myself at the top of a swell a few moments later I looked frantically around to try and see him, but without any luck, so I swam on.

Now I really was getting worried.

The next time I felt the ocean start to rise beneath me I deliberately slowed, to give myself a chance to look around.

At first all I could see was the sparkling blue of the ocean, capped with small white peaks. But then I heard him. His voice instantly recognisable, and the panic in it unmistakable.

Frantically I looked around, but I couldn't see him. Then I heard him again. Looking in the direction from which I thought I heard his voice I couldn't see him at first, but then as the sea rose once more, I spotted him, about thirty metres ahead of me, with one arm raised into the air, the standard sign of someone in distress.

I started swimming again for all I was worth, pausing a few moments later on the crest of the next swell and spotting him again, his face now etched with an expression of terror, but realising to my own horror that he was further away than he had been previously.

The ocean had him in its grasp once more. And once more, his only hope was me.

Now I had to make a decision and the way I saw it, I had no choice. I had to go after him again, otherwise he would remain stuck in the currents and be dragged way out to sea.

Swimming as hard as I could in his direction, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I, too, felt the strength of the rip and the forces of nature that would try to take me over also. I hoped and prayed that Justin would be fighting those currents, and if he was, then chances were that he would probably be facing in my direction and trying to swim against the tide. I knew that would tire him out quite quickly, but I also knew that it would slow his progress slightly, which was the only chance I would have of catching up with him.

And catching up with him was something I simply had to do!

Within a few more strokes I felt the first touch of what I now knew had hold of my lover. I wasn't swimming in calm water anymore, I was being pulled at, gently at first, but the further I went, the stronger it became.

It was now or never, I thought, and so I stroked and kicked with all the effort I could muster, slicing through the water as fast as I could, with each stroke bringing me closer to my boy.

As the sea continued to rise and fall, I managed to catch occasional glimpses of Justin, with his figure growing slightly larger each time, but with the expression on his face growing no less calm.

There was no use my trying to call out to him. He wouldn't have been able to hear me anyway. 'Just hang in there, mate,' I kept thinking to myself.

The next time I spotted him I could see that he was struggling now. I could also see that he was facing in my direction and trying to swim towards me, against the current.

That was what I wanted him to do, even though I knew that'd be the one thing that would tire him out the fastest, and if that happened, there would be little chance of getting him back to shore.

Gradually I could see that we were drawing closer together, but the distance still seemed far too great to me, and I felt myself growing more and more desperate.

I had to get to Justin.

I just had to.