Love Bites

Jae: Nine

He ate by himself, on the bow with legs dangling off the edge, the same meal he so carefully packed for himself, even going so far as to add a fridge with his own funds for his own food. Bo took his time with his meal, the chef having gifted him with some scrap meat, and Jae couldn't say now, even though the dog would be farting all night and the shit he'd have to clean up in Bo's box later. He just couldn't deprive his friend of the simple pleasures.

As Jae stared out at the stars twinkling off the calm ocean plane, he remembered why he loved being on a boat. When he was with Jack, they'd go weeks on the boat, fishing, tagging, sometimes just enjoying the journey to other places. Now, he realized how much he'd missed it. On the ocean, the world didn't stay still, it wasn't flat or simple like on land. There was constantly a current, a gentle rocking, and its path was uncontrollable. With Jae's personality, he should have hated the sea.

Jack had taught him to love being on the ocean. He distinctly remembered the first time Jack had taken him out on his boat. Jae had told him a thousand times that he got sea sick. Jack had laughed, citing there was no such thing as sea sickness, and he could prove it. The man was an arrogant, stubborn, bull when he believed something, but Jae grinned remembering how he "cured" him from sea sickness. The rocking motion now felt more...sensual to Jae, and would for as long as he lived.

He reached over and picked up the bottle of kombucha, taking a long drink, to which Bo whined and placed his paw over his nose. Jae almost spit out the drink to laugh, scratching his head as he set the bottle aside again.
"I know it smells bad, but it's good. Don't be a hater."

Bo barked and scratched playfully at Jae's leg, to which the man patted the dog's solid body.

Jack taught him a lot. Before they met, Jae's knowledge was textbook, mostly, with a few internships and summer programs during his undergrad days, some sailing when he was in college, but he was on this trip because of what he learned from Jack.

"Mind if I join you?" The voice was unfamiliar, and when Jae turned around, even the face wasn't someone he recognized. He stared a moment, admiring the tanned complexion and the light dusting of freckles. He could even see the green of his eyes in the low light from the bridge. They were that bright. Jae had to give it to him, the boy was easy on the eyes, and it made him smile, his defenses dropping just a bit.

"Ah, sure. There's just enough room for one more." Jae moved over, and the young guy slipped in beside him, obviously not bothered with the proximity.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He didn't sound hurt, but it was more a statement than a question.

"I don't, actually," Jae admitted, settling Bo down with a pat as the dog got territorial about wanting to sniff the new guy.

"It's okay. I like dogs." He smiled at Jae, then nodded. "It's okay. It was a big conference. I listened to your speech on shark conservation last year at the Marine Symposium in Santa Barbara. We had a drink afterwards. Well, there were a few other people there, but..."

Jae thought for a moment, fairly certain he'd left the bar quite wasted and woken up on a transit bus the next morning. He wouldn't be admitting that, though.

"I'm sorry. I vaguely remember the bar, but not you specifically. What did you say your name was?"

The young man held out his hand. "Finnigan Duffy. I'm on the camera crew. I jumped at the chance to be here. I have my dive certification and everything. I'm hoping I'll get a spot on Mr. Keller's deck crew and be able to shoot some footage from a cage."

Jae chuckled as he shook the sandy-haired boy's hand, disappointed at the mention of Keller, but he didn't show it."I'm sure if your skills match your enthusiasm, you'll do just fine. It's nice to meet you Finnigan."

"You can call me Finn. Everyone else does. When I was in college, they used to call me Jaws. But...that's...really an inappropriate story to tell, and oh my god, I'm so sorry I brought that up. Please, my apologies."

Jae laughed the second he said it, shaking his head and trying to gain his composure even as the kid apologized. "No, it's okay. I needed the laugh. Really. But I don't think I'm going to be calling you anything but Finn, if that's alright with you."

The apples of Finn's cheeks had gotten red, and it was really heartwarming as the kid laughed with him. "Yeah, that's probably a good thing. And...thanks, Dr. Olson. I was kind of worried, too, about being the only gay guy in the camera crew. I even got a little freaked out I might be the only one on the boat. But...I overheard a conversation about you and Mr. Keller...I swear I wasn't eavesdropping."

Jae shook his head, leaning forward onto the bars. "Don't sweat it. Sometimes we get too loud, and as far as being gay on this ship, you let me know if anyone gives you shit and I'll address it. This is a scientific exploration not an episode of Big Brother."

Finn laughed, shaking his head and bumping Jae's shoulder a bit. "Thanks, but everyone's been great. I like the camera crew, and your team and Mr. Keller's are nice to talk to. I mean, I'm a camera guy, but most of my college work was biology. I had this big idea I wanted to work for National Geographic and travel the world. Turns out that's a lot harder than it seems."

They both laughed this time, Jae remembering his own big dreams as a young man, and he reached over for his drink, finishing the last of it. "You never know what could happen in the future."

Finn yawned, looking out over the ocean, feigning sleepiness so that he wouldn't screw this perfectly good conversation up with overshare or something. "Nope. You don't. Well, Dr. Olson...,"

"Please, call me Jae."

Finn got that tumbling feeling again, and Jae noticed his reddened cheeks and grinned.

"Okay, Jae. I've enjoyed our talk, but I have to head to bed. Mr. Keller wants everyone on deck at sunrise."

Jae nodded,"It's been very nice. Get some sleep, Finn, and good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks."

He pushed up off the railing and began to walk off, then he turned around. "Hey, do you want to, maybe, catch some coffee in the morning? Before the craziness starts? I mean, I don't know when you get up or anything. I just...thought maybe, you know, we could talk about the day. I'm probably too curious, actually, and have a million questions."

Jae tilted his head, looked down at Bo, and then back up at the cute redhead. Did he just ask Jae on a date? It seemed that he had, and for the life of him, Jae suddenly didn't know how to answer. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone on a date, anything more than a pity setup or a colleague dinner, and while he was flattered, he did have a job to do.

But then again, it was just coffee.

What would Jack think?

Wait...why does it matter what Jack thinks?

Finn waited on baited breath, and finally, just when he was ready to rescind his offer, Jae's head nodded.

"Sure. Coffee sounds good. Around five? I mean, you need to be informed. Plus, I have some suggestions for shots too. So there's that."

Finn beamed, and he barely stopped himself from a hearty fist pump.

"That sounds great. I'll...see you there."

And with that, he disappeared into the hold.

What had Jae just gotten himself into?