Page 73 of Sapphire Storm

It felt suddenly like they could touch the sky. The air thathad looked so empty and dangerous before revealed itself to be full of texture.Levels and currents they rode in the gentlest and smoothest of ways. Aninvisible miracle made possible by the right wind, the right equipment.

The right man.

After a few minutes, he realized he’d been laughinghysterically since they’d first taken flight. Roman was laughing, too, andthere was pure, unbridled joy in the sound. Joy to which Ethan could well becomedeliriously addicted. When they both ran out of breath, the peaceful quietembraced them, save for the occasional ruffle of the wind in the parachuteoverhead. Thanks to Roman’s steering, they’d turned south and were travelingalong the top of the cliff, occasionally swerving to the right until beach andwhite surf appeared hundreds of feet below their dangling feet.

They swooped to the left, inland, over a colossal Italianatemansion that sat perched on the edge of the cliff like some emperor’s summer palace.He realized he was breaking his vow not to look down. When he lifted his gaze,he saw the expanse of the coast sweeping south. Familiar to him from yearsbefore, but never from this angle, this awe-inspiring height. There was themansion-studded rise of Mount Soledad, the little cluster of buildings at itsbase that made up La Jolla’s Village on the shore.

A man who’d been in his life for only days had given him anew perspective on a place that had been familiar to him for years, and thatseemed as miraculous as the power with which the wind had given them flight.When Roman started to turn them around, the slow revolution added somenervousness to Ethan’s joy. But his coordinated pulls on the dual handles weresmooth and confident.

“How you doing up there?” Roman asked.

“Amazing.”

“What?”

“This is amazing,” Ethan said louder. “You’reamazing.”

With no way to turn in the seat, he couldn’t clutch Roman’sface. Couldn’t bring their lips together the way he wanted to, but he feltRoman press them as close together as he could.

“Maybe you could learn to pilot someday and then you couldsit behind me and steer.”

“You’re doing a fine job.”

“Yeah, but if we switched places, we could fuck up here.”

Ethan laughed. “The things I need to do to your body requiremore privacy than that.”

Roman sighed. “A boy can dream.”

“I’ll give you plenty to dream about. On solid ground.”

Roman managed to bring his lips to Ethan’s ear. “You alreadyare.”

In another few minutes, they came in for a landing. Thesecond Roman freed him from the buckles, the minute he could turn to him, Ethankissed him wildly. The deflating parachute gave them cover from potentialonlookers.

I did it,Ethan thought.I did it forhim.

After they returned to the hotel, they tookthe ferry across the bay to Coronado Island. They spent the early afternoonexploring its most famous resident, a sprawling, red-roofed Victorian hotelthat offered wide sidewalks along the beach.

Out of all of San Diego’s beachfront jewels, Coronado hadnever captured Ethan’s heart the way La Jolla had, but he’d saved the latterfor that evening. Maybe a walking tour of the village’s quaint streets afterthe sunset dinner reservation he’d made at the restaurant where he’d workedyears before.

They’d vowed to spend the late afternoon getting ready backat their hotel, but getting ready resulted in a sudsy joint shower and whatfelt like hours of Ethan on his knees, milking and savoring Roman’s spectacularcock, bringing him a gasping release with his hand as their sputtering lips metthrough the spray, sneaking a forbidden taste of the man’s seed that made hiseyes light up.

That evening, as their Uber navigated the quaint web ofstreets in La Jolla’s oceanfront village, Ethan saw familiar stores he’dwandered before work and on his breaks years before. The old Saks Fifth Avenuewas gone, but Warwick’s Books was still there, its double front windows linedwith the latest hardcover releases. Then at the end of Girard Avenue, rightbefore the dip it made toward La Jolla’s park-lined oceanfront, La ValenciaHotel rose like an unofficial city hall. Atop its pink tower, its gold-tileddome reflected the light of the west-leaning sun. Just up the street, housedinside the top floor of a glass-and-steel ocean-facing office complex andsporting jaw-dropping views of the sea, was Jillian’s, the restaurant wherehe’d landed his first kitchen job.

He’d made the reservation in his name, but he wasn’t sure ifhe’d be recognized or if anyone still worked there from the old days. He wastaking note of the renovations in the front hallway—lots of chrome and darklytinted plate glass where once there’d been blond wood and old nauticalpaintings—when he heard a high-pitched squeal and saw a familiar face rushingtoward him from the host stand. Fifteen years older but still bright eyed andcherub cheeked and prone to blushing, Sarah Aubrey, once a shy and diminutiveUCSD freshman unsure about her restaurant industry ambitions, was now anassistant manager, as indicated by the jeweled seahorse pin on her lapel, areplica of the restaurant’s logo. She threw her arms around him.

“Of course you’re still here,” Ethan said as he fell intoher perfumed embrace. Roman, smiling, took a step back to give him some space.

“Oh, what’s that supposed to mean, mister? You’re not theonly one with a passport.”

“No, it means they’d never let you go. You’re too sweet.”

“Charming as always.” Sarah hugged him harder, then shepulled away, regarding Roman. “And I see you’ve brought the most attractive manon the planet. Oh, sorry. He’s not your nephew, is he?”

At this, Roman exploded with laughter. Ethan felt himselfflush, but he was enjoying the fact that Sarah had to fight to keep her tonguein her mouth as she shook Roman’s hand. In skintight designer jeans and a sleevelessturtleneck that revealed his sculpted arms, he was quite a sight. Ethan, on theother hand, had donned a tweed blazer and chinos.

“So who’s still here?” Ethan asked Sarah as she led them totheir table. It was one of the best, right next to the wall of plate glass anda stunning sunset view.

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