Page 68 of The Hitchhiker in Panama
Our eyes connected and a few seconds later my body curved up and clenched around him, my knees trying to squeeze together, and I whimpered into my orgasm.
Eivind ground into my hips and came. He twitched and shuddered, his hands squeezing me to the point of pain.
Finally we both collapsed, Eivind’s weight pressing me against the bed, our breath coming out ragged in each other’s ear. He lay limp for a moment but then tried to push himself up. I wrapped my legs around him before he could pull out, and I tugged him back down above me. He huffed a laugh into my neck but settled against me.
I savored every inch of my sweaty skin rubbing his. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against him, working to catch my breath. My fingernails ran over his head, massaging his scalp.
When Eivind was in danger of slipping out, he pulled back and away, taking care of the condom. We both used the head and cleaned up before returning to lounge nude in bed. I dozed off and on, Eivind reading beside me until the knock sounded for dinner.
* * *
When it was time for Eivind’s night watch, we strapped on our harnesses and went upstairs. I sat in the corner while Jonas briefed Eivind, and said good night as the captain went downstairs.
Eivind fiddled around for a few minutes at the helm. I read in the corner, and we settled into the quiet. Since my seasickness had disappeared, I’d been spending most of my time reading, finishing a book or two a day.
“Lila,” Eivind said, interrupting my reading. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Yeah?” I perked up. “What’s my surprise?”
“Follow me.” Eivind grabbed two pillows and climbed over the bench seats to the back of the boat.Eikhad a wide-open space on the back, and we clipped our tethers in and lay down on the deck, pillows under our heads.
“Holy shit.”
Eivind chuckled next to me and grabbed my hand. “The moon has been up on my shift so far. Tonight it has set already.”
Stretched up over us were thousands of stars. More stars than I had ever seen in my life, from horizon to horizon.
“Look over there.” Eivind pointed to my right.
I squinted. “What is that? A cloud?”
“No. It is the Milky Way.”
We stayed on deck for the rest of the shift. Eivind played around with a stargazing app on his phone, pointing out constellations and naming stars. I spotted a shooting star out of the corner of my eye—a flash so bright but so quick.
After Marcella took over the watch, I reluctantly went inside, and we got ready for bed. Eivind fell asleep quickly, and I watched him, pondering all the parts of the world he could show me.
Thirty-One
I woke up to footsteps and shouting above me. At the foot of the bed, Eivind struggled to throw clothes on in his excitement.
“What’s going on?”
“The fishing rod is going off!”
I listened carefully and heard a high-pitched whirring coming from the stern. Eivind left the room and hurried to the cockpit while I got out of bed and dressed. A few days ago, Eivind and Jonas had begun putting the fishing lines out first thing in the morning and, after sunset every night, reeling them back in.
Upstairs, I found the whole crew on deck. Jonas held the fishing pole and cranked the reel with one hand. The tip of the rod curved down toward the water and Jonas struggled.
With a surge, the line started to feed out a little bit, the reel clicking.
“No, no, no, no.” Jonas muttered. He turned a knob on the side of the reel.
“Not too tight!” Eivind said.
“Ja, ja.”
Eivind bounced on his toes, cheering his brother on. Jonas fought and broke out in a sweat.
