Page 5 of Unexpected Boyfriends

Axel waves him off. "Nah, mate, I'm done with all that shit."

"Too bad, bro. See you on the waves!"

Axel gives him the thumbs up and we keep walking closer to the waterline.

“I used to do Surf Lifesaving here for a couple of years,” he explains, “but since I started working I haven’t wanted to put in the time. I like being free to just come to the beach and chill outwhenever I want to, and not have to worry about schedules and stuff.”

“Must be exciting to be a lifesaver though.”

Axel shrugs. “Sometimes, but it can also be scary because when things go wrong in the ocean, they go wrong really fast. But most of the patrols are actually really boring. You just spend the time sitting around talking and you have to deal with all the dumbasses that thinktheydon't need to swim between the flags. God, that's a chore and a half. People do not get it."

“Do you surf?”

“Yes, sometimes. But I prefer bodysurfing.”

We find a quiet place on the beach and lay our towels down. Axel strips off his shirt, revealing a massive set of shoulders. To avoid staring I look more closely at the unusual necklace hanging from his neck, a white fibrous cord with a starfish charm entwined with something that looks like it might be a snake. I peer at it, squinting, to get a better look, when I realize the snake-starfish is sitting over a chest that’s…oh, my. Quickly, I turn away. The sight of his firm chest with its smattering of fine dark hair, and the smooth skin of his abdomen with the flat toned stomach and happy trail into his shorts which I just had to notice, has my dick starting to pay attention.

I roll onto my side away from Axel to conceal the evidence. I’m enjoying the companionship and I don’t want to lose a potential friend by an ill-timed erection. I distract myself by looking at the different groups of people sitting on the sand. Lots of families and a few larger groups of young people, one or two couples. Yes, there’s a seagull over there too. And someone’s dog. An interesting tree. Plenty of things to look at. Not thinking about Axel at all.

Axel swats me with his towel. While I was busy not looking at him, he’s pulled on a rashy – thank God – and is ready to hit the waves.

“C’mon,” he says, “I don’t like sitting on the beach and getting hot, it just makes it harder to get in.”

I have a brief thought that he’s hot anyway, before we race each other to the water – I win – and throw ourselves in. The water is icy and we come up gasping and laughing, and we push each other back into the freezing water just for fun.

There’s a sandbank and we make our way out to it. Axel is a strong swimmer and reaches it first. He waits for me, then we wade out through the knee-deep water to where the waves are breaking.

I watch fascinated as he fearlessly and effortlessly bodysurfs the waves, some of which are twice his height. He shoots across the face of the wave, and somehow manages to avoid getting tumbled in the white water as the wave crashes onto the shallower water of the sandbank, and then he continues riding the foam.

“You’re good at that,” I tell him, impressed, as he makes his way back out to where I’m standing near the break after he’s ridden a wave almost to the end of the sandbar. He could have ridden it further but I saw him drop off the wave early enough that he didn’t have to swim back out.

“I’ve been around the beach all my life, so it's not that big a deal," he shrugs off the compliment.

“Even so…”

Axel’s body is a thing of beauty, which I really ought not be staring at. He has the appearance of someone who’s been activeall his life - muscular, though not over-developed, lean but not skinny, and sexy as hell. His abs are to die for and his biceps and shoulders are wide. I bet if I touched them they'd be firm as hell. Add to that, the shimmer of the water running down his arms and torso…

I must have zoned out for a moment, because Axel asks, “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” I give my head a little shake and duck under an oncoming wave. I need to get a grip on myself and just enjoy the company. And Axel is great company, especially now we’re away from parents and grandparents. Here, he’s relaxed and playful. What we’re doing is enough, but I really wish I knew what team he played for. Though it probably wouldn’t matter anyway. He’s gorgeous. I doubt I’d be on his radar.

I try catching a couple of waves, but I’m not terribly successful. The mass of water moves me along a few metres, but then I just sink as the wave continues on without me.

Axel notices.

“It’s your timing,” he tells me, coming closer. "Mind if I help?"

"Sure," I reply, getting ready for my next wave. He lays a hand on my shoulder to stop me launching myself onto the next wave. The warmth of his hand tingles on my cool skin. It feels good, but I try to ignore it.

He keeps his hand there, holding me in place.

“Not this one, it’s too full,” he coaches, letting a wave wash through. I watch it, and sure enough, it doesn’t curl up enough to create the right momentum.

“Wait, wait,” he still has his hand on my shoulder.

“See how this one’s not so bulky, it's steeper and it’s curling up? This will be a good one. Not yet, not yet, now!” he says and lifts his hand.

I stroke for the wave. I feel the wave catch me, propel me and push me slightly ahead of its foam as it crashes and I ride the wave onwards. The sensation is amazing and I don’t want to stop so I ride it as far as I can, which leaves me partway between the sandbank and the shore and I have to swim back out.

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