Dixie Ch. 02

Gwen had been quietly listening, but she told them, "Sharon and...well I call her Minnie because she's so small." Chuck made eye contact with Loren and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Minnie and I got to use the Skinny Dippin' for two very nice days while Chuck and Sandy were out of town. We even got some sun time. I don't ever remember days that nice in the wintertime. We didn't leave the sound, but we still had a great time."

Even though Holly knew that Gwen had owned a boat at one time she was still impressed. "So you are comfortable handling the Skinny Dippin'?"

"Sure. That boat is so tricked out with toys, it's a breeze to handle." Then she smiled at her brother and added, "That's why my brother does so well with it."

It was a relaxed and uneventful day for the five of them and Melissa kept an eye on the guests and saw to their needs and wishes. Relaxed that is until Gwen casually walked over to Loren and dropped into his lap, put her arm around his neck and kissed him lightly. Holly was smiling, but she also watched them closely. But where Gwen appeared to be relaxed and comfortable with the situation, Loren was doing his best to smile and not to look over at Holly, unsure what was going to happen next or how he should handle it. "What did I do to warrant this honor?"

"Nothing more than you just being your own handsome and charming self."

"Really?"

Then as she toyed with the buttons on his shirt she asked him, "Have you ever considered having your own Skinny Dippin'?"

"My own boat?"

"Sure, you and Holly love being on the water. I don't mean a giant new one, but a nice one...say, maybe forty feet or so. You could have it fixed up with electronic toys to make it easy to pilot."

"That might be fantastic, but it would also be a whole lot of money sitting down there tied to the dock week after week with nobody to use it or check on it."

"What if you could do that for say...eighty thousand?"

"For a forty footer?"

"Sure." Then she glanced at the others, kissed him softly again and said, "We could be co-owners." Then she quickly added, "Well okay, make it ninety thousand."

"You would get a whole lot more use out of it than we could. Holly and I have been very busy."

"I know, but you could jump on a plane and be on your own boat in a couple of hours on a Friday night so you could at least enjoy it on weekends. Then grab an extra day here and there and you'd have a nice long weekend. Get up and get ready for work, catch an early flight back and go straight to work. Well something like that anyway."

Loren looked over at Holly and asked her, "Do you have anything to do with this honey?"

"This is all Gwen's idea, but I just had a thought. You want to network like Frank used to do. He used seminars, but you could use a weekend on a nice boat and invite a few potential customers. Maybe we can write some of the costs off on our taxes."

"Are you sure you haven't had a hand in this?"

"Like I said, Gwen came up with this boat idea and I'm just thinking out loud."

Loren turned his attention to Chuck and asked him, "What's your take on this wild idea?"

"As I count it, there are two men and three women in this group, so I think I'll just stay neutral except for one comment. There are boats down there that I'm not sure have ever seen the Atlantic and in fact haven't left the marina more than a few times."

"So what you're saying is my argument doesn't hold water."

"Oh hell no, you make a good point. What you would have to do is decide if the cost could be balanced against your pleasures, and what possible business benefit there might be." Then looking at Gwen, he added, "I also think that my sister is a little light with her numbers, so don't be surprised if your investment were to easily pass the hundred grand mark."

Damn, that's a lot of money to be floating there." His arm had been loosely around her waist, but he pulled her toward him slightly and asked her, "So if Holly and I invest in this boat, do we get the master stateroom?"

"Of course, especially if that will help swing your decision my way."

"And what of incidental costs like insurance, fuel, repairs and so forth?"

"Split down the middle and whoever uses the boat fills the tank, or at least keeps track of the usage since a lot of cruises don't go very far."

"And I'll guess you just happen to know of a boat or two."

"Not yet, but I'm looking."

"And you'd be happy with a little forty foot yacht?"

"That isn't little at all."

"But it's smaller than what you're used to having."

"Well yes, that is true."

"So really you'd rather have a forty five."

"No, I'd rather have a fifty or fifty two, but that's just a little too much for me to handle comfortably."

Chapter Twenty Eight

Loren looked around Gwen and over at Holly saying, "You're pretty quiet over there, care to share your thoughts?"

Holly paused for only a second before she asked, "Gwen, how confident are you that Loren or I could handle the boat. We did fine with Chuck and Sandy's but we were a couple of miles from shore too, so there wasn't much to it."

"But that's a good start and with Chuck and Sandy's help, the three of us could teach you. Plus take a Power Squadron class of course. Once you two are comfortable with the boat you'll be able to take off on your own whenever you want." Then looking to her left to Sandy, Holly asked her, "What do you think about this crazy idea?"

"It's like Chuck said, "You have to decide based on potential enjoyment and business benefit against cost, and motor yachts are not cheap to buy or to maintain."

Gwen was still leaning into Loren with both of his arms around her when he said, "I want to think about the potential business link a little, because we can't make an investment like that and then say, aw shit I screwed up."

Gwen kissed Loren then and that time it wasn't as light or innocent as the last time. "Loren, Holly, here's a deal you can't say no to. The reason I want you to go in on this adventure with me is I trust both of you totally. It would cut my investment in half and like you said, it would help justify that big expense. But let's do it this way. If, after a year, you two don't find it pleasurable or of benefit to have the boat, I'll buy your half."

"Then you're stuck with the cost and the situation that you're trying to avoid."

"I know, but I'm willing to take that chance." Then she smiled and went over and sat across Holly's thighs and toyed with her blouse as she smiled and said, "Okay, what do you think Holly?" and Gwen kissed her lightly. "You have a big say in this too."

Holly had to smile as she looked up at Gwen and said, "I think this deserves our full attention and some time to talk it over."

"Of course."

Later, Loren and Chuck had a few minutes alone so Loren asked, "What do you think of Gwen's crazy idea?"

Chuck smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm trying very hard to stay neutral, but she puts up a tempting offer. You really don't have a lot to lose."

"Yes I do, I'm afraid we're going to find that we love having a boat and I'll be out a hundred plus grand for a forty whatever foot toy."

Chuck smiled and said, "Just think, if you have a boat, Sandy and I could go out with you or we could make sure your boat was ready and waiting for when you get there."

"Thanks, more temptation. What about the business aspect?"

"That whole idea could be great for you...or it could be a dud, so I'd say don't put too much hope and faith in that idea until it's a proven asset."

"How did Holly look as Gwen was talking to me?"

"At first her guard was up and she was staring holes into you, but then she relaxed and that's when I saw her face light up."

"Damn, so Holly really wants a boat of her own."

"You two will have an interesting conversation tonight."

"Hell of a topic for pillow talk."

"It could be if you work it right."

"Damn that is a lot of money though."

"Hell yes it's a lot of money, so be sure to have the boat thoroughly inspected before you sign on the dotted line. There are some really nice used boats out there that go for a fraction of what they cost new. Even a craft built in the seventies can be a pristine unit if she's been cared for and updated."

Other than her one comment, Sandy had little to say about the boat issue, but toward the end of the evening she took advantage of the moment and caught Loren in the kitchen. As she went through the motions to get a drink of water he told her, "You haven't really told us what you think about getting a boat Sandy."

"I have mixed feelings. I have little doubt that you and Holly would enjoy it and I'm even optimistic about a business advantage, but I hate the thought of you cruising the sound with out me."

He smiled and taking her glass away from her, he put his butt to the counter with his legs spread apart and pulled her into him. "Sandy honey, I don't care for that thought either. I try to imagine being out on a short cruise and not have you close by, but that just doesn't feel right. I have to suspect you are a big part of why I love to be out on the boat."

She smiled up at him and said, "Now I don't believe that."

"That's the truth. Oh, I enjoy the whole experience of course, but part of enjoying anything is sharing it, and sharing it with you makes a very big difference. Of course there's nothing to say that you can't share my boat with me."

"Including your stateroom?"

"Absolutely yes. Maybe if you press against me a little more you'll know I'm telling the truth."

Instead of doing as he suggested, she reached down and felt his growing cock. "Are you sure that isn't from Gwen flirting with you?"

"I wasn't hard until I put my arms around you."

"Then maybe you having the boat would be wonderful because you just might come see us more often."

"I'm sure I would."

"Of course if you're entertaining a group of business men or women, we might have a problem."

"I'll tell them I'm a polygamist."

She laughed and said, "I think we'd do better to come up with something else."

"We'll work on that. Of course Chuck and Holly would have the same problem."

"That's true. Oh, I know, Chuck and I will pretend to be your crew, but they would go to a hotel in the evening and we'd have the boat to ourselves until after breakfast."

"I do love how your mind works. I take that back, I love all of you," and they kissed.

Holly wandered into the kitchen and watched them until she said, "Why don't you two get a room." Sandy turned around and saw Holly smiling. "By the way," she continued, "Did you tell Gwen about the four of us?"

"Yes, we told her a day or two after you left."

Sandy was still in Loren's arms as Holly asked her, "How did she take that?"

"She wasn't surprised. Well she was, but not a lot."

Gwen appeared and asked, "Are you talking about the boat I hope?"

Sandy was still standing close to Loren and his right arm was still around her waist as she added, "No, I guess boating isn't on your mind."

Loren stepped away from Sandy and said, "I can't be in here with you three beautiful women because I'll go nuts wishing I had three arms." Holly just shook her head as they watched him leave the kitchen.

Serious discussions began as soon as Loren and Holly were in their bedroom, starting with Holly. "Honey what do you think about having our own boat?"

"I think it would be very expensive for one thing."

"Very expensive and I worry about that, but is there a chance you could use it for business once in awhile?"

"Assuming that whole idea could work, that wouldn't happen very often. Hell, I'd probably have to take the damn board out for a cruise on my our tab."

"But...what about those businessmen that Frank used to corner at the seminars?"

"Men and women honey."

"I hadn't given that a thought I guess."

"Mostly men of course, but there would almost certainly be women involved too."

"I'm sure that's true. But what I'm getting at is, people do business on the golf course or at seminars and maybe even during massages, I don't know, so why not on the boat?"

"You really want us to have our own boat right?"

By that point they were undressed and in bed so she turned toward him and kissed him before she said, "I really would. We can't always impose on Sandy and Chuck and I really would like to go out there more often if we can. Like Gwen said, for a weekend or a long weekend."

"What about your business venture?"

"I'd like to think that we'll have the bugs worked out by then and I can do some if not a lot of my business with my laptop and my cell phone. Rubin will be gone in another few months so we're hoping to replace him with a full time person and for less money because we won't need Rubin's impressive computer skills anymore."

"Always thinking. Okay, but we'll have to be careful with our spending for awhile because we'll be out a whole lot of money that has to be replaced sooner or later, and preferably sooner."

"So you're saying we can?"

"This is your decision too make too honey. This is our money we'd be spending. If we do go through this craziness it will be for you to share in the glory or the disaster, whichever it turns out to be."

"I want us to go for it. We'll have a year to decide if we want to keep our half of the boat."

"I'd forgotten about that part. Okay, then we'll see what Gwen can find that we can afford."

She kissed him and then jumping out of bed said, "I'll be right back."

A couple of minutes later Holly returned with Gwen right behind her and Gwen was naked. "Move over handsome so I can lie down. I want to hear you say we're going to partner on a boat."

Even in the very dim light coming in through the window, Loren saw she was nude and he couldn't stop smiling. Holding the sheet and light blanket up he said, "Okay sexy, slip in here."

The three of them talked until they were just too sleepy to keep their thoughts straight. Then, with Loren on his back, Holly moved close and draped an arm over him and felt Gwen's arm already across his belly and not far above his cock and balls, but she was just too happy to care right then.

Chapter Twenty Nine

By early March, Loren and Holly had taken their boating courses, but Gwen was still looking for the right boat. Either they were too long or too short or the trawler or pilot house design. One after another Gwen rejected them without even contacting her future co-owners. But she was having fun with her shopping, so success was guaranteed. She waited until after dinner one evening and then called Holly. "Hi, are you sitting down?"

"I can be, why, are you pregnant?"

Both women laughed and then Gwen told her, "I better not be. I think I've found our boat."

"You're teasing me right?"

"Oh no, this is too serious to tease about."

"Wait and I'll get Loren, he just got home."

Gwen smiled as she heard Holly yelling for him and a minute later she heard, "Okay, we're both here, tell us about it."

"It's at an Atlantic City marina, but they sent me a whole raft of photos and detailed information on it. It's a nineteen eighty nine Carver, forty five feet with almost a fifteen foot beam. Open over sized bridge, but bimini tops are easy to install if we want shade up there. There's a cooler up there too by the way. All the electronics we'd want, radios, radar, everything, and updated four years ago. This boat seems to be in great shape, stored under cover too. Pretty nice aft deck that's maybe a foot smaller than Chuck and Sandy's, with a fridge and freshwater hot and cold taps." As she went down her list, Holly and Loren were smiling at each other and Gwen continued. "Aft master suite with forward VIP suite. Separate showers in both heads. The salon and galley are almost even with the aft deck and the salon was totally redone three years ago. The galley is modest size but very nice and adequate. Generous windows with typical small portholes below. Oh, and powered by twin diesels with only eight hundred hours on the clock. The generator is...wait a sec...is an eight kilowatt diesel that's hardly been used."

Loren asked her, "How does she look over all? Is the engine room clean and that sort of thing."

"Spotless bow to stern. I have a surveyor lined up to inspect it if you two agree."

Holly smiled and told her, "Yes, we agree of course. Oh, what about a docking on command system?"

"Girl, you are full of surprises, I'll look into that for us. Oh, and it comes with a davit and a fourteen foot boat and of course a motor."

"How would be get it down to North Carolina?"

"Either have it hauled down here or take our first cruise and bring it down. Hauling would cost us several thousand dollars and bringing it down ourselves would be the cost of the fuel."

"Then I see a cruise in our future if we get it."

"I'll send you some of the photos and I'll keep you posted."

It appeared that they're entrance into the boating world was about to begin.

Things started to happen much faster after that phone call. Two weeks later the surveyor's report was back and there were no significant negatives. The boat was just as the owners had said it was, and soon after that money was ready to change hands.

The next time Gwen called Holly she said, "Okay, it's time for us to go see our boat, how soon can you two get away for the weekend?"

"This coming weekend would work for me, but let me check with Loren." It was a few minutes before she came back to the phone and said, "Complications, Loren will be tied up for the next three Saturdays."

"See if he'll trust us to check it out. We can fly into Atlantic City Saturday morning and rent a car and stay at the Hilton. That will give us plenty of time to go over the boat and you can get home and spend time with hubby."

When Holly asked Loren if he trusted her he laughed and went to the phone. "Gwen honey, I wouldn't know a problem with the boat if it bit me. You two check it out and if it works for you two then that's good enough for me."

As soon as they were in Atlantic City they went to the marina and met Gene and Wanda Keenan. They spent the next hour talking and going over the boat inch by inch, and by the time Holly was back home she and Gwen had become much better friends. Next on their checklist was to write a check for the boat because outside of a few minor details that boat was what Holly and Gwen wanted.

It took them almost a month to get the paperwork in order, but this time Sandy was joining the two women. Loren was feverishly working on an armload of union problems and Chuck just smiled and sent Sandy off with Gwen.

Holly flew into Atlantic City on Friday night, and along with Gwen and Sandy, they were whisked off to their boat by taxi. They spent a couple of hours with Gene and Wanda taking a short ride so Gwen could get used to the controls, and the five of them toasted the event with champagne that Wanda had brought for the occasion. The three women spent Friday night on their boat, and with a coin toss it was decided that Sandy would share the master suite with Holly and Gwen in the forward VIP suite. They had two full days to cruise the two hundred and fifty miles to the boat's new home at Albemarle Plantation Marina, and about three hundred feet from the Skinny Dippin'.

The weather required light jackets if they wanted to use the bridge and with the sun shining and the water calm that's exactly what they chose to do. Holly was visibly nervous as they left the harbor and headed for the Atlantic Ocean, but Gwen and Sandy appeared to be perfectly comfortable with the situation. Their relaxed demeanor was contagious so it wasn't long before Holly was leaning back and smiling. "God, I can't believe this Gwen, we're sailing the Atlantic Ocean in our very own boat. A year ago I couldn't even imagine paying for the fuel for a short cruise."