Sadie & The Fisherman's Apprentice

Sadie wasn't exactly bored. It was a gorgeous day and the whole of it stretched in front of her to do anything she wanted. The Old Fisherman had rolled out at the crack of dawn and she had the coffeepot on timer so she didn't even have to get up. He was working on Brian's "Saint Marie" today, so he would be busy until dusk and pooped when he got home. A big boat, and Brian usually got a crew of yoyos referred by the COC, so they all would be trying to show what ballsy drinkers they were.

She had joined the Old Fisherman on only one of those. After the third asshole had goosed her, she had had enough. Almost pushed Dinky Prick into the drink. This was better, though she missed her man.

Sadie stretched out on the chaise beside the fenced-in pool and sipped her tequila mimosa. She could lay naked here if she felt like, because there was only this invisible path that ran through the palmetto scrub between the house and the 'bayou' as they called their little canal.

"Hey, Sadie?"

The voice startled her, coming as it did from only a few feet away. The sun was bouncing off the wire of the cage over the pool, so she couldn't really see who it was. The voice was young, teen-age guy or young woman, out of breath, she couldn't really tell.

"Sadie, is that you? The Old Fisherman sent me for some stuff. I ran all the way over here. I'm kind of in a hurry."

Sadie was confused. Usually the Old Fisherman was pretty good about collecting his gear. Maybe he had gotten up in a hurry and rushed off. Come to think of it, he'd left a half cup of coffee on the counter and the pot still bubbling. He had left his phone.

"Who is that? Do I know you?"

"Kinda, Sadie. We met maybe once or twice. I been workin' at the boatyard for a while. But, Hey, I gotta get some stuff in a hurry. He said. Just inside the garage door. Can you open it? I didn't want to just ... cause you might of thought I was a burglar or somebody.

"Uhhh, OK. The Old Fisherman sent you?"

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta get back or the boat's gonna leave."

"If you say so. I'll meet you at the front of the house. Why'd you come here?"

"He said. Like you would be laying by the pool."

"Bastard. He knows me. "

Sadie went though the house into the garage. There was a bucket by the door. She prowled through it.

"What the fuck? Nothing here he can't get on board. Oh, wait. A pint of Jack Daniels in his old glove. Why is Brian's liquor not good enough for him? Hmm, I think I'll just take this here and send the rest."

The garage door growled and screamed some as it lifted. Outside in the bright morning sun was a nearly naked kid; well, big kid, late teens. Nothing but short cutoffs. Curly chestnut hair that flopped in his face. Freckles. Tattoo of a crab in a pirate hat on his left tit. Parrot on his right shoulder. Cute, very cute. Sadie felt a twinge, right there. Slapped herself inside her head.

"Stop it, you old nanny goat. What's the matter with you?"

Sadie handed him the bucket and realized he was taller than she thought. Tanned lean muscles.

"Here you go; get this back to that old bastard. Tell him I love his old ass, I dare you."

"Whatever."

He grabbed the bucket, turned and ran. A magnificent leaping sailfish tattoo flexed on his strong back. In a second he had disappeared into the palmetto.

"Did I dream that? I couldn't have made up a better little fantasy. Why did I never notice that one before? Well, they grow up when we aren't looking and leave us in the dust. Still ...Oh, nevermind, old girl."

Sadie went back into the dark of the garage and picked up the bottle in the glove. She imagined the Old Fisherman's face when he discovered it was missing. She took it back to the lanai and stretched out in comfort again. A sip of the bourbon.

"Nice. No wonder he doesn't want to drink Brian's pisswater. No wonder he doesn't share it with me. Cocksucker. Nah, that's me."

She unbuttoned her faded denim shirt and let her hand wander underneath. Her girls were getting a bit perky. She lay back and dozed, daydreaming of that sailfish leaping off the young man's back, letting her hands wander.

The dream woke her up. Actually, it was the reality. A hand was beating on the outside of the pool cage.

"Sadie, Sadie, Sadie, you gotta help me. There was some ... some ... equipment missing from the bucket. Can you ... can you please let me ...?"

Sadie roused herself and ducked back through the house again. Her lovelies were threatening to escape. Fuck it. But did she want to give her guy back his juice or keep it for herself? "Me, him, me, him. I think me."

Sadie opened the garage door again and curlyhead was standing there, dancing from one bare foot to another.

"What is it you are needing?" She looked him up and down wishing it wasn't the Old Fisherman's hooch. The young man was shiny with sweat and his face was red.

"Uh, uh, uh ... a, uh, thermos, water bottle ... like that. Did you see ...?

"Nuh uh, but you can look around all you want. Just push that button to close the door and duck out. I'm going back to my ... breakfast."

"OK." The guy's mouth was open and she realized it wasn't just from being out of breath. Sadie's magnificent left breast was swinging nonchalantly out of her shirt.

Sadie returned to her chaise and listened as the kid rummaged in the garage. He was cursing. Sadie took another little sip of the bourbon and lay back in the warm sun. She let both her puppies out and massaged them a bit. She heard the garage door closing and the kid yell, "I'm fucking fucked!" Then he tore off down the path screaming, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"Poor guy, he was just doing his job." She tilted a little of the bourbon into her coffee and sipped happily. By now they should be out beyond the breakwater and on their way to whatever fishing grounds Brian was pretending to hit. Well, the Old Fisherman wouldn't be back until after dark, if then. Sometimes the partying that started on the boat continued on the dock, hit Morty's for a few drinks and sometimes ended up at the Edgewater motel, if some horny old broad was blind enough by then to take a shine to her man.

"Fuck him." She invited, toasting the fishing boat chippies with her spiked coffee. "I'll catch a couple episodes of Outlander; let Jamie warm me up; and let my new toy let me down hard and easy. She tickled a hand under her waistband and tugged at the abundant curls she discovered there. She did love to take her time.

But just as she was getting interested in beginning the first round, she was distracted by a weird little tune rising up outside the pool cage. Someone was approaching, chanting in an off-key sing-song, "Shit, shit, shit, shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit." A shadow loomed up and a face with sweaty curls pushed against the wire.

"Sadie? Sadie, I blew it. Or maybe you blew it. He said you blew it, that you stole his hootch and that was no excuse. I should of got it from you, or whatever. Anyway, he blamed me, and just like that he casts off and the boat just takes off without me. And she was standing there right next to him, kind of almost laughing. And so that blew up. I figured ..."

He was banging on the cage.

"Hey. Kid. Stop it. These things are made flimsy. You could break it. But I'm sorry. Come in for a cup of coffee. Forget those shits ..."

"Oh, I don't know."

"Know. Come in, sit down. Tell me your troubles. You basically got the day off, right?"

"Yeah, I guess ... "

"So. Come on in. Take a load off. Hit the pool if you like. You're all sweated up. I'll bet you're hungry. I'll let you in at the kitchen door ... OK?"

"Uhhh ... sure."

Sadie got up, half reluctant to leave her comfortable nest, and half excited to see what this angry young man would bring to her day. Did she have anything to eat? Yes she did. Tee fuckin' hee.

She cracked the back door. He was standing on the step, red-faced and sweaty, his damp hair sticking to his face.

"Come in, come in. I'm so sorry about the mix up, uh ... I don't know your name, do I?"

"Oh, yeah, Andy, I'm Andy, actually Antonio, but I don't like 'Tony'... so it's ..."

"Andy, handy Andy ... yeah, come on in, Andy and ... hey, why don't you hit the pool and get cooled off and I'll pull together some grub, okay, bread, and ham and cheese and stuff ... and I'll get you a towel ... right on through there ..."

"Uh, sh, sure. It's okay if I swim in my shorts?"

"Yeah, shorts, or skivvies, or lose the whole business and you can wrap up in a towel 'til their dry.

"Whatever."

He ducked through to the lanai and Sadie pulled stuff from the fridge; sandwich makings, cold pizza, a beer, some leftover birthday cake ...

"Here goes nothing."

Andy was doing laps, but the pool wasn't very big, so it was five strokes and a flip turn, five strokes and a flip turn. Sadie was disappointed that he hadn't decided to swim naked. As it was, that broad young back with the sailfish leaping with every stroke and then that tight butt as he did his flip turn. Pretty nice.

Sadie put the food down, sat herself down and watched Andy swim as she sipped her coffee. Poured him a cup and slipped a little of her man's secret potion in it.

"I'm bad," she thought, "feeding alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age. And how old was this kid? I'd better make sure before I break the law."

Andy surged to a stop and water splashed toward Sadie's feet. He hauled himself out without using the ladder. A quick push up and he was standing dripping in front of her. Flipped his hair back, spraying her.

"Well! I thought you were pooped out from that running back and forth, but you seem to have recovered pretty well. Helps to be young. How old are you, anyway?

"Me? Oh, yeah, well, 19 ... just last week."

"Hey, happy birthday, and I'll bet you can make a home for some of these eats. And here's coffee. Cream and sugar if you want it, and I put a little something something in there to help you get your energy back. Oh! Towel, sorry, right here."

Andy took his time drying off and Sadie took her time watching him do it. Springy hair. Cut shoulders. Wicked abs ... hmmm, treasure trail. Lanky legs. No wonder he could get back and forth to the boatyard in no time at all. Serious buns. Wow.

He dug into the food and she watched him eat. Big healthy bites. Licked his fingers. A little thrill grabbed her right about there.

"Gosh, old bird," she thought, "you couldn't have gotten a better treat if Santa Claus had dropped it off personal. Guess Santa knows I'm naughty and nice."

"Food's good."

"Glad you like it. Sorry about the mix up. Sounded like you thought something good could happen with that young lady. Oh, sorry, didn't mean to bring you down again. Did you know her?"

"Know her? Like from school or something? Nah, maybe saw her a couple of times at a club, but never, like, talked to her herself, more like, maybe to one of her friends. But she's like, preppy, and I'm, well, just me. But I thought maybe we could, like, connect on the boat, and then maybe get something going ..."

Sadie smiled.

"So you're not the big pick up artist? Girls around here don't call you a player?"

"Me? Nah. I stick to myself mostly. Got a couple of friends and we hang out. Do some fishing, or bowling; yeah, we look for chicks, but none of us really has moves, or the bread to give a lady a good time."

"Yeah, but you've got looks. I would think the girls ... "

"Not so much. Until this past summer I was pretty skinny and geeky. I had zits and braces until a couple months ago."

"How about the tats? They're pretty cool."

"Yeah, well, the sailfish is new. My guys got it for me for my birthday. This other shit? Well..."

"I'd say it's coming together for you. Braces are gone. You're filling out nice ..."

'Hey thanks. No ... girl ... woman has said I look good. I've been trying to bulk up a little. Not much time for the gym. I gotta work ..."

"Looks like working keeps you mean and lean."

"Yeah, Hank works my butt pretty hard at the boatyard. But I like it. I like working with my hands, with boats, too."

"Nice hands." They were, wide palms and long fingers that thickened at the tips. Sadie had a thought, and the thought made her realize she was distinctly hot down in the engine room. Whoa.

"Um, thanks for the food and the swim, and the coffee. Maybe I should ...."

Sadie was caught by surprise. This wouldn't do.

"Hey, it's nothing,... but you don't have to go yet, right? Please. I'm enjoying our chat. And I'm sure you'd enjoy a little more coffee... "

She leaned way forward to pour him another cup and one of her lovelies took the opportunity to introduce herself. Just a bit of a nip slip, but hey .... She discreetly augmented the coffee.

"Stay ... for a while. Unless, of course you have work, or another young lady who is eager for your attention? Cream and sugar? Her lovelies said, 'hello' again.

Her guest, as she had hoped, was becoming just a little restless.

"Funny how quick on the trigger these kids are."

The damp cutoffs had a different profile than they did a few minutes earlier.

"Andy, I'd love to hear a little about you. You haven't been here long, right?"

"Yup." Andy spoke into his coffee mug. "M'dad came here to work. He sells cars at Naxon Auto. I live with him. Sometimes. I also got a room at the back of the sail shed."

"Your mom?"

"Gone. Oh, not dead 'gone', but gone anyway. Years. Went to New Orleans to be a croupier. Maybe went to Vegas. Doesn't call or write much ..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. You must miss her a lot ..."

"Not so much, now. She hated my dad, and she said I was just like him, so ..."

"So?"

"I'm pretty happy the way I am. I got a job. I'm putting money by for Community College. I like to design boats and cars and things. So maybe that can be a thing I do. But what about you? You just keep house for the Old Fisherman, or do you have your own thing, too?"

"Hey, that's sweet of you to ask. Sure, I take care of this place, but that's 'cause it's my house. I was here before he moved in. Don't get me wrong, I love his company. We have our good times, but I have my business. I like to design things, too. Jewelry, mostly. Some other, bigger pretties. And I sell 'em on Etsy, or Instagram or wherever. I do shows. I have my regular booth at the Marlin Fair. Stuff like that."

"Could I see some of it? That is, if you've got stuff to show?"

"What? Oh, sure. For real or on the website?"

"For real, if you have stuff here ...?"

"Okay, I could bring ... naw, hell, come to my little studio. I can even give you an idea how I work."

"Okay, sure."

Sadie led him to the back of the house to the spare bedroom that served as her workshop. She had a big table made from an old hatch cover on two sawhorses; some bright lights so she could see very fine work; a small kiln for annealing glass and enamel pieces, and a rack with dozens of small clear drawers of multicolored beads and wires and hooks and eyes. On a shelf above the table were her "bubbies", little porcelain figures, mostly chubby women, some in colorful bathing suits, some running naked carrying balloons, or puppies or lizards. A few were clearly erotic; couples tangled in a love embrace; a woman mating with an octopus, another wrapped around a dolphin.

Racks shaped like hands or trees held chains, and rings and earrings or pendants.

Sadie spotted something. It was a small sailfish on a chain.

"Hey, Andy, I think this one's for you. Come here."

"What, no, I can't ... sorry, I don't have any money. Besides, it's jewelry, I ..."

"Andy, Andy, it's a pendant. Lot's of guys have them, crosses and stars and like that. It's 'bling', right. Here. Besides, he's your talisman, your symbol. Here."

She slipped the chain over his head and smoothed the little fish into the hollow of his chest. A little shiver took the back of her neck as she felt the firm muscles.

"Here, look in the mirror there. You see, it suits you just fine. And trust me, the girls are going to spot it, and will just have to touch it and ask you about it. You won't mind that, will you?"

She gently tugged on the pendant. Andy was almost blushing.

"Course they'll ask you who gave it to you. And you can tell them any lie you want. You can say you won it as a trophy for catching a huge marlin. Or you can say you got it from a favorite aunt who was your bosom buddy, but died not long ago. Or ... what's the matter?"

Andy was looking like someone had just stolen his puppy.

"What did I say?"

Andy shook his head.

"You kind of hit a sore nerve, cause I did have exactly what you said, my dad's sister. She was everything he isn't: funny, caring, helpful, potty-mouth. After my mom left she was about the only woman who gave a shit whether I lived or died. I mean, even my teachers seemed to look right through me. But I could hang out at the gas station that she ran and bullshit with her for hours. She told me stories ... well ... stories she shouldn't have, but it made me feel human, like I was a real person, not just some snot-nose kid who was always in the way. She gave me stuff, too, little stuff, Pokemon cards and shit, but ... she cared."

"Wow, I guess I tweaked a nerve there, hey, hey, hey, easy does it, big guy. Come sit over here."

She guided him to the overstuffed couch by the pool and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to take the boy in her arms and cradle his head against her chest, rocking a little. The lad wasn't quite crying, but Sadie could tell that he needed her hug bad. He looked up at her with a big silly smile.

"Thanks ... Sadie. I guess I get pretty lonely since Aunt Mattie died. Giving me the sailfish kind of reminded me, well ... you sort of remind me of her. Not the way you look. You have a lot more ... yeah, she was kind of skinny. But it's something, kind of like you both laugh at the world the same way. Don't take any shit from men. Yeah, tough, but sweet."

"Well, thank you, Andy. You made my day."

She grabbed his face and gave him a kiss on the cheek that caught a corner of his mouth. Another wee jolt.

He bit his lip.

"Jeez, you must think I'm some kind of big baby. It's just that ... it's just that it's been a long time since anyone said ... or held me like this. It just feels so ... right."

"Well, thanks, sweetie." She kissed him again on the top of his head. It was a wonderful musky odor and she found herself resting her mouth there, buried in the curls. His upper body was lying across her lap. Very comfortable. His cheek, with just a hint of a beard coming, lay on her chest, on the bare flesh of her chest.

They both seemed to doze for a while, and then Sadie roused a bit, looking down at the relaxed face of the young man, his soft lips gently parted. Sleeping, Andy had slid down her chest some, pushing her shirt aside and those lips were dangerously close to her nipple, just tucked behind a couple of buttons.

Should she wake him? Would he be embarrassed?

But this was so ... fine. A beautiful young man just resting sweetly on her bosom. What could be ...?

Andy made a face in his sleep, wrinkled his nose, pushed his cheek against her as he shifted position a little. Was he waking up?

But his breathing grew regular again, except that now his warm breath was bathing her nipple. She could feel it tighten, and a little twinge went straight down into her belly.

She was warm under Andy's body and his right elbow was pressed just above there. If she shifted a tiny bit ... well, he might wake up and this moment would be gone, but still ... if she shifted and that elbow just slid down ....

She did it. Oh my goodness. Now that elbow was pressing .... Would it hurt to rock just a tiny bit so the point pressed .... She shouldn't, should she? Oh, but now that was ... better. And his mouth was so close to .... Suppose she just pressed it over, oh so little, until that soft tip was ... . Would he wake up and run away? Oh but he is so nicely asleep and his lips just there, like they need the touch, the taste. Just there. Oh, isn't that sweet, like a little puppy, the tip of his tongue is, is ... oh lord.