Seven Seas for Four

SEVEN SEAS FOR FOUR

(or CCCCCCC44)

by Holly Rennick

DAY 1

ROB

"Arctic Summer" is hardly exciting, but Rob's had more than his share of theme park excitement for today. A little TV's Mom's way to rest her feet after their foray through Seven Seas Adventure. Their distance from saltwater leads him to question the name, but for sure, it's an Adventure.

It's pretty interesting what the show says about narwhals, how their tusks gave rise to the belief in unicorns. It's interesting how the female caribou signals she wants a male, but then makes him chase her.

When's Mom coming out of the bathroom?

***

The four had rendezvoused at Pirate Trove Cafe for Buccaneer Burgers, buns adorned with skull and crossbones. A real pirate eatery should serve rum or something, he judged, not Coca-Cola products or flaked cinnamon in whipped orange juice.

Sara and Dad wanted to stay for the Flagship Light Spectacular, but Mom was beat and he'd headed back with her. He'd not protested one iota, actually, about heading back, just the two of them.

They'd had a special day, he and his mom at Seven Seas, shrieking or laughing, depending on the ride.

In the Sea Cave of Mystery, Mom had gasped and grabbed his hand when their boat drifted past the opening coffin. They'd laughed at the B-gradeness of it all, but she didn't let go.

He'd not have normally held his mom's hand, of course, but here at Seven Seas, it was more fun to be scared with another person, even if she's just your mother.

At the exit was where he'd noticed her nipples. He'd seen them a million times before -- well, not exactly seen them, but their evidence -- but here they were, well, more public. At 16, you register such things.

Dad might have had a problem with it, but Dad was with Sara, and others seeing him with Mom, Rob kind of liked it, as long as they didn't know that she was his mom.

To his surprise, she'd pulled him back into the ride's queue. "That was really fun!"

The girl at the gate -- Ahoy, I'm Crystal, her nametag -- must have remembered them. "Another voyage, landlubbers?" college-girl enthusiasm, apparently a job requirement. Ahoy, I'm Crystal's nipples were as obvious as Mom's, maybe another job requirement.

As the two again approached the coffin, Mom declared that here's where a girl gets a kiss, even if she's too old.

"You're not that old," what he knew she was fishing for. He'd kissed her a million times before, of course, but this one was more fun.

"Made my day, sailor guy," she'd laughed as they drifted past the dinosaur diorama.

Walking along the seawall -- no sea, of course, just a wall with nautical artwork -- she'd taken his arm, and they'd watched the Jolly Roger crew, his arm crossing over her on the "Yo, ho, ho," crossing back during, "And a bottle of rum." He'd not have thought she'd be so intrigued by singing buccaneers.

They'd passed an organ grinder cranking out the theme from Love Boat. As they watched the Lobsterette Review. Mom's chest danced on his back as she improvised a fish step. He wished she wasn't dancing, but liked how it worked out.

The talking clam was ridiculous.

Maritime Missile billed itself as an "Interstellar Voyage from Island Earth." Weak, Rob thought, for an ocean theme. When she kissed him a final intergalactic farewell before boarding, he could feel both of her breasts against him.

Then there was the Hurricane Twister. They should call it The Category 6, he told her. She hugged the pole, him behind, his arms under hers. It wasn't his fault, the Twister twisting them to the way his hold ended up.

The Sandcastle was pretty fun, with all its passages. He'd been ahead of Mom and had met a girl coming against the arrows where there wasn't much width to pass. She'd smiled, turned sideways and let his arm run all the way across her. Maybe he could have gotten to talking with her if Mom hadn't right then caught up,

Submarine Deep seemed lame, especially the giant squid, until a tall girl saddled up against his shoulder. He didn't like how the Asian dude squeezed against his mom, but not wanting the girl to know it was his mom, pretended she wasn't with him.

As the girl seemed to be cool about it, he felt her up when Mom wasn't looking, but then the girl took off.

In truth, though, he was glad to get back to Mom.

In making their way out, the submarine rocking as it was, he'd steadied her from behind and ended up around her stomach, just below her bra. As raising his hold too high might have been obvious, he didn't go there, but managed to feel her undersides.

Actually, a little more than that, pretty sure what he was over as they pushed forward, but it wasn't that big and it wasn't for that long.

Afterward, Mom suggested again doing the cave, "The one with the casket," as if he didn't remember.

"You bet,"

Ahoy, I'm Crystal greeted them with a "Thought you'd be back, mates," having Mom sit in his lap, rather than beside him, her seat being wet.

"Here's where we have to kiss, right?" Rob reminded her as they approached the coffin.

"My special Mr. Sailor Man," Mom agreed, rounding her mouth.

He'd liked where Mom let him rest her hand while they did it. Definitely a nipple.

At the cafe with the others, he'd liked how Mom's knee was against his under the table.

The driver of the hotel shuttle -- a steamship on wheels -- was a black girl in an admiral's hat. Why do black girls wear white bras? Mom dozing in the seat beside him, he'd put his arm over her shoulder, his hand on her collarbone. He imagined the two of them as castaways on a desert island. He'd find bananas and coconuts. Mom's clothes would be ragged. There'd be a tropical moon as they sleep under the palms.

He wasn't sure that through her mirror, the driver couldn't tell when his reach dropped onto his mother's front, but drivers probably see it all the time. He'd felt her change from nothing to a gumdrop. A Mediterranean gumdrop, maybe.

Back in their room, Mom sighed that arches pay a price for sea-going adventure.

That's not all that's paying a price, he'd thought, so needing to masturbate.

When he emerges from the bathroom, Mom asks him to unhook her bra as she heads for her turn. She holds it in place, but not totally.

He almost calls into the bathroom to ask if she needs anything.

***

KATHY

Sure, Kathy found the cave boat exciting -- in a way it shouldn't, even -- but a mom's entitled to a little fantasy now and then, and at least he noticed.

Maybe she shouldn't have let Rob hold her as he did on the Twister, but it's not like they'd ever ride that one back home. Nobody could have seen much, but even if they had, it's what all the boys were doing.

With just your boy, it's more like a secret date, him trying to impress you, you trying to act younger. Why shouldn't she enjoy a little cat and mouse, her being a smart mouse?

The shower feels so nice, the water streaming down your body. Hotels at a place like this don't skimp on their bathrooms.

Rob's already in his PJs and stretched out on his bed, fiddling with the remote, when she emerges in her nightgown.

"We saw it back home, right?" she asks. "About penguins."

Rob explains that this one's about the Arctic, not the Antarctic. "No penguins."

The polar ecosystem utilizes twenty-four hours of summer sun, the announcer tells them.

To her, it sure looks like the one about penguins, except for there being no penguins.

She can feel his eyes on her missed button.

***

Aloft in the Crows Nest, Rob had steadied her from behind as they'd looked for galleons to plunder, her not minding that in doing so, he was around her front.

There'd been a boy and his mother together taking in the view on one side, the dad and daughter together on the other side. By the way the boy was reaching around his mom from behind, Kathy could tell was more than steadying her. The dad was likewise more than steadying the girl, but maybe that's part of coming up to the Crows Nest, she'd decided.

And, oh, Submarine Deep, where families with young children peered at sunken marvels, while in the back, high-schoolers sea-snaked. She didn't appreciate the high-chested girl's pursuit of Rob, but what could she do?

Maybe because of the girl, she'd passed herself against a Chinese-looking boy. He'd brushed back. She wasn't sure why it aroused her, but it meant nothing.

She'd watched a pair of girls pin a lone boy between them, do something, him all the time looking around.

She'd let another girl steady herself against her while the girl's boyfriend got under her tank top. The girl had given Kathy a smile as if they were sharing a secret, but nobody keeps secrets in a place like this.

It hadn't been much later that she'd felt the hand on her back. Had the Chinese boy circled back? There was probably any number of bras right now being undone around them, but she'd not allow him to undo hers. But if he were to, she'd absolutely not let him keep it,

But what if he then reached elsewhere? Again, she'd never let him, but should he, it would be so strange, masturbated by an unknown boy, 20,000 leagues under the sea, nobody around them knowing.

But what if his intent had been yet more? It would be so strange, being secretly mated a thousand feet underwater. She'd never let Rob know.

But it wasn't that boy Chinese who was behind her. It was Rob and she was saved.

As Rob steered toward the exit, how her blouse lifted up, she wasn't sure She'd tugged it back down over his hand, but as there were all sorts of boys around them, inside their girlfriend's clothing, nobody cared. She really shouldn't be letting Rob do this, she'd decided, something she'd make clear in the future.

Afterward, they'd passed the mom and boy from the Crows Nest eating nachos, the mom now braless. When Rob put his hand on her back, was he suggesting that she could go that way, too? She'd thought of doing it, but decided no, as they might cross paths with the others.

They later came upon the other half of the Crows Nest family resting on a bench, the girl on her dad's lap.

How interesting, a family pairing up like that -- not that a mom and boy couldn't be into the rides, the other two into, say, educational displays, but interesting.

She'd later seen the Chinese boy with his family, but he didn't seem to remember her. He had a sister and she'd read someplace that Oriental families often bathe together.

A trio of girls passed them, their midriffs bare. Bug off, Kathy wanted to inform them -- this boy's with his date.

When she and Rob returned to Sea Cave of Mystery, she'd overheard Ahoy, I'm Crystal ask the pair in front if they'd finally ditched their folks. They'd laughed and the girl climbed onto her brother's lap.

Ahoy I'm Crystal suggested she sit the same, her seat being wet --which it wasn't -- and to Rob, "Arms around your passenger, sailor. Like a life preserver."

Actually, it was more than his lap she was on; each rock of their boat making it more feelable.

What looked to be happening in front wasn't any of her business but the brother and sister could surely have pulled it off easier at home. Here it's more exciting, she supposed. Not that she knew for sure, but it sure looked like it.

Kathy hadn't been that surprised, Rob's taking advantage of her position to again feel her, but twice he'd dropped his hand to her lap, the rock of their boat making it slip back and forth.

On the shuttle -- "All aboard for Seven Seas Inn" -- Kathy snuggles against her boy, but her thoughts drift further -- the two of them on an ocean liner, her straightening his tie before the Masked Ball. She'll be in a mask. Afterward, they'll arm-in-arm along the deck. Back in their stateroom, he'll remove her pearls before a mirror. But suddenly they'll be shipwrecked and make it to a desert island where Rob will construct a hut while she gathers fruit. She'll only have a ragged shirt and a pair of short shorts. At night, they'll put a sheet between them, but it will slip away.

Oh my, suddenly back to the present. She must have drifted off, Rob as well, his arm around her shoulder. More than around her shoulder, actually, but it's fun, and for a moment she rests her hand in his jeans. More than on his jeans, actually, but not for that long. Just curious.

Such a day! Not one they could ever have back home, of course, but a day maybe he'll masturbate about. Maybe her, as well, even, imagining Phil and Sara sound asleep, her and Rob hearing each other.

Passing the hotel pool, they pause. The family she's seen at the Crows Nest sits half-submerged at the shallow end, the girl on her father's lap, grinning away.

The mother's likewise perched on her boy and Kathy can tell by how he's holding her that he's taking advantage of it. Is she aware of what's peeking out above her top?

Maybe she's doing something back, even, but Kathy can't be sure. A little back and forth might be OK, once you're together in the pool.

Rob's behind her, watching, too, his arms around her shoulders, then lower. She doesn't mind, as they themselves are at least almost in the water. But as it might catch the eye of others, she's relieved when he drops to her waist. It's not for long, though before he slips under the bottom of her shirt.

The mother in the pool waves a greeting.

On the Twister, she'd let her behind press against him, but never for long. It's very normal, she'd told herself, for a boy to get the way he was with so much stimulation. It's also very normal for a mom to find herself little that way, too, but this was like the last ride of the day.

. Here at the pool, she's again against his jeans. He's erect and she lets him resume a little of what happened before

The mother in the pool catches Kathy's eye and smiles.

When Rob's hand reaches the bottom of her bra, though, she becomes nervous and says they'd better go in.

The mother in the pool waves a goodnight.

The ones in the pool will probably just brush teeth and hit the sack. Probably just that, but at a place like this, the same corporation owns the rides, the pool, the beds that never are singles.

The college girl at the desk hopes they've had a fun day. "There's some in your bathroom, but in case you want more to wind down with," handing them a backup vial of bath oil, a mermaid on the label.

Kathy says thanks, but their room doesn't have a tub.

"Right," agrees the girl, "but lots of our guests enjoy sharing it in the shower."

Kathy wants to point out that this wouldn't be their case, this being her boy with her, but senses the girl might be aware of that. A place like this probably has all sorts of guests.

In reaching for the vial, Kathy's hip once more encounters Rob. She'd have thought he'd have backed away, but apparently he didn't notice. That he's still hard shouldn't matter to her, but she likes it.

It's funny, Kathy thinks, paying too much for the rides, when on the elevator your heart thumps even faster. She has him unlock their door -- him being better with things mechanical -- and leans into him to see how he swipes the card. Why not? It takes him several swipes.

It's not often you enter a hotel room with some guy not your husband, she says to herself.

It's not yet goodnight time, but she gives Rob a kiss before heading for the shower, from where she almost calls for him to fetch that oil. It's bath oil, not shower oil. That family at the pool probably loaded up with extra vials and the mom's this very minute slickening up her boy on one side of the shower, the girl doing her father on the other.

When she emerges from the bathroom, Rob's on his stomach, watching the TV, making her again wonder about his condition. He explains something about penguins.

She cinches the drapes, latches the door, and turns off the lights. "Makes the screen easier to see," as if she's an optometrist, flopping herself beside him. Would he rub her feet, she asks, flopping herself beside him and tugging up the hem of her nightgown.

"Maybe I'll get one of those Coco Knights tomorrow, you think?" Rob informs her as he sits up.

"Coco what?" not allowing herself to look at his bottoms.

"You know, the drink with the sword."

Probably more emulsifier than coconut, but sure, she agrees. They're at Seven Seas. She'll get the one pressed from organic apples.

She looks.

Go for it, girl, she tells herself. "How about my back," placing her arms under her head.

She likes how he does it through her gown where her breasts smush to the side, each time a little more under. She'd not let him get underneath too far, of course, but lifts to where he could.

As she can't just say, go ahead and do my butt, all she can do is wait.

"Have enough shampoo?" an unexpected inquiry the very moment she's thinking he might.

The narrator tells them, "Having no predators, polar bears do as they like when they like." A mother seal summons her pup with a slap of her flipper.

It's from Canada, Rob informs her, given a reference to First Nations.

What if she were a First Nations mother and the men were off hunting walrus? A First Nations son is shivering because he doesn't eat enough blubber. The TV said that First Nations families share a common pallet. The polar bear skin is soft. First Nations daughter, accustomed as she is to the swish-swish rhythms of igloo nights, won't wake.

So much today was accidental, or at least somewhat explainable, she assures herself. Your boy can make you feel special at a place like this. On the rides. After the rides, even.

She misses the "Their harpoons reflect generations of adaptation to sub-zero survival" footage.

Sooner or later some girl will lay her Rob in some tunnel ride. She'll find condoms in his backpack. He's being responsible, she'll tell herself.

But this is now.

For sure Sara won't settle for leaving Flagship Light Spectacular before the grand finale. Not because of the fireworks, though, but because maybe they, too, did the tunnel ride. She'd get Phil to sit on the farthest-back bleacher where nobody can watch.

Fearing her courage may falter, Kathy rolls onto her back, yawns, and closes her eyelids.

***

ROB

Rob had had some almosts.

That girl in the Sandcastle, definitely he'd have felt her up more if Mom hadn't caught up.

He'd almost laid that girl in the submarine -- well, not per se, but maybe could have if they'd been somewhere else. She'd tugged him by his hand into where the crowd pressed them together and pulled their grip to where the other's legs met. It had made him nervous and he'd said he had to go.

When Mom was his age, did she and her boyfriend fool around on the carousel at the State Fair and then hit the Tunnel of Love? Not that she'd had a boyfriend as far as he knew, though, as all he'd ever heard about was her going to the State Fair with her brother.

But as he said, out the seven seas, you can try places you might not visit ashore.

Standing behind Mom at the pool, he'd put his arms around her, and as they'd watched the swimmers, he'd snuck a hand around her shirt, her not noticing. To pull it off, he'd had to stand where his jeans were against her butt, and it was the sway of their standing that caused the rubbing.

In the water, there'd been the family they'd seen in the Crows Nest, the boy pretty much inside his mom's top. Rob had watched to see if he'd pop her out, but he hadn't.

Watching them made Rob a little bolder and he'd moved his reach to his mom's waist and then up a little under her shorts. When she'd pressed herself backward, he reached up to the bottom of her bra. If he'd kept going, maybe he could have located her nipple, but as she'd have maybe noticed, he'd not tried.

But now safe in their room, the other two absent, he wonders where this might yet go. It's why he'd changed into his PJs, so she could tell how he was and stop things when she wanted. Not that she'd seemed to mind his boner earlier, but that was when nothing more could have happened.