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“You know, you’ve been getting progressively more southern over the last twenty-four hours. You’re even speaking with a slight accent.”
“I paid a fortune to work with a dialect coach so I wouldn’t have to sound like this all the time. But now that I’m back in this part of the country, I’d feel like a phony if I didn’t let the northern Louisiana back into my speech.”
“I think it’s very cute.”
“Thank you.” I paused and held my arms out to one side, indicating a framed movie poster. “Here’s what put this place on my radar. Some scenes from the 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon were filmed right out back. While that may be of minimal interest to you, there are all sorts of things I think you’ll like here, including the fact that the waterway is stuffed full of gators, turtles, weird birds, and all kinds of shit that will probably make your animal-lovin’ heart happy. It just seemed like the perfect balance of both my interests and yours.”
As I put my arms around him, he smiled at me and said, “Southern Will seems to be somewhat goofier than California Will.”
“Does that make him better or worse?”
“He’s pretty great either way.” He held the back door open, then followed me through.
“I’m just so excited that we get to be here for two whole days, totally away from everything while we enjoy this.” I held my arms out to indicate the scene before us.
Our side of the lagoon consisted of a wide lawn, shade trees, and a swim beach that lined the pristine lagoon, and on the other side of the sparkling water was a thick jungle. We walked up to the water’s edge, and I pointed to the opposite shore and said, “Look! Our first gator of the trip.”
Lorenzo looked around and said, “Hang on. This area is clearly meant for swimming. There’s even a diving platform. But why would anyone choose to get in the water in an alligator-infested lagoon? That little line of buoys roping off the swim area isn’t going to mean much to the resident carnivores.”
“It defies explanation.” I grabbed his hand and changed the subject with, “There’s something over here that I think you’re going to love.”
I led him to a dock and bought us tickets, and then we boarded an open-sided boat with a fabric roof. “Isn’t this great? It’s just like the jungle cruise in Disneyland,” I said, “but with real animals instead of animatronic ones.”
The tour left on the hour, and the only other people on the boat were a couple in their eighties. I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to Lorenzo and me holding hands, but the little old lady smiled at us and said, “You two make such a beautiful couple.” After that, I felt just fine about hanging all over my boyfriend.
The boat ride through the swamp was fantastic. Lorenzo kept spotting animals before our guide did. Then he’d whisper the name to me, along with a bunch of information about the various birds and other creatures we came across. When a family of huge, gray manatees swam up alongside our boat, he blurted, “My God, look at that! I never thought I’d get to see this species in the wild.” The very best part of the boat ride for me was watching his reactions.
Eventually, we returned to the dock and took a long stroll before having lunch in the lodge’s charming dining room. When we finished our meal, the woman at the front desk let us check in early, and we took our luggage up to our room.
The fact that it was called the Ball Suite made both of us chuckle like a pair of high school kids. It had a big bed, pinkish walls, and floral curtains, and the whole thing felt like it was from a different time, in a charming sort of way. Lorenzo pulled me onto the bed with him and kissed me, and then he said, “Thank you so much for this, Will. I’m loving every minute of it. I just feel a little guilty that you’re paying for everything.” He knew I’d just gotten the second installment of my salary, so it wasn’t a question of being able to afford it.
“It was my turn to take care of you. That doesn’t actually have anything to do with money, by the way. It’s just about making you feel good, the way you always do with me. I really think that’s what we need, to find that balance and take care of each other.”
He nodded in agreement, and then he said, “I have an idea. Let’s take care of each other all afternoon, right here in this bed.”
I smiled and pulled him closer. “Excellent plan.”
We undressed quickly as the heat between us flared. That was followed by several urgent minutes of foreplay while we pleasured each other with our hands and mouths and fingers. Once he worked me open, I rolled onto my back and parted my legs for him. He lubed up and slid inside me, and I made a sound that was an awful lot like a sigh of contentment.
