Stick With Me Kid

Note: Mary's A Grand Old Name was by George M. Cohan, 1906.

Stick With Me, Kid Part 16

My lover stood in the center of our cabin, his hands on his hips, surveying the damage that had been done. "Bastards," he growled. He stooped to pick up a shirt which had been bunched on the floor. "What the hell did he do?"

It was my shirt, and it was covered with white stains. I had no doubt that at some point, Red had jacked off into it.

I couldn't take my eyes off the shirt.

"Johnny. Johnny, are you oke?"

I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine. Instead, "He said he saw us. Red. He said he was watching while we... I was on my belly, and you... He saw your prick moving in and out of me."

"Impossible."

"No, it is possible. If I was on my hands and knees..."

"Johnny, you're not thinking clearly. We never made love that way. We've always been face to face."

"No," I said sadly. "You're the one who's not thinking clearly, Carl. The night we left Dakang, I thought you were so angry with me. You took me from behind."

He came to me and pulled me into a comforting embrace. "We were on our sides, kid. There's no way anyone could have seen me penetrating you."

"But... How could he describe it as if he'd seen it?"

"Maybe he had a good imagination. Maybe he had, at some time or other, but not us. Do you believe me, Johnny?"

Did I? I hadn't trusted anyone enough to believe them in a long time. I looked into his eyes.

I nodded.

"Good." He brushed his lips over mine.

They were warm and dry. His eyes were closed, but mine remained open, and I watched as his lips parted, and his tongue emerged just enough to lick over them, leaving a sheen of moisture behind. He cradled my cheeks in his hands and lowered his mouth to mine, and my eyes languidly closed. This time the kiss was warm and wet and very thorough. He was smiling when he let me go.

"Now let's get washed up. We can deal with this mess later. I don't know about you, kid, but breakfast was a long time ago, and I'm starved!"

The Venture sliced through the dark, quiet sea.

We had just finished dinner and were sitting around the table. Scattered over its surface was the treasure of Skull Mountain, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires.

"I say we split it four ways," my lover said. "A quarter for you and Charley, Skipper." He pushed some of the jewels to their side of the table. "A quarter for you, Hildy. You'll never have to sing for your supper again. A quarter for you, Jimmy."

"Thanks, Denham," he said gruffly. "'Appreciate it."

"And the last quarter ..." His eyes were intent on mine. "For us, Johnny?"

I had to swallow a few times, and even then all I could do was nod.

"I promised if you stuck with me, we'd be rich as Rockefeller." He reached across the table, ignoring the fact that there were interested spectators, and covered my hand. I turned my hand over, and the thumb that had been rubbing my knuckles stroked across my palm.

"I'm already as rich as Rockefeller, Mr. Denham. This," I gestured toward the glittering stones. "This doesn't matter." I knew my smile was crooked. "I've got you."

"So, what're you gonna do with your share, Hildy?" Jimmy was rolling a couple of diamonds between his fingers.

Her eyes grew dreamy. "I'd like to go to a real school. Maybe back in the States?"

Jimmy didn't look too happy about that. "You'd be all by yourself! There are a lot of bad people out there."

"Jimmy is right, Hildy." I hated to burst her bubble, but I still got the willies every time I pictured Helstrom with that shiv at her throat. Just a bit more pressure...

"I know, Johnny. I guess I always knew it was just another one of my father's promises that wouldn't come true." She shouldn't have had to know firsthand about broken promises.

"I have friends in New York, Miss Hildy. Suppose when we get to Honolulu, I wire them? David and Emma West are familiar with the city. They might know of a good boarding school, and if they don't, I'm sure they wouldn't mind having you stay with them while you went to a day school."

"Really?" She looked hopeful. "Charley told me stories about them. They sounded really nice."

"They're good people. I've known Dave since he was a Pinkerton, and Emma's last name was still Peel when I first met her." The Skipper picked up his coffee cup, but it was empty.

"I will make a fresh pot, Frank."

"Thank you, Chi." The Skipper watched Charley leave. There was that expression in his eyes...

I cleared my throat. "I'd like to buy an island where Little Kong can live in peace. I owe him." I turned to my lover. "He saved your life."

"We both owe him, kid. He saved your life as well, more than once."

"Any idea where, John?"

"I'm not familiar with the South Seas, Skipper."

He puffed placidly on his pipe. "When we arrive in Hawaii, I'll look into what real estate is available. Maybe something in the Fijis, Carl?" The two men shared a grin.

My lover caught my questioning glance. "I promised the Skipper if he'd go on the quest for King Kong that he'd make enough to retire to the Fiji Islands."

"Better late than never, Carl."

"Will I get to visit, Johnny?"

"Of course, Hildy!" I held out my arms to her, and she climbed onto my lap. "What will you do with your share, Skipper?"

"Oh, we'll kick it in toward buying Little Kong his island."

"But..."

"He saved our lives as well. You have no idea how close we came to being shark bait!" He smiled at me. "And once Charley and I are done adventuring, perhaps we'll settle down there as well."

"You know you'd always be welcome no matter what, Skipper, but shouldn't you really ask Charley about it?"

"Charley won't mind. He has a nest egg saved for us, hidden in a place where the men never thought of looking."

"What about you, Jimmy?"

"I dunno. All my life the only thing I ever wanted to be was a sailor. I like serving under you, Skipper."

"Then save it for a rainy day. There's plenty of time to decide."

"Thanks, Skipper. Uh, Smitty... do I get to visit too?"

"Whenever you'd like, Jimmy." I wasn't going to get maudlin and tell him that I considered them all family.

The Skipper's blue eyes glinted in approval, and I wondered if he knew what I was thinking.

He placed a tin box on the table and opened it. "Something else that was missed. You're going to need new clothes, Hildy. So are you, John." It was filled with coins and paper currency of the islands we had stopped at. He passed a handful of coins across the table to me. "Consider it back pay."

"But I'm only aboard because of Mr. Denham. I'm not a member of your crew, Skipper."

"Aren't you? Take it, John." He tapped the ashes out of his pipe and put fresh tobacco in it. "Get whatever you need. I insist. Carl told me nothing of yours could be salvaged."

Mr. Denham had thrown my torn, bloodstained shirt overboard, and I was wearing one that belonged to him. Jimmy was the closest to me in size, and he had offered a spare pair of blue canvas pants. They had a tendency to hang low on my hips, which were narrower than his.

"There's a little shop about six streets from the harbor. Mention my name, and they'll treat you well."

Under the table, my lover's foot tapped against my ankle. The look he sent my way told me to accept the older man's largesse. "Oke, Skipper. Thank you."

Charley walked in with a pot of coffee in one hand, the other behind his back, his dark eyes crinkled in laughter. He poured us each a fresh cup, then cleared his throat. "It seems Little Kong had some company on that tree of his." He gently placed a bundle of fur on the table before us.

"What the..."

"Another orphan from Skull Island."

The kitten, larger than the offspring of a housecat, was so young its eyes were still closed. Its dark cream coat was dotted with darker spots of brown and gold. It opened its mouth in a silent cry, revealing canine teeth that would eventually grow into the sabres that gave it its name.

"Holy smoke! How?"

Charley shrugged. "You did not see the tree Little Kong was using as his canoe. The branches were huge and tangled, and while one end was deep in the water, forming a rudder, the other rose up high. Perhaps when the volcanoes began to erupt, its mother placed it there in an effort to save it."

"That makes as much sense as anything else."

Hildy didn't seem too interested in how the kitten came to be on the Venture. "Can we keep him, Johnny?" She leaned forward to stroke a gentle finger along the knobs of its spine.

I didn't know anything about young animals. I looked to my lover. "Can we, Mr. Denham?"

He turned to the Skipper, panicked. I guessed he knew more about adult animals. "Skipper?"

Captain Englehorn studied the little creature. "He's so young, Hildy. He needs his mother to feed him, and I don't think... Just a second! Charley, has Maude weaned her kittens yet?"

Again, I could see the amusement in the Chinaman's eyes. "Honorable one, it has only been two weeks since she gave birth."

"Good lord, you're right! So much has happened, it just seems like ages! Maude was always the most maternal of all the ship's cats. Let's see if she'll accept this little fella." He picked it up and turned it over. "Correction. We'll see if she accepts this little lady."

Maude, a calico with a torn ear, had made a home for her kittens in a box in a corner of the galley.

Captain Englehorn squatted down and scratched her ears before holding the kitten so she could learn its scent. We held our breaths as she sniffed it curiously. Her pink tongue swept out to caress the young carnivore's face, and he put the kitten beside her. The tiny head butted her side, searching impatiently for a nipple. With a little help from the Skipper, the saber-tooth found what she was looking for. She settled in to nurse, kneading her foster mother's side, her purr sounding like a rusty saw.

"You'll need to come up with a name."

"Why don't you do the honors, Hildy? " I had never named anything and had no idea how to go about choosing a name.

"Me?" She looked thrilled. "I want to call her..." She whispered in the Skipper's ear.

His brows quirked in surprise, but he murmured a few words, and she nodded.

"Yes! Bisa ma Kong. Gift of Kong."

We made some alterations to the forward cargo hold to make it comfortable for Little Kong, a platform for his bed, a framework of vertical and horizontal wooden bars for him to climb on, ropes dangling from the overhead to swing on.

"How are we going to get him in there, Skipper? Little Kong's a pretty big boy, and the hatch is kind of narrow."

He grinned around his pipe. "Come along to the wheelhouse, John."

Once there, the Skipper pressed a switch, and in a series of jerking movements, the deck above the hold rose. My jaw dropped. From down in the hold, my lover waved to me, then turned to make some minor adjustments to one of the bars. He was naked from the waist up, and sweat gleamed on his tanned chest and back. My mouth went dry, and I barely heard what the Skipper was saying.

"This was Carl's invention. He had the men working on it while we sailed to the South Seas. I had no idea what he was up to. Once Kong was knocked out by those gas bombs, we floated him out to the Venture, got him in the hold, and spent the trip back to New York making sure he stayed unconscious. Smart man, Carl Denham."

I smiled. "Yeah."

The Venture sailed into Honolulu Harbor late in the day, with Little Kong hidden in the hold.

"I'll send that telegram to Dave as soon as the telegraph office opens in the morning, then go to the hiring hall. If rumors of this last trip haven't gotten around, I should be able to round up a crew. Carl, would you mind coming with me?"

"Sure thing, Skipper."

"Will Little Kong be all right alone on the Venture?" We didn't anticipate staying in Hawaii longer than it took for us to see about buying an island.

"Without a doubt, John. However, if anyone gets too curious, I think they'll be in for quite a surprise!"

"I will stay, honorable one. Once you have a new crew, then I will go ashore for the supplies we will need."

"Smitty, mind if I go shopping with you and Hildy? I... er... I need to buy some things, as well."

"Fine with me, Jimmy." Although I assumed he was more in the market to buy some female companionship for a few hours. I didn't blame him for wanting a body to bury his prick in.

I had been wondering what it would be like to be buried balls-deep in my lover's hard body. I watched as he bent over the chart table, studying one of the big maps, murmuring about the three hundred islands that made up Fiji. His trousers stretched tight across the swell of his ass, and I shifted, hoping no one would see how hard I had become.

We disembarked around midmorning the next day, and Jimmy disappeared almost as soon as we got ashore.

The further we got from the harbor, the more our clothes drew attention. Hildy was engulfed in another one of Mr. Denham's shirts, and she had a pair of Charley's soft shoes on her feet. I was again wearing one of my lover's shirts. "I'm sorry that's the best I can do for you right now, kid."

"I like the idea of being in your clothes, Mr. Denham." He'd laughed when I'd turned bright red. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Too bad." He went off with the Skipper, whistling a vaguely familiar tune.

I found the shop the Skipper had recommended. "Good morning, ma'am. I need some clothes for... for my little sister."

Hildy smiled up at me, her expression radiant and leaned into my side. "And my brother needs clothes, also."

"Obviously." The woman looked down her nose at Hildy, frowned at me, and sniffed in disapproval. "I do not think there would be anything suitable for either of you here."

"Johnny?" Hildy gripped my hand tightly. The woman's hostile tone of voice shook her. She was a strong little girl, but she'd been through a lot.

I wanted to smack that supercilious expression off the woman's face, but instead I squeezed Hildy's hand as reassuringly as I could. "It's all right, Hildy. Captain Englehorn must have been mistaken when he directed us to this place. I beg your pardon for having taken up your time, madam. Come along, honey."

"Just a ... did you say 'Captain Englehorn'? Captain Frank Englehorn? Oh, my dear young man, why didn't you say so! Anything for the dear man. He's such a sweet old lamb!" She was all smiles. "Just give me a moment, I'm sure I have something in this pretty little girl's size!"

She bustled off, and I wondered how the Skipper would react to hearing himself called a 'sweet old lamb'. It boggled my mind.

Hildy made sure she kept some distance between herself and the woman who, in a complete reversal of her former attitude, was now fawning over the little girl. In the end she got everything she needed at that shop, including shoes and undergarments, and I was able to buy trousers and a shirt that someone had ordered but never returned for. They fit well enough, and I ordered more made to my measurements, which I'd come back to pick up in a few days.

And I spotted something for my lover that I thought would be perfect for him.

On the way back to the harbor, we passed a little outdoor bistro. "Would you like something, Hildy?"

"Yes, please?"

We sat down for a light snack of frosted cakes and iced tea.

"Do you think the Skipper's friends will be able to find a school for me?"

"Honey, if that's what you really want, and if they can't, we will."

"What's school like, Johnny? Daddy taught me when he was sober. He just wasn't sober too often. It wasn't his fault; his missed Momma a lot."

"What happened to your momma, Hildy?"

"She just went away one day. He didn't like to talk about it."

My mother just went away one day, too.

I began to tell her about some of my experiences at the school I had attended, and she listened in delight.

It was late afternoon, later than I'd realized, when we got back to the Venture. Hildy went right to the little cabin that was now hers, carrying a few of the smaller parcels.

I followed with the rest of them piled high in my arms, deep in thought. I was wondering how my lover would respond to the present I'd bought him.

"JOHNNY!"

I let the bags and boxes fall to the deck of the passageway and ran.

Hildy stood in the middle of the floor, her hands clasped to her chest, making breathless little sounds.

Propped on the pillow of her berth was a porcelain doll with golden ringlets and eyelashes made of real hair. It was wearing a pale green dress covered in frills and lace. Peeking out from under the ruffled crinoline that foamed over plump legs with dimpled knees were black patent leather shoes.

Hildy ran a hesitant finger over the pink in its cheeks. "Ohhh!"

"Do you like her?" Jimmy hovered in the doorway. His arms were filled with the packages that I had dropped. "I looked all over Honolulu to find her."

"Oh, Jimmy!"

"When you pick her up, her eyes open. She has blue eyes, just like yours, Hildy."

"Oh, Jimmy! She's beautiful!" She flung herself at him. "Thank you!"

He dropped the bundles and caught her, hugging her close. His smile told how pleased he was that she liked his choice.

"Oh, but it must have cost you a fortune."

"I don't have anyone to spend my pay on." I raised an eyebrow, thinking of the ladies of the evening that all sailors spent their money on, and he blushed. "You know what I mean, Smitty. I wanted Hildy to have something to remember me by when she went to the States."

"I don't need anything to remind me of you, Jimmy! I would never forget you!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you!"

"Jimmy." I waited until he put her down. She went back to her berth and picked up the doll, talking to it softly, touching the curls, the shoes, the petticoat. "I don't think she ever had a doll. You did a good thing. Thanks."

He blushed harder and hunched a shoulder. "Every little girl should have a doll."

Hildy was rocking the doll gently in her arms. She looked at me, then at him, her eyes shining. "I'm going to call her 'Mary'. That was my Momma's name."

"It's a nice name, honey."

She began to sing to the doll, "'For it was Mary, Mary, plain as any name can be. But with propriety, society will say Marie...'"

I cleared my throat. "Well, I have to find Carl. You two can pick all this up and put the clothes away." I bent to retrieve the box that was mine. "I'll see you later."

Jimmy stacked the boxes on Hildy's berth, while she continued singing to Mary.

I went down to the galley. I figured it would be quicker to check with Charley than to scour the steamer for my lover.

"Charley, have you seen Mr. Denham?" I crouched down beside Maude and the little sabre-tooth. Her eyes had opened just the day before, and they were an astonishing gold.

He looked up from the list he was making. "Frank said he ran into an old friend. They were going for a drink at the Honolulu Ritz."

"An old friend?" Suddenly I felt uneasy. I licked my lips.

"Johnny, Denham cares about you. I have seen his feelings grow. A word of advice. If you want him, make sure he knows. Fight for him. Do not let anyone come between you."

"Yeah, but..."

"Johnny, do you think he lied to you about his feelings?"

I ran a hand through my hair. The thong that confined it slid to the floor. I sighed and picked it up. "I don't think he lied, Charley, but it's one thing to say something when you're stuck on an island with no chance in hell of getting off, and it's another when you're back in civilization."

"Ah so."

"Tell me something, Charley?" I tied my hair back and rose to my feet. "If someone got between you and the Skipper..."

"They would not succeed."

"No, but if they tried..."

"They would not succeed. They would be dead." He patted my shoulder. "You will decide what you must do, John Smith. Now go. And if you must kill the man, please be discreet. Frank is having a problem getting a crew, and we cannot leave here just yet."

"The word's gotten out about Skull Island?"

"It would seem so." He became lost in thought. "Perhaps I should pay a visit to the Chinese consulate."

"Oh... Sure. Uh... I'll be back later, Charley." I trotted up the ladder, wondering what he would want with the Chinese consulate, then forgot about it once I was back ashore. "Excuse me, Officer, can you give me directions to the Honolulu Ritz?"

tbc