"Eddie, I'm going to make some coffee. I don't know if they drink it, but we should have some ready in case they do," Kathy said as she kissed Eddie's cheek. "After I make the coffee, we can get ready."
"Okay, Honey. I'll get up too."
Eddie and Kathy got out of bed. Neither of them dressed, leaving the stateroom buck-naked. Kathy went up to the galley to make coffee while Eddie used the head. He was adjusting the water in the shower when Kathy joined him.
"I knocked on Jenny and Brad's door. They're getting up," Kathy said as she got into the shower with Eddie. "Are you ready for our big day?"
"We're just going fishing, nothing special. We've taken strangers out before. I don't see what the big deal is."
"These kids aren't your normal teenagers, Honey, they're rich."
"Most of the people we take out are rich-at least their parents are. I think you and Jenny are blowing this way out of proportion."
"None of the kids we've taken out bought a yacht from your dad."
"So, what's that got to do with anything? Dad's business is his, it has nothing to do with us."
Kathy turned her back to Eddie so he could wash her back. "I guess you're right. I think Jenny has got me all worried about it."
Eddie rubbed the soap over Kathy's back. She leaned her head back, turning so she could kiss him.
"Hurry up you guys, Brad and I have to shower too," Jenny said, as she stuck her head in the shower. "Quit fooling around!"
"I was just kissing him while he washed my back. We'll be finished in a couple of minutes."
Eddie and Kathy finished in the shower. They got out to dry off, leaving the water running for Brad and Jenny. While they were trading places, Jenny grinned at Kathy.
"I didn't mean to rush you. I'm just a little nervous-sorry."
"No problem. I'll start breakfast so it's ready when they get here. Eddie can help me. What are you wearing today?"
"Jeans and a tank top."
"Okay, that's what I was going to wear too."
Jenny closed the shower door. She and Brad began shampooing one another's hair and washing each other's bodies. Eddie and Kathy left the head, going to their room to get dressed. Kathy put her bra around her, fastening the clasp in front before twisting it around. Eddie covered her breasts with his hands, preventing her from pulling the cups over them. She slipped her arms into the straps and stood still, waiting for Eddie to remove his hands.
"Um, it's hard to put this thing on when you're doing that."
"So, don't wear a bra today. I like to watch your boobs jiggle when you don't."
Kathy giggled. "Sorry, but not today."
Eddie gave her breasts a gentle squeeze. He released her, watching as Kathy covered her breasts with the lacy bra. Once she had it adjusted, Kathy put on a pair of matching panties. Eddie also dressed, putting on a pair of blue jeans and a button-down short sleeve shirt. When they were dressed, Eddie and Kathy made the bed and straightened the stateroom.
"What are you making for breakfast?" Eddie asked. He followed Kathy into the galley, putting his arms around her waist.
"I was thinking we'd make French toast and bacon."
"Okay, what do you want me to do?"
"If you'll start the bacon, I'll take care of the French toast."
Kathy and Eddie began preparing breakfast. Jenny and Brad came up to the galley and Jenny offered to take over what Eddie was doing.
"You and Brad go get the rods ready. Kathy and I will make breakfast."
* * * *
"Hurry up, we're going to be late," Jack said.
"We'll be ready in a minute, Sally and I have to finish packing first."
Tom laughed. "We're only going for the day you know."
Kim looked up from the bag she was putting clothing in. "Sure, and when you ask for a pair of shorts later and I tell you I didn't pack them because I was rushed, you'll be mad at me."
"Okay, just hurry."
Sally and Kim finished packing their things. Sally gave the bag to Jack and then put on a hooded sweatshirt. After zipping it up, Sally said she was ready to go. Tom and Jack grabbed jackets. Kim put on a sweatshirt like the one Sally was wearing and they all left.
On the way to the marina, Jack pulled into a donut shop. Tom ran in, coming back with a bag in his hand.
"I got a few different kinds of donuts and some bagels. Do you think that will be enough?"
"It should be. Mr. Shockley said we didn't need to bring anything except our clothes," Kim said.
Tom sat in the front seat with Jack, telling him when and where to turn as he read the directions. The trip only took a few minutes. Jack pulled into the parking lot of the marina, found a place to park and then shut off the Suburban.
"Wow, look at the boats they have in here," Jack said. "Grab the food, camera and clothes so we can go find the Lady Guinevere."
The four teens walked down one of the finger piers, looking for the slip number the boat was supposed to be in. When Tom spotted the Lady Guinevere, he pointed at it.
They walked up to the boat, watching Brad and Eddie working on the rods. Jack stepped up to the starboard side, looking down into the cockpit.
"Hi. I'm Jack Graham. This is my sister Kim and our cousins, Tom and Sally Lewis."
Eddie and Brad put the rods in holders. Eddie moved over to where they stood on the pier and said, "Hi. I'm Eddie Shockley. That's Brad Waters, welcome aboard."
Jack, Tom, Kim and Sally stepped into the cockpit. After shaking hands, Eddie led them into the cabin. They followed Eddie through the cabin to the galley.
Pointing, Eddie said, "Kathy, Jenny, these are our guests. Jack and Kim Graham and Tom and Sally Lewis." Eddie turned to the group. "Did I get it right?"
"Yes," Sally said. "Hi, Jenny, hi Kathy."
Jenny and Kathy came around the counter and shook hands with the teens. Everyone went silent as they stood and glanced at each other.
"This is a great looking boat," Kim said.
"Thanks," Jenny replied. "Kathy and I are fixing breakfast. I hope French toast and bacon is okay."
"We brought donuts and bagels, if anyone wants any. French toast and bacon sounds a lot better to me. What can we do to help?" Sally said as she gave the duffle bag and Tom's camera bag to Jack. "Why don't you find a place to put this? Kim and I are going to help Kathy and Jenny fix breakfast."
Jack looked at Sally, raising an eyebrow.
"Please."
Jack chuckled. "Where can I put this?" he asked Eddie.
Brad took the bag from Jack. "I'll take it below for you, Jack."
"Thanks, Brad. Don't mind Sally, she can be a little bossy."
It seemed like the ice had been cracked, if not broken. Everyone laughed as Sally stuck her tongue out at Jack. Kim and Sally took off their sweatshirts, tossing them to Tom.
"What do you want us to do?" Kim asked.
"We really have it under control," Jenny said, her voice showing a bit of surprise.
"Where are the dishes, we can set the table," Sally said.
"You're our guests, you don't have to do anything," Kathy told the girls.
"Thanks, but we want to help," Kim said. "Now, where are the dishes?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Kathy pointed to a cabinet. Kim and Sally took out plates, set them around the table and then asked where they could find the silverware. Kathy and Jenny went back to the stove and began cooking the French toast.
"We usually have orange juice with breakfast, the glasses are up there, the juice is in the refrigerator," Jenny said, smiling sincerely, for the first time since Kim and Sally arrived.
"How has your trip been so far?" Jenny asked.
"Okay, we really haven't had much time to do anything yet. We went to the beach and on the riverboat," Kathy said. "Yesterday was busy with meetings."
"How was that riverboat dinner thing? I've never been on it," Jenny said.
"It was really cool. They take you to an island, feed you and then bring you back. We had a great time and the food was great," Kim told her. "I'd do it again someday."
"Want to check out the fishing tackle?" Eddie asked Jack and Tom.
"Sure, I'd love to," Jack replied.
"Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes," Jenny said as the guys left for the cockpit.
"We're planning on fishing for sailfish today," Brad said. "We'll be using live bait and teasers."
"Jack and I went out a few times, but we don't really know a lot about saltwater fishing. We fish for salmon in the Great Lakes. Salmon, walleye and perch." Tom took the rod Eddie handed him, looking it over carefully. "This is the drag?"
"Yes, it's a lever drag. These reels are two-speed. That little lever changes the speed," Eddie said. "The drag is adjusted by moving the other lever."
"Do you guys catch your own bait?" Jack asked.
"No, we buy it. We have a cast-net, but it's kind of hard to get this boat into where the baitfish are and throw the net from her. We could probably do it if we were better with the net though." Eddie took the rod back when Jack handed it to him. "Buying bait is much easier."
"I hear the salmon fishing is good on Lake Michigan. Is that where you go?" Brad asked.
"Yes, we have a boat we trailer across the state to fish. We have also fished in Lake Huron. It's pretty good, but not as good as Lake Michigan," Tom said.
"What kind of boat do you have?" Brad asked.
"It's a twenty-seven foot sport fisherman with a hardtop," Jack replied. He glanced around the cockpit. "Nothing like this."
Kim stuck her head out the cabin door. "Come in and have breakfast, you can play later." Giggling, Kim went back inside.
The four guys went into the cabin. They washed their hands and then sat at the table. Kim and Jenny brought the platters to the table, placing them in the center. Once everyone was seated, they began to eat.
"This is really good," Tom said. "The French toast tastes different than I'm used to."
"I put a little vanilla extract and a touch of real maple syrup in the eggs," Kathy said. "I don't use milk though."
"It really makes it tasty," Tom said. "Would you please pass the plate?"
"Where are we going today?" Jack asked.
"On the ocean, where do you think?" Sally said with a chuckle.
"You're in rare form today, Sally. What's up with you?" Jack said.
"I intend to have fun-that's what's up. What's the matter, can't you take a joke?"
Jack laughed, turning to face Eddie and Brad. "Do we have time to pick up a couple of cement blocks and a piece of line?"
Everyone cracked up, laughing out loud. "I keep those things in the engine room, you never know when you're going to need to get rid of a yappy girl."
"You're a dork, Eddie! We're not yappy girls," Jenny said.
"I didn't say you were. I just said you never know when you might have to get rid of a yappy girl."
The group finished their breakfast. Jenny and Kathy got up, telling Sally and Kim to follow them. The four girls went below so Jenny could show them the staterooms. When they came up, Jenny stopped at the table.
"We're going to get going."
"Okay, we'll be out in a few minutes," Eddie said.
Kim and Sally grabbed their sweatshirts. They followed Jenny and Kathy out to the cockpit and up to the flying bridge. Jenny turned on the electronics, ran the blowers, and then fired up the engines. While the engines warmed, Jenny pulled up their route on the chart plotter.
"We get to do the dishes," Brad said. "When the girls cook, we clean. When we cook, they clean up."
"Sounds fair, Tom and I will wash and dry so you guys can put the dishes and stuff away. We don't know where it goes."
Jack and Tom went to the sink. Eddie told them where the dish soap and towels were kept. Brad began carrying the dishes to the sink while Tom washed. Jack dried them, giving them to Eddie to put away. While they worked, the boat began to move.
Kim and Sally had helped with the lines while Jenny sat at the helm. Once the boat was out of the slip, the three girls went up to the flying bridge.
"Mind if I sit here?" Kim asked, pointing to the mate's chair.
"Not at all. Have you ever driven a boat?" Jenny asked.
"I've driven my brother's boat-well, mostly just steered it. I haven't really learned how to do much more. My brother and Tom have had a little practice. They got to drive the boat we had when we were down here in December."
"What kind of boat is it?"
"A Viking. It was really nice-like your boat," Kim said.
"Thanks, we really like this boat," Jenny said. "By the way, I really like your jeans too."
Kim stuck her leg out. "Sally and I got them at Target. They were on sale for seven bucks."
Jenny was a bit surprised by the fact Kim and Sally shopped at a discount store for their clothes. She had bought things from Target as well as other stores like that, but she didn't understand why someone with so much money would shop there. The more they talked, the less intimidated Jenny felt.
"Does anyone want something to drink? I'm going down for a soda," Kathy said.
Jenny and Kim said they didn't want anything, but Sally told Kathy she would like a diet coke. When Kathy got up, so did Sally. They went down to the cabin, stopping to see what the guys were up to.
"Did you and Tom get to see the staterooms?" Kathy asked Jack. "Isn't this a great boat?"
"It's beautiful. I really like the way it's laid out. What's my sister doing?"
"Kim is talking with Jenny. We came down for sodas."
"Okay, we'll be up in a few minutes, I want to see the flying bridge while we're underway."
Sally winked at Jack as she walked past him. While they didn't talk about it before arriving at the boat, Jack, Tom, Kim and Sally hadn't said anything about their relationships. It wasn't they were ashamed; they just didn't know how strangers would react.
It was hard for Jack to conceal his feelings for Sally. She looked so cute dressed in her tight jeans and sweatshirt he wanted to take her in his arms and hug her. While they made love the night before, Jack fell deeper in love with Sally. It was the first time he'd had sex since the breakup that he didn't think of Megan at least once.
"Do you guys want something?" Kathy asked.
"No thanks, I have a cup of coffee," Jack replied.
"I'd like a glass of orange juice, please," Tom said.
Eddie and Brad asked for sodas. The girls got the drinks for the guys. They gave them the drinks on their way back to the flying bridge. When Eddie said, "Nice ass," Jack and Tom jerked their heads toward him.
"I meant Kathy's ass," Eddie said. "She's my girlfriend."
Jack and Tom glanced at each other and then began to chuckle.
"Does that mean Sally doesn't have a nice ass?" Jack asked.
"No, she does-damn, when am I going to learn to keep my mouth shut," Eddie said.
Jack and Tom's chuckling turned to laughter. Brad and Eddie joined in when they realized they were just goofing around.
"You know, this is kind of weird. All of us are brothers and sisters," Brad said.
"Want to hear something even weirder? Tom and I are cousins too," Jack said.
"No kidding, that is weird," Eddie said. "Want to finish getting the gear ready? Jenny should be getting close to the guy we buy our bait from."
The four guys went out to the cockpit. Eddie ran up the steps to see how long it would be before they got to the boat where they would buy bait. He came back down and told Brad, Tom and Jack it would be a few minutes.
"Where are we going to fish today?" Tom asked.
"Up near Boca Rotan. There's a reef there where we hope to find sailfish today," Eddie said.
"Cool, I caught a sailfish once, but it wasn't very big," Jack said. "We caught dolphin and wahoo too."
"The dolphin and wahoo are great eating, but the sails and marlin are more fun to catch," Brad said.
They finished rigging the rods, setting up four teaser rods and two for live baits. Once the rods were in the holders, they went up to the flying bridge. Before he went up, Tom went into the cabin to get his camera.
"Hey, look over here," Tom said, pointing his camera at the group on the flying bridge. "Sally, you and Kathy have to get closer."
Tom took a few shots, lowered his camera and then sat on a bench next to Kim. He moved his leg against hers; glancing at the others to make sure they weren't watching.
"There's the man we get our bait from," Jenny said, pointing at a small boat anchored near the edge of the channel. "I'm going to need someone to go down and tie us to his boat."
"Come with me, Tom, we can take care of it," Brad said.
Brad threw a line to the man in the boat. Once they were along side, they bought some of the small baitfish. Tom gave the man money, telling Brad he wanted to pay for the bait. Once the live well was half full of baitfish, Brad pulled the line back and Jenny headed away. Tom and Brad returned to the flying bridge to enjoy the ride.
Jenny headed through the inlet into the ocean. Once she cleared the choppy water, she sped up, bringing the boat up on plane. Jenny set the autopilot and sat back. She checked the plot charter to make sure they were on course before turning to face Kim and the others.
"ETA is about thirty minutes," Jenny said. "Are you guys ready to fish?"
"No, we still have to rig the live baits. We'll go down and get started," Eddie said.
Eddie, Brad, Tom and Jack left the girls on the flying bridge and went to the cockpit to rig live baits. Eddie showed Tom and Jack how to do it and they helped. Once they had a dozen of the small fish wired to large hooks, they finished getting the teaser rods ready to go. When they finished, they relaxed against the bulkhead, watching the ocean behind them.
Jenny slowed the boat, made a turn and started on the track she would follow while trolling for sailfish. Kathy called down to the guys, telling them they could drop the teasers.
Brad and Tom took the port side while Eddie and Jack set up the starboard rods. Tom and Jack were shown how to lower the outriggers and place the lines in the releases. Once the lines were out and the teasers were dancing just under the surface, they stood at the transom to watch.
On the flying bridge, Kathy moved to the rail to watch for a fish to rise. Sally joined her, asking what to look for.
"We watch for shadows, Sally. When a fish comes up and starts following one of the teasers, the guys will send a live bait out. They will try to get the fish to switch its attention from the teaser to the bait."
Kathy kept her eyes scanning the water, watching for activity. Sally also watched, even though she really didn't know what she was looking for. A half hour later, she found out.
"Look, there's a fish," Kathy said pointing at the water. "See the dark shape underwater?"
Sally strained to see what Kathy was pointing at. When she finally saw it, she let out a screech. "I see it! It looks huge!"
"Brad, there's a fish following the starboard teaser," Kathy yelled down to the guys.
Eddie grabbed one of the rods they had prepared. He handed it to Jack, telling him what to do.
"Okay, lower the bait to the water and start letting line out. Listen for Kathy, she'll tell you what to do."
Jack did as he was told while Eddie grabbed the rod with the teaser the fish was following. Kathy yelled out instructions as the bait fell back even with the plastic lure. Jack held the rod, controlling the line with his thumb on the reel.
"He switched," Kathy yelled. "Get ready to set the hook."
"Flip the lever to stop free spooling, Jack. When Kathy tells you the fish took the bait, set the hook," Eddie said as he reeled the teaser in. "When the fish runs, let it go. Feather the reel with your thumb, but not too much. Let the drag do most of the work."
Jack waited, anticipating the strike. He pointed the rod tip toward the water so he would have some leverage to set the hook.
"Start reeling Jack," Kathy shouted to him. After a moment, she yelled, "He ate it!"
Jack pulled back on the rod, reeling in the slack line. When he felt the resistance of the fish, he pumped the rod several times. The fish made its first run, stripping line off the screaming reel.
"Keep the rod up," Eddie said. "Get ready to start reeling. When the fish stops running, crank like mad."
The fish slowed and Jack began to regain some of the line it had taken. After making a few surges, the fish made another long run. Jack battled the fish for twenty minutes before he began to gain on it.
"He's coming up!" Kathy yelled.
"Make sure he doesn't get too much slack," Eddie said. "You don't want it to throw the hook."
The fish came out of the water, shaking its head as it danced on its tail. Jack watched, starting to reel when Eddie reminded him to. He cranked on the reel as the fish made a couple more jumps.
Kim had moved to the rail, standing next to Sally so she could watch her brother battle the fish. Brad got the harness out, fastening it around Jack's waist. He clipped the straps to the reel so Jack could get some leverage.
"Use your legs and back," Brad said. "Just remember the fish weighs a lot more than the strength of the line."
It took forty minutes for Jack to bring the fish to the back of the boat. Tom had grabbed his camera and was snapping pictures of the fish and Jack. Brad put on gloves, leaned over the transom and grabbed the fish by its long bill. While Brad held it, Eddie tagged the fish. He managed to remove the hook from the fish's mouth with a long tool.
Tom pulled the fish to the starboard side, holding it in the water to revive it. When he felt it was ready, Tom released it.
"That was a nice sail, Jack. I'd say eighty pounds or more," Eddie said.
"I feel like I've had a workout. That was great!" Jack replied as he removed the harness. "I caught a sailfish before, but it wasn't nearly that big and it didn't fight that hard."
"Our turn," Kathy said from the flying bridge. "You guys come up here so we can catch the next one."
Eddie reset the teaser before he and the other guys went up to the flying bridge. When he passed Jenny, she told her brother how deep the water was when the fish came up.
Sally stopped Jack on the steps to the flying bridge. She put her hand on his forearm and smiled at him.
"Having fun, Sweetie?" Sally said softly.
"I'm having a blast. How about you?"
"I'm having a good time. I like these guys."
Jack wanted to hug Sally and give her a kiss, but he didn't. He touched her hand as she pulled it from his arm, smiling at her. Sally winked at him and then went to the cockpit.
When Jack got to the top of the steps, he noticed Brad had been watching him and Sally. Brad smiled at Jack, turned around and went to sit down. Tom sat next to Eddie, watching him run the boat with his back to the helm.
"Sometimes, when we get a big fish on, we have to chase it. It's easier to do when you can see what's going on," Eddie said when Tom asked why he was standing like he was.
"Is it hard to learn to control the boat when you're standing backwards?" Tom asked.
"It takes some getting used to, but it isn't bad."
Brad and Jack stood facing the stern, watching the teasers swim through the water. Brad told Jack what to watch for, just as Kathy had told Sally earlier. The two of them looked at the blue ocean, letting it mesmerize them.
"You did a nice job on that fish," Brad said.
"It was a lot of fun, much more fun than catching the salmon we fish for up north."
"Wait until you tie into a good sized marlin, they fight ever harder. Sometimes, it takes over an hour to get one tagged and released."
"Jeri told us not many people keep the bill fish. I'd love to have a mount of one someday."
"That's no problem, you just take pictures, measure the fish and have a replica made. They look real and don't kill the fish."
Jack glanced down at Sally and his sister. They were leaning against the port gunwale, talking to the other two girls.
"How long have you and Jenny been together?" Jack turned to look at Brad.
"I don't know, a while now. It seems like we've been together a long time. Kathy and Eddie have been a couple as long as we have. We all get along great."
Brad pointed at the water. "Look, there's a fish following a teaser."
Jack saw the fish. He leaned over the rail, telling the girls about it. Jenny looked up and asked, "Where?"
"Port rigger," Brad said. "It's about fifty yards back, but is gaining on it."
Kathy took one of the baited rods. She held it up, asking, "Who's first?"
Sally reached for the rod, taking it from Kathy. Jack watched Kathy as she told Sally what to do. He smiled when Sally lowered the bait into the water, knowing what was going to happen if the fish took the offering.
Brad shouted out the fish's position while Jenny reeled in the teaser. Kathy put the harness on Sally, telling her what to expect. The fish took the bait and the fight was on. Sally pulled back on the rod, setting the hook,
Jack's chest swelled as he watched Sally battle the fish. She followed Kathy and Jenny's instructions, keeping the rod tip high and reeling against the running fish. Tom came to the rail, camera in hand, and began taking pictures of his sister.
Twenty minutes later, Sally brought the fish to the boat. Jenny grabbed the leader with a gloved hand, guiding the sailfish into tagging range. Tom had gone down to the cockpit to take some close-ups of the action. After the fish was tagged and released, Jenny reset the teaser.
Sally bounced around, shrieking out her joy. She hugged the other three girls, one at time as she quivered with excitement. Giggling, Sally charged up the steps to the flying bridge. She threw her arms around Jack's neck; hugging him so tight he almost stumbled.
"Did you see me? Did you watch me catch that fish?"
"Yeah, I saw you. You did great!" Jack put his hands on her shoulders, pushing Sally away, but she maintained her vice-like grip. In her excitement, she put her mouth to Jack's, kissing him.
Jack's body stiffened, but he soon gave into her kiss. He put his arm around her waist, hugging Sally to him. His love for her overcame any reluctance to hide the way he felt. When they finally broke their embrace, Jack and Sally stared into one another's eyes.
"Oops," Sally said and then she giggled. She stretched up, kissed Jack again. "Oh well!"
Blushing, Sally went down to the cockpit. Brad began chuckling and shaking his head.
"Kissin-cousins?" Brad said with a smirk.
Jack nodded, feeling his face warm as he blushed.
"That's cool, she's cute." Brad didn't seem to be shocked by the display.
Even though it was the guys turn in the cockpit, Brad let the girls take the next fish. It had come up while he and Jack were still standing at the rail, watching the girls.
Kim took the rod and caught the fish. It was small so the fight didn't last very long. Nonetheless, Kim was as excited as she could be. She hugged Sally and then Tom.
The girls went up to the flying bridge and the guys came down. They trolled for an hour and a half, but didn't raise another fish. The sun was shining brightly, warming the teens. They had all removed their jackets and sweatshirts.
"Looks like the fish shut down," Eddie said. "We can take a break, get some lunch and try again later if you want to."
"What ever you say," Jack replied. "Just being out here is great."
"We'll pull the lines and head in so we can anchor," Eddie said. "It's way too deep here."
Tom and Jack helped reel in the teasers and stand the outriggers up, locking them into position. Once everything was in order, Brad went up to tell Kathy to head in. The boat sped up as she pointed it toward shore. When she was in eight feet of water, Kathy slowed the boat. It coasted to a stop and she lowered the anchor. Kathy slowly backed against the anchor, letting it dig into the sandy bottom.
Eddie began getting the deckchairs out while Kathy shut down the engines. Tom helped, opening the folding chairs and placing them around the cockpit. Jack asked what he could do. Brad told him everything was all set so they both sat down.
"Off your butts, boys, you're making lunch," Jenny said as she came down to the cockpit. "We made breakfast."
The four guys went into the cabin. Tom and Jack followed Eddie and Brad to the galley, asking them what they could do.
"I hope you guys like hotdogs, that's what's on the menu today. You can get the plates and chips out of the cabinet," Eddie said. "Brad, why don't you go see what the girls want to drink?"
Brad chuckled. "Why don't I just take them sodas?"
"Kim and Sally like diet if you have it," Tom said.
"So do Jenny and Kathy. I'm going to take four cans out to them. If someone doesn't want one, I can always bring it back." Brad took four cans of diet Coke from the refrigerator and headed outside.
"Jack, there's canned pork and beans in that cabinet. The pan's under here," Eddie pointed at the two cabinets. "Why don't you heat up a couple of cans while I boil the dogs."
Jack did as he was asked, finding the beans and pans where Eddie told him they were. When everything was ready, Tom asked if they were going to take the food out to the girls.
"No, they can come in and fix their own plates," Brad said. "I'll let them know things are ready."
The girls came into the cabin, fixed their plates and went back out to the cockpit. The guys fixed their lunch, going out to join the girls. While they ate their lunch, they recapped the morning's fishing.
"Do you think we'll catch more fish today? Tom hasn't caught one yet," Kim said.
"We're going to try. It's really calm today, it's better if the water is a little rougher," Jenny replied. "Are you guys having a good time?"
"I'm having a great time!" Sally said. "I never met anyone that was famous before."
"Who's famous?" Kathy asked.
"You guys are. We heard about how you win the tournaments and get your names in the newspapers," Sally said.
Jenny, Kathy, Brad and Eddie chuckled. "We're not famous," Eddie said.
Jenny was a bit shocked at the statement. She had worked herself into a tizzy, worrying about meeting the teens and now they were praising her and the rest of the group about getting their names in the local paper.
They finished their lunches. The guys had all gone back for seconds, but the girls didn't. Jenny got up and began to gather the dirty dishes. The rest of the girls got up to help, taking the dishes into the cabin to wash them.
After washing the dishes and cleaning up the galley, Kathy said, "I'm going to change. It's getting too warm for jeans."
All of the girls decided to put on something cooler. They went below to change their clothing. When they got to the staterooms, Jenny told Kim and Sally their bag was on the bed in the master stateroom.
"You can change in the head or the other stateroom if you want to," Jenny said.
Sally gripped the hem of her tee shirt, pulling it over her head. "We're not really shy."
When Sally removed her bra, Kathy noticed her breasts were as tan as the rest of her upper body.
Giggling, Kathy said, "I guess not. Where did you get to tan topless?"
"We spent a few weeks down here at Christmas time. Our families spent a week at a clothing optional resort and then we stayed at a mansion. None of us spent much time dressed," Kim said.
Jenny and Kathy grinned. "Your family would love my mom, she thinks women should be able to go topfree just like guys can," Jenny said.
"I agree, we should," Sally said. "It's so unfair."
While they chatted, the girls changed into their swimsuits. They put shorts on over their bikini bottoms, but wore the tops without a shirt.
"Wasn't it weird getting naked in front of your brothers and dads at first?" Kathy asked.
"Yeah, especially my dad," Kim said. "It didn't take long to get used to it though."
"Kim and Jack's house has a built in pool. It has a glass room around it so we can use it all year long," Sally said. "Our families hardly ever wear bathing suits when we go swimming."
"We go skinny dipping in our pool too," Jenny said. "Ours isn't covered, but our backyard is very private."
The girls went out to the cockpit to sit in the sun with the guys. When they saw the girls, the guys all grinned.
"So, where do you guys go to school?" Kathy asked.
"We used to go to a private school, but when our brothers got kicked out for fighting, Kim and I decided we didn't want to go there anymore. We went to public school before that. Now we're home schooled by a friend of the family," Sally said.
"Fighting?" Brad said.
"Yeah, Kim and I met these two guys and were dating them. They turned out to be real assholes-one of the guys tried to rape Kim. They came to our school and started calling us names so Jack and Tom kicked the crap out of them. The school has a zero tolerance policy so our brothers got kicked out," Sally told them.
"Now we're studying to get our GED. This is going to be our last year at school," Jack said.
"You guys are going to quit school?" Jenny asked.
The four teens nodded.
"That's dumb!" Jenny said.
"Why? We don't really need our high school diplomas," Tom said.
"Maybe, but school is the first important thing we do. It would seem to me that if you quit school just because you don't need to graduate, you might find it easy to quit something else, something more important, just because you can," Jenny said.
"Besides that, school is fun," Kathy said. "You get to do things with your friends. You can go to parties and dances too."
"It may be fun for you guys, but it isn't that much fun for us. We didn't really have many friends at our last school and now we're home schooled so we don't get to meet anyone. Kim and Sally used to date the two guys we school with, Tom dated their sister," Jack said.
"Why did you break up with them?" Brad asked.
"This may sound really strange, but my old girlfriend is dating Tom's. Sally's ex boyfriend is gay and I guess Kim and Paul just decided to be friends. All in all, it was kind of weird," Jack said as he chuckled.
"Why don't you guys tell your parents you want to go to another school?" Eddie said. He took a deep breath and added, "I mean you're rich, aren't you?"
"Our parents are, not us," Tom said.
"How about the yacht? Our dad has told us about it and we've seen it," Jenny said.
"The yacht is a business," Jack said. "It isn't like this boat, we can't just take it out when we want to. We have a captain and will have a crew so we can charter it. We have to make money doing it at some point. Our dads are using it for tax purposes, but not forever."
"We also heard your parents bought a mansion in West Palm Beach," Kathy said.
"Yes, they did. We will probably live down here in the winters and in Michigan during the summers," Tom said.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're all crazy to quit school. You could go to school down here if you wanted to," Jenny said.
"It would be the same as going to school in Michigan, we wouldn't know anyone," Sally said.
"You'd know us. We can introduce you to other kids, kids we hang around with," Kathy offered. "We have a great group of friends. No one drinks or does drugs so we don't get into trouble. You might even like our fishing club. We have a youth division."
"Jeri, our captain, told us you guys are responsible for youth groups at several clubs," Tom said.
"We just want to make sure our sport has a future. We figure that if kids are fishing with their parents, or at least adults, they won't get into as much trouble," Eddie said. "I guess some clubs have followed our club in forming youth divisions."
"Is it hard running a charter business?" Brad asked.
"We don't know yet. We're just getting started. I think we'll do okay because we're going to depend on people that know the business to guide us. None of us thinks we know how to do it on our own," Kim said. "We have an accountant, a lawyer, a captain and a steward so far. We're going to depend on them to help us."
"Jeri told us we had to be twenty-one to get a captain's license so we can charter Tomiko," Jack said. "That's three and a half years for Tom and me. Until then, we have to have a licensed captain to run the yacht. I plan on learning how to operate it though."
"We all do," Tom said. "We're going to know her inside and out. The girls are going to learn how to take care of the guests. Jack and I are going to learn how to maintain the yacht and we're all going to learn how to operate it."
"That's smart," Jenny said. "We can do almost everything on our boat. Brad and Eddie know about the engines and stuff, but Kathy and I are learning. We're going to help change the oil and filters next time."
"Do you guys ever get to take trips on this boat?" Sally asked.
"Sure, all the time. We travel to tournaments and stay on the boat," Kathy replied. "It's a blast!"
"Your parents don't say anything?" Sally giggled, along with Kathy and Jenny.
"No, they don't. I mean they know we sleep together, but they don't try to make us stop or anything. What can they really do?" Jenny said and then she winked at Brad.
"Not much. Our parents are cool about things like that too. They said they would rather not make us sneak around or lie," Kim told her newfound friends.
"That's funny. Our parents are the same way. My mom wasn't always like that, but something happened and she really changed," Kathy said. "She's really cool now."
"I think Mom's getting laid regularly now; I know that makes me happy," Brad said.
"Bradley, don't be a pig!" Kathy said.
"Well, it's true."
"That may be true, but you don't have to say it." Kathy began to giggle, causing the rest of them to laugh.
"Are we ready to catch some more fish?" Eddie said.
"You bet! Let's go," Jack replied as he jumped up. "What can I do to help get ready?"
"Just sit and relax. The girls are driving, we're fishing," Eddie said. "We need to see if we can get Tom a fish this afternoon."
Jenny, Kathy, Kim and Sally went up to the flying bridge. Placing her hand on Kim's shoulder, Jenny said, "You can drive."
"I don't know how," Kim said.
"It's easy, just listen to me and I'll help you."
Jenny moved Kim to the helm, telling her to take a seat. Kathy and Sally sat down on the bench seat to watch Kim. Jenny told Kim about the blowers and sequence for starting the engines. Kim was nervous at first, but when the engines roared to life, she relaxed a little.
"When the temperature reaches this point, we can go," Jenny said while pointing at the gauges.
Kim asked about the chart plotter. Jenny showed her how to turn it, as well as the other electronics on. When the engines were warmed, Jenny said the boat was ready to go.
"This switch raises and lowers the anchor. Push it up until the anchor is seated in the bracket. If the anchor has dug in too deep, you may have to use the boat to dislodge it."
Kim pushed the switch up like Jenny told her to. Standing, Kim watched for the anchor to come up out of the water. Once it was secure in the bracket, Jenny told Kim how to put the boat in gear.
"Take it easy until we get turned around, Kim. Once we're going the right way, we can speed up. Try not to over-steer and don't speed up too fast."
Kim gripped the chrome wheel so tight her knuckles began to turn white. Jenny giggled, telling her to relax. Once the boat was pointed out to sea, Jenny told Kim to push the throttles forward.
"Someone is learning to drive the boat," Brad said pointing at the zigzag of the boat's wake. "Whoever it is is over-steering. It takes a little getting used to."
"Must be Sally or Kim," Tom said and then he laughed. "That sounded pretty stupid, didn't it?"
"Just a little. Who else would it be?" Jack replied. "Unless there's someone up there with them."
The guys laughed, making jokes. The wake behind the boat straitened out as Kim got the hang of steering.
"This isn't bad," Kim said. "It's fun."
"You can set the auto pilot if you want to, Kim," Jenny told her.
"I'd rather steer if it's okay."
Jenny leaned closer to Kim. "Brad said Jack and Sally are going together. Are you and Tom?"
Kim grinned as she nodded her head.
"That's cool."
"Please don't tell anyone. It's not really legal you know."
"It is here in Florida. First cousins can even get married if they want to."
"Really? How do you know?"
"I've done some research on the subject."
"Is Brad your cousin?"
Jenny laughed. "No, Brad and I aren't related to one another. I was doing the research for another reason."
Kim nodded her head, turning her attention back to steering the boat. She asked a few questions about the different gauges and other things on the helm. Jenny told her what each of them was used for.
Pointing at the chart plotter, Kim said, "We're almost there, aren't we?"
"Yes, you can start slowing down in a few minutes. When we get to where we're going, turn the boat north."
Kim remembered learning about the compass on Jack's boat. She also knew north was to her left. When Jenny told her to, Kim backed off the throttles and started her turn. When the boat slowed to trolling speed, the guys started to set the lines.
After an hour of trolling, Eddie decided to fly one of the kites. Jack and Tom watched as Brad and Eddie unfolded the kite, attached it to the special rod and prepared it for fishing. Brad took out another teaser rod, attached it to the kite's line and free-spooled the reel while Eddie let the kite out behind the boat. Once it was where he wanted it, Eddie set the rod in a holder. Tom reeled in the slack on the rod, placing it into a holder near the kite rod.
"The kite causes the teaser to bounce on the surface. Sometimes it will attract fish when the other teasers aren't working," Eddie said to Jack and Tom. "We haven't really used this method very often, but we want to get better so we can use the kites when we fish tournaments."
Thirty minutes later, Kathy shouted down to tell the guys a fish was charging the teaser on the kite line. Brad gave Tom one of the rods with live bait rigged on it, telling him what to do.
The sailfish fought hard, making a series of spectacular leaps and long runs. Tom fought with the fish, gaining line only to have the fish take it back. On the flying bridge, Jenny took over at the helm so she could maneuver the boat closer to the fish.
It took Tom forty-five minutes to tire the fish and get it to the stern. Eddie coached Jack, telling him how to handle the leader and guide the sailfish to the starboard side of the boat. Once Brad had tagged the fish, Jack removed the hook. He held the fish in the water, letting the water revitalize it before releasing it.
"That was the biggest one today, so far," Eddie said. "You guys are pretty good at this for new comers."
"It's a lot like salmon fishing. If you horse them, they'll break off too. I have to admit this is much more fun though. Not only catching the bigger fish, but also being on the ocean. Being with you guys is also great. Thanks for taking us," Jack said.
"No problem, we'll have to do this again while you guys are down here," Eddie said.
"We'll take you up on that, Eddie. We'll be down here a lot while our yacht is being finished, and during the winters."
"That's cool, we'll have to get together. Maybe if you guys are here when we have one of our fishing club meetings, you can come with us."
"Sure, I'd really like that, Eddie. Should we change places with the girls so they can take a turn fishing?"
"Yeah, I'll go tell them," Eddie said as he headed to the steps.
"You guys are up," Eddie told the girls.
"Okay, take the helm and we'll go down," Kathy said. She got up, went to Eddie and gave him a quick kiss.
The girls went to the cockpit while the guys went up to the flying bridge. After checking the lines, the four girls moved the deckchairs against the bulkhead and sat down.
"I think I'm going to take my shorts off so I can get a better tan," Kim said as she stood up. She unfastened her shorts, pulled down the zipper and then removed them. After fixing the bottoms of her bikini, she sat back down. "I wish I had brought another suit, this one covers way too much."
Jenny laughed and then said, "You can take it off if you want to."
"Do you and Kathy ever fish when you're naked?"
"Yeah, sometimes. We do it so the guys will let us take an extra turn. Boys are so easy when you want to get your own way." Jenny giggled and got up to take her shorts off.
Sally and Kathy decided to remove their shorts too. The girls relaxed in the deckchairs, stretching their legs out in front of them.
"This is the life," Sally said as she wiggled her toes. "I could really get used to this."
"We really like it," Kathy said. "It's cool doing it with our boyfriends too."
"Listen," Jenny said, "we're going out again tomorrow-want to come with us?"
"Really? I'd really like that. I wasn't really looking forward to hanging around the hotel all day. How about you, Sally? Do you want to go tomorrow?" Kim glanced at her cousin, waiting for an answer.
"If Jack and Tom want to."
"If they don't want to go, we'll go without them. I think they'll want to though. I know how much my brother loves to fish."
"Great, I'll tell Eddie and Brad that you guys are going with us," Jenny said.
"On one condition," Kim said. "If you'll let us take you out for dinner tonight."
Kathy laughed. "Okay, that's easy enough."
"Good, where's a good place to eat where we don't have to get too dressed up?" Kim asked.
"What do you like?"
Kim giggled. "Um, they don't serve it at restaurants, but I'll settle for shrimp tonight."
The girls all laughed out loud. Jenny said, "Well, you can have that for dessert. There's a great shrimp house not too far from the marina. We can dock the boat there before we go back to our slip. It isn't fancy, but they have the best garlic shrimp in town."
"I have to go back to the hotel so I can shower and change," Sally said. "I didn't really bring clothes to go out in."
"Yeah, me too," Kim said. "All I have is my jeans and a couple of tops with me. We can meet you guys at the restaurant after we get ready."
"Okay, where are you staying?" Jenny asked.
"We're staying at the Bahia Mar resort," Sally said.
"I know where that is. It's a nice place from the outside," Jenny said. "I've never been inside."
"It is nice, much nicer than we needed, but our parents made the reservations. Next trip we'll probably stay someplace a little more reasonable," Kim said.
Jenny nodded, "We can pull into the marina there and wait for you guys. We can get cleaned up on the boat and change into nicer clothes while you're in your room. Then we can all go to the restaurant together."
"Do you keep clothes on the boat?" Sally asked.
Kathy and Jenny both nodded. "We keep several changes of clothes on the boat," Kathy said. "We never know what's going to come up."
The girls began talking about what outfits they would wear to dinner. They all decided to wear skirts and nice tops. Jenny went up to the flying bridge to let her brother and the other guys know about the plans for the evening as well as the following day.
"We're going to dinner with these guys tonight," Jenny said. "I invited them to fish tomorrow and Kim said they want to take us out for shrimp. When we go in, we need to stop at the Bahia Mar so they can change."
Jenny glanced at Jack and Tom. "Is that okay with you two?"
"Hell yes! I'd love to fish again tomorrow," Jack said while Tom nodded in agreement.
"Let's fish for another hour or so. It looks like the fish have turned off anyway," Jenny said.
"We can pull the lines and head in now if you want to. We're an hour from Lauderdale and it's already three o'clock," Eddie told his sister.
Jenny nodded, smiled and headed down to the cockpit. She and the other girls began reeling in the lines, removing the teasers, rinsing them in fresh water and then hanging them to dry. Once the rods were tended to, they put them away.
Kathy yelled up to Eddie, telling him the boat was ready to go. She stumbled slightly as Eddie pushed the throttles forward, causing the boat to surge. Once she regained her footing, Kathy sat down to enjoy the ride back to the resort.