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Ducking under the water, Phil held his nose and swam to the bottom of the deep end of the pool. Above him, floating on a donut float, sat his boyfriend, Dan Howell, who was busy dozing in the Florida sunshine.
Crouching down for power, Phil then sprung up beneath Dan’s float, toppling it over and Dan with it.
“Aaaaaa”, came Dan’s scream before it was muffled by the water. Phil treaded water and laughed as Dan’s feet finally disappeared in a cascade of waves.
Before he could take in another breath, he was roughly pulled below the surface by the ankles. His vision was clouded by bubbles as Dan rapidly ascended in front of him, but he could make out the broad smile on his face.
An hour later, sitting in the deck chairs, Phil applied sun block as Dan adjusted his sunglasses and stared out at the children splashing in the shallow end.
“We’re even now, yeah?” Phil said, offhandedly.
“Mmmmhmmm,” came Dan’s bland reply as he watched a toddler jump to her mother’s arms from the side of the pool.
That evening, as the sun was beginning to set, Phil was prone on the deck chair reading a book. He had re-dressed and covered up with a hat and sunglasses to protect his pale skin.
Dan had re-dressed as well, with shorts and a t-shirt and flip flops. He lowered his sunglasses and looked at Phil.
“Not going for another dip tonight?”
“Nah, mate,” Phil replied, turning the page in his novel.
Dan just nodded. A few moments later he said, “Look at that sunset! It’s brilliant!”
Phil looked up and took in the glorious view. The sky was striped with shades of pink and orange and purple. The pool was calm, and they were alone with the fiery sky.
“You know,” Dan said, “this tour has reminded me of a few things.”
“Yeah?” Phil responded, “Like what?”
“Well, I was just thinking about how I used to be so nervous around you.”
“You were nervous?!” Phil asked, honestly surprised.
“Are you joking?!” Dan replied, “You were a big YouTube star and I had a huge crush on you. You know that. How else was I supposed to feel?”
“Aww, that’s sweet, Dan,” Phil said. “but I was nervous to meet you as well, you know. All the Skype calls in the world can’t prepare you for meeting someone irl.”
“But now, we’ve just gone two hours without even talking, and I feel so calm and relaxed around you,” Dan said.
“Yeah, me too,” Phil replied. “It’s good to have a friend you can just be yourself with, let your guard down, and have fun with.”
Dan smiled.
A few moments passed.
“You know, it’s true what I said in that video. I never had a best friend before I met you,” Dan said softly.
“I know, Bear.”
“It’s important to me that you know that. That you know that you are special to me.”
“I know, Dan,” Phil replied gently. “And I also know that you are planning revenge so don’t think I’m falling for this small talk.”
“What?!” Dan asked innocently.
Phil just laughed, grinned at Dan, and then looked out towards the skyline.
The sun had sunken down so that only the very top peaked over the horizon. The pool deck was echoing with their voices, and the lights were beginning to softly power up. They took in the beauty before them in silence, appreciating the uniqueness of the moment.
Suddenly, Dan said, “I’m going to get a picture of this. I left my phone in the room. Can I borrow yours?”
“Yeah,” Phil said, taking the phone from his pocket and handing it to Dan.
Dan took the phone and stood up; used his fingerprint to unlock it; and took aim at the sun. Then he spun around and took Phil’s picture instead.
“What? I thought you were …” Phil began, but didn’t have time to finish as Dan tossed Phil’s phone safely onto the stack of towels and grabbed the book out of his hands.
“NO!” Phil shrieked, suddenly knowing what was going to happen. “No, no! Don’t do it,” he giggled as Dan grasped him by the wrists and pulled him and the deck chair towards the pool.
The grating sound of plastic on cement was drowned out by the laughter of the two young men.
“Relaxed, are you?” Dan taunted, “Having a good read?”
“No! I’m only young!” Phil pleaded as he hooked his feet around the sides of the deck chair, “Stop, stop! This deck chair doesn’t know how to swim!”.
“Then it will go under,” Dan cackled, “Just like YOU!”
With that, Dan gave a final tug on his friend’s wrists and Phil lost his grip on the chair and was pulled to his feet. The two boys wrestled, but Phil was never going to win this battle as Dan had all the leverage.
“Finish him!” Dan declared, spinning Phil around so that his back was to the pool.
“Noooo!” Phil pleaded, but Dan took no head, pushing Phil backwards into the cold water.
The back flop made a loud “splat” sound, and Phil seemed to float for several seconds before slowly sinking under.
He popped back up and wiped the hair out of his eyes while treading water. Sputtering, he said, “I hate you!”
Dan cackled with laughter, holding his stomach and nearly doubling over.
The torrent of water that soaked Dan to the bone was unexpected. With his eyes closed laughing, he never saw it coming. Phil kicked and kicked until Dan’s white shirt was translucent and his shorts were clinging to his legs.
A few room curtains opened up at the hotel, but neither young man noticed. Dan dove in and Phil began to swim away at a furious pace towards the apparent safety of the shallow end.
Dan caught him and spun him around at the four foot mark, so that both were standing and shivering in the night air, Dan’s hands firmly on Phil’s shoulders.
“Ah, let me go!” Phil exclaimed, still barely able to talk from laughing and the exertion of all that kicking.
Dan planted a kiss on Phil’s lips and the laughter suddenly stopped.
Phil kissed Dan back and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.
They pulled closer, and began to sway back and forth as they rediscovered each other’s lips and tongues.
“Mmmmm,” Dan mumbled.
“Mmmhmmm,” came Phil’s reply.
Later that night, after they had showered and dried off, they checked out of the hotel and got onto the tour bus. Dan’s hand dangled down from his top bunk and Phil reached up and caressed it with his own.
“I already miss you,” Dan whispered.
“I miss you too, Bear,” came Phil’s hushed reply.
“But,” Dan said, “to answer your question from earlier?”
“Hmm?” Phil said.
“We are still not even, Lester”
“What?! How….” Phil began, but then he just giggled.
“Be ready at all times,” Dan warned.
“If I had a cup of water, I’d toss it at you,” Phil said groggily.
Dan laughed until he wheezed, then leaned down and mussed Phil’s hair.
The tour bus bumped along down the interstate towards their next stop, and Dan and Phil slowly drifted off to sleep.