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Phil exited the back door of the cottage he was renting with some friends. They were all still passed out from drinking the night before, so Phil decided it’d be nice to jump in the canoe and row down to the lake. It was 9 am so the morning air was still a bit cool and the atmosphere still void of children’s screams and adults’ banter. He slid on a yellow life vest before dragging the canoe next to the small pier. Phil managed to successfully get in this time without tipping the boat over like he had before.
Once he was sat comfortably, he untied the rope anchoring the canoe to the dock and began to paddle off. Phil decided on heading over to the floating dock because it was usually vacant at this time and he liked to lie there and enjoy the view.
After some failed rowing causing him to shift too much to the left and then too much to the right, Phil finally got the hang of it and could see that he was correctly headed straight to the dock. The closer he got, the more he began to notice a figure lying on the wood - a boy with brown wavy hair, slightly tanned skin, and black checkered swim shorts. Phil wasn’t sure if he should still proceed towards it now that he knew he wasn’t going to have the dock to himself, but his arms were tired and couldn’t handle paddling anywhere else.
He reached the dock, not before clanging the canoe against the side of it, causing the boy to sit up, startled.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you,” Phil said sheepishly. He found himself a bit speechless when he finally looked up and saw the boy’s beautiful face.
“It’s alright. Do you need help?” The boy got up and headed towards him. He motioned for Phil to hand him the canoe’s rope so he could tie it to the dock cleat.
Once the boat was secured, the boy once again offered his hand for Phil to take so he could help him up. The boy’s hand was smooth and soft, and his grip was strong enough to yank Phil onto the dock in one tug, even though he didn’t look muscular.
“Thanks,” Phil told him as he began to unclip his life vest. He wasn’t able to look at his face again because he thought he was too stupidly pretty.
“No problem. I’m, uh, Dan. I’m staying over at 305,” Dan said as he pointed in the direction Phil came from.
“Oh really? I’m right across from you at 307,” Phil smiled. He began to wonder how he had never seen this man once since he’d been here.
“Me and my family just got in last night. We usually come every summer.”
“My friends and I are just renting the place,” Phil said, then took the chance to add, “You should come over some time and hang if you’d like! We’ll be here for another week.”
“I’d like that.. Sorry I didn’t get your name.”
“Oh,” he said feeling embarrassed that he didn’t mention it before, “It’s Phil.”
“Phil..” Dan said with a smile, “I look forward to getting to know you this week.”
The two of them laid side by side, looking up at the clear blue sky and talking about anything and everything that came to mind. For a mere moment, it kind of felt like they were alone on their own island. During a moment when they were silent, Phil peaked over at the brown haired boy and allowed himself to truly soak in his beauty. His face a seemingly better view than his surroundings because of his sun freckles and gentle features. Somehow looking at him gave him the feeling that he’d be seeing Dan even after the week passes.