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TK stretches, straightening his back as he adjusts his swim trunks while trying to keep his balance on the purple ring float that he’s currently claimed as his own. The pool is quiet this early in the morning, and the sunlight feels good on his skin. By noon, the sun will be high in the sky and frying everything below, but right now, just barely after 8:30, it feels perfect. He’s more than grateful that one of the perks of lifeguarding is that he gets an hour of uninterrupted swimming in every morning before he has to start lessons. He looks back up to the clear Austin sky, closing his eyes as the light dots his vision.
Initially, he was frustrated to be staying in Austin for his final summer before graduating from U of T Austin. His friends are all off on a cross-country road trip, sending pictures every day from some new town along Route 66, or hole-in-the-wall diners with nostalgic decor. A part of him gets sad whenever he sees those, but he’s glad he chose to stay. Ever since his dad’s diagnosis last year, he would rather be close to home as often as possible, just in case something happens.
Besides, he loves working at the pool every summer. He still remembers when he got this job in high school, and he’s lucky that Dottie, the manager, still likes him enough to keep him around year after year. It feels like home, something that he desperately needed after everything turned on its head. While his dad may be doing better, TK’s still not one to tempt fate, so returning to his high school job for his final summer before full-adulthood happens might not seem special, but he’s okay with that.
Lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t realize that he has company until he hears a movement in the water nearby. Opening his eyes, he turns to look for the source, but before he can find it, he feels himself being flipped upside down. With an “oh shit,” he finds himself underwater. He stays there for a moment, feeling the slight chill that runs through his body at the sudden submersion, before he rises back to the surface, breaking through and throwing his head back. He hears a bright laugh from off to his right, one that he would recognize anywhere, and he turns towards it, rubbing water out of his eyes to glare at his attacker.
Carlos.
Without a doubt, the best part about staying in Austin has been Carlos Reyes. He’s new to the lifeguard team this year, a Texas State junior with a body like Adonis and a smile brighter than the sun itself. For the past month or so, they’ve become really close, hanging out after work, seeing movies, going to summer carnivals and festivals together. He loves being with Carlos; the guy is infectiously happy, secretly (though not anymore) nerdy, and so loving that TK doesn’t know how anyone could not want to spend as much time around him as possible.
“Good morning,” the man in question teases, having now claimed TK’s ring as his own. It sits around his chest as he sinks into the water, his large shoulders coming up to his ears as he crosses his arms in front of him, resting his chin top of them. TK’s heart rate increases at the adorable sight.
“You’re an asshole, you know that?” he replies, continuing to give Carlos his best glare.
“I seem to recall you being very fond of my asshole last night, Tyler,” Carlos starts, a suggestive smile rising on his face as he winks, “along with my other not-safe-for-work body part.”
TK can feel his mouth drop wide open, his mind immediately flashing back to the night before, and all of the dirty things that they did to each other in his bed. Things that TK had been imagining from the very first minute that he saw Carlos in all his glory, naked but for a pair of tight, mid-length rainbow swim trunks that hid absolutely nothing to someone who was looking. And TK had definitely been looking. From then on, there’s been a strong sexual tension between them, and he’s still shocked that they lasted as long as they did before breaking. In the week since that first kiss, he hasn’t been able to get the taste of Carlos out of his mouth, and he honestly hopes he never does.
“Would you come over here?” Carlos asks when TK shows no sign of responding, his face gentle as he squints to avoid the sunlight. TK feels himself start to move closer, drawn towards him like a child to a tempting snack. It’s an apt comparison, if he’s being honest.
He comes to a stop right in front of Carlos, pressing against the stolen inflatable. Instead of rising up to meet him, the other man presses forward to rest his forehead against TK’s wet stomach, his tongue sticking out to lick a few droplets of water off his skin. TK shivers, letting out a soft gasp. “Carlos,” he warns, his hands rising up to sink into the wet, dark curls below him. “We’re at work.”
“Yeah, but we’re not on the clock yet,” Carlos says, beginning to rise up from the water, his tongue still on TK’s skin as he licks up to his chest. “Besides, I didn’t see anyone in the office, we’re the only one’s here.”
With a moan, TK tightens his grip, pulling Carlos up to meet him in a fiery kiss. He feels wet hands wrap around him, holding him steady, as he sinks into the muscular chest before him. It’s like something out of a ridiculous teen summer comedy, but he doesn’t care. He’s too happy to care.
They break apart, keeping their bodies as close as the flotation device allows. TK lets out a deep breath. “I wish you could’ve stayed over, I missed you this morning.”
Carlos nods, pressing his forehead against TK’s. “Me too, but I didn’t want to scandalize your dad when he came home,” he says, a laugh coloring his voice.
TK silently agrees, but he still wishes that he could’ve fallen asleep in Carlos’s arms. The man gives the best hugs in the entire world, so TK can only imagine what kind of cuddles he might give. His heart jumps at that thought, and he wonders if it’s normal to be feeling all of this after only being with someone, physically, for a few days.
They stand there in the water together, breathing each other in, along with the familiar smell of chlorine, and TK decides that he doesn’t care if it’s normal or not: he wants to see where this connection can go.
“Have lunch with me today,” he says, interrupting the soft silence, his voice rising at the end to form a question.
Carlos pulls back, quickly dipping his hands in the water and bringing them up to wet TK’s drying hair. “I have lunch with you every day,” Carlos answers, his eyes crinkling as he plays with TK’s hair.
“No, I know, but come on, humor me,” he says, dipping his own hands in the water to wet Carlos’s curls.
“Okay,” Carlos says, his confusion clear in his voice. Then, suddenly, like a light bulb turning on, a smile takes over his entire face. “Wait, are you asking me on a date or something?”
“Yes, Carlos,” TK says, rolling his eyes, “I’m asking if you’ll join me for food stand nachos and a soft pretzel, which in my opinion is the height of romance.”
“Well, then,” Carlos says, pressing back in for a short kiss, “I have no choice but to accept your invitation. I am a man of romance, after all.”
“You’re a menace, that’s what you are,” TK says, smiling as he pulls away to get ready for swim lessons. “Also, a word of advice: you might want to avoid talking about your not-safe-for-work body parts while you’re, you know, physically at work,” he chides, rising from the pool.
The only response he gets is a loud, joyful laugh and a splash as Carlos dives under the water.