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Rhett and Link bought a quaint beach house in Playa del Rey during the dry season. Link had told him it wasn’t prudent to buy right now because the estate market was elevated. Rhett however, wanted a place aside from the creative house, where he could expand his mind and simultaneously dip his toes in the ocean. Not such a bad life to want business and leisure under one roof.
As always, Link’s frugality abandoned him, for the sake of sharing another facet of life with Rhett.
This house was everything the two of them never thought they needed, but now had. They were grateful for the fortunes their entertainment company equipped them with and this house was merely a representation of the fruits of their labor. Even though the house was still rather bare, they decided to invite a few friends over.
*
Laughter and good times were had. Link always kept everyone’s wine glasses and brandy snifters full, while Rhett pushed himself culinarily; his seared tuna and swordfish were revered by the company they served. Link frequently bragged about Rhett’s cooking, accompanied by the cheeky comment, “If you like his swordfish, you should try his cod piece!” Rhett’s face would redden with embarrassment and playfully hit Link’s arm, a reaction Link held fondly in his heart.
In the midst of lively conversation, someone suggested a bonfire near the shore. Libations in hands, the group lazily walked along the wooden planks to the sand, while Link brought out blankets. Rhett ignited the flames and the orange hues danced in everyone’s eyes as they watched, properly inebriated. More laughs. More memories being created in real time.
Stars besprinkled in the blue hued sky, like a flick from mother nature’s paint brush. The moon and her incandescent beauty reflected on the sea’s calm body. As the rippling waves reached their crest, the moon shimmered, giving illusion to the sky and the sea and the direction they were supposed to be viewed. The only other form of light was emitted from that roaring bonfire, that carved their path back to the house.
It came that time in the evening where said friends packed up their things and left. Full body hugs and clumsily placed kisses as a hearty ‘thank you’ for the housewarming invite.
“Be careful, y’all! Watch your step!”
Link knew he and Rhett had liquored their friends up a bit too much. Tonight was a cause for a celebration. They decided to take in the night sky for a little while longer.
The cool breeze ebbed and flowed on the shoreline, urging Link to grab a blanket to pull over himself. Rhett stoked the fire with some extra driftwood. A sullen silence washed over the two men, as Link swirled his cabernet.
“I’m glad we hosted a party tonight. The house will start to feel like a home once we completely furnish it.”
Rhett polished off his third brandy and looked at Link. A look that lingered long enough for Link to notice.
“It’s already a home, Link.”
“It is?”
“Yep. You know why?”
Link rolled his eyes, as if to anticipate what Rhett was going to say.
“I’m all ears, Rhett.”
“Because of you. You’re my home, Link.”
With tension hotter than the bonfire, Link nervously chuckled and deflected.
“Well THAT was intimate, Rhett. I think you’ve had a liiiittle too much to drink tonight. Let’s get you inside.”
Link extended a helping hand for his tall friend. Rhett, now fully consumed by his own inebriation, grossly miscalculated how far off the ground he had to stand. He grabbed Link’s hand and within seconds, his imbalance brought both of them down to the sand.
“OW—oh my God..you elbowed me…the tip of my torpedo man. Come ON!”
Rhett’s whole body shook with laughter, all the while maintaining the position over Link. Link tried with all his might to move out from underneath Rhett, but he grew tired. The sand wasn’t hard enough for leverage to push. He spit out some of the sand that flew into his mouth from the impact and looked at Rhett.
“Can you get off me?”
“What do you say Mr. Bossy Pants?”
“nOOOW.”
Rhett laughed once more and centered himself enough to lift Link up with him. The faced each other, as the warm glow of the bonfire illuminated their faces. Suddenly, a spark of pleasure bloomed in Link’s gut. Perhaps it was that fiery glow that scintillated Rhett’s golden summer skin. Or perhaps it was the ever growing cavalry of blood coursing through his Nethers like a tidal wave.
Link was too immersed in his own bodily function to realize Rhett hadn’t retracted his grip from his waist. Suddenly he came to, when he felt Rhett rubbing his thumbs along his hip bones. Link felt extremely vulnerable, almost like he had to hold on to something. He searched Rhett’s face for retaliation when he rested both hands along his taut chest. He could feel Rhett’s heartbeat racing. No retaliation whatsoever.
Link unconsciously ran his hand through Rhett’s hair, to shake off some of the sand. Rhett answered this affection by leaning into the crook of Link’s palm. Link’s heart skipped a beat; surely his heart was racing as quickly as Rhett’s. Link inched his body closer, bridging the gap between them.
The two men held each other in an embrace, fused together by their foreheads. They had trouble tempering their breathing due to the dripping anticipation.
Link parted his lips and Rhett wafted the smell of red wine betwixt them. Were they really going to sew the remaining distance between the only thing they had always kept separate?
Rhett reached a hand around to Link’s lower back and pulled him further inward. He moved slowly, to align his lips with Link’s…
And suddenly a rolling wave of thunder echoed through their bodies, startling them. They looked out along the sea and beheld lightning dancing through the sky. The moon’s celestial light darkened from the hastening rain clouds. The rain began as a whisper and within seconds, grew to a symphony of sounds, extinguishing the bonfire. Wet pearls rained down on the sandy bed beneath their feet, like inverted polka dots. There was an overwhelming smell of petrichor after a long season of aridity. The thunder thrummed through their bones once more and the lightning grew angry.
But the gentlemen were frozen in time.
Rhett looked up into the cosmos and the rain kissed his face. He smiled with childlike wonder. He looked down to see Link had followed suit. Rain drops plopped on his lower lip and Link instinctively licked, tasting the rain’s softness.
Rhett couldn’t hold back anymore. He gently guided Link’s chin down to meet his gaze and both sets of lips finally met.
It was awkward. It was clumsy. It was lovely how much was built up by tension. Rhett shifted his hand around the back of Link’s neck, encouraging him to tilt. He laid his lips upon Link once more and Link’s insistent mouth parted, inviting a tongue. They hummed and whimpered into each other’s mouths, barely parting to breathe. Rhett felt like he could kiss Link forever. Link felt dainty in the arms of his…whatever he planned on calling Rhett from now on.
Link thought he would have to regain consciousness, so he pulled away momentarily. He looked at Rhett, equally breathless, silently questioning why they had stopped. They both frantically outlined each other’s shape and watched as the rain soddened every inch of their clothing.
The rain left little to the imagination and Rhett paused to admire the sinews of Link’s body. The way his button down shirt clung to his shoulders, rain drops pocketing themselves in his collarbones. The way the rain matted his visible chest hair to his damp skin. The rain had collected inside Link’s glasses, rendering him nearly blind. But Link didn’t care. He felt himself give in to the larger man’s grasp and was mesmerized.
He ran a thumb along Rhett’s lower lip, dripping with rainwater and pulled him in for another kiss.
It was now more emphatic. It was fluid. It was dizzying. The swirling cocktail of rain essence and the stale smell of intoxicants made their heads blurry. It was just the two of them. Standing in a thunderstorm. Two souls coalesced by tongues and lips.
Link felt the warmth emanating from underneath Rhett’s clothes. The warmth felt like home. Rhett had invited Link into this part of himself and Link was deliriously swept off his feet.
The wall of rain pounded against their skin and Link began to shiver.
“I think we should head inside now.”
Rhett could feel Link’s muscles contracting from the cold wind enveloping them. But Link was afraid to go in. He was afraid to cross the threshold of the beach house; back to a setting where their current state probably shouldn’t exist. He quietly looked at Rhett and smiled at the springy wet curls sticking to his neck.
“Once we go back inside, do we forget about this?”
Rhett laid a chaste kiss on Link’s lips before uttering the words that would stay with Link until his last breath.
“There’s no way in hell I’ll let that happen.”