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The water lapped gently against the cracked concrete walls of the canal's edge. Beyond it lay paved paths through grassy fields dotted with trees; a buffer between the water and the towering city around it.
Sunny and Basil walked together along the canal — side by side.
“This is nice.” Basil said as he watched the water ripple.
“Yeah.” Sunny agreed.
The sun was sinking lower in the sky, peeking through a gap in the orange-tinted clouds as the sky darkened into purple.
“The sunset and the crisp air.” Basil closed his eyes for a moment.
The breeze rustled through the grass
He sighed. “We really need to get girlfriends…”
Sunny looked down. “Yeah…”
“This is way too romantic.” Basil continued.
“Mhmm.” Sunny nodded as he squeezed Basil’s hand tighter.
Basil glanced at Sunny. “People probably think we’re dating…”
Sunny shrugged. “Probably.”
“And I wouldn’t even blame them…” Basil kicked the sidewalk. “This is exactly what I’d like to do with my girlfriend if I had one.”
“Me too.” Sunny added.
The quiet symphony of crickets began to play against the approaching night.
Basil started to ramble.
“We could walk along the water, holding hands…”
Sunny looked at their hands — still held together.
Mhmm.
“And watch the sunset over the horizon…”
Sunny’s gaze shifted to the sky.
Yup.
The sun was still there; still setting.
“At some point, our walk would slow and we’d turn to each other silently…” Basil paused. “And then share a quiet kiss in the twilight.”
Sunny blinked as Basil looked over at him.
Yeah. That seemed reasonable.
“I mean, we could kiss if you want.” Sunny said plainly.
“What?”
“Huh?”
Basil shook his head. “What did you—?”
Sunny tilted his head. “I said we could kiss if you want.”
Basil rubbed his eyes. “What.”
“You said you wanted to.” Sunny explained.
“No, I didn’t!” Basil exclaimed.
“You just described it.”
“Hypothetically!”
“Oh.” Sunny said quietly.
Basil exhaled.
A brief pause followed.
“Hypothetically…” Sunny started. “We could kiss if you wanted.”
“H-huh? Why—?”
“Because we don’t have girlfriends.” Sunny stated.
“Yeah, but—” Basil looked away. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“It makes sense to me; wouldn’t this be easier?”
“I guess…”
“So I could kiss you, if you wanted.” Sunny concluded once more.
Basil sighed. “Fine.”
Sunny smiled. “Alright, then you’re my girlfriend and I’ll kiss you.”
“What?” Basil tensed. “No! You’re my girlfriend and I’ll kiss you!”
Sunny blinked. “But I’m not a girl.”
“Neither am I!” Basil responded.
Sunny paused. “Oh, yeah.”
Their walk slowed to a stop as they found a bench to sit on. As they sat down, Basil put his arm around Sunny, setting his hand on his shoulder. Sunny leaned against him and rested his head on Basil’s shoulder.
Sunny closed his eyes. “This is hard.”
“Yeah…” Basil said. “Maybe we should ask Kel.”
Sunny hummed in agreement.
“He knows a lot about dating.” Basil continued.
“Has he ever dated someone?” Sunny asked.
“…No.”
“Oh.”
“I mean… he seems confident though.” Basil scratched his cheek.
“Okay.” Sunny puffed out a breath. “Plan B is to ask Kel.”
Basil raised an eyebrow. “What’s plan A?”
Sunny narrowed his eyes. “Practice.”
“Practice?” Basil blinked. “Practice what?”
Sunny looked over at him. “Having girlfriends.”
Basil stared.
Sunny stared back.
“This is getting too complicated…” Basil ran his hand over his face. “Maybe we should just kiss.”
“But who will be the girlfriend?”
“Uh… how about we both be the girlfriend?” Basil suggested.
Sunny’s eyes lit up. “That way we can both practice at the same time!”
“Okay.” Basil started. “So while I'm pretending you're my girlfriend, you'll be pretending I'm yours, and that way we can both practice simultaneously.”
Sunny nodded.
“So let's practice a kiss.” Basil concluded.
Sunny nodded again. “Okay.”
They both leaned in.
Their lips met. Soft and warm.
It was brief, almost too brief. And yet long enough to leave them out of breath when they broke apart.
“Wow.” Basil panted. “Maybe we're already pretty good at it.”
“Yeah, we are.” Sunny said. “But…”
He wrapped his arms around Basil's neck and pulled him closer. “It couldn't hurt to practice some more, right?”
“No. No it wouldn't."
And they both leaned in again.