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It was mid-May, only a few weeks before the end of Link's freshman year at NC State. He'd just gotten home from an early-morning U.S. history lecture, his only class of the day. Thursdays were usually his favorite. Rhett didn't have any classes, and neither man had anywhere, in particular, to be until their shared calculus lab the next afternoon. The two of them would typically hang out when Link got home, or whenever Rhett dragged himself out of bed, whichever happened later. But, his best friend wasn't in their dorm room when Link walked in. He vaguely recalled Rhett mentioning a group study session off campus. He supposed that must be where he was.
The a/c in Syme Hall had broken overnight. The administration had sent the residents an email assuring them that they were aware of the issue, but it would be at least the next day, and possibly as late as the next week before it was repaired. Their dorm room being in the basement, there wasn't even a window Link could open. He'd briefly considered taking a nap while he waited for Rhett to show up, but the thought of lying on the flannel sheets in his bunk sounded unbearable in the heat.
That's how he found himself sprawled out, face-up on the floor in his white cotton boxers at a quarter to eleven a.m. Sweat covered every inch of skin and pooled in every crease and crevice. He'd taken the small fan off his desk, and aimed it at himself, making sure to push down the button to oscillate, hoping to cover the majority of his long body, but it wasn't doing much, just moving the hot air around. He tried rolling a can of Mello Yello across his tanned torso in an attempt to get some relief from the heat, but it had become warm within minutes of being out of the fridge, so he popped the tab and took a long, unsatisfying chug, set the half-full can on the floor somewhere near the bed, and let out a groan of frustration. At least the smooth, cool concrete felt nice on his over-heated, clammy skin.
He thought about going into the common room and watching The Price is Right, but that would involve putting on, at the very least, some shorts, and he couldn't bear the thought of wearing clothes. He'd strip completely if he knew that Rhett would be gone awhile, but the night before, when Rhett had mentioned his plans to study, Link had his nose buried in a history textbook and he didn't retain any of the details. His giant friend could come lumbering in the door at any moment, or could be gone another few hours.
The brunette was confident that Rhett seeing him in the middle of the room, naked, spread eagle, wouldn't even be the strangest thing either of them had ever caught the other doing. They'd been best friends since before it occurred to them to be self-conscious around one another, and being nineteen year old (well, Link would be nineteen in a few weeks, anyway) single guys, living in incredibly close quarters for the past nine months, they'd both accidentally walked in on many potentially embarrassing situations throughout the years. They'd usually pretend not to have seen anything, but if it was unavoidable, they'd just good-naturedly laugh at each other, then move on. Ever since arriving at college, though, Link had been having strange feelings toward Rhett- nothing too alarming, nothing that affected their friendship at all- just occasional little flutters in his chest when his big friend looked at him a certain way, a catch in his breath when the blonde spoke too softly. It didn't mean anything, probably just a side effect of living away from Buies Creek for the first time, and Rhett being his only connection to home, but Link just didn't have the energy to explain unexpected nudity to his friend today. So, he reluctantly kept his underwear on.
He rolled over onto his stomach with a grunt, and folded his arms to form a pillow under his head, but his face quickly felt sweaty just from the contact, so he flopped his arms out haphazardly at his side, placed his cheek on the concrete, and started thinking about the rest of his day, hoping that Rhett would be home soon, and would want to go somewhere with air-conditioning, or at the very least, a cool breeze.
The next thing Link knew, he was being awakened by a barrage of noise and sensation all at once: a heavy weight over the entire length of his back, quiet, husky laughter, and a familiar voice in his ear saying "Whatcha' doin', buddy roll?", Confused and startled, the sleepy boy let out an "Ooof! Whaa?!" and flailed his arms, his right hand making contact with something. There was a metallic thud, followed by a warm, sticky wetness creeping across his right arm and his ribs, which now were pressed painfully into the hard floor- he'd knocked over that damned hot Mello Yello.
"Gerroff meh, Rutt," he tried to say, his face smooshed between the floor and the lower half of Rhett's big ol' noggin.
A chuckle, then, "Sorry. Can't. I'm dead." is the reply, close to his ear, accompanied by even more weight pressing down, as Rhett lifted his limbs entirely, resting them atop the smaller man's own arms and legs, leaving Link to bear all of his nearly-200 pounds, but moving his head onto the floor next to the back of Link's, allowing the brunette to pick his face up off the ground a bit.
"S'too hot! Get the hell offa' me, you big oaf! I'mma die of heat stroke, dude!" Link was annoyed, but couldn't help but let out a strained giggle as he struggled to get out from underneath his favorite 6'7" pain in the ass.
Rhett let out a booming laugh, pressed his weight down as hard as he could, with one last whisper of, "I'm deeeead," just to annoy his smaller friend a little more, then rolled off of him to the left, sat up, and ruffled Link's poofy hair saying, in a teasing voice, "You're lucky you're so cute, Cupcake, 'cuz you ain't no fun."
He knew he was being mocked, but Link's stomach did the tiniest flippity-flop at his buddy's comment. He rolled toward him with a grin, giving his skinny shin a light punch, as Rhett leaned over him, grabbing a towel from the basket under his bunk, and tossed it at Link, saying, "Clean up your mess, ya' freak, put on some dang pants, then let's get the hell outta this oven!"
The humid air outside their dorm was only slightly better than the sauna that was their room. The boys clambered into Link's beat up old pickup. Link started it up, and was heading toward the edge of campus before he thought to ask, "Where we goin'?"
Of course, "Ya' hungry?" was Rhett's response.
Link chuckled, then realized he was, "Yeah. Ate before class, but that was..." this was the first time it occurred to Link to wonder what time it was. He had no idea how long he'd napped on the floor. After his rude awakening, he'd given his arm and chest a half-hearted swipe of the towel, then threw it on top of the puddle of soda and moved it around with his foot, leaving the towel right where it was. He put on his camouflage cargo shorts, a baggy white tee, and some flip-flops, and with a quick pass of his hands through his hair, an unsuccessful attempt at taming it, they'd been out the door in less than five minutes. As he glanced at the clock, Link realized he must've slept longer than he'd thought. It was already a few minutes past noon. "... nearly five hours ago. I could definitely eat."
"Let's go somewhere cheap and air-conditioned."
"Sounds good to me." said Link, just as a brilliant idea popped into his head. "Dairy Queen?!"
"Ohhh... Ice Cream sounds amazing!"
Rhett, never one to sit still for long, was bouncing his leg impatiently, waiting for Link to finish his chicken strip basket. Rhett's plate had been completely empty, save for a few crumbs stuck in a swipe of ketchup, for several minutes by the time Link popped his last two fries between his greasy lips, and began his standard thirty chews. Rhett rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he felt a twinge, somewhere between his sternum and navel, of something- familiarity? comfort? fondness?- toward his friend and his odd quirks.
Rhett jumped out of his seat the moment he saw Link swallow. "The cool air's nice 'n all, but I was cooped up in a coffee shop studyin' all mornin'. I'd kinda like some fresh air. Wanna get the ice cream to go, and walk over to the park up the block? There's prob'ly a bit of a breeze near the lake. Shouldn't be too bad."
Link nodded enthusiastically. "Heck yeah! I ain't spent any time outdoors in days! Let's do it!"
By the time the teens reached the edge of the parking lot, Rhett had finished his sundae, and Link had realized he'd made a huge mistake getting the large chocolate cone. It was melting in his left hand faster than he could eat it, and there was ice cream all over his chin, covering his hand, running down his wrist and forearm, and down the front of his shirt. The chocolate was just adding to the stickiness already on Link's arm from the soda he hadn't bothered to fully clean off in their room. Link had stuffed a fistful of napkins in his pocket as they left the restaurant, but he had refilled his lemonade for the two of them to share, so he didn't have a free hand to clean himself up.
Just as Rhett was about to toss his plastic sundae cup into a trash can on the corner, Link stopped him. He handed the drink off to the blonde, grabbed the container from him, and deposited the bottom of his cone into it, in hopes that it would catch most of the drippage. Then he retrieved a couple of napkins and tried to wipe himself off. He got all the biggest globs off, but he was sticky all over.
"Just bite it, brother. It's gonna just melt away if you keep lickin' it."
"Nooo. Hurts my teeth to bite it. I'll just drink whatever ends up in the cup. Slightly melted ice cream is my favorite, anyway!" Link says, turning to Rhett with a lopsided, toothy grin.
Rhett had seen that grin thousands of times in the past nearly-thirteen years, but he wasn't expecting the rush of emotion that hit him right in the gut at that moment. When Link's face lit up like that, he looked eight years old again, and the ice cream across the boy's chin just added to the illusion. The nostalgia took Rhett's breath away for an instant. Not knowing how to react to the feeling, he just let out a weird choked noise, gave his friend a shove, and said, "You're ridiculous, Neal," then took off at a jog toward the park across the street.
Link, not wanting to trip and drop his ice cream, just shrugged and continued to walk. His face was sweaty and he kept pushing up the sunglasses that were sliding down his nose. By the time he'd reached the entrance to the park a minute or so later, the cone was a soggy mess and the plastic cup was nearly full of brown, sticky liquid. "Ugh, I give up," he mumbled under his breath, tossing the container, cone and all, into a trash receptacle, then trudged off in defeat in the direction he'd seen Rhett heading.
He spotted his friend standing on a dock about a hundred yards away. Link set off toward him at a run, and both boys nearly lost their balance when the whole structure dipped to the left as Link stepped out onto it.
"Whoa... watch it there, brother! It's a floating dock. The bottom ain't attached to nothin'."
"Oh... sorry. That's pretty cool, though," Link smirked, then he started to rock back and forth, a bit more cautiously this time. That made Rhett laugh, and he joined in. Before long, both boys were swaying at opposite ends of the dock, trying to see how much turbulence they could cause without falling over. They were sure that, to any passerby, two super tall, grown men looked pretty silly behaving this way, but it was a weekday afternoon, and there were several larger, cooler parks in the area, so there weren't many people around. They allowed themselves to revert back to the little kids they once were.
After several minutes, they were both sweaty, so Rhett toed his sneakers off, pulled off his socks, took a long sip of the lemonade, and handed it off to an already shoe-less Link (when had that happened?), who chugged a bit then set it down as they settled next to each other- sitting a little closer than most friends would, but that's just the way they'd always done it- putting their feet in the water and riding out the residual waves they'd caused. Link took off his shirt and tried to wash out the chocolate in the lake. When it looked pretty clean, he laid it across the dock, took some napkins out of his shorts, dipped them in the water, and wiped them over his arms and hands, then wet another one and scrubbed at his mouth and chin. "Did I get all the ice cream off my face, Rhett?" The blonde barely glanced over, and grunted a "Yeah, man."
Link rolled his eyes, but wasn't really that concerned about it, so he just laid back, resting the back of his head in his hands. Rhett took off his sweaty tee, then did the same, using the shirt as a pillow.
Rhett had been right. There was a bit of a breeze. They just laid there in comfortable silence and calm for a few minutes before Rhett let out a yelp and pulled his feet out of the water as Link laughed. "Dude! Did you pinch me with your stupid finger-toes? I thought there were water moccasins bitin' me. Jerk!" Rhett said, embarrassed, cheeks turning pink. Link just chuckled, and Rhett put his feet back in the water, calf settling against Link's hairier one, but neither bothered to shift away, feet bumping together, then apart, as the water moved beneath them.
After a minute, Rhett spoke up, "Man, did you know that Tiger Woods is only a couple years older'n us, and he just won the freakin' Masters!? What the hell are we doin' with our lives? We're jumpin' around on a dock, covered in ice cream. We need to get our shit together!"
Link let out a loud laugh, "Golf is so boring. I'd rather be hanging out with you on this dock, than spending every minute on a lame ol' golf course. We'll find some other way to get rich and famous. Any day now, we'll come up with a brilliant song idea or movie script and become overnight successes, get beautiful wives, buy mansions next door to one another. Any day now, bo."
Rhett chuckled, "That's the spirit, Neal. Speaking of beautiful wives, neither of us have been on any dates lately. We oughta find some chicks and go see that Chasing Amy movie that came out a few weeks ago. I heard it's pretty raunchy, but has enough sappy romance that girls'll like it, too. Got any ladies you've been wantin' to get to know better?" he asks, with a raised eyebrow.
"What about Miss Perfect? Did you SEE what she was wearing yesterday? Knee-high boots, pink skirt barely covering her butt, and a tight white tank top. Man, I love summer! The girls walk around nearly nekkid! I'd love to get my hands on what's under that skirt of hers, if you know what I mean." he said, as he elbowed his taller friend.
Rhett turned to glare at him, mouth agape, "What the hell, dude? I ain't one of your dumb ass classmates you need to impress. We both know damn well you're waitin' for marriage, and Miss Perfect sure as hell ain't gonna marry your goofy ass!"
"Just 'cause I ain't gonna do nothin' with her don't mean I'm not thinkin' about it. I'm a virgin, not a homo."
"True 'dat, brother," Rhett responded with a chuckle.
They talked for a while more about girls, what they'd do the rest of the day, their upcoming exams, their summer plans, just enjoying the freedom of the afternoon. After a bit, Link's feet were starting to feel pruney, so he pulled his legs up, and rolled to face Rhett who, without even realizing it, mirrored him.
The sun had gone behind a tree, so Link pushed his shades up onto his head, and was instantly startled by Rhett's explosive laugh.
"Bro, you've got a smear of chocolate under your eye! I didn't notice with your glasses in the way! You're like a toddler!"
They both cracked up, and before he knew what he was doing, Rhett was licking the tip of his finger and reaching out to wipe off his friend's face.
The moment he saw the confusion in Link's eyes, it registered what he was about to do, and he panicked, changing his course of action, and shoved his spit-covered finger into his friend's left nostril.
Link's arm flew out and shoved Rhett's hand away, as he jumped back, made a sputtering noise, and sort of speed-crab-walked away from Rhett, toward the end of the dock, one arm going right off the edge, causing him to lose his balance and nearly fall into the lake. Rhett's hand reflexively grabbed his friend's ankle to keep him from going in.
The younger boy jumped to his feet, scooping up his shirt, shoved his feet into his flip-flops and mumbled, "I'm bored. Let's go," and took off toward the Dairy Queen, not turning to see if Rhett was following because, of course he was.
Rhett slid on his socks and shoes, put his baby blue tee back on above his khaki shorts, picked up the now-empty lemonade cup, stopping to toss it in the trash, allowing Link to get further ahead. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew what he'd done was incredibly weird, so he didn't bother to catch up until they'd reached the truck. Link was already in the driver's seat with a pained look on his face, so Rhett climbed in and sat there, not knowing what to say.
Link was rattled. What the hell just happened?, he wondered to himself. When he thought Rhett was going to spit-clean his cheek, it confused him, but he was willing to let it happen, for some reason. When, suddenly, there was a wet finger in his nose he was immediately grossed out, but then... he felt something low in his belly, and his cock twitched ever so slightly. Just thinking about it caused some stirring in his boxers. How the hell did that turn me on? What does that say about me? He knew he'd occasionally had some bizarre feelings toward his best friend, and he'd accepted that. But this... this seemed to have less to do with the blonde, and more to do with the finger in the nostril. Maybe a combination of the two...? He had no idea what to think.
Link suddenly realized Rhett had settled in next to him a couple of minutes ago, and neither had spoken.
He turned toward his friend and, trying to pretend nothing happened, "Where... uh... where to now, buddy roll?"
What an odd day this is turning out to be, Rhett thought. He squinted at his friend, brows furrowed, mouth hanging open, for a few moments, before placing a tentative hand on a bare, broad shoulder. "Everything okay, man?"
"Yeah, fine...where we goin'?" Link subtly leaned away from the big hand.
"Don't matter. Wherever you wanna go." he was just thankful Link was talking to him, and seemed to be trying to move past... whatever that was.
Link drove to the nearest gas station, went into the bathroom and washed off his arms, face, and bare chest, filled up his tank, and started heading toward the highway. It didn't even occur to Rhett to ask where they were going. He was just glad to be on an adventure with his best friend, and the wind coming in the windows at 70 m.p.h. felt great.
Rhett put a Merle mixtape in the cassette player, and the two lifelong friends sang and chatted, and all but forgot about the incident.
They'd been driving over an hour when they started to see signs for Virginia.
"Think we should head back, dude?" Link wondered.
"It's not even five o'clock yet. You got anything to do back in Raleigh in the next couple hours? I sure don't. S'long as you're cool with driving, I'm cool with ridin' along. I'll refill the tank on the way home."
"Nice! Let's keep goin' for a bit, then."
Another hour or so flew by, and they started seeing signs for Richmond.
"Feel like driving into Richmond and finding something to eat? My stomach is growlin' like crazy."
"You're always hungry, bo. But, sure. I could eat." Link said with a chuckle, as he scanned the road for the downtown Richmond exit.
They found a parking garage with an all-evening rate, just in case they found something they wanted to check out downtown, they wouldn't have to rush to pay for another hour.
Link had laid his tee across the seat to dry, but when he went to put it on, he realized there were still stains where the chocolate had dripped onto it. He leaned across Rhett, and reached under the seat between the tall man's feet, placing his right hand on a knobby knee. Link thought he heard a quick intake of breath, and felt his friend tense ever so slightly, but the way today was going, he couldn't be sure. He glanced at Rhett as he came back up with what he'd been looking for- a Foo Fighters shirt he'd thrown on the floor a while back- and didn't see any evidence on the man's face that he was uncomfortable. He shook out the tee, gave it a sniff, just to make sure, then pulled it on, and the guys headed out into the streets of Richmond.
They walked around for a bit until they smelled barbecue, so they followed their noses down a little side alley, and right into Uncle Ray's Wings and Ribs. Link got a pulled pork sandwich and fries. Rhett ordered a rack of ribs and baked beans. They got a big ol' basket of cornbread and a pitcher of sweet tea to share. It was all amazing. There wasn't a crumb left by the time the boys left.
They were feeling full and happy, so they just wandered around a bit, stopping to look at things, but not going inside anywhere.
Then Rhett noticed a pawn shop with some guitars hanging in the window, grabbed Link's thin wrist, and pulled him across the street toward it. The clerk greeted them, and asked if they needed anything in particular. Rhett told her he wasn't in the market to buy anything, but he'd seen the guitars and just wanted to take a look. She told him she didn't mind, it had been a slow afternoon, and he was welcome to plug anything he wanted into the amp in the corner and give it a try.
Rhett spotted a burnt orange guitar hanging up high. It was pretty cheap, and not a brand he'd ever even heard of (he wasn't a guitar expert by any means, although he played) but he thought it was beautiful. Being a near-giant, he easily reached up and plucked it off of its rack. He plugged it in, sat down on a little stool and started strumming something he made up as he went. Link plopped down on the floor beside him, and started humming a tune along with the guitar. Rhett picked up on the melody, and started coming up with lyrics on the spot, a little ditty about grown men who can't eat ice cream without making a mess. Link laughed, and after a verse, chimed in with some background vocals, something along the lines of:
"Sticky man, sticky arms,
My shirt's a mess, but don't mean no harm."
It wasn't the most brilliant thing either of them had ever created, but they were both laughing, as was the clerk, and when Rhett ended it after another couple of verses, she asked them to sing something else. Not sure if he could make something else up on the spot under the pressure, he instead started playing "The Way I Am" by Merle Haggard, knowing the whole thing by heart, and confident in the knowledge that Link always knew exactly when to chime in with the harmonies. They nailed it, as Rhett knew they would, and as he strummed that last chord, the clerk clapped as the guys stood up, and told them they made a great team. Rhett threw his arm over the shorter man's shoulder, gave it a squeeze, and said, "We know we do," and it got exactly the reaction Rhett was hoping for; Link's bright eyes and crooked grin aimed in his direction. His heart lurched, but he was prepared this time. He gave his friend another squeeze, dropped his arm, thanked the clerk as he hung the guitar back up, and they headed out into the dusk.
They walked around a bit longer, then Link pointed out that it was getting a little late, and it was about time they headed home.
"Ugh... I'm not lookin' forward to walkin' into that hot-ass dorm."
"I know it, brother. It's still hot as hell outside, I doubt it'll be any cooler in our room."
"Well... I bet we could find a cheap motel with a pool. We could split a room, take a swim, and head back home before class tomorrow."
"I don't know, dude. We're broke college kids, we've already wasted a buncha' gas and eaten out twice today. We can't afford that."
"C'mon, Link. We'll eat at home all week next week to make up for it. Do you really want to lay awake all night because it's too hot to sleep? It ain't good for ya', being in such a hot room. We could get sick. It's for our health, bo!" he says with a gleam in his eye, knowing Link was going to give in.
"Dang it... If we can find something real cheap, I'm in."
They drove a little way out of the city and spotted a rundown roadside motel with a vacancy sign. There were only a few other cars in the large lot. They parked and headed toward the reception desk.
The man at the desk- his name tag said Joseph- seemed startled when he heard the bell indicating the door opening. "Oh... Hello, there!" he greeted them with a warm smile. "What brings you fellas in here this evening?"
"We're visiting from Raleigh, and it got late, so we figured we'd get a good night's sleep before we head home." Rhett replied. "How much is a room for the night?"
"Twenty-eight bucks. Non-smoking. Two queen beds."
Rhett glanced at Link, didn't see any hesitation on his face, so he agreed.
"Just need some i.d., boys."
Rhett handed over his license, and the man looked at it, squinted a little, and said, "Gotta be 21 to rent a room," pointing to a sign behind the desk.
"Oh... uh... I'm sorry sir. We didn't realize. So sorry to bother you," Link stammered, backing toward the door, looking at Rhett with panic in his eyes.
Rhett reached to take his card, then the man pulled it back and said, "Tell ya' what, Mr. McLaughlin... It's a real slow night. We could use the business. I'll make an exception. Y'all seem like respectful boys, ain't likely to cause no trouble. I'll fudge the date of birth a bit, put it at '75 'steada '77."
He handed Rhett a sheet of paper to fill out, birth date already written in, then asked for payment, which Rhett took care of, telling Link it was only fair since Link had done all the driving, and Joseph handed them a key. "Checkout's at 11 a.m."
"Thank ya', Joseph. This was real kind'a ya'. 'Preciate it." Rhett said, sincerely.
Link nudged Rhett as they were walking out the door, and pointed to a sign by the door 'Pool hours: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.'
Rhett glanced at the clock on the wall: 9:47 p.m.
"Dang it. Well, at least we've got a/c. That'll have to be enough."
"You boys wantin'ta swim? It's been a hot one today. Ain't hardly anyone else here. I haven't locked the gate to the pool yet. Go on 'head. You won't be botherin' nobody. I don't leave until 2 a.m. I'll just lock up then."
"Thanks, sir!" they said in unison.
The guys went to check out their room, and were blissfully greeted by cold air. They flopped down on their beds, Rhett instinctively taking the one closest to the vent. They'd been lying there a for a few minutes, when Link jumped up, and yelled, "Pool time!"
It was then that it dawned on Rhett that neither of them had swim trunks, or even a change of clothes, for that matter. "Uh... are we just swimmin' in our drawers, dude?"
"Why the hell not? It's dark, no one's around. I've seen your skinny, lanky body enough by now that I've learned to control my laughter."
"Oh, like you can talk, ya' little shrimp."
"I ain't a shrimp! You're just freakishly tall!"
"Whatever, man. Let's go!" Rhett says with a smirk, poking Link in the ribs as he pushed past him to open the door.
Link grabbed some towels off the bathroom counter, and they walked out to the pool and stripped down to their boxers, tossing their things onto a lounge chair, and jumped in.
The boys were tempted to splash and dunk each other, but they didn't want to push their luck after being allowed to go in after-hours, so they settled on just floating on their backs next to each other, enjoying the cool water and talking. Any time they'd start to drift apart, Rhett would reach out and grab whichever of Link's limbs was the closest, and pull the boy back toward himself, saying that he didn't want to have to talk louder and risk disturbing other hotel guests.
Link wasn't buying it, but he went along with it.
"Can't see nearly as many stars out here as you can back home, huh, buddy roll? But we're far enough from the city that you can still see a lot." Rhett observed.
"Yeah. It's nice. I never even think to look up at night when we're at school. See that streak up there? Think that's Hale-Bopp?" Link asks, pointing up, but looking at Rhett.
"Wow... could be... or it could just be the contrail from a plane. Looks cool, whatever it is," Rhett says turning to his friend with a wink.
Link's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly couldn't handle being so close to the blonde. He pushed off from the edge of pool with his feet, then flipped onto his belly and dove under, swimming to the other end, and flopping down on the steps.
Rhett placed his feet on the bottom of the pool, slowly walked over and sat next to his friend, their bodies touching at the shoulder and knee.
Link let out a heavy, angry-sounding sigh and scooted to his left a foot or two, and turned away a bit, barking out, "Why you always gotta be right on top of me, dude? Jeez! I ain't your girlfriend. You don't gotta touch me all the time."
Rhett, a little hurt, stammered, "I didn't... I mean, we always... whatever, dude..." he trailed off, then, "I know I grossed you out on the dock earlier. I have no clue what I was thinking. I was just being stupid, but I took it too far, and now you're pissed at me."
Link looked at Rhett and his face softened a bit, "I'm not pissed. I just... it was weird. It made me feel... weird."
Rhett inhaled sharply, then slowly exhaled, "Weird how, Link?"
Link had never been a good liar, and Rhett knew him better than anyone. Not telling him the truth was never really an option. So, Link opted for honesty. "It made me... I don't know. I think my brain's fucked up or somethin'. When you stuck your finger in my nose, something in my head malfunctioned, and it... gave me a bit of a..." Link looked down, gesturing at his lap with a hand.
Rhett's eyes widened and his bottom jaw dropped open. A short laugh, almost a hiccup, escaped his lips, and Link's face lost all color as his head jerked around to look away from Rhett.
The blonde instantly reached over and clapped his hand down on Link's knee, and said softly, "Sorry, bo. I ain't laughin' at ya'. Brains are weird. Mine made me stick my finger in your nose, and yours gave you a random boner. Don't mean nothin', brother. The heat was cloudin' our minds."
Rhett realized he'd been staring at the hand touching Link the whole time he'd been talking, and when he looked up at his best friend's face, he saw that Link's eyes were also locked onto his fingers. Slowly, Link started scooting closer to Rhett, as he lifted his own hand and placed it on Rhett's larger one, moving in slow-motion, turning it over and interlacing their fingers, never looking up.
By this time, their bodies were connected at the shoulder, and from hip to toe. Rhett nudged Link's knee with his own, and the smaller man glanced up at his friend. Rhett smiled softly at him, and Link couldn't help but smile back. Rhett's heart sang just a little.
The older boy turned toward Link, slowly untangling his hand from his friend's, giving it a squeeze, as he lifted his own from the brunette's knee, touched the tip of his best friend's nose with three of his fingers, and wiggled them around, green eyes locked with blue.
Link giggled and leaned into the touch, squishing his nose and mouth against Rhett's palm, pursing his lips in what could have been a light kiss, started to move away, then thought better of it, leaned back in and blew a raspberry instead, effectively breaking the spell.
Rhett said, "Gross, dude!," as he laughed and jerked his hand away, shoving it underwater to wipe the spit onto Link's shorts, but he accidentally brushed Link's dick with his fingertips, and discovered that he was hard.
They both froze for a moment, unsure what to do, then Link started to scoot away, but Rhett grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "Wait..." slowly moving his hand to Link's thigh, just below the leg of his boxers, to hold him in place.
"Did you like that? What I did to your nose?" Rhett asked as calmly and quietly as he could, trying not to scare his friend.
Link shrugged, looked down at Rhett's hand on his thigh, then back up to celadon eyes. He gave a tiny nod, cheeks pinkening just a shade.
"Can I do it again?"
A sharp intake of breath, a squint, then another nod.
Rhett had no idea what was happening. Why did he stop Link from moving away? Why didn't he just pretend that he didn't notice his friend's... predicament? What was his end game? Also, why did he feel so compelled to touch his friend's nose, of all things, and why was Link letting this happen?
He had no clue, but he'd come this far, he wasn't going to back down now.
His left hand remained on Link's bare thigh as he reached up with his right and touched Link's nose with just his index finger this time. Link's eyes widened, then closed entirely, long black eyelashes fluttering a bit. This allowed Rhett to look openly at Link's- he had to admit to himself- beautiful face.
He tapped his finger lightly a few times, then slowly traced the bridge of his friend's nose, landing in between his eyebrows. "Hey, Linkster, I'm touching your glabella," he said huskily, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively when Link opened his eyes, and they giggled at the use of both the nickname and the weird word they'd recently learned, but the air between them was tense. Rhett licked his lips with a lizard-like flick of his tongue, a nervous habit. Link relaxed at the familiarity of the action, smiled and shut his eyes again.
Rhett's finger moved back down the bridge, then switched to his middle finger and traced down around his right nostril, up the septum, enjoying the subtle changes in Link's facial expressions and breathing, then back around the left nostril. He repeated the pattern a few more times: up, then down the slope, and around the nostrils in a figure-eight, fascinated at how intense it felt just touching his friend and watching his reactions. After a couple of minutes, he slid his finger down and pulled at his friend's bottom lip, following the movement with his eyes, and catching a bit of moisture on his fingertip in the process. Link's eyebrows jumped a bit, then settled back into place, as Rhett leaned forward and placed a tiny kiss on his friend's nose.
Link let a out a quiet moan, then a mumbled, "Uh... sorry."
Rhett realized then that his own boxers suddenly felt a lot tighter than normal. "S'ok, buddy. Feels good?" Rhett said, hoarsely, as he rubbed his thumb across the man's cheek and down his strong jaw.
"Y... yeah," Link managed, another small noise escaping his lips.
Rhett groaned, then moved his right hand to the smaller boy's ribs, and scooted him closer, interlocking their knees, then placed both of his hands on his friend's hips, his right thumb settling against the side of Link's impressively hard dick.
Link's eyes scrunched up for a second, then relaxed again, but remained closed, his breath speeding up considerably.
Rhett leaned back in and kissed his nose again. One, two, three small kisses, then his tongue shot out, into Link's right nostril, then back out, and he licked along the rim.
He heard a quiet, "Fuuuuccckkkk..." as he felt Link's cock jump, and Rhett's own responded in kind.
He repeated the action, this time on the left side, and Link let out a whimper, throwing his arms over the taller man's shoulders, as he moved forward, pressing his knee into Rhett's groin, and rubbing up and down with it.
"Jesus, bo" Rhett said under his breath, slowly rubbing his palm up, then down, Link's length above his underwear. He took a deep breath, moved his hand over and squeezed Link's hips, slid back a few inches, and leaned away, placing his hands, instead, around the smaller man's rib cage.
Link opened his eyes and met Rhett's with confusion.
Rhett leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Link's.
"What are we doing, Link?"
"I... I don't know man, but it feels sooo nice... You don't think so?"
"Nah, man. I do. Feels real good... but it's a lot. We ain't ever done anything like this before, now we're about to do it with each other? I just think we need to think about this."
"Yeah. I guess you're right," Link sounded a little sad.
Rhett grabbed Link's hands between his own, and lifted them up in front of his face. "We're both prunin' up. Let's get out of here and head back to the room."
Link's eyes got as big as saucers, and Rhett quickly said, "Not like that, man. I just meant... it's probably pretty late. We should shower and get some sleep."
"Oh... yeah. True. Okay."
They dried off, wrapped the towels around their waists, gathered their clothes and headed back to the room.
The moment they entered the room, Link's teeth started to chatter. "Brrrr.... So coooold in here!"
Rhett rushed to turn off the air, then grabbed a dry towel from the bathroom, and threw it at Link, who then dropped his wet one.
Rhett's eyes bulged as he let out a quiet gasp and gestured toward Link's shorts. "I can see your... um... everything, dude."
Link looked down at his completely transparent white boxers and let out a chuckle. "Ya' like what ya' see, buddy?" he asked with a wiggle of his hips, then remembering what they'd just been up to, regretted it.
Rhett cleared his throat, not looking away, "Well, if I'm being honest, yeah. I do."
Link, who'd turned his eyes toward the floor, stuttered, "Oh... um... th... thanks," then looked back up at his friend's hungry gaze. Growing a little bolder, he allowed himself to slowly let his eyes wander over Rhett's face, across his shoulders and down his chest, then settle on the dripping blue and red plaid shorts that weren't doing a great job at concealing just how much his friend liked what he saw. After a breath, he looked back at that face he knew by heart. "You ain't so bad yourself, McLaughlin."
Rhett's heart nearly burst out of his chest. "Why don't you go take a hot shower, buddy roll, since you're freezin' to death?"
Link grabbed his cargo shorts and walked into the other room.
Rhett took off his boxers, wrapped a dry towel around his waist, and sat on the floor, turning on the TV on his way down.
He flipped through the channels, never settling on anything to watch. Rhett knew he loved his friend but, in what way, he wasn't sure. They couldn't just jump into this. It merited a conversation. The tall blonde was shocked at how he wasn't freaking out. But, why would he be? This was Link. They'd always been two halves of a whole. They'd figure this out together. But, for tonight, it was probably best if they just went to sleep, to avoid doing something they'd regret.
His thoughts were cut off by the sound of the bathroom door opening. He got to his feet, tossing the remote onto the foot of Link's bed.
Link's baggy shorts hung low on his hips, and with nothing underneath, a whole lot of skin and hair were showing. Rhett felt something stir, both in his chest and beneath his towel, but he did his best to will the inappropriate thoughts away when he saw the look on his best friend's face.
"Hey. We okay, Rhett?" he asked, a little bit of fear in his eyes.
Rhett looked at him warmly, "Of course we are, bud. Always."
"You sure? That was all... a little disorienting."
Rhett pulled him into a hug, his chin resting on the dark head that now smelled like some sort of citrus, mixed with something else, distinctly Link. "I know it, bo. I don't know what any of it means. We don't hafta figure that out now. We have all the time in the world. Let's just get some sleep, and we'll talk after class tomorrow. We're good, man. Ain't nothin' broken us yet, and this won't either," he said, then placed a soft kiss on his friend's temple.
When Link stepped back, he still looked unsure. Rhett placed a finger under his friend's chin, tilted his face up and, making a decision, he leaned in. He placed his lips against Link's soft pink ones for the first time. They just stayed pressed together for a few moments, not moving, then Link turned his head to the side, opened his mouth a little, with a soft whine from somewhere deep, and they kissed. It was brief, and not too intense, but it was enough, Link decided. For now, it was enough.
Rhett leaned back, placed his hands in Link's, pressed their foreheads together, and looked into those beautiful water-colored eyes. "No matter what comes of this, Link, we make a great team. Just like the pawn shop lady said. That ain't ever gonna change."
"I know. Love you, Rhett."
"Love you, too, Cupcake," Rhett said with a wink, releasing Link's hands and walking into the bathroom.
Link crawled into bed and fell asleep in a matter of minutes, content in the knowledge that no matter what the future held, he'd still have his best friend.