His head touched the pillow, fit neatly into the hollow that was already there, as if it had been he who had lain there night after night dreaming of the warm waters of Baja and the snow-dusted shores of Alaska; he who had fallen there, joyously drunk, and laughed while the room spun in dizzying circles around him; he who had sat there, lost, while the voice of Coltrane’s sax had soothed his soul for as long as the song lasted. The cot embraced him, took him in its arms while Ben, above him, fumbled with buttons and underclothes, buckles and shoes, until both were naked and their hands were touching bare skin.

The light—still golden, but now suffused with something else that made Hudson feel that he was looking at the world as through the haze of the longest, warmest summer afternoon—touched Ben’s back and transformed him. His fingers stroked and kneaded, coaxing from Hudson a longing that quickly traveled along the hidden byways of his body and filled every empty space with want. He pulled Ben to him, his lips whispering his desire.

Ben, seemingly driven by whatever strange power the bed on which they lay gave up, was quick to comply. Hudson had only to guide him to the place of his need. Then came the breaking open of a door, the momentary loss of breath, the indescribable ecstasy of being taken. Ben’s hands on his thighs, pulling him in, the heavy beating of flesh against flesh. Above him Ben’s face, haloed in gold, containing everything he’d ever wanted.

He reached down, finding the expression of his joy where it sprang up from between his legs. His fingers caressed it, drawing up from its root the light that poured from Ben and into his belly. He ached with the fullness of it, cried out in surprise and wonder as he felt the joy rising, rising, rising, until it broke over him and he called out to its creator: Ben! Ben! Ben!

As he rode the wave up toward the sun, there was an answering call. Ben plunged once more into his center, his breath catching in his throat as he released. The pulse that rippled through him like a stone dropped into a still body of water expanded ever outward, growing in strength as it sought the shores of Hudson’s insides, gaining speed and rising up to a great height until, crashing against the rocks, it burst into a million shining drops. Then Ben fell, covering Hudson’s body with his own, holding him as they both tumbled once more to the earth.