Dany didn’t need to be asked twice; he’d also been saying a silent prayer for a shower since they got up that morning. Brad somehow smelled better to him after time in the gym or a hike, but he hated feeling sticky sweat on himself. The boys dropped their packs and hurriedly pulled off their boots, socks, shorts, and shirts, anxious for the cool water. Without a moment’s hesitation, they ran together straight into the lake, splashing and yelling like teenage hooligans. Dany grabbed Brad in a playful headlock and dunked him. When Brad surfaced, he jumped up and body slammed Dany, dragging them both under the surface of the icy water.

Brad resurfaced, gasping for air, “Okay, no more rough play.”

“I can be gentle,” Dany teased as he shook his mop of dark hair away from his face.

“Promise,” Brad commanded, as he slowly made his way closer to his boyfriend.

Dany grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. “I promise.”

Snap!

The boys pulled apart as their attention was drawn up to the edge of a sharp rock cliff where a lone hiker sat, casually watching them. He looked to be in his late twenties, with sun-bleached blond hair that hung loosely around his face and rested on the shoulders of his black and blue flannel shirt.

“He’s watching us,” Brad whispered.

“I know,” Dany replied and gave the hiker a casual wave. The guy didn’t wave back, as if he hadn’t even seen them, and just continued to stare down at the lake.

“Do you think he saw us kissing?”

“I don’t know, it doesn’t seem to bother him if he did,” Dany concluded and then turned to yell up at the hiker. “Where you headed today? You want to join us?”

“Dany!” Brad threatened in a warning whisper. To his surprise the hiker continued to sit and stare in the same position, as if he hadn’t even heard Dany’s questions.

“What? You’re the one who wanted a third,” Dany reminded him.

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m adventurous, a wild man, and that’s why you love me,” he said, pulling Brad into another kiss. “It’s your lucky day, we’re putting on a show.…”

Brad reluctantly gave in, unsuccessfully trying to keep an eye on the hiker at the same time. When the boys parted lips, they looked up simultaneously to gauge the reaction of their audience member. The hiker had vanished.

“That was weird,” Brad said, scanning the cliff for any sign of the young man.

“You just intimidated him,” Dany said casually, “Looks like I’ll have to be enough for you tonight.”