The boy smiled. “You’re very handsome,” he said. He reached for the hem of Sam’s shirt, and Sam raised his arms. When he returned the favor, pulling the shirt over his head, and the young man pressed himself against Sam’s bare chest, there were no more thoughts, just the singing sensation of the boy’s skin, Sam’s hands sweeping over his back; the boy’s glossy hair against Sam’s cheek, the boy’s scent, sweet and earthy, all around them.
Sam settled the young man on his lap again and let his hands go where they wanted, stroking and petting the silken skin of the young man’s shoulders, the elegant span of his back, the bumps of his vertebrae, the jut of his collarbones. He raked his fingers through the silk of the young man’s hair, then gave a gentle tug, hearing and feeling the pleased noise the man made against Sam’s mouth.
Oh, God. Sam couldn’t stop himself from groaning. He tugged the young man’s hair, a little more forcefully, feeling the man writhe against Sam’s chest, his body hot and slippery as an eel. Sam was thrusting his hips upward, helplessly, unable to stop himself, and the young man was gasping and sighing, shuddering each time Sam touched him. Sam had one hand holding on to the young man’s hip, the other tangled in his hair, his mouth locked against the other man’s mouth. He could feel pleasure gathering, surging up from the tips of his toes to the base of his spine, pouring down all the way from the crown of his head and his heart.
He opened his eyes in time to see the young man throw his head back, exposing the strong column of his throat. Sam didn’t even think. He leaned forward, and licked, then bit. “Yes,” the other man groaned, with a noise that sent a surge of pleasure roaring through Sam’s body. Yes, thought Sam, as the boy gasped and shuddered against him. Yes. This. You.
* * *
After, they lay together; Sam with his back pressed into the cooling sand, the beautiful young man curled against him, with his head resting on Sam’s chest. Sam stroked the other man’s dark hair, fine and soft as silk. He wished he could see him in the daylight. He wanted to see his skin flush when Sam kissed his neck, and to see his eyes flutter shut when Sam touched him.
“Did you need that?” the young man asked, and kissed Sam’s lips lightly.
Sam’s own voice was gruff. “I guess I did.”
They were silent for a minute, the young man snuggling in his arms, Sam holding him, lovestruck and dizzy.
“Look at the stars.” The young man shifted so the back of his head was on Sam’s shoulder and he was looking up at the sky. “Isn’t that amazing? I’ve never seen so many stars in my life.”
“The air’s clearer up here. If you live in a city, there’s always smog. Ambient light. But up here…” Sam gestured at the sky. “You get to see everything.”
“Do you spend a lot of time in Cape Cod?” asked the young man.
“I did,” Sam said. “When I was growing up. My parents have a house here, and we’d stay for the summers. How about you?”
“It’s my first time.” The young man wriggled against him with a breathy sigh that made Sam’s heart clench. Sam ran one fingertip around the other man’s ear, tracing the ridge of cartilage down to the softness of the lobe. The moon rode high and bright in the sky; the waves sang against the sand, and the scent of the fires and the ocean had been joined by the smells of sweat and sex.
“Where are you staying?” Sam asked.
The young man gestured vaguely in the direction of the road. “I don’t know the names of any of the places yet.”
For the first time in their encounter, Sam felt awkward. Are you staying in a house? A hotel? A campground? Where do you live? What do you do? Are you here with someone? Do you have a boyfriend? A husband? And, of course, the most basic question of all.
“What’s your name?” he asked, then laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Here he was, a half-naked stranger in his arms, semen drying in his underwear, and he didn’t even know this young man’s name.
He felt the young man’s weight shift as he turned his face away and heard him clear his throat. “Anthony,” he said after a minute. “Call me Anthony.”
“Anthony,” Sam repeated. “I’m Sam.” He cleared his throat. That sense of contentment and of wonder, of rightness, was still humming through him, singing sweetly in his bones. “I’ve never done this before,” he said.
“Done what?” Anthony asked. “Made out with a stranger on the beach?”