Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

without looking at Trey. He mentally dammed his own over-careful spending habits. The Speedo he wore was not only old and getting a little thin, but white with an ugly red floral design. Would it have killed him to have bought something new? The moment his shorts cleared his feet he kicked them off and headed for the water.
    The ocean was cold enough to jolt him as he ran into the breakers. The salt tang filled the air, and the sand sucked the bottoms of his feet as he moved deeper. The sky was a clear blue with the faint haze that promised real heat later. He breathed it in. He'd missed this. God, had he missed this.
    There was a shove on his shoulder and he glanced over. Trey's eyes were sparkling and the light breeze ruffled his hair. He wore a dark Speedo and it fit him sinfully well, but then Trey threw his head back and laughed, and time rolled back. This was Trey , who had been his shadow and his support for so many years. Suddenly Josh felt whole again. Whole and happy and alive. "Come on!" he cried. "Race you!" He ran three steps deeper and launched himself forward into the water.
    It was a magical morning. Nothing else mattered, nothing needed to be done. He was on holiday and whenever he turned there was Trey. Trey was three strokes behind him when they raced out to the level of the point. Trey laughed his ass off when a big wave tried to drown Josh as he looked up at a circling cormorant. Josh kept his wits about him enough to keep his hands off Trey's wet, muscular body. He managed not to give in to the temptation to wrestle with Trey or grab him and try to dunk him. By some miracle, Trey also kept his attacks to splashing and occasionally grabbing Josh's feet to pull him under. For two hours they were fifteen again.
    Eventually they staggered out onto the sand. The air was warm enough that Josh could feel the moisture quickly evaporating off his skin. He slowed down and ran his hands over his short hair. It was already almost dry. Trey danced backward ahead of him. "Tired, old man? I could do this all day. Come on, race me. You always did swim better but I run faster."
    "It's too hot," Josh complained. "Let's walk back to the towels like two sane people."
    "Two boring old people." Trey tagged his shoulder with a slap and turned to run.
    Josh grabbed for him and snagged Trey's waistband. Trey shoved him away, laughing, with a hand planted on his head. For a moment they struggled, and then Josh noticed just how much of Trey's perfect, firm ass was being exposed to view by the elastic stretch of the fabric. He let go abruptly.
    Trey yelped and staggered, off balance. Josh smirked at him, despite the way his pulse was pounding in his throat. "Race you!" He set off across the sand, sprinting for all he was worth. Trey was beside him in a minute, and beat him to the towels by three strides. They both stopped, grinning and Josh bent with his hands on his knees to suck air.
    "Coach would tell you to stand up before you pass out." Trey's voice caught on the last word and they both sobered.
    "How's Felix?" Trey asked abruptly. He picked up his towel and began rubbing his hair, as if he couldn't ask and look at Josh at the same time. "We've talked about everything but him. I really want to know."
    Not even close to everything. Which didn't mean that Felix was an easy topic. "He's good. He's in pre-law. He did some therapy again his first year in college and it helped. He has a serious girlfriend now."
    Trey looked at Josh with one eye from under the towel. "So he's not gay?"
    Josh took a step back and glared at him. "No, dammit, he's not gay. Being abused by a man has nothing to do with whether a kid is gay or not. Before or after it happens. What the hell kind of question was that?"
    ****
    Trey was wondering the same thing. He felt sick. What on earth had made him ask that question? He tried to listen as Josh said angrily, "Coach Lindgrom was like a father to Felix. It was just so fucking wrong." And then Josh said more softly, "He was like a damned father to me too, once."
    Abruptly Trey realized where his own question must have come from. Not a new revelation, just one of a dozen festering sores left over from what happened to Felix. Because their young coach hadn't been like a father to Trey. Trey'd had his own loving dad. Instead he'd had one hell of a crush on the coach. It hadn't been like his feelings for Josh, but a pure physical want that went with the guy's height and muscles and air of authority. To