Dak’s voice was intoxicating over the phone. It was deep, and it was gravelly. Brody wasn’t surprised, but he was a little self-conscious when he could feel himself growing hard as they talked. He said, “You’re kind of hard to forget about, too.” The words were true, and he knew that he could say much more, but he waited for Dak’s next comment.

“It’s great to know I’m on your mind. Is it ever distracting to you? I get a little wrapped up in, well, you know.”

“You do?” asked Brody. He wasn’t sure what Dak meant, but he decided to jump on it anyway. “You mean about the night before you left?”

“Yeah, you’re a good kisser.”

Brody could still call to mind exactly how Dak tasted. He asked, “How did that happen?”

“I guess we both wanted it.”

Brody said, “Yeah.” He was struggling with what to ask or what to say. He couldn’t believe they dove right into the topic just seconds after beginning to talk on the phone. Maybe it was easier to discuss on the phone than in person. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ve got an idea,” said Dak. “I want to see you and not just talk to you. What do you think?”

“Are you sure you can do that on the boat? Are you really where you can be that private?”

Brody held his breath when there was sudden silence on the other end of the line. Dak spoke softly in his deep tone of voice. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I just wanted to see your face. I did that with Lewis a couple of times, and when the times were better, it was nice to see his face.”

Brody was happy that Dak wasn’t able to see him yet. If he did, he would have seen Brody’s face blushing beet red. He made a huge leap when Dak talked about video chat. He thought that Dak meant something erotic like those guys on gay dating apps. They always wanted a, “You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine,” session.

He also liked that Dak mentioned him along with Lewis. It wasn’t because he wanted to be compared to Lewis. He knew that he was a much better person than Dak’s ex-boyfriend if the stories Dak told were true. Brody was happy that he came up when Dak was talking about a boyfriend. Maybe Dak was curious about the future, too.

Brody asked, “How about I call you back on video chat?”

“That works for me. See you in just a minute or two.”

A huge smile spread across Dak’s face when he answered the phone. Brody couldn’t see a whole lot more beyond his face, but he figured out that Dak was lying down, and he thought he saw a small dresser in the background.

“Hey there, you look like the same Dak that I know!” exclaimed Brody.

“I hope so. There was a close call yesterday, though. I almost landed in the river.”

Brody shook his head. “You can’t tell me about that because I’ll worry about you if I know. Tell me the weather is sunshine all the time, and the boat’s just sailing along with light summer breezes. Talk to me about playing cards or eating bad casseroles for dinner. I don’t want to hear about close calls.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you that, but you know it’s not always easy on a boat. How’s everything back home?”

“It’s all fine, except there’s a big hole where you’re supposed to be.”

“Aw, I miss you a lot, too,” said Dak. “Do you feel like we’re beating around the bush a little? I felt that way when I left your house. I knew it had to come up sooner or later.”

Brody smiled. At least he knew they were on the same wavelength about one thing. He asked, “The kisses?”

“Yeah, back to those. Like I said before, they were great.” Brody watched Dak move his index finger toward the camera, and he knew that they were touching the lips that Dak saw on his screen.

“What do we need to talk about?” Brody knew they could talk about a whole raft of subjects, but he wanted to know what was on Dak’s mind.”

“Do I get more kisses when I get home?”

“Do you want more?”

Dak said, “I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get more. If you don’t want any kisses from me, you’d better hide from me, because that’s what you’re going to get the next time I see you. I’m going to pin you up against the wall and press these lips tight against yours.”

Brody had to look away from the screen for a moment. His heart was starting to race. He never thought seriously about a relationship with Dak, but he was beginning to wonder why. It all sounded so easy, and it sounded so good. The only red flags were Dak’s failures with other men. While staring at Dak on the screen, it was easy for Brody to convince himself that they were all bad choices. He looked at the screen again and said, “Wow. I felt that. Did you?”

Dak grinned and said, “I felt it as soon as I saw your face. That’s why I said it.”

“Does that mean…dating?” He couldn’t believe he was asking the question, but it seemed like the obvious one to ask. He sensed that he was standing at a crossroads, and all of the signs were pointing down only one of the roads.

“I think it’s worth a try,” said Dak. “What about you?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so.”

“Is there any reason not to?”

Suddenly, a new neon sign started flashing in Brody’s brain. It was the one everyone talked about when they considered dating a good friend. What happened if they broke up? Was the friendship over, too? Dak was Brody’s best friend for more than twenty years. Was it worth the risk? All of the thoughts swirled in Brody’s brain, but he decided to slam them all back down as firmly as he could. He slapped a lid on the container and said, “No, I don’t think so.”

Dak leaned in closer to the screen and said, “Brody, I want you.”

“I want you, too, Dak.”