“I could get used to this.” Zack heard the words echoing in his head all day long. During the dive instruction class before they went out on the boat. On the boat. Every time he found himself looking around for Brian while they were out on the reef. Every time he came up to the surface.

“I could get used to this.” Every time Brian sought him out or touched his arm or slipped his hand in Zack’s hand even for the brief moment or two it lasted. When Brian came out of the water for the last time, a huge grin on his face despite the dive mask imprint around his eyes and the jellyfish sting he’d taken to the leg earlier.

“Race you to the shower,” Brian said when they hit solid land. God, there was nothing like solid land. Zack wanted to stay here, on this island, with Brian. He’d give up his dreams and not get on that ship… if he could have this.

The shuttle dropped them off at the hotel just before sundown. Zack’s hair was stiff with salt water and he ached from too much sun on top of too much sun. He’d stopped burning days ago and seemed to be tanning. He had a distinct tan line from his waist up and mid-thigh down. He was white in the middle, where his shorts fit him.

Brian wasn’t white in the middle at all. He had no tan lines. But he was right, his freckles had freckles in certain places. Not dark freckles. Not yet. Just light golden reddish spots all over his body. Spots Zack fantasized about, he caught himself wanting desperately to play connect the dots… with his tongue.

Brian made it to the room first and pulled out his door key. He made it into the bathroom first as well, stripping as he went. And laughing. The fucker.

He disappeared just as Zack turned the deadbolt on their door and started for the mini-fridge in hopes of finding something to drink that wasn’t water or alcohol. He’d had his fill of both. The sudden silence brought Zack up short. Brian was rarely ever quiet when he was in a good mood. And he’d been in a good mood since they hit the dive shop.

“What is it?” Zack forgot about the fridge to detour into the bathroom. He stopped beside Brian, and just stood looking at it.

“That’s the biggest fucking tub I’ve ever seen,” Brian whispered in awe.

It was heart-shaped. The tub. The arches at the top of the heart forming the seats. It looked long enough for both of them to fit comfortably. And deep enough to… oh god, his dick got way too many ideas.

“It’s fucking huge,” Zack whispered back. He tried to talk his dick out of thinking what it was thinking.

“Why are we whispering?” Brian leaned over to whisper in his ear, his voice softer than it had been the first time he spoke.

“I don’t know, you started it,” Zack replied, leaning in to whisper again. Brian turned to face him and their lips grazed. He pulled back and looked up at Zack, his fingertips brushed his lips as if he’d been shocked. “You want to maybe…” he had to stop to clear his throat. “Uh, there’s a shower over there, if that would be better.” He pointed to the corner to the two-person shower with double shower heads. Brian moaned in reply. “So…” he dropped down on one knee and reached for Brian’s hand. “Bri… will you do me the honor of… taking a bubble bath with me?”

Surprise flitted across Brian’s face. He went really pale really quickly and stopped breathing for a long moment before he grinned widely. He waved his free hand like a fan over his face, his eyelashes fluttering wildly. “Why, Doctor Sorensen, you are bad for a boy’s reputation.”

Zack laughed, but for a moment he thought… nothing. It was nothing. It was just Brian being Brian and getting his jokes and playing along. Like they’d always done back in the day… when they could finish each other’s sentence, and anticipate each other’s wants and needs and… oh god. “I… uh… guess we’ll have to run off and get married or something now that I’ve compromised you.” He couldn’t think of a witty comeback. The look that had briefly passed through Brian’s eyes when he’d dropped to his knees came back and went away just as quickly.

“I’ve been compromised for more than a decade. I’m sure no one cares. Go grab that champagne. I’ll fill the tub.” Brian lost his playful mood and pulled Zack to his feet. He started stripping off the rest of his clothes as he turned back to the tub. “And bring food. I’m starving. I swear I’ve gained twenty pounds this week.”

Water poured from two waterfall spouts on either side of the tub. Brian picked through the assortment of bath potions on the ledge and added something sweet-smelling. Zack went out to the kitchen taking his shirt off to toss near their bag. He pulled the champagne out of the fridge and found two flutes, he stuck it all in the basket and took the whole thing into the bathroom. When he got back Brian stood waiting for him. He was nude and maybe looked a little nervous. He stepped forward and took the basket from Zack and set it on the ledge. Bubbles filled the tub and steam filled the air.

“There are jets. Did you know that water jets make huge bubbles? We’re going to smell so pretty.” Brian turned back to Zack and fumbled with the button on his shorts to help him finish undressing. He still looked nervous. It was strange. When Zack was just as naked as Brian he held his hand out for Zack and helped him step into the tub. Zack did the same for Brian.

“We are pretty,” Zack replied, hoping he didn’t say it in the form of a question. Hoping he could regain the playful mood they’d had before the awkward set in.

“Damn skippy,” Brian said as he sank into the tub, he hissed as the scalding hot water skimmed his balls. “Fucking hell.”

“Turn the heat down, Einstein.” Zack sank down, he expected the heat yet still hissed when sensitive parts touched the water. He eased back into his half of the heart and moaned. “Second thought, don’t. This feels so damned good. I didn’t know I ached. But now that I know, god, I ache all over.”

Brian fished in the basket and pulled out the glasses first. He held them out for Zack to hold while he popped the bubbly open, it spewed into the tub. They laughed. He filled their glasses and held his up as if he was going to make a toast. He was supposed to make the toast at Zack’s wedding. He opened his mouth to say something. Nothing came out. He looked away as if he was embarrassed. Zack tipped his glass up and clinked the rim to Brian’s. “To us,” he said, meaning it in every way Brian could possibly take it.

“To us,” Brian echoed his toast and took the first sip. “Fuck, this is good.” He looked at the label on the bottle. “Bet this shit is expensive as all get out.”

“Three thousand dollars a night, it better fucking be expensive.” Zack eased back into his spot and propped his feet on the rim of the tub. He could get used to this way too fast.

“Jesus, fuck me. Better drink it all. We should probably have sex on every surface too. Just to make sure you get your money’s worth.” Brian was only joking… Zack hoped. Please let him be joking. Zack wasn’t sure he could handle the idea of sex on every surface… or not actually having sex on any surface.

“So… okay…” Zack held his glass up again like he was going to make a toast to sex on every surface. Instead, he held it over for a refill. “I got nothing. Just let me lay here in my bubble bath and pretend I didn’t fuck up my life and drink champagne and eat fish eggs on a cracker and chocolate strawberries and… tomorrow we’ll go explore a fort and look for pirates or some shit like that before we have to get back on the ship.”

“Ugh.” Brian leaned over the side of the tub, his back to Zack when he groaned loudly. He handed Zack a plate with an assortment of foods on it and propped his feet up beside Zack’s on the rim. “This tub isn’t as long as I thought.”

“Or as wide.” Zack could feel their hips bump together every time one of them moved. “Cozy.”

“For lovers.” The wistful tone was back in Brian’s voice. “Shut up and eat your fish eggs.”

Zack shoved a cracker into his mouth and chewed. It wasn’t a bad taste. Weird. Salty. Squishy. He swallowed. Not something he’d buy for himself, but okay. “I like the cheese spread better than the caviar. Want to go out for seafood tonight? I swear we’ve been in the Caribbean for a week and we haven’t even seen a damned shrimp.”

“I had shrimp cocktail just the other night. Or didn’t you remember?”

“I wouldn’t call that stuff you found in the buffet shrimp cocktail.” Zack held his glass out for more. Brian turned the taps off with his toes. His foot grazed Zack’s ankle and Zack’s dick sat up straight. He closed his eyes and let the bubbles and alcohol do their job. He tried to think straight. Straight, as in not hard and horny in a tub with his best friend. He couldn’t.

“Tell me about this Match Day thing. How does that work?” Brian didn’t seem to notice Zack’s dick sticking up out of the water. Or if he did, he was ignoring it.

“Third Friday in March, all of the resident candidates are sent letters of placement for residency. I applied to several hospitals around the country and interviewed and did the whole process of getting a job. Then I filled out my choices and…” he shrugged because he didn’t know if that’s what he even wanted anymore. He’d likely be stuck in or near Atlanta while Brian went back to California. He’d listed one California hospital on a whim. He figured if he couldn’t be near home, then he could be near Brian for four years. He might have started to doze off. Brian shifted against him and Zack lurched in the water. “Uh, Friday, we’re supposed to meet next Friday and we’ll get our letters and… then I pack up and go wherever I’m sent. Don’t mention your sister. She doesn’t matter in this conversation.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Brian took his glass and his plate and set them in the basket. Zack looked up as Brian moved over him. He straddled Zack’s thighs and reached for one of the pink bottles on the shelf beside Zack and opened it. He spilled it in his hands and let the perfumed oil dribble onto Zack’s chest. His dick pressed against Zack, it was just as hard as Zack’s. “So… you have until Friday.”

Zack nodded, watching Brian rub the oil into his own skin, he wished he was the one doing the rubbing. Even if it was just his arms. “Friday. I need to be back in Atlanta by Thursday night at the latest.”

He took the bottle of oil and poured a puddle into his own hand. He rubbed his hands together and ran his hands up Brian’s biceps rubbing the oil into his lover’s muscles just to watch Brian’s eyes grow heavy-lidded. “Is that what they mean when they say bedroom eyes?” he whispered as he pulled his legs into the tub and sat up straight, pressing his chest to Brian’s in the process. “What are we doing, Bri?”

“Making love,” Brian whispered into his ear, his oiled hands exploring Zack’s shoulders and over his back as he sat straddling Zack’s lap, their bodies pressed hard together. “We’re making love, Zack. It’s what you do on your honeymoon.”

Zack slid his hands up Brian’s shoulders to his neck, rubbing hard because his touch made Brian tremble. “That’s what I thought.” He felt Brian’s breath on his lips just before he kissed him. He stroked his hands behind Brian’s neck and down his back, pulling him tighter to his body. He could hear the waves outside. The tinny sound of a kettle drum floated on the air. Brian wrapped his arms and legs around Zack, the movement bringing Zack uncomfortably close to orgasm. “I want you,” Zack whispered when they broke for air. He had no idea how he wanted him, he just wanted him. He wanted Brian in every way possible.

“Inside me,” Brian whispered back. “I need you inside me.”

Zack nodded and Brian took his hand and reached behind his back, guiding it down, over his ass. “You mean?” He didn’t know what Brian wanted.

“Play doctor, Zack,” he said cryptically, staring pointedly into Zack’s eyes. “Get me ready. You’re huge, baby.”

“Oh… OH!” Zack gasped in surprise, catching on. They were going to… oh god. He snatched his hand back and Brian shot him a look of disappointment. Zack grabbed the oil and poured most of the bottle into his hand, the water would wash most of it away, but he’d have enough to make it easy for Brian. “Kiss me.”

Brian wriggled on his lap again, pulling his legs under him to crouch on his knees over Zack’s legs. He lifted out of the water and leaned over Zack, catching his lips, dragging his tongue over Zack’s mouth before delving inside with his tongue. Zack slicked his hands down Brian’s back, pressing his fingertips into his flesh as he worked his way down Brian’s back, slowly, to grip his ass cheeks, hard. He kneaded him spreading him wide, but he didn’t go inside. Not yet. He wasn’t ready. Brian’s dick grew larger against Zack’s belly. He didn’t move. There was no grinding or rutting. They kissed, Brian ran his hands through Zack’s hair, making it oily. Zack thought he was going to die. The champagne went to his head, he floated, his heart beat too fast. His dick was so goddamned hard he couldn’t stop now. He wanted inside this man. He wanted this man. He wanted… his virginity had always been Brian’s to claim. He knew that now. They’d done everything else but make love.

He slid his finger down Brian’s ass crack, stroking him with just that finger until Brian whimpered against his mouth. He still didn’t move, but Zack could feel his dick throbbing between them. Hot and hard and oh god. He fingered the puckered skin, swallowing Brian’s pleas for him to hurry. He didn’t want to hurry. He eased just the tip of his finger inside, rubbing oil into him as he opened.

Brian sucked Zack’s tongue into his mouth, the pressure enough to make Zack lose his mind. Zack eased his finger inside, slowly, letting Brian’s gasps guide him. Soft gasps of pleasure or gasps of pain. He learned quickly. He wanted to please his lover. He wanted to make Brian happy. That’s all he’d ever wanted. To make Brian happy.

“Find the spot, Zack,” Brian pleaded with him, between punishing kisses. His hips twitched with each inch Zack went inside him. He didn’t pull out. He slid straight in. Slowly. Playing Brian’s body, making him accept him, making him open. “Find the spot. Make me come.”

Zack found the spongy gland and pressed into it. Brian bit his tongue as his soft gasps turned to frenzied moans, yet he stayed perfectly still, letting Zack explore him. Letting Zack seduce him.

“That’s it, Zack, put another finger inside me. I need to have you. Make me come like this.” Brian pulled his hair and sucked on his tongue, his body trembling against Zack as if he had no control. Zack slipped a second finger inside him, and rammed into him, spreading his fingers to open Brian for him. Brian flung his head back and begged. “Please, Zack. Please, now. Please. I can’t… wait. I’ve waited too long.”

Zack pulled his fingers from him and Brian collapsed onto him with a whimper, laying on Zack like a rag doll that had been tossed around too much. Zack rolled him off his lap and pressed him into his side of the heart. He didn’t need more oil. The tub was so slick he could barely move in it now. He crawled over Brian’s leg and tucked his hands behind Brian’s knees. He leaned over him, just as Brian had done him, and captured his lips.

Brian wrapped him in his arms and pulled him tight against his body. He dragged his legs up Zack’s thighs to his waist and arched his body into Zack’s. Zack broke the kiss, he pulled back, he needed to see Brian’s eyes. He had to know. He stroked himself, pressing himself into Brian, he felt his body open. He felt Brian take him, the pressure of his body as Zack pushed into him nearly more than he could bear. His body was on fire. He’d been so… lost. He’d needed this for so… “I won’t last long,” he said, watching ecstasy play across Brian’s face.

“Me either. Doesn’t matter. Make me come, Zack. I need it so much. Just to be with you. Just you.” Brian barely breathed the words, Zack read his lips. He leaned over and kissed him. The water sloshed around them, and over the edge of the tub. He didn’t know he moved. They moved together, holding each other. Bubbles and oil coating their bodies. Brian dragged his nails down Zack’s back as Zack swallowed his own name. Giving Brian’s name back to him when he followed Brian over into orgasm.

When the water cooled he pulled Brian into his lap again and looked through the bottles on the ledge. He found shampoo and body wash. He didn’t know if they could wash the oil off, but he was going to try. Brian held his hand up and Zack filled it with soap. The water was completely cold when they climbed out, slipping and sliding and laughing like they were kids again and this was the first time they’d done this.

Maybe it was.