David laughed even louder but then leaned closer and said, “Come on, let’s go home. We need a shower, and we only have two days left to jump each other’s bones until your friend takes more of your time.”
“You know, I think you and Max are going to get along just fine.”
* * *
David made good on his promise, and we spent most of the last two days in bed. Feeling David inside me still shook me to the core. Not that I believed that you had to have penetrative sex to have intimacy, but giving David something I’d rarely given any of my previous partners made a world of difference to me.
When we were together like that, it was like my soul was latching on to his. Like I was opening the front door of my home and inside was everything that was right and perfect.
After we’d come back from our run two days ago, we’d had a shower together and a snack, and then went shopping so we wouldn’t have to leave the apartment for the next two days. We ended up being pulled out of our self-imposed reclusion by my cousins who came to visit our grandparents and asked us if we wanted to spend the afternoon at the beach.
My cousins didn’t know about David and me, so we made sure to keep some distance. I wasn’t going to deny how close we were as friends though, so I made sure to do what friends do and joined forces with my cousins to bury him in the sand and then throw him in the cold water of the Atlantic.
We’d had a great time. It took me back to my childhood when we used to play together and come to the beach as a family.
That evening after we had dinner, we sat on the love seat in David’s living room and watched a film together. We cuddled up during the film parts and made the best use of the extremely long advert breaks. If I’d been watching it on my own, I’d have lost interest with how long those ad breaks took, but having the freedom to touch David’s body while he was complaining about the adverts was definitely a plus. He didn’t have a chance to complain for very long.
David went back to work today, and I went to Lisbon Airport to pick up Max. The plan was to let Max recover from the flight and then David would join us for dinner.
I was currently in the arrivals area holding up a sign that said Maxwell Maximilian III. I saw Max as he turned the corner from the arrivals door toward the main concourse. I held the sign up and saw his face light up when he recognized me but then scowled when he saw the sign.
I laughed as we hugged each other.
“The Third? Seriously?” he said in mock outrage.
“Yeah, I thought it would give you lineage.” We’d played this name game a few times before. It started when I’d arrived from a trip where I’d been to a seminar and Max was waiting for me at the airport holding up a sign that said Professor Joel Joelius. Sometimes they were just variations of our names. Other times they were entirely made-up names, like when I’d waited for Max at Grand Central Station with a sign saying Sir Maxwell Jack Sallot.
Max fell asleep on the drive back, so I decided to surprise him with an impromptu stop at the beach like I’d done on the first day I’d arrived. That had only been three weeks ago, but it felt like a lifetime had happened since then.
It didn’t feel right going to Fonte da Telha with Max. I couldn’t tell why, it was just a beach, but it held such significance to my relationship with David, and I wanted to introduce them to each other first.
Max woke up just as I was pulling up at the beach near my apartment.
“Fuck,” he said, rubbing his eyes, “I was out like a light. Sorry ‘bout that. Where are we?”
“At the beach,” I said. “Come on, let’s get your toes in the sand. It’ll make you feel better and then we can have a drink if you like before we go home and you can sleep some more.”
Max changed from his jeans to shorts in the car, which was a challenge since he was a bit taller than me and the car quite small. He came out of it looking so proud of himself it made me chuckle.
His face took on a more relaxed expression as soon as we set foot on the sand, and then he smiled and put his arm around my shoulders.
“This is beautiful, Joebug. Look at that,” he said, looking out to the sea. “And the smell.” He lifted his head up and inhaled. “What’s that smell?”
“It’s the smell of holidays and saltwater, my friend,” I said. “So, how have things been at home?”
“Not bad. We have a new chief nurse. He’s quiet, doesn’t quite have the same energy as Mom. I really miss her.” He looked out toward the horizon as he spoke again, and I knew he wasn’t just talking about work. "She’s out there, isn’t she?”
“She is. Flying in the wind and swimming with the fish. And Dad is chasing after her like he always did.” I’d meant to say it as a joke, but even as I spoke, I felt my eyes sting. I knew I would grieve their loss for a very long time, probably forever, and it was going to be harder before it got a bit easier.
We held each other for a bit in silence, remembering our parents because that was what they were. They’d been as much Max’s parents as they’d been mine. My mom may not have given birth to Max, but she’d loved him from the moment he came home to study with me one afternoon shortly after we met.
I'd seen firsthand how he was treated like a son when his own parents never seemed to care. When he was at our house, he had the same responsibilities as I did, but he’d also been loved like I’d been loved. I’d never forget my mom’s face when Max said he wanted to be a nurse just like her.
“So,” Max said, interrupting my thoughts, “tell me about David.”
I looked up at Max and decided not even to try to cover up my blush and my smile. Okay, my grin.
“That good, huh?” he teased.
