Sail To The Moon

Part 1

The breeze coming off of the water was warm, almost tropical. It felt good against Jonny's face as he sat in the sand. It was still warm from the sun beating down on it all throughout the day, and probably wouldn't get much of a chance to cool down before the sun shone on it again; a constant cycle of heating and reheating.

The waves gently licked the shore and produced a most soothing sound. This was the ocean's lullaby. At least, that's the way Jonny thought of it. He stared out at the black water and wrapped his arms around his legs, bringing his feet in closer and wriggling his toes in the sand. This was truly a way to spend a vacation.

But there was a noise that didn't fit in with the soothing sounds of the water. A pair of feet, in a pair of sandals, which were not his own by the way, shuffled down the beach and stopped next to Jonny. Jonny looked up at the man, who looked like somewhat of a giant from this particular angle. No they were certainly not his sandals. Chris didn't own anything but sneakers.

He also did not appear to own shorts; he was wearing loose fitting black pants even though it was the middle of summer. This made Jonny chuckle.

"What? "

"Oh, nothing."

"Having a party without me, I see."

"Not necessarily without you, just...with myself only."

"Oh, okay. I'll leave then."

"No, stay."

"Okay," he replied, sounding confused. "So....why are you here?"

"Why are you here?"

Chris blushed and ran his hand through his curls his ever lengthening curls. Haircuts were not part of the ideal vacation, it seemed. "I came here looking for you. It's not much of a party without you, to be honest."

"It wasn't much of a party with me either. Girls and drinks might be Guy and Will's idea of a good time, but not mine."

"What is your idea of a party, Mr. Parties-A-Lot?"

"Mr. Parties-A-Lot?"

"It sounded better in my head."

Jonny laughed again. "This is my idea of a party. This is the most fun I've had all night."

Chris returned the laugh. "Can I sit down?" He was, however, already sitting.

Jonny rolled his eyes. "Well you kind of already are."

Chris let out a nervous chuckle. "True, true."

For a while after that they sat in silence. Without saying anything, they both knew that the other was thoroughly occupied with taking in the scenery.

The sky was as black as the water and cloudless. The soft white light from the full moon danced across the water in a random yet seemingly conventional way. It was like watching a performance in a theater. Except this performance did not cost any money to view and was completely unrehearsed.

Jonny admired the way nature could appear so unorganized, but at the same time know exactly what it was supposed to be doing. He wanted to know what he should be doing right now. Perhaps he should be speaking. Not everything could be deciphered through silence.

"Chris?"

"Yes Jonny?"

"I'm glad you are here. Actually, when I left earlier I was hoping you would follow."

"Hmm...and here I was thinking that I was bugging you. Yet it turns out that you want me around, eh?" He gave Jonny a playful nudge with his elbow. But Jonny was serious. Chris turned his to see a pair of green eyes looking directly at him.

"Yes, I want you around me. I always want you around me. I don't think I made it clear before....I am only enjoying myself when I am around you."

Chris was silent for a long moment. Jonny couldn't look at him again; it was agonizing to wait for a break in the silence. So much unlike the peaceful silence of a few minutes ago. Finally Chris cleared his throat to speak.

"I'm glad we feel the same way," he said quietly.

They fell back into silence again. Jonny laid on his back in the white sand and put his hands behind his head. He felt completely at peace. He stared at the moon and was fascinated by it. After a while he stole a glance at Chris and was far more fascinated. Chris's eyes seemed to reflect the moon's light just as the water did. But even more intriguing than that was Chris himself.

He was tapping his feet and his fingers on the sand, shifting about and never staying in the same place for more than a few moments.

"Are you having a problem Chris?" he asked, laughing.

"Don't the reflections on the water look like they're dancing?" Chris blurted out, rather than giving an answer to the question.

"Yeah...they do," replied Jonny, surprised. "I was just thinking that earlier."

Chris stood up abruptly. "I'll be right back okay?"

Before Jonny had time to open his mouth in reply Chris was already dashing up the beach and to the vacation home they were staying in. Jonny just laughed again and wondered what Chris could possibly be up to.


Part 2

He didn't have to wait long to find out. Soon he heard the swooshing noise of sandals on sand and a split second after that there were those long legs clad in those black pants again, standing next to him. Jonny slowly brought his eyes upwards. He frowned in question of the items Chris was now holding.

"What is that, a battery powered radio or something?"

"Yes!" shouted Chris excitedly.

"And you brought beer too?"

"Just a six pack. I thought you might want some. And Guy certainly has plenty of it to spare," he added, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks," Jonny replied, suspiciously. But he sat up and grabbed a beer. He discovered he truly had a taste for it at the moment, and soon he was reaching for a second one.

"So what's with the radio? Are we going to have some music or what?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh yeah!" he replied, excited again. He leaned down in front of the small black machine and fiddled with the dials until he was satisfied. Soon a sweet little melody was filling their surroundings.

"This doesn't sound like party music," Jonny teased.

"It isn't. Well, it is. But it's music for our kind of party."

"And what kind of party is that?"

Chris smiled giddily and reached down and grabbed Jonny's hand without warning. "Come oooon," he whined. " Stand up!"

"Stand up for what?" Jonny asked, sitting up and smiling widely at Chris's antics.

"For dancing!" he bleated childishly, quickly pulling off the sandals.

"Dancing?" he repeated, laughing yet again. He let himself fall back in the sand.

"Yes, dancing. Now get uuuuup!" He grabbed hold of Jonny's hand again and pulled as hard as he could, but to no avail. Jonny just kept laughing. He loved it when Chris acted like a spoiled child. Chris began to pout.

"If you don't get up I'll...I'll tickle you!"

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Don't do it!"

"Too late!!" he cried playfully, and fell on his knees and began viciously tickling Jonny's stomach.

"Stop, please stop! Stop it!" Jonny cried, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"I will stop only if you agree to dance with me!"

"Okay, okay, I will!" he gasped. Chris retreated and Jonny wiped tears from his eyes. That was the hardest he had laughed in months.

He slowly stood up. Chris immediately grabbed his hands and began to dance with Jonny all across the beach. At first Chris did most of the work but soon Jonny felt himself joining in more. He swayed in time to the music. He realized that they were basically slow dancing right now. Not once in his life did he ever think he'd be doing this with Chris. And never once in his life was he going to regret doing this.

They danced for hours on the beach, leaving their footprints in the sand to be washed away at high tide. Eventually the sun peered it's head over the water's edge, and they both collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Chris turned to Jonny. "Thank you for dancing with me" he said sleepily. Jonny smiled and stared at Chris as he slipped into unconsciousness. He wanted to believe to believe that it was the alcohol that was stirring these feelings for Chris up inside him, but he knew that wasn't true. He hadn't even had that much to drink.

No, the truth was that would do anything if it meant being with Chris. Because he liked Chris very much. And in the brand new light of the day, he could admit this to himself.
For Chris, he would leave a party full of girls and beer to sit on a beach. He would dance all night by the light of the moon. Quite likely, he would even follow Chris straight to the moon.



THE END