Week Ten: excerpt of chapter eleven

At 12:18 tomorrow morning,

                  tangled in these salty sheets,

                                    I brought the soap

                                                      and you the

shampoo

                  { we smell just like each other. }

They ventured down to the beach the second day, walking barefoot in the sand with their fingers twined and swinging between them. It was too cold to go swimming, really, but they still dared each other to go into the water, dragging one another down to become fully submerged. After Mark had stopped shrieking, Alex pulled him down for a kiss in the shallows as the residue of waves sloshed around them. Mark was happy to comply, hovering above him and dripping salt water onto Alex’s forehead.

They shivered on the walk back up to the bach, but by the time they reached the top of the steep driveway they were sweating profusely and heaving their breaths. They raced each other to the bathroom, both of them wanting to get in the shower and get warm again. After wrestling over the door handle, Mark sighed and stepped between Alex and the door.

“We make out regularly.”

Alex froze, feeling heat in his neck. “Yeah?”

“We should be able to shower together. In our shorts, obviously.” Mark was blushing too and he dragged a hand across the back of his neck in the way that made Alex’s chest swell. “Not anything weird, right? Like we used to do it as kids and it just seems like the easiest option rather than fight over it.”

Alex tried to assess the situation as well he could. He would keep his shorts on, and it’d be one way to get the salt out of his clothes. He’d been in a small space with Mark before plenty of times. With a sigh, he nodded.

“Yeah whatever. Now get out of the way, I’m freezing.”

Mark’s smile was infectious as they finally entered the bathroom together and Alex leant into the shower to warm up the water. Mark struggled to get his wet shirt over his head and Alex laughed as he helped him detangle himself.

“Why didn’t you just undo the buttons?” Alex asked, Mark panting in front of him.

“Yeah, that probably would’ve been better.”

Alex snorted as he easily slipped his shirt off his torso as well. He was glad to be out of it, but his shivering got a lot worse as he had more skin exposed to the cold air. Mark stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him, guiding him into the shower and adjusting the tap to a tolerable heat. For the first five minutes they just hugged under the warm stream of water, feeling less and less sticky with salt. Alex closed his eyes to avoid getting water in them and simply allowed himself to lean into Mark’s hold. After a while, Mark peeled himself away from Alex and Alex found himself whining at the loss of heat. Mark simply rolled his eyes, picking up the bottle of shampoo he’d brought and squeezing some into his hand before passing it to Alex. They washed themselves in silence, mostly avoiding eye contact, but it wasn’t awkward at all. Alex was happy to watch the curve of Mark’s back out of the corner of his eye.

Mark got out first, turning his back and hiding himself behind a towel as he dropped his shorts and slipped out of the bathroom. Not that he needed to; Alex turned his back as well.

Alex took off his own shorts and washed his body down with the body wash he’d brought from his bathroom at home, then sat down on the floor of the shower and allowed it to rinse off on its own. Mark’s shampoo was clinging to his hair, tainting it with a scent that was distinctly Mark. He thought about how they smelled like a combination of the two of them – Mark’s signature shampoo and Alex’s signature body wash. Alex never thought that lavender and watermelon would go well together, but he found the he enjoyed the smell thoroughly.

The smell stuck to them as they cooked dinner together, clad in each other’s hoodies for a laugh and bumping each other lightly as they navigated the kitchen. Mark tidied up after Alex, who was a better cook but not nearly as tidy. They ate on bean bags in the living room, watching the full moon rising above the bay and reflect on the water as it broke along the shore. Mark rinsed their plates when they finished eating the pasta dish and put them in the dish washer before setting it going.

They slipped into bed together, Mark moving quickly to pull Alex on top of him and attaching their lips. It was slow and paced, allowing Alex to melt into Mark’s frame, planting his hands on Mark’s shoulders as Mark wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist. After a while, Alex pulled away, opting instead to press his cheek to Mark’s chest. Mark moved a hand to file his fingers through his hair.

“I’m gonna graduate in a few months.”

Alex froze under Mark’s touch. “Shit, you are. Have you applied to uni yet?”

“Yeah, I got into AUT for psychology, I just need to pass my exams which is piss easy in level three.”

Alex nodded his head against Mark’s skin. He shuffled around a bit until Mark parted his legs and Alex was able to lie between them.

“I can’t wait for level three, year twelve is kicking my ass.”

Mark chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of Alex’s head. “You’ll do fine, superstar. You always do.”

Alex preened under the compliment. “I know. You will too, though. You’ve already been accepted and everything.”

Mark let out a sigh, rubbing his fingertips up and down Alex’s spine. “Thanks.” He let out a yawn. “Shit, I’m exhausted. Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“You know I love you, right?”

Alex’s heart sped up again and he hoped Mark couldn’t feel it where their chests were pressed together. “Yeah.”

“Okay. So can you please get off? I can’t sleep on my back.”

Alex laughed, but he rolled off and onto his side, facing away from Mark so that he could slot himself in behind Alex. “Pussy.”

Mark whined into the back of his neck. “Fuck off.”