Page 3 of The Man on the Beach
“Have a good nap.” The stranger leaned back against the sofa and picked up his paperback.
FOUR
Nathan slept, burrowed deep under the covers. He woke a few times throughout the night, feeling more alive each time. Once, he tiptoed into the kitchen for another glass of water and considered leaving, but his host was sleeping under a throw blanket on the sofa. It would be a disturbance to wake him, Nathan told himself. Instead, he watched the stranger sleep for a few moments before finishing his water and returning to the bed.
Nathan woke to sunlight and the sound of drawers opening and closing. He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the sounds of the shower and the man moving around in the bathroom. He pretended to be asleep until the stranger left the bathroom and Nathan heard the door to the bedroom close.
Nathan took a long, lukewarm shower. Even the warm water burned his back. Of what he could see in the mirror, his back was a bright, angry red. He gingerly dried himself with a towel and pulled on his borrowed shorts before opening the bedroom door.
The stranger was sitting at the kitchen table with his open laptop. Nathan noticed that the alligator mug had been replaced with a blue mug with a sand dollar. The stranger looked up when the door opened.
“Good morning! Would you like some coffee?” He closed the lid of the laptop. Nathan considered.
“If you have any…” Nathan deferred.
“I made a whole pot just in case. I drink it all day, anyway. Have a seat.” The stranger stood up from the table and went to the kitchenette. He took a mug from the cabinet and poured coffee.
“What do you put in it? All I have is milk, I think. There might be sugar in a drawer…”
“Milk’s great, thank you.” Nathan smiled in thanks when the man placed the mug on the table in front of him. The man was wearing athletic shorts and a worn white t-shirt. Nathan felt a little self-conscious without a shirt of his own, but the air was warm.
“Oh shit, your back,” the man swore. “Is it on your legs too?”
“Yeah.” Nathan stood up and faced away from the man, letting him see the red backs of his knees and calves.
“It looks like you have some blistering up here, too.” The man gently touched Nathan’s shoulders. Nathan sat back down and picked up his coffee mug.
“Yeah, I fucked up yesterday.”
“Your friends fucked up too, they left a man passed out in the sun.” The man sat down in his own chair and pulled his mug closer.
“Thanks for getting me up.”
“Happy to help. Glad you didn’t need an ambulance.” The man paused to take a swallow of coffee. “What’s your name?”
“Nathan.”
“Nathan. I’m Adam.”
“Adam.” Nathan said his name. He glanced back to the man’s laptop. “You said last night you work here. What do you do?” Adam made a self-deprecating smile.
“I don’t work here in the area. I’m a writer. It helps sometimes if I go somewhere where I can stay focused. I’m on a pretty tight deadline. I write most of the day and then run on the beach when it cools off. Oh, I forgot, I put aloe in the refrigerator for you last night. Do you want it?” Nathan touched his shoulders and felt the scales of the emerging blisters.
“If you don’t mind.”
“I’ll grab it.” Adam crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out a small bottle of green gel. “I don’t know if this does anything, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt.” He set the bottle on the table next to Nathan’s coffee cup. Nathan looked at it for a moment, considering his options. It hadn’t occurred to him that he would have to put it on himself. Adam noticed.
“I can put it on for you. Just to be 1000 percent clear, I am gay. I don’t want you to find out later and be upset.”
“I’m bisexual,” Nathan blurted out. He cringed at himself.
“Oh.” The man’s face lit up, and the crow's lines at his eyes deepened. “That’s great. Or, I don’t mean ‘great’. Normal.” He made a face at himself. “Can I touch you?” Nathan felt some of his own awkwardness melting at the sight of the other man’s fumbling. He nodded.
“Turn so I can…” Adam directed.
Nathan pivoted in the hardwood chair so Adam could access his back. He remembered how hot the man had been on the beach wearing nothing but his short running shorts. He wondered if he would get to see the man shirtless again while he was sober enough to appreciate it. Was he into him? Nathan wasaware he was in peak physical condition, but he was also much younger. And burnt to a crisp.
Adam started with his shoulders. The gel was cold, and it made Nathan shiver. Adam gently coated Nathan’s shoulders and the back of his neck before moving between his shoulder blades.
