Eroda Sunshine

Bridled Passion in the Sand

As soon as the sun came up the next morning, Harry was fidgety, and Louis knew why. He was anxious to start looking for their fellow island inhabitants.

"Bet you didn't sleep much last night," Louis remarked as he prepared breakfast.

"How'd you know?"

"Well, for one thing, you were tossin' and turnin,' and for another reason, I knew you were excited to get started on this . . . search."

"Sometimes your observance alarms me."

"Well Harry, you almost vibrate when you are anticipatin' sommat," Louis explained.

They needed more bananas anyway, having run out, so they traveled in that direction, planning on going farther than they'd gone before. They couldn't go too far, as there were only so many miles they could cover in one day, and still make it back home before dark.

Harry was proud of himself, as he'd managed to save three bananas for Louis. He'd practiced excellent self-control, if he said so himself. Louis was amazed – he'd highly doubted he'd get even one banana. But then, another of Harry's good traits was that he was generous.

It had been warm last night and they'd stripped off their shirts. Harry had been practically drooling over Louis' bare chest when the blanket slipped down just enough to give Harry an eyeful. It made no sense to him how, when he often saw Louis shirtless, that seeing him in bed this way piqued his interest in a huge way. Probably because it felt taboo to be staring at him and admiring his body without Louis' knowledge. It felt kind of naughty, but a delightful kind of naughty.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Louis tried to sound grumpy, but in fact, he was looking forward to their trek. A little apprehensive, but he wanted to make Harry happy if he could. This though, he wouldn't admit to Harry. It might sound weird. Like he had a crush on him or something.

They bathed in the spring and set out early, after a hearty breakfast, also stuffing some dried fish into their sweats pockets for fortification on their journey. Harry tried his damndest not to gawk at Louis when they were bathing, but did a less than stellar job of it. He wasn't able to catch Louis cast even one glance at him, and, strangely, it got to him; made him feel less than good enough, whatever that was.

Louis was watching him sideways though, moving only his eyes purposely to remain undetected.

Harry was getting under his skin.

He'd been trying to deny it for too long. It was surfacing much too quickly though, and it mystified him. Harry was not usually his type. His type had always been powerful, almost dominating, like himself, and very outspoken.

But damn if he wouldn't mind surrendering to Harry. His thoughts seemed to contradict each other, but it had him wondering what it must be like. The thought was not at all unpleasant, and he feared that was quite an understatement.

Louis had only been with guys who were overly masculine and uncompromising. Harry possessed a unique blend of masculine and feminine traits. He was passive, to be sure, but he was also strong and fully capable of doing as much work as the average man. But he was also sensitive, emotional and tender, and this was a massive change of pace for Louis. Harry stood his ground when circumstances called for it, yet was also subtle, delicate and tactful. He was, in a word, fascinating, engaging and impossible to ignore. And the fact that he seemed unaware of these things made him even more engrossing.

"We'll have to stay hidden as well as possible," Louis said, indicating the trees that were farther inland on the island. As they made their way toward the direction of the banana trees, they weaved in and out of the trees, and kept a sharp eye on their surroundings.