The beach glowed in the soft morning light, and the rising sun brightened all the surroundings in gold and pink. Waves rolled steadily to shore, gulls cried in circles above, and in the glow of the new day, two boys faced one another.
Micah stood barefoot in the sand, his chest bare, rising and falling with uneven breaths. Loose shorts hung low on his hips. His hazel eyes shimmered in the sunlight, exhausted and full of sorrow.
Across from him stood Darcy, dressed in a thin singlet clinging to his damp skin and jeans streaked with sand.
Darcy's hand, trembling but firm, remained cupped against Micah's jaw, his own eyes blazing with intensity.
