Chapter 2: Into the Night
They both stared back out into the vast ocean. The sound of the waves served as a constant reminder of their dire situation.
Connor nodded his head. “We’re gonna die here.” His voice was void of hope.
Jamie nodded his head in agreement. “As long as you die first,” Jamie said deadpan.
Connor growled and knocked Jamie on his back. The two struggled against one another again as they rolled around in the sand of the place they had washed ashore. Jamie flipped Connor on his back and pinned him down in the sand.
“Get off,” Connor growled.
“Are you going to behave?” Jamie asked. His voice taunted Conner.
Connor frowned, and his eyes widened in shock. Jamie smirked down at him. Connor used all his strength and flipped them. Jamie ended up on his back in the sand. Connor straddled him in a nonsexual way. The last thing on either of their minds was something sexual.
Connor stared at Jamie as the man struggled to break free from underneath him. The more Jamie struggled, the more weight Connor applied. Jamie turned his head from side to side and kicked his legs like he was having a tantrum and a seizure.
“Let me up, Connor,” Jamie barked at him.
“Why? You look like this is where you belong.” Connor’s voice dropped an octave. “This your favorite position to be in? On your back while she dominates you?”
For a second, Jamie stopped trying to break free. He lay there frozen under Connor’s weight and words. Connor smiled at him deviously, and Jamie thrust his hips up. His pelvis slammed up into Connor’s massive thighs, and his bulge tapped against those round and thick glutes. Connor quickly rolled off. He stood up and laughed it off.
“You son of a bitch,” Jamie yelled as he stood up. “That’s not funny. Don’t ever pin me down like that again.”
Connor cocked an eyebrow. “And what are you gonna do if I do?”
“Don’t try me.” Jamie pointed to the side of the beach where Connor stood. “You stay on that side, and I’ll stay on this side.”
Connor tossed his hands up in surrender. “Whatever, Jamie.”
He sat down in the sand. His blue eyes never left Jamie. They sparkled under the kiss of the sun, and as the sun set and the moon rose, the twinkle in his eyes illuminated like a blue flame.
Night came, and the temperature dropped so fast it felt like a personal attack on the two of them. It felt like the island had exhaled and all the warmth exiled itself. The sand no longer scorched them. Instead, it seemed to leech heat from their bodies. The gritty grains of the sand turned into ice-edged needles.
Jamie was flat on his back with his arms folded tight. He refused to let his teeth chatter because then he’d have to admit he was cold. Connor lay ten feet away on his side of the beach. He faced the sea with his shoulder hunched. He pretended to sleep because he didn’t want to admit he couldn’t sleep. It was too damn cold to sleep.
Neither of them wanted to admit they needed each other. Stubborn!
The wind rustled the palms above. The leaves shook like frantic whispers. The sound of animals flooded in. It was low, strange, and unintelligible.
A snort.
A rustle.
Then a distant throaty call that may have been hungry wearing hooves.
Connor’s eyes snapped open. His pupils dilated in the dark. Jamie’s hand twitched toward the empty space beside him. His instinct tried to deflect from his pride.
“Probably just some stupid birds,” Jamie said. His voice was rough and low. It failed at being casual.
Connor scoffed softly, but it cracked at the edges. “Not any birds I ever heard.”
Another sound echoed. It was closer. Something was teasing and testing them. It was close to the perimeter of them.
Silence stretched thin.
Jamie muttered into the night, almost to himself. “Well, jokes on them. We don’t have any food.”
Connor almost laughed. Almost. It died before it could live. The cold stole it.
“Maybe we are the food,” Connor finally added.
“Why the fuck would you say that when we’re here alone at night?” Jamie's voice remained low, but the frustration was there.
“I’m just saying what we both were thinking.”
“Since when are you in my head?”
“You’re right, I’m not,” Connor said sarcastically. “Jesus.”
“Call him again!”
Connor smirked. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help it.
Frost air hit them harder. Jamie felt it press against his ribs. It squeezed his lungs smaller. Connor could feel it carve into his spine.
Jamie finally turned his head toward him.
“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”
Connor exhaled. A white ghost breath rose and vanished. “Hard to sleep when I can hear you breathing hard, and the island sending the fucking predator to kill us.”
Jamie snorted a quiet laugh. It sounded like surrender and denial mixed together. “Fuck you. I wasn’t breathing hard. But you know if you’re scared, you can just say that.”
“I’m not scared.” Connor shot back immediately.
Jamie sat up on his elbows. “I’m not scared either.”
They stared at each other in the dark like two idiots. They were two idiots committed to the same lie.
The cold, however, crowned the moment.
Jamie’s skin, dark and warm by nature, now felt like winter-borrowed marble. Connor’s pale arms prickled with betrayal. He had goosebumps he wished no one could see.
Jame looked away. His jaw tightened. “It’s cold as hell out here.”
Connor immediately whispered, “Yeah.” It was soft. They didn’t sound like rivals.
A moment passed.
Jamie added, “Not that I need you to keep me warm.”
Connor turned fully toward him in the sand. “I didn’t think you did.”
“You think anybody’s looking for us?” Jamie asked. His eyes watered at the thought of never being found.
Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so.” The sparkle in his eyes faded. He knew that the people would assume they had died. No one was going to search the ocean for them.
The cold deepened with the quiet between them.
Jamie laid back down and stared up at the stars. Connor copied the motion seconds later. Despite being feet apart, the space between them felt smaller because fear and cold can make you notice the person next to you, even if you hate them.
Another rustle paced through the dark. Something unseen watched them. The cold grew louder the longer they pretended it didn’t exist.
The wind slithered across the sand. Jamie’s breath fogged the air in uneven breaths. Connor’s did the same, their white exhale-ghosts rose and disappeared like unspoken confessions.
Another sound crackled from the tree line. A branch snapped under the weight. It was deliberate and heavy.
Jamie jolted and turned toward the trees. “What the fuck? That wasn’t a bird.”
Connor sat up fast. Sand slid off him. “If something tries to eat me tonight, I swear I’ll feed your ass to it first.”
Jamie rolled his eyes. He shivered involuntarily. It was treacherous. “Oh, please, you’d do it just for the fun of it.”
Connor chuckled at the truth. The forest growled a low and guttural sound. It was the kind of sound that made the dark feel dangerous.
“Still cold?” Jamie asked.
Connor stared at him like the question was an insult to his intelligence. “Obviously,” he answered.
“Obviously,” Jamie echoed.
They both laid back down again. They were defeated by the sand and the bitter stubbornness of being young and dumb.
Minutes passed.
Then several more.
Then Jamie muttered into the dark. “So…sharing warmth doesn’t make us friends.”
Connor didn’t answer right away. Then he turned his head toward him in the sand. “Didn’t ask to be friends.”
Jamie pushed up again. His irritation was in battle with his hypothermia. “Will you get over here before I change my mind?”
Connor stood. He felt wobbly from exhaustion and temperature loss. “You’re the worst person to get stranded with.”
“And you’re the worst person to freeze with yet here we are,” Jamie clapped back.
Connor dropped to the sand beside him with a huff that sounded like resignation. Their shoulders bumped first. It was accidental but electric. Then legs and then arms. They awkwardly assembled like a puzzle neither wanted to complete.
Jamie’s heat hit like a memory from yesterday. Connor’s warmth met Jamie’s like a reluctant treaty among distinguished gentlemen.
They laid their stiff, side by side as they stared up at the sky. It was like they were sharing a coffin.
“If you tell anyone about this,” Connor whispered, eyes in the sky, “I’ll kick your ass…again.”
Jamie smirked despite the cold. “You ain’t gonna do shit. Besides, who’d believe that you were my little spoon?”
Connor burst into laughter. It was small, shocking, and genuine. “I hate you.”
“Hate you too,” Jamie said as he nudged him softly with his elbow. Could the ice between them finally be melting? Only time would tell.
***
Connor woke slowly. It was like the world loaded one cruel detail at a time.
First, the cold was still there, but it had become duller now. Second, the sunlight had returned, but it was softer than the previous day's tyranny. Third, there was a weight against his chest.
An arm.
Jamie’s arm.
Connor froze! It was ironic considering he was finally fucking warm. He was warm in all the right places. Places he thought he’d never feel warmth again. Holy fucking shit!
Jamie was still asleep. His breath was steady, and his cheek was half buried in the sand. Jamie’s mocha brown skin glowed under the morning light. Connor could feel the rise and fall of his chest. It synchronized against his ribs. It was like their bodies had rehearsed it.
He tried to slide away.
The universe had other plans. He couldn’t move smoothly. Connor was trapped like an idiot.
Their legs were tangled. Knee to calf, warmth to warmth, accidental embrace written in cursive. Connor inhaled sharply through his nose. He was annoyed at himself for noticing how warm Jamie actually felt. It didn’t feel like survival warm. It felt like home warmth.
Connor’s heart kicked. He could feel it try to break through his chest. He looked around. He hoped the embarrassment he felt would vanish under the sun’s embrace.
Connor whispered into the empty air, “We’re just trying to survive.”
He placed his hand on Jamie’s shoulder to push him away. Only he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The second he touched him, something shifted inside that he couldn’t quite understand. He cast his eyes upon Jamie and studied his defining features. From those perfect, succulent lips to his perfect skin, the man was beautiful.
Jamie Robinson was fucking beautiful, and that thought scared the fuck out of Connor and his heterosexual ways. Connor exhaled a sigh that sounded like defeat. He stared up at the sky again. His mind buzzed louder than nature’s threats.
***
Jamie finally woke up. The sun bared down on him with relentless warmth. His skin soaked it up. His body stored it for later. He quickly realized that Connor was missing. He sat up, and the sand slid off his body.
He stood and looked out to the sea. There was no sign of Connor. He looked around for any sign of him. Beyond the bushes, he heard a grunt. He debated for a second about venturing into the trees. He had no idea what kind of danger was there.
The grunt came again. He decided to check it out. Maybe Connor was in danger. He stepped into the bushes and moved like a predator. His movements were quiet and precise. Fifteen feet in, and he came to a quiet yet alarming stop.
Connor stood with his back toward him. He faced a palm tree completely naked. Jamie’s eyes instinctively roamed Connor’s naked body. He wasn’t gay. It was just a natural thing to do for some weird-ass reason.
His eyes moved down Connor’s muscled back and then onto the two perfect dimples that sat just at the top of his ass. Then that ass. My God, it was perfect. It was thick and round. Smooth and pale. A beauty mark sat in the middle of the left cheek.
Connor made a soft grunt. Jamie snapped back to reality, and that’s when he noticed Connor was stroking himself off. He could see the movements of Connor's right hand. The stud was lost in his pleasure. His head leaned against the tree. His ass cheeks tightened and flexed with each movement.
Then Connor reached back with his left hand and grabbed a handful of his left booty cheek. He pulled his cheek, and they slightly parted. Jamie caught a glimpse of the man’s untouched virgin pucker.
Jamie took a step back. He intended to leave quietly and unnoticed. He stepped on a twig, and Connor turned around. Their eyes locked, and Jamie’s eyes dropped down to Connor’s…
TO BE CONTINUED
© Grayson Rose 2026. All rights reserved.
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