Play!

CXXIII

“Where are we going?”

Brett had never been in this part of the city and he was curious to say the least about where Eddy was taking him. 
“Not the opera house. You’ve seen that already!”
“Would have never guessed we’re not heading there.”
“So you do have some sense of direction.”
Brett’s index found its victim’s weak point the next second and made sure Eddy regretted his snarky comment immediately. 
“Ah! No! Brett!!! Stopp!”, he laughed or cried, Brett couldn’t tell and jolted away from him without letting go of his hand which moved Brett a bit. 
“Ohh, you’re ticklish!”, he thused with an evil glint in his eyes and doubled over.
“Nah! Brett!!! I’m gonna flee and then you’ll be lost for sure!”
“I’ve found a secret weapon!”
“Brett!!!” Eddy twisted his upper body in a manner Brett got scared he’d lose his case but it was too funny to stop. He grinned devilishly as poking turned to fingers tickling their way up and down and when he finally decided to have grace, Eddy was a panting mess. 
“Dude! You’re so evil!”, he wheezed into Brett’s guffaws, hands pressed to the side and his upper body bent down.
Brett slapped his back sympathetically. “Gonna buy our next round of boba as an apology, how does that sound?”
“You’ve got us coffee already”, Eddy shook his head with sniggers here and there, “But bubble tea has to wait. We’ll do some exercise first.”
Brett creased his brows. “With violin cases?”
“Not like running, silly!”, Eddy said, “We’ll do one of those scenic walks Sydney has to offer. Had to look it up because as if I've ever had the time to do those.”
Brett laughed. “I thought you said you’re the local here.”
“All I do is study and practice, of course”, Eddy tsked, took Brett’s hand again and led him further down the street, “And that’s not even a lie. That was basically my life until you turned up.”
“So I dragged you away from a productive life of an always practicing musician”, Brett sighed.
“And helped me to finally fix my robotic playing, thank you!”, the other pointed out, “I can’t wait to discover more of the world with you.”
Discovering the world. A simple, yet strong statement which made something bloom inside Brett, letting warmth spread throughout his whole body while images of them exploring countries they’d never been to popped into his head, as musicians maybe, soloists even in the distant future, who knew…
“But I guess we’re poor students at the moment, so we start with what we have right here.”
Brett took a deep breath, forcing himself to return from his reverie. “Which is like one of the most iconic cities in the world. I’m not complaining.”
Eddy smiled at him and Brett couldn’t resist tiptoeing up and placing a chaste peck on his cheek.

They took a twenty minute bus ride to what seemed to be the outskirt of the city with way less buildings and much more greenery. Brett relished the closeness to Eddy, sitting next to him with their upper legs touching, fingers intertwined and minds in bloom as they talked about everything and nothing in particular. It was so easy to be with him, around him and Brett was once again amazed by how comfortable and soothing Eddy’s presence was. 

“I’ve actually never been here either”, Eddy admitted once they got off the bus, “It’s not a long walk though. We should be fine.”
“I can imagine worse than being lost in the woods with you”, Brett half joked.
“Really? Despite all the wild and deadly animals Australia has to offer?”
“True.”
Eddy pulled out his phone and threw a quick look at the map he had open. “I think it’s that way.”
“Alright! Let’s go!”

Turned out, the national park Eddy brought them to had big potential to become Brett’s most favourite spot around Sydney. The path led them along the coast where they had the sea to their right at all times and gentle sounds of crashing waves and rustling leaves of bushes and trees were accompanying their chat. A deep peacefulness overcame him, for once not having to worry too much about any concert, performance or recital but only focusing on the walkway underneath his feet and the man beside him. 
“This is beautiful”, he beamed. It was also a tad cooler than in the city, where concrete streets and glass fronts of tall buildings heated up the area much more than out here. 
“It is”, Eddy agreed, “You didn’t bring your swimming trunks by any chance?”
Brett denied. “Sadly not. I’d love a dip in the sea though.”
“Skinny dipping?”, Eddy winked and Brett snorted. 
“In broad daylight? Didn’t know you were this shameless, Eddy Chen.”
Eddy laughed. “To what lengths a desperate man goes…”
“No need to be desperate. You have me already, you know that, right?”
The taller looked at him with swimming eyes. “Even though we’re not officially dating?”
“And yet we kiss like we are.”
“True”, Eddy chuckled, “All part of the plan, no?”
Brett met his gaze with earnestness. “You bet it is. At least for me, as long as it’s okay for you?”
His immediate answer brought the corners of Brett’s lips to curl up. “Of course!”
“Good”, he said, “You tell me as soon as it isn’t, all right?” 
Because to hell with him if he’d ever let his desires ruin what they had!
“I will”, Eddy gently squeezed Brett’s hand, “You’ll do the same, okay?”
“You bet!” Although Brett was positive there was hardly any line he wouldn’t want to cross at the moment, which brought him to his next question.
“Uhm… are there like… you know, boundaries I should be aware of?”
Eddy’s head whipped around and Brett’s inquiry was met with a sober glance.
“I haven’t had sex yet”, he said so blatantly and out of the blue Brett would have fallen off a cliff if they would have been standing on one.
“Dude!”, he exclaimed, heart pounding hard like it wanted to jump into the ocean. 
“What?”, Eddy blinked, his expression clearly amused though, “Just making myself clear here.”
“You’re very good at doing so, Jesus!”, Brett shook his head.
“What about you?”
“With whom?”, he raised both brows, “The girl who slapped me at prom?”
“Fair point. So we’re both…”
“Virgins. Yes!”, Brett matched Eddy’s bluntness. Eddy chortled. “No wonder we’re horny messes whenever we make out.”
“I guess that’s one reason, and the fact that you’re, you know, hot af.”
Brett didn’t know where he picked up the guts to be this frank. Maybe it was simple assimilation to the one he was with? Or maybe it was the result of him feeling safe with Eddy. What he did know was that the sight of Eddy turning all shy and flustered and red sure brought him immense satisfaction.
“Uhm… you must know by now that there’s no one I’d rather share this with than you”, Eddy stated bashfully and now it was Brett’s turn to blush hard. Eddy led them to a bunch of big rocks outlooking the sea where they sat down side by side. 
“But”, he then slowly said, eyes cast to the horizon far out there, “I think this is actually where I draw the line.”