Ronnie and I attended the same university and were both 18. We had been friends since we were twelve. Ronnie and I were so close that we often knew what the other was thinking. There were times when I dared not to think it. But, I loved him--as a friend with my head, as a close buddy with my heart, but also in a different way. I discovered that I liked men and I really liked Ronnie. In the summer, as we sat in our shorts, cross-legged, playing cards or checkers, I'd try to secretly peek up from his thighs as the pink head of his cock poked through the bottom of his cut-offs. It happened quite a bit, so I always wondered if he did that on purpose. Maybe it was his strategy for winning the game. He probably figured that my concentration would be elsewhere! I kept that sight of him stored in my mind for inspiration as I emptied my balls in bed at night while I tried to imagine what his naked body looked like. As open-minded as he was, it still seemed a risk too big for me to take to tell him how I felt. Life without his touch was hard enough, but life without him around was unthinkable.

I'd tried to suppress my feelings for him. But it was difficult because the mere sight of him would always make me hard. Everything that we did together only fueled my desires. When I tossed him the Frisbee, I'd marvel at his muscles in motion. When we were body surfing, we'd drag ourselves back on the beach to bask in the warmth of the sun. I'd have to lie on my stomach, for obvious reasons, while he'd lie on his back with his eyes closed. I used that time to let my eyes drink him in. I stared intently at the tiny goose bumps on his deeply tanned chest. I got caught up in the motion of the heaving of his chest as he breathed. I could see the blood pulsing through the veins in his neck, his baby fine hair wafting gently in the breeze, the pores in his skin and the fullness of his lips. His face looked so serene and inviting. I yearned to lie on top of him, to melt over him like butter in the sun.

It wasn't until our camping trip, that I finally got the chance to see all of him as I yearned to. We were on a day hike heading for a secluded pool to sunbathe on the rocks when we saw the sign. "NO NUDITY ALLOWED," it warned. Since we were two rebels against any kind of rule, we just looked at each other and grinned.

We had to cross a long, wide pool, with reeds and shrubs on one side and our destination, the high sandstone cliffs, on the other. We decided to cross the pool to the rocks against the cliffs. We had no idea how deep the water was and did not want to get our clothes and belongings wet, so we stripped naked and wrapped everything up in our towels. We waded out until it became so deep that we had to hold everything above our heads and bounced off the bottom. We looked like waiters carrying trays of food. Finally we reached our secluded destination and climbed out of the cool water and lay down on the warm rocks. Since we were nude, we rolled on our sides and talked.

After a