The following is purely fiction and in no way reflects actual events. Names have been changed to protect identities.

How do I begin to tell you about my best friend Michael? He was one of those people who seems to make the world better just by being alive. With his smile, his laugh, his love of life, his love of friendship, he made you feel like the most important person alive. Michael is my best friend of any in this life, he also happens to be straight.

One of most enjoyable pass times was driving our trucks through the woods after a rainstorm. Mudding we call it. We both grew up living on the very same trails we were bounding down right now. How we didn’t know each other sooner is impossible to know. It seems that we have known one another forever. When in reality our friendship began only 2 year earlier. My heart was drawn to Michael from the moment we met. Alas, while my love and friendship was met with an amazing emotional attachment, my desire for a physical expression of my love for Michael was not to be found.

Michael was driving on the trail ahead of me when he suddenly turned off onto a trail I had never noticed being there. As I was prone to do, I quickly turned to follow. This trail was quite narrow which meant that turns and changes in the road surface came quickly. His truck is a lot smaller than mine so he can go places I can’t especially down narrow trails. I signaled to him that the trail was getting too narrow for my truck and to stop so I could hop in with him, not out of the ordinary for us to do when exploring. The night was falling darker as we bounded down this unknown trail laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. I noticed the trees begin to open as if we were coming into a clearing or a glen and Mike suddenly said “left or right… quick which way?”

I screamed out RIGHT and we started down a new trail. But something did not seem right. The terrain had turned to soft sand and was heading down slightly. I saw a slight shimmer ahead of us and knew we were approaching water FAST… TOO FAST! Very calmly I said “Mike you have to stop.” He stepped on the breaks and we started to slide in the sand. I said again with much more urgency this time “Mike we must stop WA…” Before I could finish the word the truck came to a sudden and violent stop. We both looked at one another and broke out laughing.

“Dude, that was amazing! I can’t believe we stopped. I soooo did not have any traction.”

We both got out to find that the driver side tire had fallen off of a tree root and had bottomed the frame of the truck out just before we would have flown into the river now before us! Michael’s face beamed in the light from the truck’s headlights, his eyes shone crystal blue. He stepped down to the waters edge and felt he temp of the water. “This is a great place for a swim!” he said as he started to pull his shirt over his head. Not one to miss an opportunity to skinny dip with Michael I quickly began to shed my clothes as well. At 20 years old Michael had the most amazing body. Lean, taught muscle covered his arms,