Colby looked around the room. All their things were packed, the closet and night table unusually bare. The room suddenly seemed bigger, more bright and unfamiliar. In the matter of few hours it turned back into an anonymous hotel room as it had been before they arrived.

The freshly made bed and the air in the room smelling vaguely of some fruity air freshener held no hints of them having ever been here, living here for over than two weeks. The efficiency with which a competent maid had wiped all the traces of their temporal lodging made him feel as if they had never been here.

They could have been leaving or could have just arrived - the scenery would have been the same: the packed bags on the floor, fresh bed-sheets and towels, everything in its place and not a sign of dust.

Everything would have been the same - was the same - except for one thing.
Sam wasn't there.

Colby sighed. He hadn't seen the other boy from the previous evening. He woke up in the morning to find no warm body pressed to his. Colby knew that Sam was an early riser, but 5 am was a bit early even for him.

He didn't find him in the bathroom or at the restaurant, when he went down to have breakfast. Others hadn't seen the elder boy as well. Colby tried to squash all the worry inside. Sam was old enough to take care of himself.

For all of them the two week vacation in Hawaii was a long-awaited dream. Of course there were still several shootings, but nevertheless they had much more rest than they were allowed in the long time. Besides this time Colby got to share a room with Sam, which allowed at least some kind of privacy - and that was an exception too.

The two weeks seemed fly by in a beat. Colby could still remember their arrival at the beautiful island and now he was already preparing to go back. It made him a bit sad and anxious at the same time. He already missed the US and anticipated the upcoming collabs with a strange mix of feelings. With a similar feeling one goes back to school after the summer vacation: you can't wait to see your friends, but you feel reluctant to attend the classes.

Gingerly Colby sat down on the edge of the bed. It felt almost as if he was intruding into the space, which no longer belonged to him. The way the sheets felt under his fingers made him remember all the times Sam had crawled into this bed, with warm fingers and dark promising eyes.

The way the bed had creaked under their joined weight, as their entwined bodies had moved in the tandem. He could almost hear the emitted gasps forever imprinted in the air.

Colby shook his head and stood up. There was only one hour left, and he had to find Sam.

___________________________

Colby found him at one of their favorite 'hiding places' - a special spot at the beach, where they went to be alone. The blonde haired boy was sitting on the white sand, facing the ocean, and seemed oblivious to the other boy's appearance.

"Hey," said Colby quietly. He suddenly felt hesitant, and for a brief moment when Sam turned and looked up at him, he felt as if he was an intruder. The thought resonated unpleasantly through his body, pulling at some strings in his chest and making him frown.

He approached Sam and sat down on the sand beside him, slightly brushing his thigh with his. Sam's gaze was fixed on the turquoise waves before them. Though his face was expressionless, to Colby, who had learned to tell the different moods of his lover by the tiniest movements of his brow or flutter of the eye-lashes, he looked troubled.

"I don't want to leave," said Sam softly.

"I guessed that," nodded Colby. "But we have to go," he added after awhile, seeing that there was no reaction from the elder boy.

Sam shook his head. And then suddenly he turned and locked his lips with the other boy's in a passionate kiss. When they broke apart some moments later, he studied him thoughtfully and sighed, "I will miss that."

"Miss what?" - the question came out in a breathy gasp from Colby.

"Will miss having you all to myself," Sam leaned close to him again, his lips grazing lazily at the other's. "I don't like sharing you with others, with your friends, the fans..." Before Colby managed to think of a smart reply, the shorter boy was already crawling onto his body, pressing him down into the warm sand, and devouring his lips.

The feel of the familiar body in his arms brought tiny waves of tingling pleasure. Colby knew, that they didn't have the time for this, and the longer they would be absent, the more probable it was that somebody would go looking for them and find them here, and...

Colby broke off the kiss and threw his head back as the breathless laughter escaped through his lips.
"We'll be late, Sammy..." He gasped, when Sam licked his exposed neck. "I know," the words were whispered in his ear, the warm breath spreading the heat through his body. The sudden roll of the hips made him moan.

Above them was a canopy of trees, the blue sky contrasted with the green colours of the leaves, the distant sound of the ocean - everything so serene and alive at the same time, so different from the artificial emptiness of their hotel room and the heat of Sam's kisses.

Colby promised himself that he would remember this trip and this island like this - an exotic mixture of passion and placidity. Mentally he promised Sam that one day they would return there.

Minutes seemed to stretch into hours, but finally Sam escaped the warm circle of his arms and stood up, brushing the sand off his clothes. Colby pushed himself up, still dazed and disheveled after the spell of lust. He watched the other boy make few steps towards the water edge, then turn and extend a hand to him.

"Come", he said.

Carefully the taller boy stood up and taking the offered hand followed Sam into the ocean. Stepping into the water, he was surprised at how warm it was. "What are you doing?", he asked, smiling in spite of himself.
The blonde haired boy turned to look at him. "Do you trust me?", he asked.
"I love you," was his answer, that Sam rewarded with a brief flash of white teeth.

Sam walked further, stopping only when the water was at their waist level. The ocean barely moved around them. Colby looked down and once again was surprised at how clear the water was. With sudden fascination he watched the way their clothes moved under water, as if on their own accord.

His left hand was still clasped with Sam's right one. Absent-mindedly he rubbed his thumb over a heavy silver ring on other's finger, wondering how many things about this boy in front of him were now so familiar to him.

When Colby looked up, he saw the blonde haired boy watch him with an unguarded expression of sadness and strange longing. Looking into those bright eyes, the taller boy knew, he would give up everything just to be with him. This need was much stronger than any other instinct he might have.

I am sorry, he mouthed.
I know, was his reply.

Sam's other hand circled around his neck, his body pressed flash with Colby's. Their lips locked, as Colby's hand circled around his lover's waist. It was their world, this surreal reality, only they knew about and which only they could enter.

The bodies pressed so hard to each other, their embrace so tight, as if they were trying to merge into one person. Their lips were breathing the same air, feasting on each other's mouths.

It was that moment, as they, still locked in an embrace, plunged into the water in the flurry of the bubble, when Colby finally realized, that what seemed to be an end was in fact a new beginning.