...The weather had been getting increasingly warmer throughout March, but by the last week of the month, the blustery wind had calmed down and the sun seemed intent on burning away the last of the frost that clung to newly budding crocuses and jonquils. The stubborn patches of snow so prevalent during the winter months finally melted away, and brown lawns once again unfurled their green lengths to bask in the light. Dead tree limbs came alive with pink-tipped buds and tender, half-curled leaves.

In another few weeks, a thick layer of yellow pollen would rain down over the city of Richmond, blanketing the confectionary colors of spring and running in thick, mucus-like rivulets alongside the streets. Then the allergies would kick in, and the heat, and before Vic Braunson knew it, summer would be back, which meant long hours working double shifts and little time to spend with his lover, Matt diLorenzo. So Vic took a week’s vacation at the end of the month, and Matt scheduled some time off, as well. The first day the temperature rose above sixty degrees, Matt suggested they head downtown along the James River. “It’ll be fun,” he promised Vic. “It’s still early enough that no one else will be around, you know? We’ll stop for lunch somewhere and make a day of it. What do you say?”

What could Vic say? Matt was his heart and soul, and he’d do whatever it took to make the man happy. Seeing Matt’s smile was enough to set his blood afire. And if the weather proved a little too chilly down along the banks of the James, Vic could think of a few ways they might warm each other up.

Vic dressed in an old pair of light denim jeans and a long-sleeved thermal undershirt, over which he wore a faded blue sweatshirt with the sleeves ripped off. Matt liked the color on him— “It matches your eyes,” he said as he sat on the bed, pulling on a pair of wooly socks. When Vic came close enough, Matt kissed the back of his lover’s hand. “Change of plans. Let’s stay here and have sex instead.”

With a laugh, Vic ran his hand through the thick thatch of black curls that topped Matt’s head. “Let’s take the lube and fuck on the rocks,” he suggested.

Matt’s dark green eyes went wide. “You don’t think it’ll be too cold?”

An undercurrent of lustful excitement laced his thoughts. Through the mental connection they shared, Vic picked up on his interest like a hound on a scent. Trying to keep his voice nonchalant, he shrugged and added, “We could always take a blanket.”