Small puddles of water gathered around his feet. The dull<i>plop plop, plop, plop plop</i>of the droplets hitting the wooden floor kept him from focusing on the myriad of thoughts overwhelming his brain. He was thankful for the distraction, but slightly upset that it was necessary. Things were still uncomfortable and awkward between him and Dusty, no matter how well the man tried to claim it was nothing.<br/><br/>He huddled near the stove, staring down at the pot of water. Caelan wasn't cold but he was<i>wet</i>. His jeans clung to his thighs, knees, legs. He stewed in the regret of stripping his boxers off before leaving the boat. They were wet from swimming and his only focus had been on getting dry. He guessed he didn't realize they would be spending the night in this shack, otherwise he would have brought their clothing in to dry overnight. Maybe he also hoped that there wouldn't be much use for any clothing at all, but Caelan had effectively ruined any and all chances of that. Now, his only option for getting dry was to sacrifice one of the blankets, which he was against doing. For one, they were running out of furniture to drape things over and two, Caelan had planned to take a long nap to make up for his fitful sleep.<br/><br/>Caelan parted ways with the warm stove and approached the door to the shack. It had been unlocked for most of the morning, but after Dusty's drunken grumbling to him the night before, Caelan wasn't sure he could handle scolding from a more sober Dusty. He turned the tiny lock and twisted the handle. Satisfied, Caelan sighed and turned back. The water would take ages to boil on the small stove, so he set to taking a better look about the shack while they waited. Thankfully, Dusty seemed content with his drink.<br/><br/>To his surprise, Caelan hardly managed a few steps before Dusty drew him in with a hooked finger. He was pulled so easily into Dusty's orbit while the man made a simple comment on his jeans. Caelan stood near him, listening as Dusty shared what sounded to be an apology to the blond.<br/><br/>"No, no. You responded how anyone would have." He shook his head. Caelan appreciated the sentiment, but it was undeserved. "My hitting you had nothing to do with drinking." He didn't want to bring up any of the things that had been said the night before. Caelan had buried many different feelings deep, deep down because none of it<i>mattered</i>, but Dusty's words had managed to find all the right buttons.<br/><br/>Dusty drew him in closer and Caelan almost felt dizzy. "I'm grateful you did." He wouldn't have been able to look at Dusty the same had his hits actually been delivered. "Not that I wouldn't have been deserving of them after how I spoke to you and how I hit you." He licked his lips and found Dusty's eyes before the man set to undressing him.<br/><br/>Caelan gazed down the hard line of his body to watch as Dusty popped open the button on his jeans and shimmied the denim down his hips. His skin was pale and splotched with pink. He stepped out of the jeans with Dusty's help and took the pair with a thankful nod. Caelan laid the garment over the last available chair and returned to Dusty. Silence fell over them as he took a step closer and spread his legs so that he might straddle and sit upon the man's lap. Their faces hovered closer now, enough that Caelan felt the coarseness of Dusty's facial hair as it brushed against his chin, but not the softness of his lips.