The sky hung low over Pacifica, a soft veil of mist blurring the horizon where the ocean met the sky. Rainfall, light and steady, clung to the world like a secret—quiet, intimate. It was the kind of day where the world seemed to narrow down to a few simple things: the salty breeze, the endless whisper of waves, and the gentle patter of rain on sand.
Sam, his brown hair curling slightly under the weight of the mist, walked a few steps ahead of Jake, his gaze fixed on the rolling tide. The world felt like it was holding its breath, suspended in time, as if the universe itself was waiting for something to happen. Jake, with his striking blue eyes that seemed to hold the entire Pacific within them, was closer than Sam realized, but not yet close enough. His steps were light, careful, as though testing the ground, as though he was waiting for something, too.
They had been walking together for what felt like hours, but neither of them spoke. Words weren’t necessary today. The silence between them was comfortable, like an old sweater that had molded to their bodies and had become part of who they were.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sam finally spoke, his voice low but steady. He glanced over at Jake, his gaze lingering for a moment longer than usual. Jake’s lips twitched upward in a smile, and the sight of it made Sam’s heart flutter, a soft, unbidden feeling that he hadn’t quite figured out yet.
“It’s perfect,” Jake said, his voice carrying the same weight of something unspoken. They both knew what they meant. Perfect. Not just the beach or the rain, but the feeling between them. The way their steps had slowly synced together as they walked, the way their shoulders brushed, the way Sam’s heart beat a little faster when Jake laughed, when Jake’s eyes met his with a quiet intensity.
Sam shifted his gaze back to the horizon. He could feel Jake’s presence, right there beside him, a constant pull that tugged at him in ways he hadn’t expected. But he was afraid to speak the truth aloud—afraid that saying it might break the fragile, sacred thing they’d built in this shared silence.
“I don’t know why I’m so drawn to you,” Sam admitted suddenly, his voice almost drowned by the sound of the waves crashing. “It’s like… like something inside me knows you’re the one.”
Jake’s footsteps faltered for a second, and Sam turned just in time to see the vulnerable flicker of surprise in his eyes.
“You feel it too?” Jake’s words were soft, almost shy, a far cry from the confident smile he wore most of the time.
Sam nodded, his chest tightening. “Yeah. I don’t know how to explain it. But I do.”
There was a pause, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. It was a space that needed to be filled, and neither of them seemed to be in any hurry to rush it. The rain continued to fall, the world around them spinning in its usual way, but in that moment, time felt like it belonged only to them.
Jake stepped closer then, his shoulder brushing Sam’s, a gentle pressure that felt like the beginning of something new. Sam’s heart stuttered in his chest, and he couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at his lips.
“I think I’ve always known,” Jake said, his voice barely more than a whisper now. “I just didn’t know what it was until you. Until this.”
Sam met his gaze, his brown eyes locking with Jake’s blue ones, and something unspoken passed between them. It was as if the world around them didn’t matter anymore. The rain, the beach, the mist—they were all just background noise to the quiet understanding that had settled between their hearts.
“I’m glad you found me,” Sam murmured, his voice thick with emotion.
Jake smiled, a slow, easy smile that reached his eyes. “I think I always knew where to look.”
The rain fell harder now, not in the soft mist it had been, but in steady, rhythmic droplets that soaked through their clothes, turning the world into a blur of wet colors. But neither of them cared. They stood there, side by side, not speaking, but feeling the words in their bones.
Sam turned to face Jake fully, his heart racing in his chest. And in that moment, there was no question, no doubt. The distance between them—emotional or physical—had disappeared. Without a word, Jake reached out, his fingers brushing Sam’s cheek in a soft, fleeting touch.
Sam closed his eyes, leaning into the warmth of Jake’s hand, and when he opened them again, Jake was there, closer than ever before, his face illuminated by the quiet storm of the day.
“I think I love you,” Sam whispered, the words tasting both strange and familiar on his tongue.
Jake didn’t need to say it back. His eyes said everything. Instead, he closed the space between them, pulling Sam into a kiss—slow, hesitant at first, as though testing the waters, then deeper, as if finally giving in to the pull that had been there all along.
The rain fell harder still, but they didn’t notice. They were lost in each other, discovering something pure and unspoken, in the way their hearts beat in time, in the quiet rhythm of a love that had always been there, just waiting to be found.
And in the distance, the waves kept crashing, as if the ocean itself was cheering them on.
~Wylddane