Devil's Drop

Palm Springs

Chester stood in front of his closet, scanning over his racks of clothes. He and Mike had decided they'd only be gone one night, but it was still a big decision. In just half an hour, they'd be headed out the door and on their way to Palm Springs for a day of hiking, an evening of good food and then relaxing in the pool and hot tub of the nice hotel they'd already made a reservation for. Now I just need to pick out something for tomorrow. Something that says I'm relaxed and just had an awesome time with my boyfriend.

He fingered over a few shirts, comparing them with his current dark purple v-neck, before he decided to go with classic white. White with black jeans. You can't get more relaxed than that. No, black shorts. Yes. Shorts. He grabbed his outfit of choice, spun around and headed for the bed where his suitcase was sitting open. He carefully folded his clothes, fitting them in beside his extra pair of shoes, his toiletries from the bathroom, and the bottle of rum he'd taken from the kitchen earlier. He smiled at the bottle as he scooted it over to make room for underwear, pajama bottoms, and socks to match what he'd picked out.

After everything was neatly organized, he zipped up his suitcase. He patted down his shirt front and over the pockets of his gray shorts. "Keys are still downstairs. And my wallet," he muttered to himself before he turned toward the half-wall of the bedroom. "Mike!" he yelled as he pulled his suitcase off the bed and wheeled it toward the stairs. "I'm ready! You got everything you need?"

Mike stepped out of the bathroom to holler up the stairs, "yeah, I'm all set!" before he said softly to himself, "I have been for a half hour." He smiled and rolled his eyes. Choosing and packing clothing was easy for him. A standard t-shirt and shorts, a pair of jeans, and the blue button down Chester had bought for him months ago - just in case - were tucked inside his overnight bag with his necessities before his boyfriend had even chosen shoes for the afternoon. "You sure you've got everything? We are just going to be gone one night, you know." He flashed a smile at Chester as he came off the last step and set his suitcase down.

"Are you doubting my packing skills?" Chester asked, his smile bright before he motioned to his suitcase beside him. "I'm ready, and in record time. I think."

"No, just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed. I don't want anything to disappoint you while we're away." Mike glanced down at his bag before he looked at Chester's suitcase. "Looking at the size of your suitcase compared to my bag makes me feel like I may have forgotten something."

"Well, you better check to make sure," Chester insisted as he pointed to Mike's bag. "Better to run back upstairs if you need to, then to get to the hotel tonight and realize you don't have something. You got your cellphone charger?"

Mike made a move to unzip his bag and follow directions before he remembered. Snug inside his bag was Chester's black leather collar, hopefully out of sight between his shirts. He hesitated long enough to decide double checking his bag wasn't worth the risk of ruining his surprise, and he nodded, bending to pick up the bag without looking inside. "Yeah, I got it. I was just teasing you, I checked twice already in the amount of time you were upstairs."

He tugged the bag over his shoulder and made his way to where Chester was still standing at the foot of the stairs. "I'm so ready to go. This is gonna be a great little trip. Fresh air, outdoors, nature and all that. I really love hiking, I'm glad you thought this was a good idea." Mike reached to swipe a quick kiss across Chester's cheek and then looked around the downstairs. "I think we're good to go. I've turned off everything down here."

"Then let's hit the road, Sexy Boy," Chester suggested as he headed toward the door. "And I haven't been hiking in forever, so I'm excited!" he announced with a fist pump before he stopped by the bar. He grabbed his sunglasses, sliding them onto his face, and then his keys and his wallet last as he shoved it into the back pocket of his shorts. "Next time, though, I want more notice so I can buy a kick ass pair of hiking boots." He lifted his foot, briefly drawing Mike's attention to his boot shoe, which would have to do for their mini-vacation.