"Early Rising" (Horizons, 2001)

Title: Early Rising
Rating: R
Summary: Too early to get out of bed on the Hightide.

( Nick redirected his stretching until he was wrapped round Cody like a shell. )

"Worm in the Hole" (Deep Water, 1977)

Title: Worm in the Hole
Rating: PG
Summary: Working the wormhole on an oil rig is the dirtiest, hottest, most dangerous job available, and somehow, Cody's managed to get stuck with it.

( A horror movie played in his head: boiling mud spraying up and scalding Cody's soft skin; the sharp metal edges of the spinning bit slicing into his hand-- )

"Keeping Watch/Keep Watching" (Out of the Dark, 1997)

Title: Keeping Watch/Keep Watching
Rating: PG
Summary: Cody likes watching Nick. Always has.

( He remembers sneaking peeks at Nick in the camp showers, this toned and swarthy boy of his dreams, appearing smack dab in the middle of Southeast Asia, the last place Cody would have thought to look. )

"The Sweater" (Beach Boys, 1983)

Title: The Sweater
Rating: PG-13
Summary: "If you want to destroy my sweater
Hold this thread as I walk away
Watch me unravel, I'll soon be naked
Lying on the floor (lying on the floor)"

( The two of them lay on the floor of the salon, panting and sweaty. Cody propped himself up on his elbows and surveyed the damage. )

"Landlocked" (Out of the Dark, 1998)

Title: Landlocked
Rating: R
Summary: Nick remembers 1998. He hates 1998.

( That night they fucked like strangers in the Mimi's cargo hold, then slept on the rocky, windswept beach behind the slip.  )