"Summer loving," Daryl drawled, kicking his feet up on the bleachers as he pulled a cigarette out. Shane lit it for him, flicking his lighter open with a quick flick of the wrist while the rest of the gang gathered round. He took a long drag and continued, eyes focusing as he thought back to the summer that was only two weeks behind him. "Had me a blast."

…

"Summer loving," Glenn sighed, smiling dreamily as T-Dog lightly bumped his shoulder with his. He'd only just met the guy, but he seemed pretty cool and willing to help Glenn get in with a group of friends quickly. The others in that group leaned forward on their elbows around the table to listen to him. "It happened so fast."

…

"So I met this guy, right? One of them foreigners just moved stateside. From China or something. Real pretty with eyes like saucers. Like one of those movie stars' eyes. He's out there in the waters off the coast just south of Savannah. At that vacay place Merle made me to go to. And he's swimming there and he gets a cramp. Bad one in his leg, right? I'm the only one near by so I dive in and drag him out. Saved his life, could have drowned like that."

…

The hotel's private beach wasn't that populated despite it being the middle of July. Most of the guests were older and tended to stay pool-side, leaving the beach to the few kids and teens and younger adults. Mostly the kids and teens. It wasn't quite a full resort, but it had a lot of amenities and activities to offer that was part of the whole 'dream vacation' package.

Glenn was there for the rest of the summer. Something of an apology for sending him off to the States by himself to finish out his high school years and get in-state residency so he could attend the University of Georgia on the cheap. His cousins on his mothers side, people he'd never met before, were putting him up to give him the chance at getting an 'American Education'.

Really, he didn't care about that so much. It was the other opportunities being Stateside promised that he was excited about. As the fifth born and second son, he wasn't really in line to do much inheriting of anything. And his grades weren't so outstanding that he'd find himself a place outside the family business. But in America, there were so many more possibilities. He couldn't exactly choose his own course of education – his parents wanted him to become a doctor, so he was going to go into the medical field – but he could pick where he practiced once he did. Who he married (eventually), and even keep up hobbies and sports and reading silly things like comic books. Or hanging out at the arcades and playing the carnival games. Or just enjoy a day lounging on the beach.

It was a little boring but it wasn't terrible. He never really got to relax like that back in Seoul. He'd always been expected to help out with something or another. So just laying back and letting the sun beat down on him was a pleasant change of pace. And it had been the pace for him for a good two weeks before it was rudely interrupted by a wet beach ball landing on his stomach with a loud plop.

Glenn was in a bit of a daze when the owner of the ball jogged over. He'd had his eyes closed and was almost asleep when the collision came. So it took him a moment to get himself together and respond to the rushed and quiet apology. When he did finally look up, he found himself suddenly in the process of admiring what his sisters would refer to as a 'fine example of the All American Man'.

Broad shoulders held up a well-defined chest that tapered down to a slightly slimmer waist. Legs that could put Marilyn Monroe to shame if they ever got touched by a razor. Arms that could only be described as 'to die for'. His face was sweet, smile just a little mischievous, and eyes to rival the ocean Glenn had only been in a few times. He was pretty sure he could drown in them a lot easier than he could the water.

"Uh... ya'll okay?" the man asked with a heavy drawl Glenn had learned was a staple of the southern states.

Glenn nodded after a moment, smile splitting his lips as he sat up and started laughing at himself, "yeah. I am. Thanks."

"No problem," the man grinned back, kneeling down to take his beach ball back. As he stood, he chewed his lip and glanced back behind him for a second before he shyly looked down at the sand. He burrowed his toes in a little, then asked, "You uh... you staying here long?"

"Until the end of August," Glenn answered without hesitation. He'd done enough flirting in his life to recognize it and to recognize that the guy in front of him didn't do it often. "I'm Glenn."

"Daryl. I'll be here 'til about then, too. Birthday present from my brother."

Glenn brought his knees up and leaned forward so he could rest his arms on them as he continued to look up at Daryl, "Yeah? When was your birthday?"

"It's in a week," Daryl said, the beach ball slipping under one arm before he looked behind him again and decided to sit down. He dropped with all the grace of a ton of bricks, but it wasn't awkward either. He sprawled his legs casually, rolling the ball between his fingers. "I'll be eighteen."

Glenn took that as an invitation to have a longer conversation and leaned back on his hands, legs stretching out in front of him. A much more comfortable position, "You got a year on me. I just turned seventeen in May."

…

"He was grateful, so I figured he'd be good to go, you know? Took him down to the arcade. Did a couple of games at the lanes. Got him worked up. After that it was smooth sailing. Spent three weeks getting good with him. Made out under the dock when he could sneak away. And after the sun went down, he got really friendly, if you know what I mean."

…

Glenn had never gone on an American date before. But getting lemonade together and strolling the boardwalk was nice. It was even nicer when Daryl tentatively reached for his hand, trying so hard to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal while his cheeks burned red. Just kept sucking on the straw and looking to the side. As if the hotel building and the few private cottages scattered just at the edge of the sand were somehow fascinating.

They'd spent the week meeting up for a couple hours and talking between doing scheduled activities the hotel offered and doing their own thing. Daryl had finally asked if he wanted to do something together the day before and Glenn had said yes. Neither really had any idea of what they should do, though, so it had mostly just been them walking around, talking. But they were walking around and talking for going on six hours. Lemonades acting as a between meal refreshment after a short shared lunch.

At the moment, though, they'd fallen into an awkward silence. One they'd been in since Daryl's fingers curled between Glenn's. Their steps had slowed to make it easier for both of them to keep pace with the other now that they were tethered together by their hands. It was... well... nice. Even feeling awkward, Glenn couldn't stop smiling ear to ear.

For three weeks all they did was spend time sitting or walking with their hands entwined. Talking or not. Enjoying the sun or hanging out in the shade. Three weeks of Daryl being the sweetest man Glenn was sure he'd ever met. The kind his sisters would have sat watching with dreamy smiles while everyone else rolled their eyes.

They kissed for the first and last time the night before Daryl had to leave. He never said where he was going back to and it really didn't matter. It was certain they'd never see each other again. A random meeting at a resort on the coast wasn't exactly a rare occurrence.

"I love you," Glenn said after their lips parted and their foreheads were leaning against each other. He grimaced at how it came out, his hands going to Daryl's shoulders before he could stop himself from reaching up. "I know how that sounds and I don't expect you to say the same. And I don't expect it to last, either because love comes and goes... but... I do love you. I love this summer and how wonderful it was and it wouldn't have been so great if I hadn't met you. So... I love you. And-"

"You're babblin' again," Daryl murmured, meeting Glenn's eyes as he gave a teasing smirk. He reached up to comb his fingers through Glenn's hair before he stepped away and took his hand again, fingers weaving together. He kept Glenn's gaze, his smile turning sad. "I don't wanna say it back. Not 'cause I don't, but... 'cause then it'll mean something and that... that'll hurt too much."

Glenn nodded, his smile matching Daryl's, "Okay."

"Okay," Daryl gave a single, sharp nod. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Daryl took another step back. And another. And another. Until their arms were both stretched as far as they could and any more steps would part their fingers. He sucked in a deep breath, held it, blinked like he was holding back tears, and took that last step. When he turned around, so did Glenn. So that if he looked back, he wouldn't see anything tempting enough to run back to.

It was just a summer love and everyone knew they didn't last. But it was still love. And they both felt it. They both would hurt. And they would both look back on it fondly.

…

"Summer dreams," Glenn finished his story with another sigh, this one more disappointed. It wasn't often he met a man so gentle-hearted and good looking. He snorted, "Ripped at the seams."

…

"But oh..." Daryl groaned out like he was on the verge of reliving an orgasm, making it sound sooooo dirty for the ears of his gang. Giving them exactly the impression they wanted even if it wasn't true to life. "Those summer nights."