After over an hour and a half of driving, Sonny feels his ass vibrate. He wriggles and catches Will's cell tucked under him, with '1 text received' on the screen. He tells Will who's focusing on the traffic and grumbles "Can you open it, please ?" Sonny obeys and the funny comment he was about to say about becoming a full-time slave dies on his lips as he reads 'Hey Stud ready to B naughty tonight ? I've looked up new positions... Neil.' Sonny feels cold seeping down his trachea. Will asks "Can you read it ?" "Hum... I don't think I should have seen it actually." Will looks utterly confused and insists "Yeah, go on!" Sonny reads out loud, coldly. Will now looks flabbergasted. His face turns a bright red. Sonny looks away. He hurts so much he might be dying. He hears Will behind him giggle, then ask "Can you answer, please ?" Sonny answers sharply " I won't. It's private." Will says "No, it's really not ! Type 'You dumbass, wrong number again. Next time, screw an Alfred, not a Wilder!'" He laughs louder, then wipes his eyes with one hand. He adds in a whisper " No chance, I'd get that kind of message, you know, I've never gone that far..." Strangely, this confession agitates Sonny a little more, although is chest is freed and he's cheerful again. He jests "Well, let's rejoice for this Wilder. He's getting lucky tonight. And... Wait a minute, isn't Wilder a tall guy with a goatee ?" "Yep. You know him ?" Sonny nods "He gave me his number, last year. Guess he got tired of me not being interested!" Will doesn't answer and after a few minutes, takes a turn to an alleyway that leads to the lake. "Almost there."
The car stops at a parking space. There are bushes around and behind Sonny can see a foot-path winding through the trees, then dividing in many directions. They take their bags out of the car along with the food. Will takes out two sandwiches and points to a picnic table. "I'm starving. The slave that was supposes to feed me did a shitty job." "Will the slave be fed too ?" "Hmmmm, he'll have to beg to soften me up." Sonny makes a series of yapping. Will laughs and throw him a sandwich. They eat and talk, with Will shooting glances towards the lake. Suddenly, his face lights up. He goes through his pocket and brings out a bunch of key. "Adam told me one of these was for a motor boat. I can see one here, at the pier. You want to go for a swim now ?" The clear water is engaging and Sonny accepts. Will adds "We can leave the bags here, it's pretty safe. Let's not waste sunshine !" "What about our cellphones ?" "In the bags !" Sonny runs to him and jumps on the boat. Will laughs and starts the engine. After a few minutes, he stops it and anchors the boat. He turns to Sonny " Ready to get wet ?" and jumps right away, splashing Sonny from head to toe. He quickly joins Will and swim to him, trying and push his head underwater. But Will swiftly swims underneath him and catches his leg, getting a reaction from him. He swims away. His trunk is quite loose and the neat little tent is very noticeable through the crystalline water. Will comes nearer, he moves back and they race each other.
Back at the pier, they step lazily to their bags, looking down without enthusiasm. Instead, they sit on the grass next to a tall willow. Sonny lies down and dozes off.
« So who is he ? » Sonny raises his head. Will is leaning against the trunk of the tree and the foliage's shadow is dancing on his skin, making Sonny squints to manage and look at him. He has to ask him to repeat, he seems to miss half of Will's question these days. "Sorry ?" He might have missed more than just the question. What is it about ? Will mutters, awkwardly "This guy... ?" Sonny scans his and Will's last conversations looking for a mention of an unknown man. He can't "Sorry, again, but... Can you be more precise ?" Will pats his knee, gluing Sonny's eyes to Will's upper legs. He gulps. Will says " The other day, when we were moving out, at my mom's... I heard you talk with her about Sidney..." "Yeah ?" Now Will is rubbing his thigh and Sonny quickly raises his head. He turns his palms up in an interrogative gesture . "You said your heart was already taken or something like that..." Sonny's eyes widen. He actually said that ? And where was Will at the time, in the hallway ? Will is waiting silently. It's hard to see his eyes with the sun's reflection and Sonny is lost at how to answer. He has no idea what to say and he doesn't want not to answer either, he can't lie to him. He's suddenly back in the Himalayas, at the last feet before K2's summit, in the excruciating cold, pumped with adrenaline and muscles hurting like hell, and he would do that again, 10 times, rather than risk the frail balance Will and him have attained in their relationship.
He finally answers.