Spring could not come soon enough for Vincent. Sure, the calendar indicated it had been spring for a few weeks but snow was still covering much of the land and the winds still brought a strong chill. Aside from work and the gym, the spotted stallion felt too cooped up. He wanted to go outside without having to bundle up. To make matters worse, his workout partner, Booker, had left on a three week holiday to take a cruise and tour some islands. As much as Vincent would have enjoyed accompanying Booker on such an extravagant trip, his wallet couldn't handle such an exorbitant expense. Perhaps some day he'd be able to swing it, but certainly not now.

Even so, Vincent need an escape. Any escape. After yet another late snow dumped a fresh blanket on top of the stagnant snow pack, he had enough. Vincent talked to his boss about burning some vacation time, a week's worth. Things were really slow at the shop so his boss didn't hesitate in giving Vincent the time off on such short notice. The spotted stallion knew it wouldn't be a problem but was still happy to get his boss's approval.

Vincent dipped into his savings and booked himself for the next high speed overnight train southward... way down south. He had made this trip before, but it was a couple of years ago and things had certainly changed since then. He felt more confident in himself and also made progress in his strength training. The hard work with Booker had been paying off and Vincent could see that when eyes would turn towards him and linger longer. He smirked as he packed his things, he was sure he was going to turn some heads this time around and see some head turners himself. He was also curious to see how much the town changed.

After an uneventful overnight train ride and a short connecting train ride Vincent was at the beach town. The stallion was greeted by a clear sky, warm sun, and salty fresh ocean breeze when he stepped out onto the platform. He took a deep breath in and strode eagerly toward the beach front. Vincent made his way through the older part of town. It wasn't as crowded as the newer side of town and had a more rustic and homey look to it. A mix of tourists and locals milled about through the streets with plenty of bicyclists leisurely rolling along too. It felt a little surreal that just yesterday Vincent was huddled in his coat trudging home from work through the snow with only a few other people out and about. As much as he was enjoying the walk, Vincent was eager to check in at his favorite bed and breakfast. Over there he could drop of his backpack and get into some more comfortable attire and really enjoy the sun. He checked in, grabbed a quick snack, and changed out of his travel clothes and into a muscle shirt, speedo, athletic shorts, and most importantly, sunglasses. He didn't want to be obvious checking out all the fine scenery of course.

He made the short trip from the bed and breakfast down to his favorite beach area, the clothing optional one. Despite how close it was to the main areas of the other parts of the beach, it still had a private feel with the rocky outcroppings that bordered it and heavy palm tree cover up past the slopes of the beach. The spotted stallion pulled off his muscle shirt and athletic shorts and stashed them in one of the lockers to the side of the beach entrance. His bright yellow speedo glistened in the sun with his finely sculpted form. He donned his sun glasses and draped his folded beach towel over his shoulder. No longer in a hurry he strolled across the beach at a carefree pace. The horse grinned as he eyed all the handsome hunks that laid about on their beach towels. The water was still too chilly for most to go in, but Vincent liked that. It meant more guys would be sunning themselves.

Having found a good spot, the horse flung his towel open and lied on his back with his hands behind his head. The warm sun and sand felt so good he decided to take a break from admiring the scenery and bask with his eyes closed.

Meanwhile, a bulky and handsome golden bull and studly straw colored stallion with black stripes were doing some scenery admiring of their own. They too were on holiday visiting the beach town. It was one of their favorite places to visit to kick off spring or summer early. Atlas, the stallion, was chatting up a storm while Hayes, the bull, politely listened and nodded along.

"So I'm thinking we should visit the 'Sand Castle' after this. I'm sure we'll find some really handsome guys over there we can have fun with." Atlas said with a playful swish of his tail.

"Do you think they'd be interested in something like that?" Hayes asked. "I mean, some of them are probably just lifting weights outdoors because they enjoy it."

"Oh don't be silly!" Atlas retorted. "I know if I was lifting weights outside and putting on a show for all those fine furs and scalies I'd want to have fun afterwards! Wouldn't you?"

"I... um... maybe? After a nice lunch or something and we get a feel for each other?" Hayes replied.

Atlas laughed. "Well, sure. You do got to make sure you're compatible. I know I never had a bad time with you big guy."

Hayes could feel Atlas' eyes on him and felt more than a bit bashful. "So do you think we'll find a guy who'll go for us?"

"Think? I KNOW we'll find many guys who'll go for us!" Atlas stated proudly.

The two continued their way through the clothing-optional part of the beach. They looked around to see if any glances were being exchanged with them. There were a few, but neither of them felt that promising "spark" from the eye contact. They were more than halfway down the shoreline of this part of the beach when Atlas caught a glimpse of a fellow stallion sunning himself on a green towel in a bright yellow speedo.

"Oh look over there." Atlas said, stopping in his tracks.

"There?" Hayes turned to his side, seeing a burly bear completely passed out and splayed on his towel.

"No, silly! There!" Atlas pointed straight ahead toward the spotted stallion wearing sunglasses.

"Oh, he's a fine looking horse." Hayes thought he saw that horse look over in their direction for a few seconds, but wasn't sure.

"Fine? He's hot!" Atlas elbowed Hayes playfully. "We've got to go talk to him!"

The pair resumed their walk, albeit at a quicker pace. Atlas could feel excitement build within him as they strode toward the horse.

In the distance, Vincent saw the horse and bull walking towards him and the horse gesture to him. Vincent smiled as he watched the two approach. As they got closer he could see these two were real lookers. He popped up his sunglasses to get a better look. The straw colored horse with black stripes and platinum blond mane and the golden colored bull were sporting brightly colored speedos that left very little fur covered. Vincent could feel his own excitement rise as they came withing comfortable speaking distance.

"Hellooo handsome!" Atlas made a show of flailing his towel about in his right hand.

"Hey there." Hayes said, not wanting to be as forward as his companion. "Lovely day isn't it?"

"Yeah, this weather and lovely scenery can't be beat." Vincent replied as he got up onto his hooves to greet them. "My name's Vincent, but you can call me Vince if you prefer." He smiled and extended his hand out in greeting.

"I'm Atlas! Lovely to meet you." Atlas eagerly shook Vincent's outstretched hand multiple times.

"I'm Hayes." The bull gave a single firm handshake. "Are you out on holiday too?"

"I am, I needed a break from the long winter." Vincent answered.

"Yeah, winter is my least favorite season." Atlas agreed. "It's too cold, too dark, the days are too short, and all that bundling up hides too much." Atlas gave a wink.

Hayes chuckled in good humor. "So how long are you here for Vince?"

"One week."

"Oh goody! We can have a lot of fun in one week, wanna tag along with us?" Atlas smiled.

Vincent didn't have to think twice about it. Hanging out with these two was sure to be fun and he was always up for expanding his social circle. "Of course. What do you want to do first?"

"Want to grab some lunch?" Hayes asked.

Atlas giggled.

"I like that idea, let's go." Vincent replied and shook off his towel before rolling it up.

The three of them set off to fetch their belongings from the lockers and get some lunch. From the looks they were exchanging with each other, Vincent knew they were going to have a fun week.

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Story and Vincent by  HeftHaven

Art, Atlas and Hayes by me.

Thank you very much for commissioning and for the lovely story to inspire the pic! <3