Page 29 of Until Then

I avert my gaze, pretending not to notice the way she’s checking me out.

I can’t say the same thing for my dick, though. That’s one body part that thoroughly appreciates the attention. With a sharp breath in, I snatch my shirt off the floor and quickly sit down with it in my lap, feeling like a horny teenager, having to hide my boner.

Ridiculous.

Thankfully, Izzy is too busy rifling through the toddler-sized bag to notice.

With an “aha,” she yanks out a tube of sunscreen, then begins slathering it on her body. “I put some on before I left the house, but I better reapply.” At my speculative expression, she adds, “I have a friend who got skin cancer, and it’s made me a wee bit paranoid.”

“A wee bit?” I mimic as she works the creamy white lotion into her skin.

“Okay, more than that, but sunscreen is important. Do you have any on?”

“No.”

Her eyes widen in horror, and her jaw goes slack. “Derrick,” she scolds.

Dammit. The way she says my name does nothing to help my dick settle down. I frown down at my lap in annoyance.

“When I’m done, you can use this.” She holds the bottle up.

“I’m good.”

Eyes narrowed, she huffs at me. “No, you’re not.”

I sigh. There’s no arguing with this woman.

She finishes with her legs, then stands and takes her oversized sweater off.

Fuck me.

The tight, tiny hot pink bikini top hugs her perfect tits, and the jean shorts sit low on her hips. As I take her in, it’s impossible not to imagine what it would feel like to put my hands there. How soft and warm the skin above her waistline would be against my rough fingers.

Clearing my throat, I look away, my face heating.

Her laughter floats over to me. “It’s just a little skin, Derrick. No need to be embarrassed.”

With a scoff, I roll my eyes. “I’m not embarrassed.”

“Sure you’re not,” she drawls, holding the tube of sunscreen out to me. “Can I trust you to apply it yourself, or do I need to put it on you?”

Heart jumping at the idea, I snatch it from her, making her giggle, the sound light enough to float on the breeze.

I only put the sunscreen on because that threat wasn’t an empty one. Izzy will certainly do it herself if I don’t cooperate.

She turns her back to me, and for a moment, I think maybe I’ll be safe, at least for a bit. But clearly, the universe hates me, because before I can look away and continue with my task, she wiggles out of her shorts, revealing cheeky bikini bottoms in the same bright pink as her top.

“I can feel you staring at my ass.”

My stomach plummets, and I drop my eyes and the sunscreen bottle.

“Fuck,” I curse, scooping it up.

Izzy laughs again, this time more heartily. I want to be annoyed with her, but it’s impossible when I like the sound this much.

I focus my attention on the sunscreen again while she goes back to messing with her tote. This time she pulls out a book from her bag of wonders, the cover bright purple and illustrated.

“That a kids’ book or what?”