Page 84 of Code Word
I palmed my half-hard, very confused dick. “Are you into torture or edging or something? Is this a thing I should know about?”
He laughed from the doorway. “Nope. But making you think about it the whole time we’re at the bar is fun. Kinda guarantees some shattering earth when we get back.”
I stared at him. “Oh, so youareinto torture. This is torture, Luke. And I can guarantee earth-shatteringwithoutthe torture.”
He laughed as he disappeared inside like the evil jerk he was. “Hurry up. Put a shirt on. I’m starving.”
I grumbled as I followed him in. I found a shirt and pulled a cap on my head so I didn’t have to bother doing my hair. He was waiting for me on the patio, grinning in the fading sunlight, looking all kinds of fucking cute.
“You okay there?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m great. My dick sends its regards.”
He laughed and shoved me down the steps. “You gotta admit, it’s kinda fun.”
“It’s gonna be a whole lot more fun when we get back.”
“I know. That’s why I did it.”
I sighed. “So, torture, huh? Never had you pegged as the pain-inflicting type, but okay.”
We walked down the long strip of sand, barefoot, as the sun began its descent. The sky was a palette of pinks and oranges, the salty air was warm, the sand cool and damp.
I slung my arm over his shoulder like I’d done ten thousand times. I kinda did it without thinking, but he gave me a shy smile that was new.
“So,” he said, “we could be photographed. Or filmed. It’ll be all over social media. There’ll be a frenzy.”
“Let them talk,” I replied easily. “I don’t care. They’ve always shipped us together, and I’ve always put my arm around you, or yours around me. There’s literallyhundreds of photos. I saw them on the floor in your house.”
“Ah. My folder of pain,” he said. “I’d go through them when I wanted to torture myself.”
“So youareinto torture.”
He laughed, but then it drew out into a sigh. “I really was going to set them on fire, you know. When we got back from the cabins. I was done trying to not love you. I couldn’t deal with it anymore and I was going cold turkey.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t. So I left instead.”
“Yes. When you left me. We keep circling back to torture.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you found them. I’m glad you found me.”
“Me too.” I pulled him closer as we walked. “And I don’t give a fuck who sees us. They wanna take photos? Have at it. I’m not hiding anything. Unless you don’t want to...” I dropped my arm and put a little distance between us. “Are you comfortable with this?”
He laughed, and sliding his arm around my waist, he tucked himself under my arm. “I’ve waited a fucking decade for this. You think I’m gonna hide it?”
I smiled and kissed the side of his head. “I hope the whole board of directors of Platinum sees photos of us and Arlo Kim pops a vessel.”
Luke snorted. “Poor Arlo. I’m sure the sound of the billion dollars he made from us will soothe him to sleep.”
I growled at that and let go of Luke so he could step through the gate to the bar.
It was a great little setup. An outdoor bar with a firepit, lights hung up from poles, and mariachi music playing softly in the background. There were a few people at a table who spared us a smile as we pulled up to the bar.
We ordered two beers and a pizza between us, then found a table closest to the beach.
“Pretty sure they recognized us,” Luke murmured.
