Page 60 of Bazooka
“No.”
I nodded. “I didn’t expect it either, but it was worth a try. Are you ready to go?”
“I was ready an hour ago. Let me just grab the picnic basket from the fridge.”
After we said goodbye to the others, I took the picnic basket from him because it looked heavy. Once we reached the car, I opened the passenger door for him, ignoring his confused look. So what? Being a gentleman wasn’t a crime the last time I checked.
“Thank you,” he muttered as I closed the door behind him and left the picnic basket in the backseat.
“This beach stunt will cost you, by the way,” I said once in the car. “I don’t like being ambushed.”
Luz rolled his eyes. “God. How much?”
“Six hours of non-flirting.”
“You know that’s too long, Baz. I would shrivel up and die.”
“And stop fucking with my phone,” I warned him. “I mean it, Luz.”
“Fiiine. You have no sense of humor, Grandpa.”
“Did you at least bring my swim shorts?”
He snorted. “Duh.”
“So, you were going through my stuff without asking me?”
“Duh.”
At that point, I gave up but made a mental note to punish him somehow for this latest transgression.
We skipped the crowded beach and headed to a small cove hidden by the rocks that only locals knew about. After we settledunder a large pine, I changed into my swim shorts under a towel, ignoring Luz’s mocking gaze. What was I supposed to do... strip there naked? I also ignored his gulping and salivating when I took off my T-shirt.
“You’re big,” he blurted out, eyeing my torso.
“Yeah, I am.”
Only when he yelped did I look at him. “What did you do now, pest?”
The knife in his hand, an apple in his other hand, and the blood on his finger gave me an answer.
“Don’t stare at me while you’re cutting fruit,” I scolded him, reaching for his hand. “In fact, stay away from sharp objects altogether.”
When I took his finger in my mouth and sucked on it, Luz made a choking sound.
“Jesus!” he gasped as I sucked the blood from a small cut. “I’m getting hard as we speak. I swear I am. You?”
I rolled my eyes and went for a swim because… my God. He had no filter, nowhere, never. I was hungry, but the food could wait. First, I needed to get him out of my system.
While I swam, I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been to the beach. I even forgot Smitsville had one, since I was mostly focused on its violent crime rate per capita. In fact, this town would be a nice place to live if it weren’t for all the criminals that inhabited the area.
When I finally joined Luz on the beach half an hour later, he was sprawled on his towel, half-asleep. Then we finally had our lunch. Luz took out the food from the picnic basket, which meant sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, lots of fruit, a few bottles of water, and last, but not least, an apple pie he’d baked. And, my God, it was an apple pie to die for.
“I’m going to marry you, I swear to God,” I mumbled with my mouth full. “This is the best pie I’ve ever tasted.”
When I saw his expression, I burst into laughter.
“You should see your face, Lucius. I was kidding, by the way.”
