Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“It tickles in your stomach, doesn’t it?” I dipped down and kissed his cheek.
He nodded and laughed.
It brought me to life. He always did. But today, this, being with him, chilling with friends and family, heading up to our favorite lake, the sun, was my drug. All of it. This was what I needed a regular fix of. Adrenaline and happiness surged through me, and Mischa and Echo picked up on the energy. The closer we got to the lake, the more restless they became.
They loved this place too.
“Are we gonna jump straight into the water?” I asked over the wind and music.
He looked up at me quickly, lips parted in surprise. “We run and jump like that?”
I nodded. “As soon as we get there, we throw off our clothes, run down to the dock, and jump in.”
“Yeah, I race you, Bastian!” he cheered.
I laughed and sped up as we climbed higher and higher. Only a couple minutes to go. At the next turn, onto the last road, I spied Dylan’s car in the sideview mirror.
Blake was in the passenger’s seat.
That fuckin’ guy… I didn’t even know him, yet he made me react so strongly. If I wasn’t ready to bend him over and fuck him into next week, I was itching to put him in his place for…I wasn’t sure. He didn’t actually pose a threat to me. Soph and Dylan weren’t leaving Washington. She’d never felt so liberated as she had after leaving Georgia. She had work here, just like Dylan, and he wasn’t the only one up for a promotion. So was Soph, though it would take some time. She had to take an administration class or whatever she’d told me.
Either way, they were building their life here.
I had no legitimate reason to be on edge while Blake visited.
“Bastian!” Teddy pointed toward the lake as soon as we drove up alongside it. “Look! The—” He waved at it. “Bastian, water!”
“Yeah, it’s the lake, buddy. We’re almost there.”
“Lake!” he repeated, nodding.
He was too cute.
There weren’t too many people around, which was nice. The parking lot was more a patch of grass, and there were just two other cars. It was a small area, one only locals knew about. The lake stretched long and narrow, and it was surrounded by cliffs and forest. At the western tip where we were, we had everything we needed. Presumably the smallest beach in the US, some ten feet wide—man-made with fine sand from a spot south of Silver Beach. Three firepits with enough distance between them that you didn’t hear anyone outside your own party, a couple picnic tables, a long, newly renovated dock that went straight into the water, an outhouse that was probably a tetanus hazard, and two very helpful signs. No lifeguard on duty, and call the park services to inquire about the ice thickness.
I pulled up next to a truck and killed the engine. Teddy had already started the race. If there was a race, he didn’t need a single reminder to get crackin’. I helped him off the ATV, and he immediately started tugging off his T-shirt.
“I wanna win,” he said, breathing heavily. He couldn’t stand still either. It reminded me of when he’d done the pee-pee dance as a four-year-old.
“Then you better hurry.” I smiled and dismounted the vehicle too. Then I pulled my own tee over my head and let Mischa and Echo out. They knew the drill. They didn’t go near other people without my giving them the green light.
“Oh!” Teddy shouted.
I spun around just as he stumbled toward the ATV, having tripped over his feet when he was taking off his sweatpants. He caught himself, though, and it was a big fucking thing. Hard training had improved his reflexes and motor skills.
“Look at you, little man. You didn’t fall—that’s because you’ve been working so hard.”
He smiled goofily and steadied himself, but I could see the stumbling had shaken him a little bit.
It was best to push past it.
“I’m gonna jump in first,” I boasted, unzipping my jeans.
“No!” he gasped. That spurred him into action again, and he kicked off his pants.
That was when Dylan and the others reached us, and he parked next to me.
“We can’t wait for them,” Teddy rambled.
He took off in a run as soon as he was in just his underwear.
And socks…
I laughed under my breath, stripped down to my boxer briefs, and took off after him.
“Come on, boys!” I hollered.
Mischa and Echo barked excitedly and ran with me.
“Sebastian!” I heard Sophia yell.
“I got him!” I yelled back. Christ, it wasn’t our first rodeo. Teddy knew I was gonna catch him.
“I’mma win, Bastian!” Teddy jogged out onto the dock, his feet thumping against the boards.
“I don’t know, I’m right behind you.” I pretended to be out of breath. “Almost there!”