I laughed. “None of that bullshit. It’s fine.” I joined him, sitting next to him on the warm slats. The water was comfortable, way better than the icy shit back home. It didn’t matter what time of the year it was, Washington beaches had one temperature. Frigid.
We stared out over the calm waves for a few moments. The longer we sat there, the more awkward it grew, and I hated it. This couldn’t last. Instead of continuing to stew over the fucked-up situation, I laced my fingers through Aiden’s, causing him to lurch in surprise. He didn’t have much of a chance to react as I pushed off the boards and into the water, dragging him along with me.
Aiden broke the water’s surface, spluttering and pushing his wet hair from his face. “Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell was that?”
“Stop fucking thinking so much and have some fun.” I laughed, pushing water in his direction, splashing him in the face.
That earned me a growl before I had my own salty tidal wave over my head.
We spent a good few minutes throwing water back and forth before we were both laughing and out of breath. I liked the smile that had returned to Aiden’s face and, fuck… he was god damn gorgeous like this. He was free and unworried and I wanted to keep him that way. At that moment, I knew I was screwed. I’d cave to every last whim he had on this trip.
“What the hell is taking you so long?”
Aiden had been in the bathroom for forty-five minutes. The shower had turned off a while ago, so there wasn’t a logical reason that he was still in there.
“Uhh...”
That wasn’t reassuring in the slightest. “Are you okay? Need help with something?”
“No. God, no. Um. I think—I think I got it.”
Why did he sound different? Almost panicked. I reached for the door handle, giving it a jiggle. He’d locked it, of course. I couldn’t have gotten in there to help him, even if I wanted to.
“Aiden? Swe—” I cut myself off quickly. I’d fucked up by calling him the pet name earlier, but that didn’t mean it was still okay to use it.
He was flushed but dressed and ready as the door swung open.
“Sorry. I was trying to figure something out. It took me a minute, but I got it. I think. Are you ready to go?”
Shit, he was in a hurry. Fidgeting as he shifted awkwardly as he walked toward the door. Almost like he…
“Aiden? What the hell did you do in there?”
He spun, face still splotchy. “Nothing to worry about. Let’s just go.”
When he started to move again, it took everything in me to not crack up laughing. “Fuck, Aid, stop. We’re not going anywhere while you look like you got a dick up your ass.”
His eyes widened as he turned back to me.
“Uhh...”
“Aiden?”
That blush deepened again as he swallowed thickly.
“Can we, please?” He pleaded with his eyes, but there was no fucking way I was letting him out the door. Not like that.
I moved closer and, on instinct, wrapped my arm around his waist and pulled him close. The move made a small groan slip past his lips and I couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore.
“Holy shit, sweetheart. What the fuck did you do?”
Aiden cringed and pulled out of my grasp, another small groan leaving him.
“It was just a really dumb idea. I saw something online. People really go out in public with these things? How do you not feel it?”
My eyes widened, and I doubled over, hands grabbing at my stomach, as I couldn’t contain my laughter. “Aiden. Please tell me you didn’t put a plug in.”
He said nothing as I continued to laugh. Holy fuck. The kid was ballsy. “Do you even know what the hell you’re doing with that thing?”
