Page 20 of Bazooka

And it Was Supposed to be a Normal Day

Bazooka

I knew I was playing with fire by playing with Luz, but he needed to be put in his place.

He didn’t respect my boundaries; he was an incorrigible flirt, but more than that, he was relentless.

Whatever I said, whatever I did, he was breathing down my neck like a freaking Horseman of the Apocalypse. So naturally, I messed with him.

That was our normal. We had a weird dynamic, but we found some kind of balance in the last few days.

It was like a truce or something. He backed off, so I backed off.

Every morning, he would come to me and lie down on the sofa beside me before I went to work.

And every evening, I would join him in his bed until he fell asleep.

No cuddling was my only condition, and surprisingly, he agreed to it.

He didn’t even try to change my mind, which I somewhat regretted.

Why? Because that cuddling thing wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“How is your roomie, Bazooka?” Adam asked me, snapping me back to reality.

“You can ask him that when he comes here today,” I replied.

Adam cocked his eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Yeah, he needs to look at the mugshots, so I sent someone to bring him over,” I said when my phone rang.

“Marcello, thanks for calling me back,” I said into the phone.

“Yeah, sorry it took me a while. I was working undercover.”

“No problem. Anyway, I need your help. My friend was attacked recently here in Smitsville, but we think the perps might be from your neck of the woods. I will email you the composite sketches. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and you’ll recognize them.”

“Yeah, man. No problem. Send it over. How’s your friend?”

“His wounds are healing. Emotionally, I’m not sure. He’s a bit… weird.”

“When you say friend, do you mean it literally? You’re not exactly a social person.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know how else to call him, Marcello. I’ll send over those sketches now.”

“Okay. I’ll be in touch.”

I hung up and sent him an email just as Patricia walked up to my desk.

“Hey, Levi.”

“Hi, Patricia. How are you?”

“Wrestling with that arson case on Sycamore Street. You?”

“Fine, I guess. Mendoza is too quiet, and I don’t like it, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Yeah, it’s stressful,” she agreed. “Speaking of, are you in the mood for a drink after work? I think both of us could use a distraction.”

Both of us meant it would be just her and me, not the rest of the LD. I didn’t like it because I knew her interest in me went beyond platonic. She never tried to hide it, and this wasn’t the first time she’d asked me out, either. Before I could reply, someone else did it for me.

“He’s otherwise occupied. We’re going to the beach today.”

I turned only to see Luz standing behind me and scowling at Patricia. He wasn’t joking either. He was dressed in a T-shirt and swim shorts, and he had a large beach bag thrown over his shoulder.

“I don’t remember agreeing to this,” I said, giving him a once-over.

“That’s okay. I know you’re getting older, and your memory isn’t what it used to be.”

Jordan burst into laughter and disguised it by coughing when I glared at him.

“Hey, kochanie ,” Luz said, kissing me on the cheek. “Miss me?”

“What did I say about that?” I reminded him. I told him a thousand times he couldn’t kiss me whenever he felt like it, and what did he do? He kept kissing me whenever he felt like it.

“Hey, Jordie,” Luz said, ignoring me. “Hello, asshole Adam. Officer Vile. Maddox.”

The last person he addressed raised his black eyes, looking amused.

“Where is Chief Bibb?” Luz said, throwing the beach bag on the first available desk and sending the telephone to the floor. “I want to give him a little smooch for letting me hang out with you guys.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at Patricia. “Rain check?”

She forced a smile. “Of course. After all, you have a child to take care of.”

Luz flipped her off, and yeah, those two didn’t hide their animosity anymore. Lucky me. Then I got a text.

Hubby Dearest: I jerked off this morning while thinking about you. Then I ate my cum.

“Can somebody please give Luz the mugshot album?” I bellowed. “Jordan. Now. Give Luz something to do before I wring his neck.”

Jordan chuckled and joined Luz, then I heard them whispering conspiratorially, probably gossiping. I changed the name from “Hubby Dearest” to “Pest”, and then I changed the screen lock on my phone. After that, I went on with my work.

When my phone rang and I saw the caller ID, I got another headache. I also left the office before answering.

“General Zablonsky?”

“Hello, Detective Bradley. I just wanted to check how you and Mikolaj are doing. I hope everything is okay.”

“Everything is fine. As long as no one knows Luz is living with me, he’s not in immediate danger.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, we’re okay.”

“What about his assailants? Have you figured out who they are?”

“I’m following a lead that might lead us somewhere. I contacted some people, and I’m waiting for their feedback.”

“If you need any kind of help—”

“I know, General. Thank you, but we’re okay.”

“Does Mikolaj…” General Zablonsky paused, as if he didn’t know how to finish the sentence. “Does he mention me sometimes? Or his family?”

I made a face because it was exactly what I didn’t want to discuss, being too personal for my taste.

“We don’t talk about that, General.”

“I understand.”

“Are you any closer to finding out who’s threatening you?” I asked him.

“Not yet, but we narrowed down the list of suspects. My team thinks we’re close to identifying him.”

“Good. Please let me know when you find him.”

“I will. Thank you for everything, Detective Bradley.”

“You’re welcome.”

After that, I had a long meeting with Adam and Chief Bibb, which mostly revolved around Mendoza. When it finished, I was tired, hungry, and yearning for fresh air.

“You have some ugly dudes in that mugshot album,” Luz said, walking up to my desk. “Can I sleep with you tonight? Just in case I have a nightmare.”

“Any luck?” I said, ignoring his question. “Did you recognize anyone?”

“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 settled under 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.”

He scowled at me, but he turned so red in the face I had to laugh again. After we finished eating, I suggested something that I knew I would most definitely regret.

“Let me put sunscreen on you,” I said, standing up. “I don’t want you to burn.”

Luz choked on the water he was drinking as his cheeks turned deliciously pink.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Baz.”

“Yeah, we’ll do it, anyway. Get up and turn your back to me.”

He did what I said as I started to apply the sunscreen to his skin. I was probably too rough with him, but I didn’t want him to get overly… excited.

“Did you choose this secluded place because I look like a leper?” he asked me as I squirted more lotion onto my palm.