Page 27

Rafael

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Cody had woken me up at the ass-crack of dawn and told me to get ready. I stood in his bedroom as he shuffled about, putting towels and sunscreen in an old gym bag. “Jacob Riis Beach,” he replied. “It’s in the city, so it’ll be a hike, but definitely worth it.”

“There’s a beach in the city?” I asked.

“Well, in Queens. It’s out there. I heard it’s super fun.”

I was down for a day at the beach. Couldn’t imagine a beach in Queens being nice, but, fuck it. It’s good to try new things, right? “Who’s coming with?” I asked.

Cody stopped in his tracks. His shoulders twitched a little as he slowly turned to face me. “I-I thought it could be just us.” He looked so nervous when he said it. Like, I would throw a fit or something. It was cute. I was starting to notice all the cute things Cody did, and I had to admit, I loved them all.

The shoulder twitch thing: Cody did that when he felt like he got caught in the act of something naughty. Cody’s flushed face always emerged when he was embarrassed, but when the face and the neck grew flushed, that’s when I knew the little brat was fucking pissed. He also bit his nails around his mom, and she chided him for it relentlessly.

I chuckled and beckoned him to me with my finger. He closed the distance between us, and I whispered, “Since we’ll be alone. Does this mean I get to fuck you on the beach?”

Cody raised a brow and sang, “If you’re a good boy.”

“Hey! That’s my line, you little shit.”

I gave his perfect ass a little smack. He yelped and ran to his room, calling out, “Get ready. I wanna beat the crowds.”

Crowds? “It’s Wednesday,” I yelled back.

The objects cascading from the shelf in Cody’s closet thudded against the floor. His bashful face peeked out a few beats later. “It doesn’t matter. When it’s this hot, it’s always crowded. Let’s go.”

“Ugh, fine. Can we have coffee first?”

Cody emerged. “No! Coffee on the way.”

This little brat was going to be the death of me—or at least the death of my ability to sleep in.

***

The beach was a forty-five-minute drive. I had to force Cody to stop for coffee with the threat of a day at the beach with a very crabby Rafael. We rolled up to the parking lot, and the place was already packed. School buses painted neon green and orange dropped off hipsters in front of this ramshackle building that looked like it might fall over. It looked cool as hell, though – like a relic of the 1920s, with its Art Deco style.

As we got closer, I saw a sign stating that it had once been a bathhouse. I started to wonder what Cody had in mind for our little day trip.

“Are we gonna jerk each other off in a steam room?” I asked.

Cody looked at me, confused. I pointed to the sign and he replied, “It’s not a bath house anymore. I think we can just use it for a bathroom and stuff like that.”

I followed him up a small flight of stairs that led to a boardwalk. It opened up to a view of the ocean where hundreds of hipsters lay on towels. A sea of multi-colored hairdos blanketed the sand. These were definitely the coolest people I’d seen in a minute. Greenwich wasn’t exactly known for anything edgy, and New Rochelle was even worse.

“Let’s find a spot. We can grab drinks and food over there.” Cody motioned to the line of take-out spots along the perimeter of the boardwalk.

He led the way, searching for a spot where we could lay our blanket down. When he finally found something that fit the bill, he dropped the bag on the sand and reached in for the blanket. It billowed in the wind before smothering him entirely. He looked like a ghost trapped under the sheet, and I couldn’t stop laughing.

“Help me, you ass,” he hollered at me.

“Why? I kind of like you as a ghost. Your skin is already pale enough.”

Cody’s head finally emerged from the sheet. “Ha. Ha. Ha. So funny. Get over here and help me lay this out.”

We set up the blanket, and I sat down. I pulled my tank over my head and searched the bag for some lotion.

Cody stood, undressing to reveal what I thought would be a regular bathing suit—perhaps board shorts in his favorite color, blue, and goofy, like every pair of underwear he owned.

Instead, he pulled down his shorts to reveal an honest-to-God white thong with gold trim at the waist. My fucking heart stopped.

“What the hell are those?” I asked.

Cody looked down like he wasn’t almost naked. “What?”

“Don’t act like what you’re wearing is fucking normal for you, Cody.”

He smiled and looked down again at it. “So, you noticed.”

Um…did I have a fucking pulse? Did blood pump to my dick? Jesus Christ, I was about to mount him on the sand in front of hundreds of people. “You knew I’d notice, you little shit.”

Cody shrugged and bent over to rummage through his bag. “I’m just reminding you that I’m a nice piece of ass, Rafael.”

A group of dudes literally whistled at Cody as they walked past. “He’s taken!” I spat out.

One of them lifted their sunglasses to give me a once-over. “Ohh, possessive. That’s hot, daddy.”

Daddy? “Are we at a gay beach, Cody?”

The mischievous look on his face told me the answer. “I thought it would be fun. Nobody in New Rochelle is gay.”

“Are we?” I asked.

Cody turned and looked at me, his face unreadable. “I don’t know what we are, but we’re two dudes who fuck all the time. So, if we’re not gay, we’re pretty damn close.”

Fair. Cody had a point. “Anyway, who cares what we are?” he added. “Let’s just have fun. I’m having fun with you, Rafael.”

“Gross. Next, you’re gonna ask me to be your boyfriend.”

His face looked pained by that statement. Oh no. Did Cody want to be boyfriends? Did I want that? How in the fuck did I get here?

“Will you put lotion on my back?” he asked.

Whatever the hell I was worrying about ten seconds ago vanished as the globes of his perfect ass lay next to me. I lathered him up, taking extra special care to get that booty nice and covered. “Can’t be too careful,” I said. “This area isn’t exposed to the sun a lot. Gotta protect it.”

“Is that a fact? Protect it from whom?” Cody asked.

Oh, he wanted to be flirty, huh? He wanted to take us to a gay beach and show off that ass of his, did he? I grabbed the extra towel from his bag and covered my head as I pushed my face into his crease.

He gasped and asked, “Rafael. What are you doing?”

“I want to have fun with you,” I drawled. Then I pulled the string of Cody’s thong to the side and fucked him with my tongue.

“No. Rafael we can’t, ohhh…”

That shut him up real quick. “I want this beach to know who this ass belongs to. If you keep bitching, I’ll toss the towel and let them all see what I’m doing.”

“No! Oh God.” Cody must have buried his head in his arms because his voice sounded muffled as he moaned, “Ohhh God.”

He tasted delicious. Cody possessed a fresh, clean scent that I couldn’t get enough of. It’s like he took extra good care of his ass in the chance that I might do something like this. Good boy.

I licked Cody long and hard. His soft pants turned me into an animal. Maybe I will fuck him on this beach.

“Rafael. You have to s-stop…ohhh fuck me.”

“Was that a request?” I asked before pushing my tongue into his opening with a little more force.

“You can’t. Please…Jesus…Rafael, I want you.”

“Who are you pleading to, angel? Jesus or me?”

“Both,” he moaned.

“Who owns this ass, Cody?” I asked.

He released a few more whimpers before he answered, “You. It’s yours.”

That’s the answer, and it was worthy of praise. “Good boy.”

He moaned a little too loudly that time. I finally decided it was time to come up for some air before we got arrested. Not that I saw any cops at this place.

I lay down beside him and wrapped my arm around him. “We’ll pick up where we left off later.”

He gave me a soft punch to my arm. “You’re a tease.”

“If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll fuck you in the car when we’re done.”

He sighed and deadpanned, “So romantic.”

I pinched his ass. “Don’t gimme any lip.” His giggle made my chest squeeze. I nuzzled into his neck, kissing along his nape. “This is nice.”

Cody hummed his agreement. “I might need to take a dip to cool down later. Between the sun and you, I’m burning up.”

My gut churned at the thought of Cody near the water. The sound of the crashing waves grew deafening, and my head began to throb. I sat up and pressed my fingers to my temples.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

No, I wasn’t. Fuck, what was happening to me. My breathing became short. The acid in my stomach traveled up my throat. I thought I might be sick. I started coughing.

“What is it, baby?”

Baby? I was losing it. My hand gripped onto his, and I closed my eyes. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

It stopped. My body functioned again. Thank God. “Sorry. Coffee came back up with a vengeance, I guess.”

In no way did Cody look satisfied with that response. “Tell me what happened, please. That wasn’t acid reflux or whatever you wanna call it. You looked panicked.”

The sun reflected off Cody’s face. His brown eyes looked at me with concern, and his chest rose and fell as he caressed my hand. It dawned on me that Cody might have known as little about me as I did about his life before he told me. “Sometimes, the water scares me. It just…reminds me of Mattie.”

Cody drew closer and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry. Why would I suggest the beach? I feel so fucking stupid. Let’s go. We can leave right now.”

“No, no, please. I just…it freaked me out—the idea of you in the water. I’m sorry. I’m cool now.”

He pressed his lips to mine before saying, “We can leave. I wasn’t thinking. I don’t know a lot about what happened other than it was a boating accident. My dumbass forgot that boats go on water. We should get out of here.”

He went to start shoving things into his bag, but I stopped him. “Cody, I want to stay. It’s okay. I’m cool now.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Positive.”

Cody took my hand in his and traced the lines of my palm with his finger. “If you ever want to talk about anything, Rafael, I’m here. I’m always here. Okay?”

As much as I appreciated that, I just wasn’t ready to talk about Mattie. It was too hard. Too painful.

So, I just nodded and motioned for him to lie down next to me.