1
Jesse
Iglancemyself over in the floor-length mirror, inspecting my profile to see how I look in the swimming trunks I’m wearing. I face forward, flexing my six-pack, appreciating the effort I made to lose a couple of pounds before our Puerto Vallarta vacation. It’s nice seeing the definition in my torso as well as some good bulk in my chest andbiceps.
I run my hand through my dark-brown hair and then I hear, “Ooh, look who’s feeling conceited in thatsuit.”
Ty steps out of the changing room in a polka-dotted Speedo, surely noticing that I’m basically checking myself out in the mirror, something he’s done quite a few times since we got to the swimsuit designer’s boutique. We’ve been trying on different cuts and designs for close to half an hour, helping the designer, Julio, get an idea of the type of suit wewant.
It’s kind of weird getting a designer swimsuit with Ty. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have half the clothes hanging in my closet, mainly because I’m not as interested in clothes shopping as heis.
“Whatever,” Isay.
Ty comes up behind me and slaps my ass. “Looking good, looking good,” heteases.
I roll my eyes. “It’s kind of girly,” I say, assessing the bright fuchsiasuit.
“The girlier you wear, the more masculine you look,” Ty explains. “Trust me, it’s athing.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I say as he inspects his ass in the Speedo he has on. The sunlight entering through the bay window shimmers off Ty’s sandy-blond hair, which matches the bit of scruff he’s grown since we’ve been on vacation. With killer abs he’s never had an issue maintaining with a sit-up here or there, I don’t deny he looks hot in thesuit.
“That’s always been a thing,” he insists. “If you wear something that looks very feminine, then the odds are people are going to think you must be super masculine to be trying to pull itoff.”
“Or assume I want a dick in my mouth,” Iadd.
Not that it would be entirely untrue or that I haven’t felt that way about guys in my life, but I don’t need to wear a fucking banner to let the world know I get a little confused about all that from time totime.
“He might have a point there,” Julio says with a smile as he folds his arms. He stands off to the side, watching us try on the suits, seeming to enjoy theshow.
Ty shakes his head. “Whatever. Julio, I’m not loving this. What else yougot?”
Here wego…
We try on a few more before we each buy one. Then we head back to Ty’s dad’scondo.
It’s a few miles from Julio’s swimsuit boutique, so we take a cab. As we get in, Ty’s phone pings, and he checksit.
“It’s Mandy,” he says, a sparkle in hiseyes.
Last night, we ran into some college-age kids who are here for a couple of weeks, same as us. They were a fun group to get hammered with. Ty hit on this girl named Mandy while I chatted up her friendDana.
“Oh really?” I ask. “And what does Mandywant?”
“She and her friends are having a party tonight at the house they’rerenting.”
“I’mgame.”
“You’re game?” he asks. “What the fuck do you mean you’re game? You can’t tell me you don’t want to get all up on Dana. I saw the way you were hitting onher.”
“She was nice, but I think you were a little more into Mandy than I was intoDana.”
He rolls his eyes. “Seriously. You need to relax and getsome.”
“I’m not looking for that. I just finished things with Whitney, so the last thing I need right now is to be chasing girlsaround.”
“That’s definitely not thelastthing youneed.”
I chuckle. “Okay, I get what you mean, but, Ty, I’m enjoying beingsingle.”
