Chapter Nine
David
I couldn’t rememberthe last time I’d spent an afternoon at the beach doing absolutely nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. We’d done some more planning for our trip and then talked about some of our favorite places.
I told Joel about the waterfalls in the Gerês National Park. I’d been there with Isaac and Alexandre a few years ago. The landscape in the north of Portugal is absolutely stunning. I wanted to go back but hadn’t had a holiday in such a long time I’d forgotten about it.
Joel told me about his favorite places in New York. There was a particular bookstore he couldn’t get enough of. Maybe one day I’d have a chance to visit New York, and Joel would show me all these places.
I was thinking about our afternoon yesterday when a text from Joel came through.
Joel: “Ladybug is back!!! She’s good to drive. Do you want to help me give her a wash?”
David: “Hell, yeah. I’ll be there in twenty.”
I’d already been in the process of leaving the café for the day so hugged Aunt Teresa goodbye and then walked out the door. I stopped by my apartment to change into shorts and a T-shirt before I joined Joel at his grandparents’ house.
The first thing I saw when I walked around the house toward the back was Ladybug standing proud, ready for her next adventure. I hadn’t noticed yesterday how the wheels still had mud stuck on them, probably from a trip through the countryside on a rainy day. I wondered what stories that mud could tell.
I couldn’t wait to see the real red color of the car and the silver of the wheel trim shining through. It didn’t look like there was any damage to the body of the car, so hopefully, it wouldn’t be difficult restoring her to her former self.
I saw Joel behind the car, kneeling next to a set of buckets, sponges, car detergent, and a garden hose with a nozzle sprayer. He was wearing cargo shorts and a tight T-shirt that showed his slim torso perfectly.
“Hey,” I called
“Oh hey, David. I got all the stuff we need ready. My grandparents went out, but they’ll be back in a couple of hours, so we can all have a snack together once we’re finished polishing Ladybug here.”
“Sounds great. Where should we start?”
Joel got up and took off his shoes and socks. I guess there was no point in them getting all wet, so I followed suit.
We started by cleaning the interior of the car. I got all the mats on the sidewalk, brushed them with detergent and a brush, rinsed them with the hose, and put them up to dry while Joel vacuumed the interior and then polished the dashboard.
While the mats were drying, we closed the doors again so we could get rid of the first layer of dirt, using the high-pressure setting on the nozzle.
I stood back while Joel was doing that and took the opportunity to admire him. He was relaxed and happy. It looked like he hadn’t done anything to his hair other than run his hands through it this morning, and it looked so good on him.
As he went around the car with the hose, I noticed he actually had defined muscles. Yes, he had a flat tummy and was the typical tall, slim guy, but he told me he liked to run, and I could see that in the definition of his long legs.
I realized I was just staring at him, so I moved to fill the buckets with water before he noticed I’d been perving. There was another hose nearby, so I used it to fill the buckets up while I added some detergent to them.
“We can see the color already with just that layer of dust gone,” Joel said, proud of his efforts.
“Yeah, Ladybug is going to be a stunner.”
We each started at one end of the car with a bucket and soapy sponge, working through all the curves to make sure they were clean.
The midafternoon sun was scorching, and I really wanted to take my T-shirt off to cool down, but I felt self-conscious about it. I didn’t know why. After all, we’d been at the beach yesterday, and we’d both been in shorts, but somehow, in this situation, it just felt different.
“Fuck, it’s hot, isn’t it?” he said.
“Yeah, let’s get this done so we can cool down in the shade.”
We’d soaped our way toward the same spot and found ourselves side by side. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, warmer than the air that surrounded us, and suddenly, I felt like I was combusting from the inside out.
“I bet my half is better than yours,” Joel teased.
“No way. With those skinny arms? I bet I’ll have to redo your half.” There was nothing skinny about Joel’s arms. They weren’t as muscular as mine, but they were defined and suited his shape perfectly. And why was I bringing his attention to my paying attention to his arms?
