“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.
Chapter 28
Rafael
The thunder roared like a monster. The sky, once a blanket of white clouds, morphed into a canopy of ominous indigo as thunderclouds billowed overhead. Waves crashed into the tiny boat, tossing us about, and the winds sliced us like razors. Streaks of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating Mattie’s terrified little face.
