“Okay okay! Nineteen,” I rolled my eyes.
The damn sacrifices I make around here, I swear…
He snorted and ripped the covers off me, tossing them to the floor. “Come on, get up. I promise you’ll love the surprise. And I’ll even throw in some naked time later to sweeten the deal.”
I narrowed my gaze at him, contemplating whether or not to seduce him back to bed until he forgot about this little side quest of his, but I decided to be generous and let him have this one.
“Fine,” I sighed. “You drive a hard bargain, but I accept your terms.”
I followed a grinning Dawson into the shower where we spent longer than necessary soaping each other up. I was lighter and more refreshed than I’d been in weeks. Every moment spent here with Dawson so far was a shot of dopamine to my brain, neurons sizzling with pleasure and energy that I was desperate for more of. It was as though the Lithium didn’t stand a chance against the full force of happiness that Dawson was capable of giving me.
My therapist Maggie warned me that I would likely experience a bit of a crash when I returned from our trip. It made sense since things couldn’t always be like they were now with my unfettered access to Dawson and the reprieve we were both getting from our daily lives. Soon, we’d go back to school and away games and carving out time for each other when we could. That cloud of depression would sweep back in because not even the sun could last forever.
I tried not to get caught up worrying about those things while we drove to wherever Dawson was taking me. It was much more pleasant to occupy myself with staring at Dawson in his sexy as fuck sunglasses with a satisfied smirk kicking up his full lips.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up behind a beachfront stilt house and my curiosity piqued. The bold turquoise paint job was intensely bright in the midday sun, burning my retinas and making it hard to open my eyes. Somewhere above us, I heard a gruff voice call out to Dawson over the sound of the crashing waves and circling seagulls.
“Well, if that isn’t my favorite nephew! ‘Bout damn time you two showed up. The day’s half over, boy.” The man’s deep twangtugged at my memory and when my eyes finally managed to adjust, I barked out a disbelieving laugh when I saw him. His skin was weathered from the sun and his taupe hair was woven with silver now, but there was no mistaking the hulking man.
“Holy shit! Uncle Don?”
Don squinted down at me from his deck before breaking into a massive smile.
“Look at what the cat coughed up,” he said in a throaty chuckle as he made his way down the porch steps. “Bishop, you get uglier e’ry time I see you. I thought puberty was supposed to help you out with that.”
“I think your eyesight’s going, old man. I’m hot as shit now,” I beamed. I crossed over to him and body slammed him in a giant hug, the familiar smell of his pipe tobacco comforting me.
It had been years since I’d seen Mr. Hayes’ older brother, but he’d been a staple in my life as much as Dawson’s parents had been. He used to sneak us both money whenever he visited and he was the first one we came out to the summer we started dating. Of course, that was because he’d busted us making out in the den, but beyond giving us shit for it, he had been incredibly supportive.
He placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back, assessing me from head to toe with a wry smirk.
“Eh, I guess you’ll do…how long has it been? Six years since I seen you?”
“Sounds about right, sir.”
“Ah, to hell with that nonsense.” He swatted his hand as if to wave away my words. “I ain’t no ‘sir’. I’ll leave that to my father.”
“I didn’t know you moved your decrepit ass down here,” I snickered, dodging a backhand to the gut when he swiped at me.
“You keep laughing and I’ll make sure you don’t make it back home, you little shit,” he chortled. “I wanted to spend my retiredyears by the beach but still close to family, so here I am. Dawson, you quit skulkin’ over there and give me a hug.”
“Now you notice me? I thought I was your favorite nephew?” Dawson teased, but allowed Don to sweep him up in a bone-crushing hug.
“That was when I thought you’d get here earlier.”
“We were embracing the island time mentality. I thought punctuality wasn’t a thing down here,” he argued as Don led us around his property to a large shed.
“Maybe for them locals, but I still enjoy my schedule. Three years here and it hasn’t got any easier, I tell you.” He swung open the shed door and rummaged around, hauling out two thin boards with foot straps attached that he thrust at Dawson. He then handed my confused ass two large folded swaths of neon green nylon and two black harnesses.
“Anyone want to fill me in?” I asked as I followed the two of them down to the shoreline. Dawson stuck the boards in the sand and turned to me sheepishly.
“You said you always wanted to try kiteboarding, so I asked Uncle Don to teach us. Is that okay? Should I have asked first?”
I dropped my bundle of gear and seized his face, crushing my mouth to his. I swallowed his gasp of surprise and my tongue lashed at his, drinking in the way he melted under my touch. I pulled back just enough to take in his breathless and dazed expression.
“You were right.”
“I usually am, but what about this time?” he asked, voice thick with both lust and amusement.
