Page 50 of Close Quarters

But it had to be said that if Dom noticed changes in Reno’s behavior and attitude, something was clearly working. I liked to think our bickering nowadays was a little more like flirting, though with a lot more anger in our voices. Sometimes, I wondered if, deep down, he got off on the two of us antagonizing one another. It certainly hadn’t stopped the moments where we screwed around, and it hadn’t made him any less receptive to those nights when I tried to keep him company after his bad dreams.

“Jesus wept!” I moaned, standing up and yanking my shirt off. “Why does it have to be so hot!”

“Oh, there’s an idea,” Dom chuckled as I wiped my forehead with my shirt. “Expose your skin to the sun. That won’t backfire at all.”

“I’ll just go get more sunblock,” I said with a shrug, tossing my shirt onto the nearby fence. “I’m just tired of being soaked in sweat. I’m a living thing. I don’t need to marinate in something sweaty.”

Not that it was making me feel any better, but at least this way, when I was covered in sweat, I could feel the breeze. The downside was that I would end up smelling like the beach after I put more sunblock on. And any sweat would just be a magnet for all the dirt and dust in the air. I could only imagine the color of the water in the shower later.

“What is he doing?” Reno asked when he returned.

“Trying to mimic a tomato,” Dom told him.

“I said I was going to put sunblock on.”

“Yeah, and you’re still here, digging through this shit instead of putting it on.”

Reno scowled at me. “Go put sunblock on.”

“I’m going to need help,” I whined. “It’s not like I can pretzel myself around to put it on my back and shoulders properly.”

“So, ask someone to help.”

“And who’s going to help me? People get weird when I ask for shit like that.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Reno said dryly.

“Because they’re fucking idiots,” Dom growled, glaring at Reno.

I had to laugh at his protectiveness. He was clearly taking Reno’s comment to heart. If only he knew what went on behind closed doors. “Don’t worry, Dom. He’s not scared off by the big gay.”

Reno shot me a pointed look that only wanted to make me laugh again, but I went with a shrug instead. It was often fun to make little nods toward what was going on between us without being blatantly obvious. He liked to act pissed off and irritated, but deep down, I suspected he enjoyed it. The guy was about as direct as it got when it came to sex, but that didn’t mean he was immune or against a bit of teasing and flirting.

“Even when he tests it by trying to perv on me while I’m getting dressed,” Reno said dryly, his eyes watching me intently. And if I wasn’t losing my mind, I almost thought they were starting to dart over my bare torso.

“Eh, if you haven’t already, you’d better get used to it,” Dom said with a roll of his eyes, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. “I don’t know why he does it.”

“I guess he thinks he’s being funny,” Reno said as if the bastard didn’t know damn well why I ‘perved’ on him when he was lurking around with barely any clothing on. The guy had shoulders and a back that drove me crazy every time I saw it, and it was hard to contain myself whenever his shirt lifted, and his pants sank just enough for me to see a flash of the dark red hair of his groin.

“Probably, he thinks he’s being funny,” Dom said with a huff.

“Go get some sunblock on,” Reno told me, tearing his eyes away from me to pick through the pile.

“Fine, Dom, come help me since you’re so comfortable in your sexuality,” I said, grabbing his forearm.

“Like hell. You’ll end up making it weird because you liking dick doesn’t bother me,” he grumbled, jabbing his thumb at Reno. “Ask that one. He’s supposed to deal with your shit all the time.”

“I like how everyone just assumes he’s the one that’s suffering constantly,” I said.

Reno rolled his eyes. “I’ll do it, come on. I think there’s still some on one of the tables.”

“Fine, let’s get this over with,” I said with a sigh I only partially meant. I had intended Dom to put it on because I could have easily relied on that ‘bro’ wall between us to keep it from actually being weird. Not that it would be weird with Reno, but considering I had stupidly let my thoughts sink into the, uh…dirt, it was definitely going to be a little tense.

“Uh,” I said as we reached the picnic tables to find a couple of guys taking a break. “Where’d all the sunblock go?”

“Seriously?” one of them asked with a laugh, blowing out a puff of smoke. “On a day like this? We’ve been burning through it faster than Rico’s sister blows through boyfriends.”

“Fuck off!” the guy beside him barked, but the laughter ruined his tough guy attempt.

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