Page 56 of Little Boy Toy

“Always have been since my senior year in high school.”

He touched my hand. “Now, while we’re waiting for the water to fill up, we get undressed.”

Together, we peeled off our clothes and set them aside.

Kendry tested the water again and again. “It’s nice and hot, but not burning hot.”

“Good.”

“The bubble consistency is important. They must be thick enough to make bubble beards on the chin.”

“Oh, is that how you test it?”

“I call it the bubble beard test.”

Now I was sure this was going to be fun. Everything with Kendry was fun. I reached out and scooped up a bunch of bubbles. Then I smeared them on Kendry’s chin.

He screeched. “Hey! You have to wait until you’re in the tub or you’ll make a mess.”

“Oh really?” I bent and scooped up some more bubbles and started to decorate his whole body.

“Zale! Save them for the bath.” When he put his hands on his hips naked, he didn’t look quite as stern.

I laughed. “Isn’t it ready yet?”

He bent delicately and tested the water. “Yes. I think so. I’d make it deeper for me, but we’re doing this together.”

I reached out and turned off the tap.

We both stepped over the edge at the same time. When my foot hit the water, the warmth sucked at it, making me shiver.

“It’s perfect,” Kendry said.

Before I could lift my other foot over the edge, Kendry was already in and sinking down into the white frothiness.

He watched me step in. I let out a happy groan as I sank into the bubbles.

True to my prediction, the water level rose until we were both chest deep in suds.

Kendry said, “Now we play.”

He picked up his sailboats and pushed them across the foam. All the rubber duckies were wobbling and bobbling about.

I made a bubble beard. “This is going to have to become a tradition.”

“I love it.” Kendry swatted his pig around. It was funny to see it bobbing about.

I found out the hard way the whale squirted when Kendry got me right in the middle of my forehead.

“That’s his spout,” he explained.

“Yeah, I noticed. The ducks are cute. Do they squeak?” I asked.

“Nope. But it would be cute if they did.”

We gathered handfuls of bubbles and blew them at each other. When they began to fade and pop, I got sad.

As if reading my mind, Kendry said, “Turn on the hot water to heat it up again. Pull the drain for a minute. We can add more.”

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