Page 30 of Say Uncle

“What’s that? How to be a dick?”

“No, that I don’t give away my kisses so easily. And neither should you. They should be earned. You behaved beautifully on your knees, which earned you a kiss. Don’t push your luck.”

I could see his wounded pride reflected in his eyes.It was our first kiss, so no doubt his hormones were bubbling over with a vengeance. But if he could continue to behave himself, I would make it up to him. Eventually.

CHAPTER TEN

“What’s so special about the Dry Tortugas, anyway? Is there even water there? Or is it dry?”

Shaking my head, I leaned in to whisper, “Close your mouth, your ignorance is showing.”

Mattie glared. “It’s just a dumb old fort. I checked online. There’s nothing else there.”

Nicky gasped. “Not true! They have a protected wetland and natural research area where you can snorkel, and there’s a shipwreck nearby.”

Mattie didn’t look impressed. “What would you rather do?” I asked, “Day drinking?” His response was to laugh. “Why am I not surprised? But do me a favor,” I said, in a quieter voice, “don’t tease Nicky about wanting to go. He’s sensitive about being picked on for being a nerd. Makes him feel excluded and small.”

The boy rolled his eyes at me. Fucking rolled his eyes. “Heisa nerd,” he stated matter-of-factly.

I smacked him upside the head. “I mean it.”

Mattie huffed. “Fine,” he said under his breath. “Hey Nicky,” he called out, “bring me back a seashell.”

Nicky lit up, giving him a thumbs up, but then his face fell. “I can’t. We’re not allowed to take anything from the protected area.” Cass whispered something in his ear and he smiled again with another thumbs up. “I’ll do my best!”

Mattie waited until Nicky turned around. “What’s the point of snorkeling if you can’t even bring back a fucking shell? How is that fun? Total nerd.”

“Let me ask you a question.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Shoot,” he said cockily, leaning against a weathered wooden pillar.

He pulled off cocky really well. But if I was going to invest anything more than my next load of cum in this boy, he needed to pass a certain test. A very important one.

“If you had the chance to ditch them for the entire summer, and just sail with me alone, would you?”

To his credit, he looked genuinely confused and scrunched his face like he found the idea repugnant. “No, why? Nicky might be a nerd, but he’s a sexy little nerd.”

I laughed. “Just making sure you’re not settling fora dynamic you’re not well-suited for just to get what you want most.”

Mattie looked smug. “What, like you? What makes you think I wouldn’t rather be with them, but since I can’t because they’re already a couple, I’m settling for you just to get to them?”

This little fucking fucker, trying to turn the tables on me and beat me at my own game. “Is that how it is?”

Without warning, my arm shot out like a strike of lightning, tipping Mattie over the side of the dock. His body made a big splash and came up spluttering.

“What the fuck, Sam?” he shrieked, wiping wet hair from his eyes.

Crouching down, I smirked. “Just helping you cool off. You sounded a little fired up.”

“Help me,” he sputtered, holding up his arms.

“The ladder is right there if you want to climb up and join me on a pub crawl, or you can swim out to the boat and catch up with the two guys you’d rather be with. What’s it gonna be, Matteo?”

“I can’t fucking stand you,” he mumbled as he climbed up the ladder.

By the time we reached the end of Duval Street, he’d downgraded from sodden to damp. I treated Mattie to a tour of all of my favorite haunts, starting with Sloppy Joe’s, where we ordered sloppy joes, of course. Asalways, they had the doors wide open, letting the salty breeze float in. Live music played, and it was impossible not to feel like I was on vacation as I sipped a Mojito.

I enjoyed observing Mattie, just watching him take it all in. When he wasn’t being a grumpy fucker, he was usually pretty easy to please, happy-go-lucky and adaptable. The more time I spent with him, and the more I studied him, the more I learned. So far, everything I’d learned about Mattie only made me like him more.

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