Page 92 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“Fuck,” I yell, waving my arms faster.

He doubles over again.

Launching myself, I land on top of the water, my life vest carrying me to a waiting Joey. He scoops me out of the water, and the both of us tumble over.

“Stop laughing,” I say, laughing. “That wasn’t majestic at all.”

“Oh my God,” Joey manages, getting his feet under him, me still in his arms like a buoyant drowning rat. Once we’re both upright, he wipes his face. “Best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“That was theworst,” I counter. “No one told me you can’t run in water.”

I can’t tell if the moisture on Joey’s face is from our fall or his tears.

“What if we skip the running start?” he proposes.

“Fine. But you better still call me Baby.”

“Happy to,” he says, squatting down, his chin dipping below the surface of the water. “Here, climb on.”

“I…really want to make a joke right now.”

“About…”

“About climbing you like the sturdy tree you are and finding a nice branch to fit between my legs. In case it’s not clear, your dick is the branch.”

Joey coughs, sputtering around a mouthful of water.

“Jesus, dude. I know you’re part merman or whatever, but that doesn’t go in your lungs.”

“Yeah,” he croaks. “Got it. Ready?”

“I was born ready,” I tell him, leaning against the hands he has raised above the water. Joey gets a firm grip on the sides of my stomach, right below my life vest, and then he stands.

For a second, maybe two, I’m airborne, my arms out to my sides and an unstoppable grin on my face. Joey calls, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner!” because he’s the literal best. And then I’m splashing into the water, a shock of cold surrounding me before I bounce back to the surface.

I roll onto my back, laughing as the sun beats down on my face. Joey appears in my vision, light haloing him like an angel.

“Okay?” he checks, smile wide.

I nod, the water in my ears making everything sound odd. “Pretty sure I can die happy now.”

“Let’s maybe not do that,” Joey says, grabbing me and hauling me upright. I bump into his chest, the vest between us, water dripping down the side of Joey’s face and his hair curling in wet swoops like the waves.

There’s a stutter behind my ribcage. The briefest feeling of being airborne once more.

Joey’s lips taste faintly of salt when I kiss him, like the sea and the sun. He’s firm beneath my fingertips, and everything about him, from the already familiar feel of his mouth to the way excitement and warmth skitters down my spine at his proximity, settles me in a way so few things do.

I’d stay lip-locked with the man for the entire day if I could, but I highly doubt Joey’s mom would care to see her son making out with someone in what equates to her backyard, adult or not. So I pull back.

Joey lets out a quiet hum, his hands brushing my hair back from my face. “Question,” he says, a coy lilt to his words that I like a lot. “How do you feel about…watersports?”

I suck in a gasp. “Yesss.Can I drive the boat?”

“Absolutely not,” Joey says, letting me go and making for the ladder. “But you can be a good boy and enjoy the ride.”

“I…Hmm. You know, I’m not usually into the wholegood boything,” I point out, following after him, “but you make a rather compelling argument.”

Joey grins as he climbs the ladder, his legs flexing and his ass right there, so full and perfectly round, like the most beautiful sweet buns I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.

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