Page 5 of The Secret Experimentation
I hear Jordan mumbling something about his brother and TMI.
“Not even in my nightmares, manslut,” Mel huffed haughtily, patting his head in search of his sunglasses. Before I can take a step toward the patch of sand where he dropped them, Sam is already walking back with the pink heart-shaped lenses in his hand.
Mel gives him a thank-you kiss on the cheek, and I feel oddly irritated by it.
“How long are you staying?” he asks his…friend.
“Indefinitely.”
Mel replies with an exited whoop. Sam wraps his arm around Mel’s shoulders and squeezes him to his side. I find myself stroking my chest, feeling a weird, uncomfortable sensation there.
“Let me introduce you to the others. And later I’ll take you to Paws and Growls, the pet shelter where I volunteer.” Mel pulls Sam toward Pete and Daniel.
I turn around and walk toward the ocean. I feel hot and sticky and the clear water is a welcome temptation. Tossing my cap on the dry sand, I move quickly ahead and soon am surrounded by quiet, cool water. I swim for a while, relishing the exercise. When my muscles start aching, I let my body float belly-up. My eyes are closed against the strong sunlight, and I can only listen to the muffled sound of the ocean. I feel calmness engulfing me. Living near the ocean certainly has its pros. When my fingers turn pruney I’m forced to swim back to shore.
The next hour passes with Mel and Sam chatting endlessly while the others chill and at times interject into the conversation. From the way they interact and talk about past experiences they shared together, I can conclude they’ve known each other for years. They look utterly comfortable with touching one another, which makes me assume that maybe they’ve been more than friends at one point. Sam is funny in a goofy way, good-looking and smart. Still, I can’t make myself like him that much. The reason? Fuck if I know. But the more Mel focuses on his friend without throwing me even a glance, the more my mood darkens.
I’m making myself another burger when Sam approaches me. “That looks delicious.”
I give him a tilt of my head in acknowledgment while he starts making his own…the wrong way. It’s well-known that the sauce has to touch the bun and not be squashed between the lettuce and cheese.
“Russel, right?”
“Sam, right?”Do I sound huffy?
“Mellie told me a lot about you,” he states with no irritation in his voice. I lift my gaze to him.
“He talks a lot about everybody, actually. I was curious. Wanted to put a face to the name.” He shrugs and then slides his eyes up and down my body. Not ogling me, more in a studying-under-a-microscope way. “I kinda get it,” he cryptically says after a few seconds.
But when I raise a questioning eyebrow at him, he turns his attention to his horrifying burger.
“Come on, I was joking, Mel!” Kaiden’s swearing makes my head turn in his direction.
“I’ve finally decided how I’m going to kill you. I even have a plausible place to dispose of your body.” Mel is fuming. Fisted hands at his sides, his little body rigid and leaning aggressively toward Kaiden—seemingly unfazed by the tattoo artist’s bigger size. His cheeks are red and his sunglasses have slid lower on his nose, showing his big brown, fiery eyes. He’s such a spitfire.
“Cluedo style? Professor little turd. At the beach. With a hotdog.”
Mel curls his upper lip at Kaiden like a feral dog, but he waves a hand at him like he would a fly.
“Kaiden, cut it out!” Jordan mumbles from his boyfriend’s chest, where his body is splayed.
“I put my money on Mel.” Pete takes a sip from his beer, his muscled, inked pecs are tanned and glistening with sweat, his hand looks gigantic stroking Daniel’s lithe back.
Kaiden makes an incredulous sound. “Your Wiley E. Coyote genius plan has a big flaw anyway. You could never move my heavy corpse anywhere,” he taunts Mel while pushing his torso backward to give Mel’s body a derisive once-over.
“Pretty sure most of your hundreds of past hook-ups would be eager to help.”
“Hundreds. That’s right.” Kaiden puffs up his chest like a proud peacock. Never met a guy as horny as him. I’ve seen him in action a couple of times and I have to say, he’s smooth and charming when he wants to be. His long blond hair, deep green eyes, and nice smile help as well. He also has a slight bad-boy vibe, probably due to the colorful tattoos covering his torso, arms, and part of his neck.
Mel scrunches up his nose in disgust. “Why do I even bother?”
“Because you secretly get off on it.” Kaiden winks at him, earning a middle finger.
Sam is chuckling next to me. “I knew coming here was a good idea,” he says before biting into his burger. Ketchup spurts out the back of the bun, falling on the sand. I feel my eye twitch with irritation. After grabbing a napkin from the table, I hand it to him, and he mumbles a thanks, giving me a revolting glimpse of his mouth filled with chomped food.
Mel slips between Sam and me and eyes the food on the table. He’s tiny but he eats like a giant with a tapeworm.
“The hamburgers are amazing,” I tell him. And when his surprised eyes meet mine I add without thinking, “I can make you the perfect burger if you want.”What the hell am I doing? Am I having a seizure-induced dream?
