“Hey babe, walk slower would you?”
Brandon stops on the stairs to turn and look at me. “What? Why?”
I catch up to him and smack his ass with my hand. “That’s why.”
“Ack! Michael! That was very childish of you.”
“It was. But I love your butt. Been wanting to do that all day.”
“You can always ask you know.” Brandon says.
“Yeah but, that’s not fun. Urge to appreciate boyfriend’s booty is a spontaneous thing. Most of the time I can handle myself. But watching you walk up the stairs to the boardwalk is too much. Your thighs too man, ngh.”
Brandon shakes his head at me. “You are a thirsty boy.”
“I am,” I sigh. “You drive me absolutely wild. You’re beautiful and independent and sexy and clever and considerate…. I think I’m like balls deep in the honeymoon phase of dating you. I hope it never ends.” Even under the mask and sunglasses, I can tell he’s blushing.
Brandon steps onto the stair landing with me. He removes his mask, lifts up mine, and kisses me. “Listen,” he stammers, “I’m not used to conveying my emotions as words, but like, that makes me happy to hear, ok?” He takes my hand. “Let’s go get boba ok?”
I take his hand. I feel a bit bad for making him all flustered. I make a note not to power-bomb with love too much. Brandon communicates by action, and I need to learn to read those actions. I squeeze his hand back. “Boba it is. We’re gonna splurge too. Get all the add ons and the specialty flavors in biggest size.”
“I’ve always wanted to do that!”
I smile. “Now’s the time.”
“Hey Michael?”
“Hm?”
“My butt feels uneven, cause you only smacked it on one side. You’re gonna have to even it out if we’re gonna make it to boba.”
I trip over an uneven board as my heart soars. I can feel him trying to return my love. It feels like a break-through in learning to understand fluent Brandon. “I uh – yeah, I will absolutely do that for you babe.”
We pause so I can deliver a proper smack to Brandon’s other cheek. We get some weird looks, but I don’t care. His ass is both soft and firm and makes the most delightful sound upon contact. "Better, Brandon?”
“Much better. Hm, do I want the caramel mocha boba or do I want to do fruit tea this time…”
I take his hand again and we stroll off to the shops.
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Captions are fictional.