Ao'nung and Neteyam were standing by their cars, waiting for their younger siblings. Just as Ao'nung was about to complain about how long they were taking, he spotted a very smiley Tsireya walking quickly towards him, followed by a wide-eyed Lo'ak. "Oh, Jesus," Neteyam breathed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hi, guys," Tsireya said, eyes sparkling. "Hi? What do you want," Ao'nung asked, folding his arms across his chest. "I- what?" she made an offended face. "Can I not just say hi to my favorite big brother?" Ao'nung scoffed. "No," he said bluntly, shaking his head. Her face dropped into a playful grin. "Okay, fine. Mama said that if you guys gave us a ride, Lo'ak and I could go to the beach for a few hours. Today. We just have to be on the way home by 5:30." Ao'nung was silent. His eyes flicked to Neteyam, looking for guidance. "What did my parents say?" Neteyam asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Same thing," Lo'ak answered. Neteyam narrowed his eyes. "Prove it." Lo'ak sighed, getting out his phone and showing Neteyam the screen. After a moment, Neteyam shrugged. "Okay, yeah, I'll give you a ride if you need one." Lo'ak's eyes brightened in excitement. "I'll drive you," Ao'nung addressed his sister. She beamed at him.
Reya played her music on the way. Driving to the beach was actually longer than just walking, but Ao'nung had seen too much Law and Order to let his sister walk. She was playing Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift and singing it too loud. Tsireya had a good singing voice. She was being annoying on purpose, Ao'nung could tell. She kept glancing over at him to make sure he was getting frustrated, and he was. "Can you, like, not? I'm driving you to hang out with your boyfriend. The least you could do is-" "Oh, please. You should be happy. Rotxo's with Kiri. I'm with Lo'ak. You have your boyfriend all to yourself." Ao'nung's jaw dropped into a bewildered grin. He hadn't considered that. "He's not my boyfriend." Tsireya side-eyed him. "Then Lo'ak isn't mine." Ao'nung scoffed. "You're going on a date." "It's not a date. And, you spent the night at Neteyam's house. If hanging out after school means we're together, what does that mean?" Ao'nung's face flushed. "How do you know about that?" Tsireya rolled her eyes. "Kiri tells me everything," she reminded, grinning. Ao'nung winced.
Tsireya was quietly braiding her hair for the rest of the ride. She was fidgeting. Ao'nung knew she was nervous. He thought it was sweet. He wondered if Lo'ak was equally as nervous. He probably was. The poor kid could barely breathe when Reya was around, and had been that way since the beginning. They pulled into the gravel parking lot. Tsireya let out a single scream and covered her face with her hands. Ao'nung gave her a weird look. "Sorry," she mumbled, still hiding behind her hands. "You're... good?" Ao'nung said hesitantly, not sure how to react. "Thank you for the ride," Reya whispered, reaching for her bag. "You know he's more nervous than you are, right?" Ao'nung said, putting his car in park and turning to look at her. She snorted. "I doubt it." Ao'nung looked down at his hands. "I'm serious. Lo'ak is scared of you." she gave him an alarmed look. Ao'nung grinned. "No, in a good way. He should be. It's normal. He likes you, a lot. He wants you to like him just as much." Tsireya smiled to herself. "Are you scared of Neteyam, then?" Ao'nung nodded. "Terrified. Absolutely terrified," he laughed.
Neteyam and Lo'ak pulled in beside them a few minutes later. Ao'nung saw Neteyam speaking to his brother and gesturing wildly with his hands. A wide-eyed and pale-faced Lo'ak nodded slowly, chewing his lip nervously. "See? He's scared shitless," Ao'nung laughed, pointing. "Stop it. Don't point." She swatted his hand, looking over her shoulder to see if they had noticed. "Damn, he really does look terrified," she smiled nervously, turning back to face Ao'nung. "See? Told you," he grinned. Lo'ak got out of Neteyam's car, walking over and trying to open Reya's door for her. It was locked. Lo'ak's face flushed in embarrassment. He glanced back at his brother. Ao'nung smiled as Neteyam gave him a discreet thumbs up in support. He unlocked the door, gesturing for Lo'ak to try again. "Sorry about that, bro," Ao'nung called as Tsireya stepped out of his car. "It's fine," Lo'ak answered, voice cracking slightly. Ao'nung tried to keep himself from grinning. "I'll text you when I'm on my way," Neteyam called from his rolled down window. "Mkay," Lo'ak muttered, giving him a thumbs up. "Bye!" Reya said happily, speaking to her brother but grinning up at Lo'ak. Lo'ak looked down at her as she spoke. Ao'nung saw his mind melt as he looked into her eyes. His shoulders relaxed as he smiled back at her. Neteyam scoffed. "Go on, I don't wanna see that shit," he laughed. Lo'ak rolled his eyes and let Tsireya lead him down the path to the beach.
Ao'nung pulled out his phone, texting his mom that he had dropped Reya off and was heading home now. When he looked up, Neteyam was standing outside Ao'nung's window. Ao'nung jumped in his seat, banging his knees on the steering wheel. "Shit," he whisper-shouted, blinking hard. "You're so quiet, man, I didn't even hear you." Neteyam grinned apologetically. "Sorry," he said softly. Ao'nung looked up at him. He had tied his braids back with a large clip. He had taken off his sweatshirt, Ao'nung guessed. Neteyam was now wearing a plain white tank top. This was the most of his skin Ao'nung had seen since when they went swimming at the pool, since he had realized- well, since he had realized many things about Neteyam. A thin gold chain with a looped cross hung around his neck, resting delicately against his defined collar bone. "It's fine," Ao'nung breathed, blinking and looking back up at Neteyam's face. He had a slightly amused expression on his face. Ao'nung noticed he must have changed the bandaid he had across his nose bridge on the way over here. He felt a pang of guilt splash across his chest. "I'm sorry about that," he whispered, gesturing to Neteyam's nose. He grinned. "I've told you," he laughed. "It's okay. Really." Ao'nung winced, nodding. "What are you doing with your free time?" Neteyam asked, tilting his head to the side. Ao'nung grinned. "I was gonna go surf," he said, reaching for the leg of the wetsuit that was sprawled across the floor of his truck and waving it for Neteyam to see. "Oh," Neteyam nodded, smiling. Ao'nung knew his smile was fake. His eyebrows always raised slightly when he smiled his real smile. They stayed in their spot, despite the somewhat believable grin on his lips. "What about you?" Ao'nung asked. Neteyam hesitated before speaking. "Nothing, really. I was going to ask you if you wanted to- we could do a... puzzle," he mumbled, glancing down at his hands. Ao'nung followed his line of sight and watched him twist his rings around his fingers. Neteyam noticed Ao'nung looking and shoved one hand into his pocket. He reached the other one up and scratched the back of his neck. When he lifted one arm, the hem of Neteyam's shirt lifted slightly. Ao'nung's eyes widened as a small sliver of Neteyam's abdomen shifted into view. His hips were defined by a line of muscle leading down into Neteyam's loose jeans. Ao'nung flushed, dragging his eyes back up into Neteyam's face. "A puzzle?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Neteyam pursed his lips. "When you say it like that, I realize how lame it sounds," he laughed quietly. Ao'nung blinked and shook his head. "No, I didn't mean- it's not lame," Ao'nung explained quickly. "No, it is," Neteyam grinned. "Kiri says I act like an old man sometimes. I just- they're peaceful. And I have one that's a big wave with a surfer on it. Probably someone famous, you'd probably recognize them. My dad got it for me when we moved here." He had been looking at his rings again while he spoke, tugging them up and down his joints. Ao'nung felt something warm in his chest. Normally, he wouldn't have fun doing a puzzle. Normally, there wasn't a single thing he'd rather do than spend an afternoon, alone at the beach, surfing. Normally, he would be able to think about something other than the line dipping beneath the waistband of Neteyam's jeans. But right now, there was absolutely nothing that could stop him from going to Neteyam's house and doing a puzzle with him. "I'd love to," Ao'nung nodded. Neteyam's eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked, a smile starting to tug at the corners of his lips. "Yes, really," Ao'nung grinned. Neteyam clapped once in excitement and turned, jogging over to his car. "Really?" he asked again, facing Ao'nung and pausing with his hand on the door handle. "Yes, Teyam," Ao'nung laughed, starting his truck and tossing his wetsuit into the backseat.
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