"I look like a tourist, don't I?"
"A little."
She shrugs oh well as she bounces to the traffic light. We're on the east side of Pacific Coast Highway. The street, and the parking lot beyond it, are all that separate us from the sand and the ocean.
Fuck, I can't remember the last time I actually went to the beach.
That I wanted to go to the beach.
But with joy pouring over Lacey's expression, I'm fucking desperate to be at the beach.
She sighs as our crossing light sign turns to walk.
"You want to head over after lunch?" I offer.
She claps her hands together. "Yes." She clears her throat. "I mean, sure. If you'll go swimming too."
I lead her into the crosswalk. "I don't swim."
"You shouldn't worry about shrinkage. I already saw you naked. And even if you did… you'd still be, ahem." Her cheeks flush as she bites her tongue. "Never mind."
"I liked where you were going."
"You want me to scream Mal has a massive cock?"
"I'd prefer a 'you' to the 'Mal,' but sure."
Her laugh spreads all the way to her fingers and toes. "Do you really need more attention?"
No. In sunglasses, jeans, and t-shirt, I'm another Orange County rich kid. I blend in to the scenery at the mall. I don't get stopped. At least, not often. It's nice, being a normal person. Being able to spend a fucking afternoon with a woman without an assault of empty praise.
"That's a no." She smiles, victorious. "Not that I can use it against you."
"Not many guys would complain about a beautiful woman screaming you have a massive cock."
"Probably." She steps onto the sidewalk. "Okay, definitely." She stops to take in the chrome-and-glass mall. "We're having lunch here?"
"Place has tacos and sushi."
"That's a weird combination."
"All fish."
She lets out a soft sigh. A wow sigh. "This is beautiful. God, I… I already said that I can't believe you live here, didn't I?"
"You did."
"Still…"
Her fingers intertwine with mine. She squeezes my hand as she leads me into the outdoor mall. She's slow about taking in the layout. The stores don't hold her attention. But the cacti planters and the view—she stops to marvel over every one.
With anyone else, the delay would annoy me, but with her…
Lacey does something to me.
I don't know how to handle it.
She pulls away from a cacti planter to wrap her arms around my waist. She looks up at me with a goofy smile. I've seen that smile—that's either that sex was amazing or you're my fucking everything.