Half Baked
Chapter 29
Oliver tied the ancient gel jump rope into a tight knot around his inner tube, grunting as he did so. Arthur watched as he held his own inner tube which Oliver had already tied with the gel rope. Oliver hissed with annoyance as he adjusted the sun hat he wore before letting out a sigh.
"Finished."
Arthur stared at the gel rope that kept their inner tubes attached. "Is this good enough?"
Oliver stared at the gel rope. He tugged on it. "Mm." He yanked on it, and he nodded, satisfied. "Yes. This will do. If we get lost, we'll have each other."
"You're sure leaving our phones in the lake house was a wise decision?"
"Have you locked yours?"
Arthur frowned and nodded.
"Then it was a wise decision."
Arthur grunted, displeased. "What about leaving Al and Alfred alone in the lake house? Have you thought that part through?"
"Bah." Oliver waved a hand before beginning to spread sunscreen over every visible area on his body. "They're like territorial cats. They might hiss and spit at each other, but they're very social. They'll end up liking each other."
"Al and Alfred will end up liking each other?"
"… Sure. Yes. Perhaps." Oliver gave Arthur a smile and passed the container of sunscreen to him. "They certainly can't beat each other up."
"Yes, they can."
"They won't. Don't be silly." Oliver watched as Arthur lazily coated an arm with sunscreen. He sighed softly and took the sunscreen before squirting some on his hands and vigorously covering Arthur's other arm. Oliver's inner tube dragged against his ankle over the dirt-orange sand. "Seriously, Arthur. I know that Al beating up Alfred might've worried you, but I need you to trust me on this. Al won't throw a punch unless someone really deserves it."
"But—"
"—Ah, ah. It's fine. Like I said. They'll hiss and spit at each other. They'll put on big bravados. The only difference is…" Oliver gripped Arthur's shoulder and turned him ever so slightly to meet his cloudy green eyes. "They both care much more about you than they do about their stupid pride."
A pleasant, calm warmth dusted Arthur's cheeks.
That is, before Oliver spread some cool sunscreen over Arthur's face.
"Besides. Today is a day for relaxing. Yesterday was far too charged."
Arthur hummed in agreement. He stood still, arms slightly away from his sides. The sunscreen had to dry before he felt comfortable lazing about in an inner tube. "I'm just going to be wearing a shirt anyway," he murmured.
"Well, yes, but sunburns are the devil."
"You've picked up a sunscreen that's 100 SPF."
"I've battled the devil, Arthur."
Arthur held back a snicker. "Isn't your hat doing enough?"
Oliver set the sunscreen down in the dirt-sand. "It's working, it's working."
"And the top?"
"Are you going to ridicule my bathing suit top? Nipple sunburns are the worst, and I've brought a limited amount of shirts." Oliver lifted his hat, pulled down his sunglasses, and settled his hat again. He was nearly fully protected from the lake. "…Flipper."
Arthur picked up his inner tube, but paused. "The dolphin?"
"No. The clean curse."
Arthur's lips pulled into a half smile before he set the inner tubes down on the wet sand. "What about it?"
Oliver's eyes darted around the area. Sunscreen. Sun hat. Sunglasses. Bathing suit. Inner tube. Ancient gel jump rope. Dirt. Sand. Rocks. Sand. Grass. Awful lake water. Decrepit dock. Bug-infested surroundings. "Where's my shoes? The protect-your-feet-from-glass shoes."
"You think there's glass in the lake?"
"I know there's glass in lakes. You know idiot teenagers throw their broken bottles into lakes to dispose of the evidence."
Arthur looked to the opaque lake water. And then to Oliver. And then to Oliver's sneer at nature. He hooked an arm around their tied-together inner tubes. "Perhaps we should do this in the pool."
Oliver's eyes lit up, and he pulled off his sunglasses. "There's a pool? A nice, clean, cool pool? Manmade?"
"Yes. There's one on the deck." Arthur hooked his other arm around Oliver's inner tube. "You take the sunscreen and anything else. I'll carry these."
Oliver bit his bottom lip in thought and then in dread. "No. Go ahead and drop them. I'll risk injury." He stepped over to the water's edge before looking to Arthur. "Let the cats hiss and spit. We need relaxation." His voice fell into a self-spiteful mutter, "god-awful pure nature relaxation, but relaxation nonetheless." Oliver took a step in the water and shuddered. "It's…very…slimy."
"There's fish in it."
"Yes, Arthur, remind me about the fish."
Arthur's lips tugged into an amused smile as he waded into the water. He stopped when the water was pooling around his knees. "I'll help you in yours. I can get in mine on my own."
Oliver let out a whine as he stepped further into the water. "It's so stagnant…"
"Don't worry about it. Soon you'll be in your tube. Only a little bit of you is going to get wet, okay?" Arthur held Oliver's tube steady, watching him. "Alright, it's going to want to slide out from under you, so…" He positioned it just behind Oliver. "You're going to fall back into it, okay? If you try to sit, it'll slide."
Oliver sighed and gave Arthur a nod. "Fine." He looked back at the tube before facing forward. "It's steady?"
"It's steady. Fall back."
Oliver reached back as he allowed himself to fall backwards—directly into the water. He let out a short-lived shriek as the water engulfed him to his shoulders. He sat up, frozen in the water and staring straight ahead as Arthur laughed.
"I'm sorry, Oliver—" He spoke between gasps of air, "—I couldn't resist! Sorry—"
Oliver met Arthur's gleeful eyes with a pointed frown before he tossed his wet sun hat onto the sand.
"Ehe… Oliver? I said I was sorry," Arthur's voice and merriment shied down to a whisper and hesitancy.
Oliver's lips quirked into a smile before he grabbed Arthur's leg, yanking him down into the water with him. Arthur let out a yelp and sent a wave of water at Oliver.
Oliver sat. Wet.
Arthur sat up and watched Oliver for a moment, unsure of where they stood.
"I heard you," Oliver hummed. "Apology accepted." He stood and pulled Arthur up with him. "Besides. It feels much cooler now. Much better. That shirt'll be very comfortable for you. The sunscreen's ruined, but the day isn't that sunny." He eased himself down into his inner tube.
"I thought sunburns were the devil," Arthur murmured.
"Wasting time's the devil, too." Oliver patted Arthur's inner tube.
Arthur's tenseness disappeared, and he slipped down onto his tube, stomach down and head supported with crossed arms. His eyes slipped closed as the tubes drifted slowly. Oliver's hands sunk beneath the water and his toes dipped in every so often. Oliver watched the clouds, not wasting a single shred of energy to express excitement. Arthur's legs dragged over the submerged sand and hung in the water when it got deep enough. His mind edged between consciousness and sleep.
Boats and jet skis purred in the distance.
Oliver inhaled and then sighed softly. "Arthur."
"Mm?"
"What are you doing?"
Arthur's eyes peered open at the water a foot away from his face. "Resting. Enjoying space."
"He suffocates you?"
Arthur's head fell to the side, and he watched Oliver. "Yes. I've had to confiscate all his pillows."
Oliver sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. He watched Arthur through his pink-tinted sun glasses. "I'd rather you not joke about it."
"I'd rather you not bring it up."
Oliver's index finger rubbed circles into his knee. "You'd rather—" Oliver let out a sigh, "—be happy with Alfred." When Arthur didn't speak, Oliver tensed with a slight realization. "That's right, right? I've just been misunderstanding it all, and you do like Alfred, and you do intend to be happy with him. Right?"
Arthur's eyes fell down to the water again, and they slipped closed. "I'd rather Alfred be happy," he murmured. Arthur felt Oliver's cool hand rest against his burning back like an ice cube resting against a flame.
As the silence dragged on, Oliver began to gently drag his hand along Arthur's back in some form of comfort. The jet skis' and boats' purrs began to bear down on Oliver's ears despite how far away they were.
Oliver's question burned in his mind and wished to leap from Oliver's lips. Oliver held back his curiosity as much as he possibly could before he couldn't bear it any longer. "He won't be happy with you?"
Arthur whispered a, "no," far too fast for Oliver's comfort.
"…Why not?"
Arthur remained silent.
Oliver tensed, and his brows furrowed together with worry. "Arthur, why won't he be happy with you?"
"You said you worked at a bakery with Al, right?" Arthur spoke louder than necessary.
Honestly, it jarred Oliver just a little. "Well… Yes, but we can talk about it later. This is more imp—"
"What's he like to bake with?"
"…Arthur?"
Arthur remained lying on his stomach, eyes closed and legs lingering in the water. "Unless he doesn't bake. I thought he did. Doesn't everyone who works in a bakery bake? Is it a specialty place?"
"Arthur."
"I was thinking of asking Alfred to get groceries so we could all bake something together." Arthur's fingers dipped into the water. "You and Al could be the co-managers. Alfred and I can handle other things. Let's bake something. What should we bake?" Arthur looked to Oliver, daring him to dig further into his sensitive, one-sided conversation.
Oliver watched Arthur, disappointed and worried. "…We'd need to look around the lake house kitchen first to make sure we've got all the right tools. Then we can make something."
"Let's go back."
"We're still very close to the dock." Oliver's tone of voice was gentle—like a mother's or like someone who was trying to calm a skittish kitten. "You could probably stand if you tried."
The tone made Arthur sick to his stomach, but he shifted nonetheless. Arthur rolled off his inner tube before poking out the center and gripping the tube for support. "The shore's close. If we both kick, we'll get there faster."
Oliver frowned softly, but he managed to drop his lower body through the tube's hole and kick with Arthur to shore.
