Page 29 of Flights and Sights

Charlie clapped Cal on the shoulder. “How about we mix it up and give this one a shot?” After Callum nodded, Charlie turned to Henry. “Is that okay with you buddy? You can hang out with Paxton and rest up for the tug of war and the water balloon war.”

Henry grinned and gave a thumbs-up, so the two of us stood near the finish line and watched as sponges were handed out and buckets were filled. The task was to transfer water from one bucket to a second, sprinting between the two and using only sponges to move the water.

Charlie and Callum took their places. Each team had one sponge and whoever had the most water in the second bucket at the end was the winner. Once Lynn rang the bell, the first runner for each pair took off. I watched as Charlie ran across the yard, emptied his sponge into the second bucket, and returned to Callum with the wrung-out sponge. Henry and I stood on the sidelines, cheering and whooping to encourage them.

Callum moved quickly, the second Charlie returned the sponge to him, dunking it and taking off. Just as he made it to the far end and the second bucket, he slipped, going down hard. My stomach lurched and I couldn’t stop myself from sprinting to be at his side.

He groaned and sat up gingerly as I reached him, Charlie coming up right behind me. “Hey,” I murmured. “Are you okay?”

Cal closed his eyes briefly and took a slow breath. “I think I turned my ankle.”

“Can you move it? Is it broken?” My heart raced as I asked the questions.

Gingerly, he attempted to move his right ankle, wincing and hissing in pain as he did. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it hurts like a bitch.”

“Here.” I put his arm around my shoulder and nodded at Charlie to do the same. Together, we hoisted Cal up. He kept his right foot from touching the ground, knee bent, and groaned again.

“Shit, that hurts.”

“Where can we go to sit down?” I asked.

Charlie nodded toward the deck, where picnic tables were set up, and the two of us helped Cal hobble over to a table and get settled. He groaned again as he took a seat and propped his leg up on the bench.

“Fuck, that hurts.”

“I’m going to get you some ice,” I said.

Charlie shook his head. “Stay here. You don’t know where anything is. I’ll get an ice pack. You just keep him company.”

While we waited, Henry came running over. “Are you hurt?”

Cal grimaced and nodded, his voice tight when he spoke. “A little bit.”

“Hey, Henry, why don’t you go watch the rest of the games and represent for Sweet Victory? Charlie will come hang out with you in a few minutes, okay?” When I looked around, I saw Callum’s dad and a couple of other men hauling out laundry baskets full of water balloons. “Looks like the water balloon war is about to start anyway. You don’t want to miss that.”

“Okay,” he said, and hurried off to gather with the other kids.

By the time Henry had run off, Charlie was back with an ice pack wrapped in a towel. He passed it to me and put a hand on Cal’s shoulder. “Going to be okay here?”

As Cal nodded, I carefully arranged the ice pack on the offending ankle, leaving one hand on his shin and absently stroking his skin with my thumb. “That good?”

He looked at me gratefully, a small smile on his face. “Perfect.”

Chapter 14 - Callum

Heat flooded through my body as Pax doted on me, making sure my ankle was elevated and iced, and caressing my leg. I couldn’t help but shift a little as my cock responded to the touch and proximity, desire roaring through my veins.

I glanced up at Paxton to find him watching me, eyes dark, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. A moment later, he glanced away, his cheeks growing pink.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

I shifted again, mind racing. “It’s hot out here. Do you think you could help me get inside? I’d love to recline a little.”

He nodded, brow furrowing. “Of course.” The next thing I knew, he was hauling me to my feet, ice pack and towel in his opposite hand. “Come on.” Together we made our way inside. “Where to?”

I nodded in the direction of my bedroom. “This way.” A minute later, we’d made our way down the hall and Pax pushed open the door to my room. I groaned as I settled onto the queen-sized bed, gritting my teeth against the pain in my ankle.

Once I was arranged, foot up and iced again, pillows tucked behind me so I could sit comfortably, Pax sat at my side, looking at me so tenderly it made my heart constrict.