“Welp,” Dick muttered. People had started to go down the slide in the background. “Just saw a nipple.”
I bugged out my eyes as Mila asked, “What’s a mipple?”
“A—” Savannah only got out one word before Georgia shrieked in panic. “Mom! No!”
“I got this,” Claire said as she stepped in and pulled Mila from my arms. Thank fuck.
Meanwhile, satisfied that her mom wasn’t going to corrupt any more youth, Georgia had gotten a good look at the nipple offender. “Is that fucking Leslie?”
“Good thing Mila’s gone,” Cassie muttered in an aside. I looked back to see Claire and Frankie taking her for a closeup view of the slide. She dipped her little fingers into the water and pulled them out to see them glow.
“What’s Leslie doing here?” Georgia went on.
“I had to invite her,” Kline defended cautiously. “I invited the whole office.”
His wife scoffed. “Ugh. Why does it have to be Leslie? How is it even possible you haven’t fired her yet?”
Kline shrugged.
Her eyes narrowed, and she started quizzing him. “Where’s Meryl?”
Kline kept his calm like he always did, assuring her in a very diplomatic tone that he was in no way paying favoritism to Leslie of all people. “Meryl said very explicitly that I’d see her here, and I quote, over her dead body.”
All of our heads swung back and forth with their verbal volley.
Dean popped up out of nowhere. “Did you guys just see that? The witch is officially wet. I’m hoping her skanky tits will melt.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go down the slide,” I told Cass. She laughed and fluffed her tits higher with a squeeze of her arms for me. I groaned, bit my lip, and when my dick jerked in my shorts, I forced my eyes to safer locations.
“Dean,” I greeted.
“Hey, Mr. Man. Goodness, you are a tall drink of water. You wanna be my slide buddy?”
“Back off, Dean,” Cassie threatened teasingly.
“Shoot.” He turned to Kline. “How about you, BDB? You need somebody to grease your Slip’N Slide?”
“Dean!” Georgia yelled through a laugh. “He’s still your boss.”
Maureen had already flitted off to deal with something, but that was the last straw for Bob and Dick.
“I think we better go do that thing, Dick.”
“Good idea, Bob. You coming, Vanna?”
“Sure thing,” she muttered as she winked at Dean and spoke to him directly. “We’ll chat more later, sweetcheeks.”
“Kisses,” Dean agreed in dismissal.
I smiled and looked around us aimlessly, only to spot someone I knew. “Hey, it’s Clinton.”
“Clinton?” Dean asked.
“Thatch’s little brother,” Kline explained with a laugh.
“There’s a little mini-me version of you?” Dean asked with interest.
I turned to get Clint’s attention, but I heard Georgia explaining in the background. “Down, boy. It’s the Big Brothers Big Sisters program with the city. Cassie set it up for him.”
“Clint!” I called loudly to get his attention. He turned on a dime, eyes scanning the crowd. I was easier to find since I towered above almost everyone.
He waved as if to say, “Oh, hey, Thatch.” I wasn’t really sure if it was out of obligation or excitement. I wasn’t exactly used to being forced on someone by an organization. Forced on people by myself, sure.
“I’m glad you came out,” I told him as I got to him. “Looks like you’ve already made a trip down.” His skin and big white T-shirt glowed with the fluorescent water, neon green, yellow, and orange tingeing every exposed surface.
He looked down at himself and laughed. “Yeah.”
Cassie had set this up as one of her many jokes, but I had to admit I was having a blast. Helping Clint and mentoring him was one of the best things I’d ever done. I didn’t know if I was the best fucking example, but I was trying.
“How’d that math test go?”
“All right, I guess.”
“Just all right?”
He shrugged.
“Let me know when you want to get together, and we’ll go over everything again.”
“You don’t gotta do that,” he said. “You already taught it to me once.”
“I know I don’t have to,” I replied. “But I want to.”
His face seemed blank, but I knew he was actively thinking it over.
“You here with your friends?” I asked.
“Yep.”
They stood behind him, watching us with interest. I stuck out my fist for a pound. “Okay, man. I’ll let you get back to it.”
He nodded and turned to leave, but after a brief pause, turned back. “Thanks, Thatch.”
I smiled wide enough that I knew my teeth had to be glowing like Ross’s in that “The One with Ross’s Teeth” episode of Friends. “Yeah, man. No problem. See you soon.”
This time, I turned to go so he wouldn’t have to. Cassie stood watching me while Phil tangled the leash around her legs. She shook her head and winked when I blew her a kiss.
“Where’s Will? I need more man meat,” Dean pouted as I returned to the group and wrapped an arm around Cass’s shoulder.