Toasted Marshmallows (A Sweetly Novella)

3 | Sunscreen

It was officially time to execute my plan.

I took off my cover-up, revealing my new two-piece swimsuit. Without regarding Ian in the slightest, I sat down and started rubbing on the regular sunscreen. When I did look over at him, I couldn't tell if he was staring. He was slack-jawed and unmoving, even with his head not aimed directly at me.

I had mixed feelings about those damn sunglasses because he looked hot in them, but it was pissing me off that I couldn't see his reaction.

Behind us, Reyna asked Wesley, "Can you put some on my back, please?"

Ian's Overprotective Mode was triggered and our flirtations were forgotten. He tried to roll to the other side of the lounge chair instead of doing the smart thing by standing up. The chair flipped over under his weight, causing him to fall onto the concrete and the chair to land on top of him. He shoved it off and stumbled to his feet.

Huffing and puffing from his harrowing battle with the chair, he pointed a threatening finger at the two of them. "There will be none of that here!"

Wesley, who already had the lotion on his hands, stared blandly at Ian like he didn't care about his girlfriend's crazy brother and was going to do it anyway. Reyna was irritated enough for both of them. She signaled for me to help her.

"Ian," I called out playfully. "Can you put some on my back? I can't reach."

Ian's head turned to me after a moment. His sunglasses had fallen off when he fought with the chair, so I could see the stunned, slow blink. Swallowing, he glanced from me to them and back again, a war—as ridiculous as the one with the lounge chair—was going on in his head.

I fluttered my lashes and gave him my best coquettish smile, "Please?"

With a very pained expression and a few forced steps closer to me, Ian reluctantly conceded came back over to me.

"I'm watching your hands, four-eyed casanova!" He warned Wesley without turning around. "I've got eyes here," he waved his hand around the back of his head. "Four of them!"

I tried not to laugh as I looked past Ian to Wesley, who scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I saw that, Black!" Ian snapped as he placed the lounge chair back into its original upright position.

Wesley and Reyna jolted at his declaration. I was surprised Ian didn't feel the stabbing sensation from the daggers their glares were throwing his way. I turned to face the pool and moved forward to make room for Ian to sit behind me. Then I felt the chair dip a little as he sat down.

"Eyes on the side of my head too," he announced while they were probably ignoring him. "I'm like a jumping spider. A 360 view of my prey at all times!"

"Shut up, Ian." I tossed the lotion over my shoulder to him. "They're not gonna do anything with children around."

I smirked when he choked on his own spit.

When he recovered, he muttered closely to my ear, "Careful, Ferret. I might miss a couple of spots."

The way his breath tickled that sensitive area below my ear was ruined by the irritated pout I could hear in his voice. He also sounded distracted, like he was still watching them and not focusing on me.

With a frustrated sigh, I swept my hair up and twisted it into a bun so sunscreen wouldn't get in it. Straightening my posture, I waited for him to put the lotion on. It seemed to take him a minute or two, but that may have been my own impatience to get to the next phase of my plan.

I never liked the feel of sunscreen, but it was better than the alternative of burning. The worst part of it was the initial application, but once it was all rubbed in, I didn't mind it so much.