Summer Vibes

Armando's mornings always start with a cup of coffee or tea, to perk him up. He's used to getting up early in the morning, it helps him with discipline, and he can do more tasks during the day. But his boyfriend didn't like that — he slept only until lunch, it was rare to see him up in the morning, and if you try to wake him up — well, good luck. That's why the man usually spends his mornings alone. It's not that he doesn't like it, he could do some things without any external distractions… Closer to midday, the so-called early bird, his sparrow, who got his nickname because of his specific hairstyle, finally wakes up and, with sleepy eyes, comes to the kitchen, intending to steal something into bed. — «How come you're not awake yet, little sparrow?» — Salazar calls, laughing. — «What are you having for breakfast? Or are we going to lunch?» — «M-m-h», — is all Jack answers, and, coming closer, he falls on the man, continuing to snore. The Spaniard just puts his hand on his head, making it more comfortable. After some time, Jack finally had breakfast, tidied up his hair (although the chaos on it that he calls an «order»...), and was now sitting next to Salazar, who had found something to do at the computer. — «Did you want something?» — the man asks, looking at how Jack has settled into the chair: he climbed in not like everyone else, but with his face to the back, kneeling. — «Let's go to the beach?» — sparrow asks innocently. Armando looks at the clock at the bottom of the screen, looks at Jack again, then clasps his hands. — «Ahem, you slept through the time to go to the beach.» — «Why!?» — the boy immediately howls. — «Because it's already half past one, the hottest part of the day is starting.» — «By the time we get there it will be evening already!» He glances at the young man again. — «We're not going to the store, so you are prepared already. So we'll come to the thick of it.» He sees Jack get off his chair, come up behind him, and start begging. — «Why, why, why!» Then he puts his hands on the man's shoulders and starts shaking them. — «Let's go, please, please!» After a minute of shaking, it's time to look at the results, and Jack freezes, looking into his eyes. — «Well, you're not that little for this to work» — a measured voice answers. — «Tsk» — Jack clicks his tongue, returning to his chair. — «Why don't you want to?» — «Right now...» — «So what!? You're Spanish! It's time to get used to the heat», — the boy says offendedly. They sit in silence for a minute, occasionally exchanging glances. Finally, Armando sighs. — «You'll get a sunburn...» — he says quietly. — «Me? Have you seen my skin? You're the one who'll burn, although no, you have a bigger ointment collection than a drugstore.» — «I'm serious, Jack. Do you want to spend a week recovering afterwards?» — «And if so?» The man sighs again, rests his chin on his hand, and looks Jack in the eyes. — «Well... Get ready then...» — «Yoo-hoo, thank you, thank you, thank you!» — he shouts, throwing himself at Salazar for a hug, then running into the other room. And five seconds later he returns with a bag in his hands. — «I'm ready», — he says in a cheerful voice. — «Oh, of course, that was worth expecting. Wait then.»

***

They get to the beach quickly, choosing the least crowded of them. They once managed to buy an umbrella, and now they don’t have to worry about whether there will be shade on the beach to hide under. Jack, having just seen the sea, is ready to dive into it fully clothed, but still chooses a corner of the sand where he throws off his clothes, leaving Armando to unpack his things alone. — «You’ll do that later, let’s go now!» — the boy shouts after him. But Armando can't just throw his belongings and go. He opens the umbrella, covers the blanket on the sand, settling down on it: he doesn't like swimming. Well, he was born near the sea, so what now, swim all year round? Although, little sparrow will drag him anyway. And tomorrow he'll complain about his sunburned body... His choice, he tried to stop him in the first days, but it didn't work, so he stopped trying. For a good half hour sparrow splashes in the waves and doesn't think about taking a break, on the contrary, he tumbles around as best he can. The Spaniard can only watch him from afar. An hour later he finally comes, and then, probably, only out of politeness, and not because he's tired. — «Let's go, the water is warm»! — he begins his song. — «There aren't even any waves there now, it's all for you.» — «You know, I'm not a fan of this kind of vacation», — he answers measuredly. The man takes the ointment out of his bag, moves closer to sparrow, intending to smear it on his back at least now. He obediently doesn't twitch, silently waits. — «Turn around.» And he turns around, his face still saying «don’t put it on, I don’t need it,» but after a while he no longer resists. In a light breeze they sit under an umbrella, on a blanket to hide their feet from the hot sand, which sometimes you can’t walk on without shoes, it was so hot. When Jack feels that the water has evaporated from his body, he gets up and pulls Salazar by the hand. — «Let's go, let's go, it's not for nothing that you came here», — he says, smiling. — «Are you still thinking about taking me into the water?» — «There are small waves there today, can you imagine how boring it is?! Just right for you!» He laughs, and Armando stands up, realizing that today he will be washing his hair from salt water. They have no toys, and the only game will be «splash your partner». Okay, that’s also a good time. When his whole body is lowered into the water, he understands why his sparrow is so drawn here: the warm water pleasantly envelops the body, the sound of the waves is calming, and there is also a feeling as if you are flying… And in this soaring he finds pleasure, apparently associating himself with a free bird, which is why he so easily agreed to the nickname of a sparrow. The second time he manages to pull him out of the water early, the sun is still scorching, even if he can endure it, however the price may be high. — «Don't you want to throw the ball?» — You made a mistake in choosing a partner, I'm already old.» — «What’s old, you're not even forty! You like to age yourself», - Jack snorts. Salazar settles down on the blanket, away from his things so as not to splash them with water dripping from his hair, sees Jack rummaging through his bag and moves away. He approaches from behind, from where the food stalls are. — «Corn?» — he offers with a smile, holding out a hot head of cabbage. — «Thanks.» Jack settles down on the spread out place nearby, starting to crunch on his catch. Before he starts eating, the guy hands him two small packets of salt, already planning a third go.