Barcode Boy

After Hours VIII: Sandals

He was wearing sandals.

After getting consistent splinters from wandering the neighborhood barefoot once the temperature went over sixty degrees, the blond came home to a pair on his bed, gifted by his mom.

Surprisingly enough, Carter was less likely to watch where he was going, despite his timidness and attention to detail. I found it hilarious, but I tried not to say anything.

We were only sitting on the porch, so he had no reason to wear them, yet he feared his mom coming home from work and calling him out.

We still had a few weeks until summer officially started, and so did various summer camps. Still, the weather was nice enough that you wouldn't have to take a cold shower just from standing on the lawn for a few minutes. But even though the days were still getting longer, and we had only been out of school for a day, I could still see Carter's farmer tan forming.

At first, I thought he was just the regular amount of flushed until he pulled off his T-shirt, revealing his undershirt and a bit of his stomach as he got stuck in his clothes for a few seconds. We glanced at each other, and he laughed softly, scrunching up his nose a bit before we returned to sitting in silence.

Sometimes I felt like he needed a parasol so he wouldn't get burned after five minutes in the sun, like now. I knew his cheeks weren't just red from embarrassment, but given that this had happened every summer since we had met, I could tell he was used to it. And frankly, so was I.

It was cute.

I stared at my lap, fiddling with my jean-shorts to check if I had a tan yet. Despite all the freckles on my face, I didn't gain anymore in the sun, or at least in new areas. It was always my cheeks and shoulders.

I quickly got bored of examining myself and turned my attention back to the blond, who continued watching cars pass, despite how peaceful our road was. Though, if I looked closely, I could see the colors of various vehicles reflect in his eyes. Mixed with their teal hue, it almost resembled a galaxy.

I could stare at him for hours, but I didn't want to weird him out and instead chose to focus on those janky sandals again.

"You're gonna end up with a really weird tan because of those," I finally said after at least an hour of silence.

He glanced at me, confused, and then saw me gesture toward the shoes.

"I've at least seen you wear flip-flops at the pool and crap," I snickered. "Jesus sandals, on the other hand..."

The blond smiled at me and fiddled with the straps. "Shut up, I'm in the shade. It'll be fine for now."

"Only your left foot is in the shade!" I laughed and nudged him while he rolled his eyes. "You'll end up lop-sided! Why are you even wearing those?"

"My mom told me to, duh."

"Yeah, well, your mom's not here, is she?"

We smirked at each other, and in seconds, he was barefoot like me as we sat between the two enormous bushes that guarded his porch. We had been there for ages.

I woke up around eight, my body still on my school routine. Or more specifically, my earlier alarms awoke me, and I couldn't go back to sleep. My mom had already left for work, as did Carter's parents, and Lloyd was still in school until the end of the week.

After raiding the kitchen for everything besides breakfast food, I went outside to skate, and that's when I found Carter.

He waved at me, and we spoke a few short phrases before I joined him, and we enjoyed the morning ambiance.