Chapter 54

We napped a short while after that, lulled by silence between us and the gentleness of the water’s flow, like a lullaby and the rock of a cradle or someone’s uncertain arms all at once. When I awoke, I was alone in the water, alone and quite obviously erect, just from sleep.

Pushing down my hard-on, I stood, to look for Archie. About to call out, I noticed movement off to one side, behind a thicket of thin, crowded trees. Archie was there, taking care of the erection he’d apparently awoken to as well. His shorts were to the ground. His arm and hand were moving swiftly. I looked away, and only then did I notice the gift Archie had left behind, another heart, this one made of little red wild strawberries, with a word inside formed from torn, precisely placed leaves.

Love.

“Fuck,” I muttered. Then I quietly walked away.

* * * *

I was pulled from my memory when Archie stirred. “Shh.” I brushed his sweaty cheek.

“Justice?”