summer love / lewis redman

day 8

"So, Lewis," JJ said knowingly, and although his eyes weren't visible behind the tinted lenses of his glasses, Lewis knew his eyes were on him.

"Yeah?" Lewis asked, lifting his bottle of beer to his lips and taking a gulp.

"I think we all worked out who Lucy is," JJ laughed, the other guys joining in. Lewis tried to hold back the grin making its way to his lips, and so instead he didn't respond and took another swig of his beer, encouraging more laughter.

"Say my name again," Simon mimicked in an imitation of Lewis' voice.

"LEWIS!" Ethan screamed back in a crummy Spanish accent, making the whole boat of boys burst out laughing.

"For how much we're paying, you'd really think the walls would be thicker." Ethan guffawed, the other boys laughing along as Lewis felt his face warming further.

"Eh, you could get some for yourself instead of making fun!" He contradicted, and Ethan shrugged, holding his beer up to the idea.

"Trust me, if Emily was here I would hardly have room to make fun of you." He said cheekily.

"I didn't need that image in my head." Tobi groaned, pressing his hands over his eyes as Lewis chuckled at his reaction, although his own lips twisted up as he thought about the shy, timid girl that Ethan had managed to date for the past year. 

"Wish I'd at least seen the girl before she rushed out the door." JJ admitted, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back, his eyes scanning over the water around the boat they'd rented for the day.

"She was already quite late to work." Lewis admitted, leaning his own elbows back on the edge of the boat. "And besides, you've already met her."

"No way," Vik laughed in disbelief. "You actually got the girl from the cafe?"

The boys started whooping and hollering, and JJ shouted as he slapped him hard on the back. Lewis tried to contain his massive grin and the red tint to his cheeks, and instead of saying anything more incriminating he just finished off his beer and grabbed another one.

"What's she like?" JJ asked suggestively, all of them suddenly quiet and attentive as they awaited a response.

Lewis shrugged, cracking the bottle on the edge of the seat so they cap flew off a few feet and clattered to the floor. "She's lovely, really charismatic and cute, and she's really smart. She loves to read."

"Okay, well are you just fucking her or are you in love or something?" Tobi asked with a laugh, the rest of the boys chuckling along.

Lewis hung his head. "Oh, come off it."

"I'm serious, man." Simon spoke up, resting his elbows on his knees. "That's not exactly how you answer that question if you're just sleeping with her."

Lewis, again, didn't answer. This time he kept his mouth shut until the other boys finally started up a new conversation. In fact, he didn't say another word for the rest of the boat trip, more than a laugh or an offhanded comment or two, until they were docking as the sun started to set.

"You coming to dinner with us, or are you off to meet up with Lucy again?" Harry asked Lewis conversationally as the other guys tied up the boat and got their things together.

Lewis shrugged, stretching his arms over his head as Simon tossed the recycle in the bin and JJ Josh pulled the cooler out of the boat and onto the sand. "I don't know, I wasn't thinking about that." Lewis lied.

Harry nodded along, giving his friend the benefit of the doubt and deciding to believe him, even if he knew the boy was full of it. "Well, there's a flower stand three doors down from the cafe, for what its worth."

Lewis looked over at his best friend, pushing his sunglasses up on his head and crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe we can all go for a drink later?" Lewis suggested, patting his pockets to be sure his wallet was still there.

Harry nodded, slapping his friend reassuringly on the back. "I head ladies love daisies." He chimed in, giving Lewis a grin before shoving his shoulder. "Catch you later,"

"Bye, Harry." Lewis smiled, turning and starting to jog off through the sand until the stand came into view. He stopped for just long enough to pick the prettiest bouquet before he jogged up the block and down the alley, the bright teal door appearing in his view.

A middle-aged woman answered the door after leaving Lewis waiting for a minute, a hand towel tucked into her frilly apron around her stout figure. "Hola?" She said questioningly, looking from the white boy in front of her to the flowers in his hands.

"Hola, me llamo es Lewis." Lewis scraped together, his forehead screwing up as he tried to think of any Spanish he'd learned in school. "Erm, es la casa de Luciana?" 

The woman chuckled, her eyes wrinkling in the corners just like Lucy's. He realized he was looking her mother right in the face, and he felt his hands start to shake.

"I will work on English if you work on Spanish." She said in a thick accent, giving him a quizzical look as she opened the door and ushered him inside. "You buy my daughter flowers?"

Lewis nodded, wiping his shoes on the mat and standing frozen in the doorway, as if waiting for a green light for him to actually cross the threshold. "Luciana!" Her mother suddenly shouted, making Lewis jump slightly.

"Espera mama!" Lucy's voice called from up the stairs, and then her footsteps were hears pounding down the stairs. She rounded the flight of stairs and froze, her damp hair hanging around her shoulders and drying into the same snug curls he'd seen every day for the past week. She wore nothing but a thin white tank top, her lace bra visible under the arms and on her shoulders, and a pair of thin woven shorts.

"Lewis?" Luciana asked uncertainly, feeling confused but simultaneously nervous in the best possible way to see him in the doorway.

"Your friend is join us for dinner." Her mother said choppily, and Lucy let out a giggle as she saw the shock spread across Lewis' face.

"Oh, I just came to bring the flowers. You don't have to -" Lewis began, but Luciana's mother held up a hand, her palm facing the boy. He instantly stopped talking, diverting his eyes to see a giggling Lucy descending the last few steps.

"En espanol, por favor." Mrs. Martin requested firmly, and Lewis nodded before his forehead puzzled up again.

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she watched him focusing so hard. His eyes drifting upwards as if he could watch the gears in his own mind turn before he started to throw some words together incorrectly.

"Yo traer flores, no necesito dinero." Lewis said, his words twisting up like it was a question, not a statement.

"Money?" Lucy giggled, walking over and reaching out, gently accepting the flowers into her arms. "Dinero means money. I think you meant cena, dinner." She corrected sweetly, reaching on her toes for a vase on the top shelf, her fingers barely touching it.

Lewis stepped over swiftly, his chest barely touching her back as he went onto his own toes and grabbed the vase easily. He held it out to her, stepping back politely and offering a smile.

"No necesito cena." Lewis said, still incorrectly but at least getting the right message across.

Lucy's mother shook her head at him, waving at the counter where a huge display of food was set up. "This is far too much for three. You must eat." She commanded, and Lewis found himself turning to look at Lucy, waiting for her to decide.

"She's right." Lucy conceded with a shrug, smiling softly at Lewis. She suddenly felt timid.

Lewis nodded back, his own smile soft and uncertain. "Yeah, I'll stay then."