Chapter Text
Luke shivered as the cool suntan lotion was applied to his skin. As a kid, having to put on sunscreen and wait for it to soak in was the worst part of going to the beach but as a twenty-three year old adult with a gorgeous girlfriend, he loved the excuse to have Julie’s soft hands on him. He also loved any excuse to show off his body in front of the super cute lifeguard, especially after he and Julie had finally admitted their huge crush on him to each other. The lifeguard looked to be his age, with gorgeous brown hair that Luke could just imagine gliding his hand through, freckles that dotted his skin when the sun hit him in the right way, bright green eyes that sparkled from across the beach and a bright smile that made Luke's heart flutter.
“Is he looking?” Luke asked her, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.
“Stand still!” Julie yelped. She almost poked his eye with a sunscreen-covered finger. Her eyes quickly darted to the lifeguard stand, and he could practically see her cheeks growing hot. “And yes, he’s looking.”
They shared a grin as his heart fluttered and his breath tightened with excitement and want.
“Let me get your chest,” Julie announced. There was a wicked twinkle in her eye as she spun him around, and Luke couldn’t help but to steal his own glance toward the cute lifeguard as Julie rubbed sunscreen into his chest. He let out a soft moan at the touch, hoping this was working and they just didn’t look like creeps. She patted his pec. “Done!”
He made to take off into the ocean, but she grabbed his hand. A yelp escaped him as she pulled him back toward her.
“You’ve got to let it soak in, Luke,” she groaned. She must have reminded him that about a hundred times already this summer.
“Do I gotta?” He mumbled.
Rolling her eyes, Julie tugged him close, they were almost chest to chest, making him swallow nervously.
“If you don't want all the sunscreen to wash off the second you hit the water and have your pale white ass turn into a tomato, then yes,” she replied coolly, “but I know something we can do to pass the time.”
A smile played across his lips as he got her meaning, and he didn’t waste any time leaning forward to capture her in a soft kiss. Julie tasted like the mango flavored lip-gloss she put on earlier, her lips soothing and gentle against his rough chapped ones. His skin prickled as he held onto her, the feeling he was being watched creeping over him. Luke could only hope it was because the cute lifeguard was still watching them. He deepened the kiss, hoping it was a good show.
Reggie sucked in a deep breath of fresh salty ocean air as he settled into his lifeguard chair. Today was the first official day of summer, which meant the beach was packed with beachgoers. Families were claiming spots on the sand and the surfers were already out. His eyes did a quick scan of the beach as he got into place for his rotation, taking in the calm ocean conditions, the parents preparing little kids with floaties and sunscreen and groups of teenagers who would no doubt test his patience.
“Just another day at the office,” Reggie said to himself, taking a swig of his water as he did a scan of the beach crowd.
Right away his eyes found them. Julie and Luke. He’d never spoken to them, although he wanted to. He knew their names thanks to overhearing them and their friends. Julie was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, always flawless in her bikinis and beach dresses, her dark skin glowing in the sun, looking so soft and smooth as she reapplied her suntan oil. Her adorable laugh always danced across the wind right to him, making him smile. Her boyfriend shivered when she started lathering him up to, plopping on a huge glob of sunscreen right to his pale shoulders. Luke’s swim trunks were soaked and clinging to is hips, leaving little to the imagination. His mop of brown hair was plastered to his skin and neck, and Reggie could just imagine getting to lean close to him and breathe in the salty scent after he spent the day in the water. Luke leaned in to steal a kiss from his girlfriend and his heart nearly stopped as he could just imagine his own lips brushing against the guitarist’s sun-chapped lips and her smooth ones. She probably tasted like the mango lip gloss he saw her use earlier. Luke’s pale skin was slightly pink now from the sun; no amount of sunscreen Julie rubbed on him seemed to help. Reggie swallowed hard as he imagined getting to apply lotion to those thick muscles, the tight knots in Luke’s neck and getting to loosen out that tension for him.
And then, as though Reggie wasn’t taken enough by them the couple started to make out. He could feel his chest tightening and his body getting warm in a way that had nothing to do with the heat as he watched them kiss through his dark sunglasses. Julie and Luke handled each other with absolutely care, her drawing him in and capturing him in soft, sweet kisses. Him holding onto her with a strong, protective hand as he kissed back.
Stomach crawling with jealousy, he made himself look away. Julie and Luke would probably think he was a creep for crushing on them as a couple. They probably had no clue he even existed. Even as he tried to concentrate on the other beachgoers, he couldn’t help but to notice them laughing between kisses and rubbing their noses against each other and he couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t not picture getting to know them, getting to be close to them.
So, Reggie did the stupidest thing possible.
He blew his whistle.
Julie and Luke jumped away from each other, looking mortified and caught for a split second before playing it cool and turning back to their umbrella set up. Their just-kissed lips were a bit swollen, they both looked as breathless as he felt. But he was sure that they didn’t feel nearly as stupid as he felt. Thank god, at that except same moment he noticed a group of older adults trying to sneak beers from a cooler and blew the whistle even harder this time, waving pathetically at the beer group, hoping Julie and Luke would think he wasn’t even paying attention to them.
“Pull it together, Reginald,” he mumbled to himself.
Crossing his arms, Reggie let out a long breath, sat back in his chair and made himself focus on his job. It was a great job, he loved it, and being a lifeguard made him feel important. If he wanted to keep his job then he needed to focus and not crush on innocent beachgoers.
“Is he still watching?” Luke murmured between kisses.
Julie loved how excited her boyfriend was about this, for both of them, and how desperate he was for any attention from the cute lifeguard. It was so much fun seeing him fall for someone- and falling with him. But it was also pretty terrifying; it wasn't like either of them had any clue how to do this as a couple. Luke deepened the kiss once again and she sighed as she drank in his minty-fresh breath. He tasted like spearmint gum, and his arms felt safe and secure as he held onto her through the kiss. Then all of a sudden, a whistle blew and her heart stopped as they broke away.
The lifeguard was staring right at them through his sunglasses. Her boyfriend squawked as he spun away from the lifeguard quickly, pretending like he was focused on setting up their stuff. She joined him, her heart restarting and pounding away; she giggled a little at just how nervous they were. A smirk played at Julie's lips as she replied under her breath:
“Yeah, I think he was still watching.”