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He thought about it. Over a hundred people attended the Fourth of July picnic every year. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to sneak in, grab a plate, and sneak out before anyone noticed him. It wasn’t like he was unique in appearance. He wasn’t nearly the only blond-haired white boy in town. If he wore a cap low enough on his face, no one would ever know. It wasn’t exactly a master disguise, but it was more than enough for Greenbelt.
“All right, I’ll come,” he groaned. “But I’m not goin’ to stay long. Thirty minutes at most. I’ll come back and get you once it’s over, but please don’t expect me to stay the whole time. I’m gettin’ in there, gettin’ my cobbler, and gettin’ out.”
“As long as you stop by.” Her words were accepting, but the way she said them made it clear she expected him to stay longer. She was in for a rude awakening.
“And as long as you invite Aja,” she added.
“Gram…” His whine was shameless.
The look she sent him was withering, forcing him to physically draw his body back. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll invite Aja.”
July Fourth was the hottest day they’d had all summer. The sky was completely cloudless as they pulled up to the dirt-patch-turned-parking lot near the mansion. Neither he nor Gram had been able to give Aja usable directions, and according to Aja, it was impossible to locate on Google Maps. They’d picked her up instead. Gram had even gotten out when they pulled up to Aja’s place, letting her sit in the middle of the cab, right next to him.
The picnic was in full swing when they got there, but Walker knew there were still plenty more people left to arrive. They all piled out of the car, and Walker went around to the truck bed to grab the picnic chairs they’d stored back there.
Gram had very little interest in hanging out with them. After he got her situated at a table under one of the giant netted tents with some other older ladies, she essentially dismissed them. He and Aja were forced to find a spot of their own. It was ninety-two degrees, and the sun was beating down, making the only halfway appealing spot next to the huge wraparound porch. They were under a giant tree that definitely hadn’t been this big the last time he’d stepped foot on the property, and they had a clear sightline to the food tables.
It was loud. Music blaring, kids running amok, grown-ups singing and talking and dancing. The entire place was alive, and this should have lifted his spirits, but all Walker felt was agitation. When he looked at Aja, the little frown on her lips told him that she probably felt similar. He didn’t bother asking if she was OK; he figured he already knew.
“I told Gram we probably wouldn’t stay very long,” he told her. “We can leave anytime you want.”
“Only after you get your cobbler though, right?” Her tone was playful, and he wished the sunglasses she wore weren’t hiding her eyes.
“Exactly.” He licked his lips, his eyes narrowing in on the desserts table. “As soon as they put the cobblers out, we’re gone.”
“At least it’s nice out today.” She settled back in her chair, stretching out a little bit, allowing him to see more of her.
She was wearing shorts again—little white ones that hugged her wide hips and full ass perfectly. He couldn’t see what kind of panties she wore under them, but he’d sure as hell tried. In his imagination, she didn’t have anything on. It was a much better image to focus on than his memories.
She also had on a crop top that showed the flesh of her upper abdomen. Aja was, in a word, wondrous.
“What do you mean it’s a nice day?” He forced his gaze back to the desserts table, suddenly finding them much less appetizing when faced with something he knew was far sweeter. “It’s hot as hell out.”
“You could probably use a little sun.” She tilted her head back over the chair, face upwards, neck exposed. “I can practically see your hair getting lighter by the minute.”
He’d decided to forgo the cap. It was good for the sun—and a disguise—but it also made his head sweat. Once he’d known Aja was coming, the last thing he wanted was for her to watch him sweat like a pig in the South Carolina heat.
A brief moment of self-consciousness made him touch his hair, raking it back away from his face. “Hush, girl.”
“I’m serious! By the time we leave, your head is going to be all white.”
“I’ll have you know my hair has always been this same exact color.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“For real.” His head jerked up. “You know what, I can prove it to you.”
“How?”
He had multiple baby pictures in his phone he could pull out if he wanted. If he got really desperate, he could even look up Gram’s Facebook page. He didn’t have one and had requested that she not post pictures of him there, but he highly doubted she complied. Neither option felt sufficient though. They wouldn’t give him time alone with Aja, nor would they allow him a few precious minutes of air conditioner.
“There’s a picture of me as a baby inside the mansion.”
“Excuse me?” When she took her sunglasses off, her eyes were wide.
“Yep, if you go in that house right now, you’ll find a picture of baby Wally Abbott in all of his non-white-haired glory.”
Her eyes bugged out in a classically comical way. She nearly tripped getting up out of her chair.
