The Troll Whisperer by Sera Trevor

step? He decided that it wasn’t really leaving the apartment— they’d still be in the
complex. It was the same thing as meeting in the laundry room,
basically. “Okay,” he said.
     
    Noah smiled. “Great. I’ll go get my
suit.”
     
    Oscar changed into his trunks in the living
room while Noah went to his bedroom to fetch his own swimsuit. He
emerged wearing some truly dorky Hawaiian patterned trunks, but
Noah’s fantastic ass was enough to make them seem like high
fashion. He was carrying a bottle of sunscreen. “Do you need any?”
Noah asked, indicating the bottle.
     
    “Nah, I don’t burn that easy.”
     
    “Then will you do me?” he asked, holding out
the bottle.
     
    “Oh yeah. I’ll do you all night long.”
     
    Noah rolled his eyes. “Sunscreen first. Then
pool. Then we can do it.”
     
    Oscar took the bottle and squeezed some of
the lotion onto Noah’s shoulders. “All night long?” he asked
teasingly as he massaged the lotion into his skin. He kissed the
nape of his neck.
     
    Noah turned around and kissed him. “Sure, but
that would involve you staying the night.”
     
    Oscar turned away. “We got towels?” he
mumbled.
     
    Noah looked as if he wanted to say something
more but decided not to. “Yeah. In the bathroom.”
     
    They made their way out to the pool. No one
else was there. Oscar stepped into the water, keeping his arms up
as he got in. It always took him a minute to get used to the
coolness. Noah surprised him by diving gracefully into the deep
end. He swam under water until he emerged beside Oscar. Water
droplets dripped off his face.
     
    “Diving is against the rules,” Oscar pointed
out.
     
    “I know,” Noah responded. “I’m living on the
wild side now, though. Who knows what kind of crazy stunt I’ll pull
next. I might even tear some tags off pillows later.” He looked at
Oscar. “Why do you have your arms up like that?”
     
    “Just taking a minute to get
comfortable.”
     
    Noah made a noncommittal noise. He moved as
if he were going to swim away— but he abruptly turned and pounced
onto Oscar, dragging him under the water. Oscar popped back up with
a gasp.
     
    Noah popped up too, looking extremely pleased
with himself, and Oscar couldn’t help but grin. He liked naughty
Noah. He liked all versions of Noah, really. “Oh, it’s gonna be
like that, huh?” he said. He tried to grab Noah, but he slipped
away, gliding across the pool as gracefully as a dolphin. Oscar was
more of a flail-swimmer, but he caught up eventually and made
another grab. This time, Noah let him catch him. They both went
under water. Oscar opened his eyes briefly, watching Noah’s brown
hair wave above him like seaweed.
     
    They bobbed to the surface again, laughing
like they were kids. Oscar splashed him in the face. Noah responded
with an even bigger wave. They chased each other around the pool,
tackling each other with great whoops and hollers.
     
    Out of the corner of his eye, Oscar caught
the whoosh of a sensible gray pantsuit coming straight for them.
“Oscar!” Aneisha yelled. “How many times do I have to tell you it
doesn’t matter if it’s not after ten p.m., you still have to abide
by the noise rules! And what did I say about inappropriate pool
behavior?”
     
    “Oh come on, Aneisha,” he said. “That was
just that one time!”
     
    Noah moved out from behind Oscar. “I’m sorry,
ma’am,” he said, which was ridiculous because Aneisha was three
years older than them at the most. “I was the one who initiated the
horseplay.”
     
    Aneisha’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Noah?”
     
    He gave her a little wave. “We apologize. I
suppose we got out of hand.”
     
    Aneisha’s gaze darted back and forth between
them. “So you two are here together?”
     
    Oscar was loving the expression on her face.
“Yup,” he said. “Just two neighbors, having a good time.”
     
    She tried very hard to keep her face neutral,
but Aneisha had a naturally