Ch.128Pink Lipstick!

#128

The end of May in Nevada was sweltering hot from the morning.

Dexter, dressed in a thin t-shirt and jeans, was waiting outside Himena’s condo.

‘By July, it gets even hotter than this, right?’

Just as Dexter was sticking his tongue out from the Las Vegas heat, a window opened and Renata, the housekeeper working at Himena’s place, poked her head out.

“…Hello?”

When Dexter greeted her while creating shade over his eyes with his hand, Renata shouted loudly.

“¿Por qué estás esperando afuera? ¡Entra rápido!”

“Excuse me?”

As Dexter, who couldn’t understand Spanish, looked confused, Renata clicked her tongue once and said in English.

“Hot outside! Come inside!”

“Wait, you can speak English but you’re deliberately using Spanish?”

Soon the condo door opened, and as Renata gestured for him to come in quickly, Dexter entered the condo.

‘As expected of a nice place, it’s quite comfortable in here.’

The price difference between Dexter’s house in Honeygood Springs and Himena’s condo in Green Valley Ranch was more than double.

‘Even though I wasn’t desperate for money, maybe I should have squeezed more out of OSA.’

That thought was quickly followed by the realization that the money Eliya was handling was much more than what OSA was dealing with.

‘Well, if I really needed money, I would have just become an official agent at OSA.’

Rather than working for OSA for money and honor, he preferred his current life, working at an ordinary prison without much trouble.

Following Renata’s guidance into the condo, Dexter was now enjoying a glass of lemonade made from freshly squeezed lemons.

“Renata, where are my clothes? I’m sure I hung them on the chair… Oh?”

Himena emerged from her room wearing only an oversized short-sleeved t-shirt that covered her bottom.

“Is that your pajamas? Looks really comfortable.”

“……”

As soon as Himena saw Dexter, she stopped talking, then backed up into her room and closed the door.

“Hmm.”

A natural reaction when your date is unexpectedly inside your home while you’re unprepared.

Dexter understood this perfectly well, so he took another sip of lemonade without much reaction.

Soon, the closed door opened again, and Himena poked her head out and said:

“Sorry, but could you wait about 10 minutes…?”

Seeing this, Dexter chuckled and replied:

“Sure, no problem.”

“¡No puedes salir con esa ropa!”

“You should have told me Dexter was here! If I had known, I wouldn’t have come out like this!”

“¡Ponte la ropa!”

“I’m asking where my clothes are!”

Dexter chuckled again as he watched Renata and Himena argue.

Not long after, Himena emerged from her room wearing a loose white sleeveless blouse and denim shorts.

“That looks cool.”

“Right?”

With a rattan bag over her shoulder that added to her cool appearance, Himena linked her arm with Dexter’s and said:

“Let’s go now.”

When Dexter went down from the condo, a white Stingray was basking in Nevada’s scorching sunlight.

Today, instead of Dexter’s red pickup truck, they were planning to drive around in Jesse’s Stingray.

“You said this was the car Jesse received as a gift, right?”

“Yes. Jesse really loves this kind of car.”

“What about me?”

“Pardon?”

“What gift did you prepare for me?”

At Himena’s question, Dexter just smiled.

“Something with heart rather than something material.”

“Something with heart?”

Just as Jesse had given Himena a “Dexter for a day” pass, Dexter also had something heartfelt to give to Himena.

‘When I requested it, they looked at me like I was crazy.’

With a bitter smile, Dexter got into the Stingray with Himena and headed for Lake Mead.

“What are we going to do at Lake Mead?”

“When you and I meet, what else would we do but relax properly?”

“Relax at the lake?”

Himena tilted her head, wondering if they were just going to lie down by the lakeside.

‘Even if I ask what we’re doing at the lake, he’ll just tease me without answering.’

After spending several months with Dexter, she could anticipate his thoughts one step ahead.

After passing through Henderson, a small city near Las Vegas, Dexter and Himena soon arrived at Lake Mead, a lake created thanks to the Hoover Dam.

Lake Mead, one of the few lakes in Nevada, gave the impression of being the only oasis in the middle of a wasteland, unlike typical lakeshores.

But Dexter hadn’t come just to see Lake Mead.

The place they arrived at was a small bay in Lake Mead filled with moored boats.

While there were other scenic spots like the Hoover Dam or other bays, the reason they specifically came to the boat dock was obvious.

“Are we going boating?”

“Not just boating.”

After parking in a suitable spot, Dexter got out of the car first and approached a middle-aged man waiting in front of the dock.

Dexter exchanged a few words with the man, then smiled and beckoned to Himena.

Following the middle-aged man, they arrived at a pontoon boat large enough for several people to enjoy a picnic.

Inside the pontoon boat were already prepared barbecue grills, a couple of large ice boxes, a peculiar wooden box, and summer decorations with a strong Polynesian vibe.

“When we talked before, didn’t you say that you couldn’t properly enjoy your summer vacation last year and probably this year too?”

“You prepared all this because of that? Really?”

Himena’s eyes widened.

“Since you won’t have many opportunities to monopolize my time like today, I thought you should enjoy today like a summer vacation.”

Dexter had set up a small summer resort on the pontoon boat for Himena, who was swamped with work every day.

“Just sit down. Today, all you need to do is sit back and be treated.”

“I’ve never received something like this before… Wait, who’s going to drive the boat?”

“I’ll drive it.”

“…You know how to drive a boat?”

“It’s easy. It’s nothing compared to driving a spaceship.”

Himena sat in a shaded spot, and Dexter, taking the driver’s seat, put on the sunglasses tucked in his shirt and said:

“Shall we go, madam?”

“Ugh. That’s so cheesy.”

But secretly pleased, Himena pointed to the peculiar wooden box on the table and asked:

“What’s this?”

“You’ll know when you open it.”

When Himena opened the box, there was an electronic turntable with several LP records inside.

“Dexter’s choices are always interesting.”

“After being in space for so long, I’ve come to prefer old things over high-tech ones. Especially for the nostalgia.”

Himena agreed with that sentiment.

“I should take pictures to show off.”

“To post on social media?”

“Mmm, partly that? It’s the first time I’ve received a birthday celebration like this.”

Himena smiled brightly.

“Let’s start properly when we reach the middle of the lake.”

Dexter seemed experienced, handling the boat skillfully.

Himena enjoyed the feeling of the bright sunlight and the moist breeze from the lake hitting her face, which seemed to match the Polynesian atmosphere inside the boat.

“It reminds me a bit of when I was young.”

“When you were young?”

“My father once rented an entire passenger ship for my birthday party. Of course, there were more of my father’s friends than mine, so it wasn’t that fun.”

“The wealthy really are different.”

With those words, Dexter vaguely remembered the birthday party he had in a nearby park when he lived in Boston.

‘That was fun.’

“I’ve been to the sea several times, but it was my first time on a passenger ship. I feel a bit of that excitement now.”

“This boat is nowhere near the size of a passenger ship, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Dexter grinned as he steered the boat toward the center of Lake Mead.

Soon, as the boat reached the middle of the lake, Dexter put charcoal in the grill and lit it while placing the turntable on the table.

Next, he took out champagne and a slice of cake from the ice box and set them on the table.

“Dexter is always so thorough with preparations.”

“I’d feel bad if anything was missing.”

Dexter chuckled, taking out two glasses and handing one to Himena.

“It’s not very expensive, but it’s a champagne that suits this occasion.”

Himena looked puzzled when she noticed Dexter filled her glass but not his own.

“What about you?”

“I have to drive the boat, so I’ll make do with grape juice.”

Saying that, Dexter took out a bottle of grape juice from the ice box that was similar in color to champagne.

After pouring grape juice into his glass, Dexter raised it to toast with Himena’s glass and said:

“Happy birthday, Himena.”

“Thank you, Dexter.”

With those words, they both took a sip of their champagne and juice.

Dexter carefully placed an LP record on the turntable and gently lowered the tonearm.

-…In the summertime when the weather is hot—♬

Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime” began to play.

It was an upbeat song with hints of Latin flavor mixed in.

“Perfect for the weather that’s just starting to get hot, isn’t it?”

“I told you. Today, you just need to be treated.”

Dexter grinned, approaching the grill and placing meat from the ice box on it.

“While it would be nice to cook for a long time like a typical barbecue, today we’ll grill sausages and fresh meat.”

Dexter chose a method similar to what they had seen at the Korean restaurant they visited together, closer to Korean barbecue style.

All he had to do was sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the pre-cut fresh meat and grill it.

While the meat was cooking, Dexter prepared the table for Himena with bread, salad, and barbecue sauce for dipping the meat.

Himena chuckled at Dexter’s professional table-setting skills.

“I really feel like I’m being treated? No pranks today.”

“If you keep saying that, I might want to play a prank, so be careful.”

With those words, Dexter gave a mischievous smile.

Soon all the meat was cooked, and Dexter cut it on the spot with a long knife, placing it on Himena’s plate.

“This is rib eye, and that’s tenderloin.”

After hearing Dexter’s explanation, Himena lightly touched the meat with her fork, and juices immediately seeped out.

Unable to resist the glossy appearance of the meat, Himena poked it with her fork and put it straight into her mouth.

As the tender texture of the meat and the rich taste of fat melted in her mouth, Himena stomped her feet in delight.

The scenery, boat, music, and even the weather that Dexter had prepared all came together, making the meat taste heavenly when it might have just tasted ordinarily good under normal circumstances.

“This is sooooo delicious, really!”

Seeing Himena nibbling on the meat, Dexter smiled contentedly.