“And you also … patch people up?”
The tug of his lips gets a little softer. “Yeah, I do that, too.”
“Why?”
There’s a snort, but it’s quiet as he stirs his concoction on the stove and grabs another one he fills with water.
“Why not?” he counters, and I purse my lips.
“It’s dangerous and people might worry about you?”
That soft smile becomes a smirk, and he leans close to me, his nose nearly touching mine. “You worry about me, bubbles?”
“Yes.”
The flick of shock across his face disappears fast, but the redness that appears next doesn’t.
“See?Sweet.” His lips press to the tip of my nose quickly before he turns to find a jar of sauce, muscles flexing as it pops open.
Why is it so easy to watch his back?
Even through the tank top covering his torso, I can see the definition of his shoulders, the teases of ink staring back at me.
But so are the scars.
There’s not a ton, not severely noticeable ones, but they’re there, woven in between the greyscale as if he meant to draw the art around them.
Like maybe … he embraced them.
I tug my sleeves down farther.
Swallowing hard, I trail my gaze up to the back of his neck, little red spots dotting his skin.
“What’re—” I reach up and run my covered fingers over the soft scab. “What’re these?”
I should probably clean them for him since there’s no way he can see those. Did he even know they’re back here?
“You,” he answers finally, his tone caged, his grip on the oven handle tight.
I jerk my hand back.
“What?” It comes out like a squeak, my stomach dropping.
“It’s from the other day. It’s no big deal.”
The way he pushes off from the stove—and away from me—makes my heart thunder painfully in my chest, an apology thick on my tongue.
“Don’t. It’s okay, I promise.”
It’s not okay. It’s not. But I don’t want to argue, or cry again, so I drop it and my gaze.
What else can I do?
“Okay.”
“Bubbles, look at me.” I do through my hair, and he’s got another one of those soft smiles playing on his lips as he steps closer, the tip of his finger touching the bottom of my chin. “Is it okay to kiss you?”
My eyes flare wide, my face hot.
