‘Yeah. Something small,’ I added hastily. ‘Something to remember this by.’
Jessy’s smile was wistful. ‘Something to remember this by.’
My gut twisted.
Something to rememberus. Because soon, there wouldn’t be an us any more.
Contract complete. Reputation improved. App successful. On to the next tour.
And she knew that – Jessy knew all that, just like I did.
But still, she wanted something to remember me.
‘What about one of these?’ Jessy grabbed my fingers and pulled me over, and all I could think was that, twenty minutes ago, those fingers were inside her.
Bringing her to climax –
Fuck. Patrick, do not get turned on here, do not –
‘I like the idea of a musical note,’ I said aloud, mostly as a distraction from my own unheeding dick.
Jessy’s nose crinkled. ‘Isn’t that a bit clichéd?’
I couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I guess so. What do you have in mind, then?’
I’d meant for herself, but instead she turned and gave me a careful examination, her gaze tripping up and down. It felt … good.
‘What about an anchor?’ Her voice was soft, lilting, as she made her suggestion. ‘Something that keeps you grounded. Centred.’
‘I love that,’ I said simply, and meant it. It was hard to feel grounded among all the chaos in my life, always had. I took my own chance to run my eyes down the length of Jessy’s body, before suggesting with a cheeky smile, ‘And a seagull for you.’
It had its intended effect. Her laughter rang loudly through the parlour. ‘A seagull? A bird that eats literal trash?’
‘That isn’t why I chose it!’ I protested, laughing with her and spotting the woman by the desk smiling at our antics. ‘I thought – well, a seagull flies wherever it wants, doesn’t it? It’s happy on land, in the air, on the sea … it’s a survivor. It can go anywhere. Do anything. That’s how I think of you.’
If Jessy was going to look at me like that much longer, I was going to do something that would get us locked up for public indecency. And Derek really would kill me then.
Jessy had no such qualms. She threw her arms around my shoulders and kissed me. It was passionate, eager and over way too quickly. ‘That’s perfect. Thank you,’ she said as she leaned back.
‘So – so are we doing this?’
Jessy’s smile was almost surprised. ‘I think we are.’
I went first.
‘Just here,’ I said, placing my forefinger just behind my right ear. ‘I don’t want it too obvious – it’s for me, not for anyone else.’
And for Jessy.
But I didn’t say that last part.
‘You are very brave,’ Jessy said, holding my hand on my other side as the woman carefully sterilized her hands.
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ the tattooist said as she laughed. ‘Behind the ear there’s almost no nerve endings. It won’t hurt a bit.’
And it didn’t. Honestly, it was over before I could really think about it, and when she held up the mirror to show me her work, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘Oh, wow.’
