“What about you?”
“Tattoos?” He shook his head. “I get queasy when I give blood.”
“Stop by the shop sometime. I’ve been told I’ve got a magic touch.”
The shop that no longer existed. It’d take a while before reality set in. He didn’t need to know my drama.
It did make me wonder how long before I returned and started interviewing at parlors again. I always hated tattooing while somebody stood over my shoulder. My time in Firefly didn’t have an expiration date. Would it be when Mum’s foot got better? Or would I be here for the long haul? The shop lined up perfectly with Mum’s hospital trip. She didn’t need to know what had happened. I already felt guilty being away for so long. No matter how I parsed it, I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt.
I shook the thought from my head and focused on the cute cub. “Maybe a tribal armband?”
“Yeah?” I’d mock him if not for the tribal bands hugging each of my biceps.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Then I’d frost my tips.”
When he turned, his face remained neutral, and I couldn’t tell if he was joking. We entered a standoff, holding out until the edge of his lip pulled up.
“You’d have let me.” He gave me an elbow to the side.
I shrugged. “Who am I to judge?” I had to snort. “It’s not like you were asking for a tribal sun tramp stamp.”
“There goes my second tattoo!”
He threw his arms up as if I had ruined his attempt at bad decisions. Since arriving, Nick had been the only person who simply existed without a need to draw connections. He hadn’t asked about growing up in Firefly. He didn’t know the history, and so far, our interactions had remained in the present. I appreciated being seen as I am, and not who I was or who I might be.
I threatened the dynamic.
“Are you okay?”
I watched as his shoulders slumped and he leaned against the wall. I didn’t offer clarification or insight. My job involvedreading body language, and his had thrown up red flags. Under the laughter, Nick’s voice held a tinge of sadness. I had grown used to being the intimidating one in the room, a situation only made worse by keeping my thoughts to myself. The world could think of me as a dick. I didn’t want Nick to assume the same.
“I’ll be okay.”
Neither of us believed those three words. I had opened the door, but I wouldn’t shove him through. Only he could make that decision.
“I need to know. How did you meet Lacie?”
He turned, a shoulder pressed against the Legion. When his head cocked to the side, I could feel the glare burning a hole in the side of my head.
“That’s it?”
“What?” I asked.
“No follow-ups? No pushing?”
I rolled to my side, our bellies dangerously close to touching. Did Nick ask because he expected it from the residents of Firefly? Or is that how Lacie would have handled the situation? I suspected it was her. I understood why she fit in. With no boundaries, she’d be the perfect addition to the Quilting Guild, book clubs, and the PTA.
I chose my words carefully. “You’ll talk when you’re ready.” Not if. When.
Silence. Nick’s eyes reflected the yellow streetlights, unblinking as he digested the words. As we both inhaled, our stomachs touched, but pulled away. He held his breath as he chewed his bottom lip.
I tensed as he leaned in, pressing his mouth against mine. It could have been awkward, a chance kiss outside of a raging Bingo game. It could have been… but it wasn’t. I could smell the coconut in his beard as I parted my lips, dragging the tip of my tongue against his. The timid version of Nick faded as he provedhimself a fantastic kisser. When he bunched my t-shirt between his fingers, holding me in place, I realized he needed this.
Ineeded this to ground me and push aside this lost feeling.
The door to the Legion opened, and the sound of grumbling patrons came spilling out. As quickly as it started, we parted, returning to our backs against the wall. I flattened out the front of my shirt, trying to remove the wrinkles as if they’d give away our exchange. I smirked. Coconut. It didn’t fade as the creases faded.
Before I could crack a joke, Lacie’s head popped out behind the door.
