My groan is weak.
Hailey sets the supplies on a table beside Trevor’s chair before snapping gloves onto her hands. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Trevor confirms.
I move out of the way, and Hailey marks Trevor’s ears, taking time to make sure the dots are even before picking up the piercing gun. I wince as it goes off, but Trevor doesn’t even flinch.
I suppose he’s used to much worse pain within the walls of this tattoo shop.
After finishing the second ear, Hailey steps back. “Voila.”
“How’s it look?” Trevor asks me, not even glancing at himself in the mirror.
I swallow roughly. The earrings are by no means fancy, meant to be safely worn in freshly pierced ears, but each has a small clear gem, giving them the appearance of diamonds. They’re so delicate on a man made of muscle and intricately inked skin that I find myself at a loss for words.
Hailey smirks before starting to clean up the piercing supplies.
“Red?” Trevor asks, tugging me back between his legs.
I unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Nice.”
“Yeah?”
I nod, running my fingers through his hair and then along the shell of his ear. “Art.”
His lips twitch. “You’ve gone monosyllabic on me again.”
I grunt, and Trevor laughs.
“Ooh, I know that look,” one of the younger tattoo artists says, wandering up front with his freshly inked client. I think his name is Ace. “That boy right there is off the market.”
I can feel my cheeks heat, despite not knowing which of us he’s talking about. Maybe both.
“Raf,” Ace calls. “You ready for grandchildren?”
I decide I’d very much like a sinkhole to swallow me up right about now, please and thank you.
Trevor chuckles as Rafael calls back, “Do we needa have the birds and the bees talk again?”
Ace snorts. “Ever heard of adoption? Or fostering? Surrogacy?”
I turn to Trevor with wide eyes.
Luckily, my boyfriend takes pity on me, his voice loud enough to carry. “If you scare him off, you’ll be cooking your own Thanksgiving meal this year.”
The shop goes silent in an instant. I bark a laugh. And then another. Ace grins as I lose the battle against my laughter. Trevor’s eyes are bright as he stands, swiping his apartment keys.
“Shall we?” he asks.
I nod, and we head out of the shop to a chorus of well wishes. It’s warmer today than it’s been all year, the sun shining and only a few clouds in the sky.
“Do you have time to come up?” Trevor asks, stopping near the bottom of the staircase.
I check my phone before nodding a yes. Trevor climbs up the metal stairs ahead of me, opening the door to a quiet home.
“Do they hurt?” I ask, his keys clinking as he hangs them inside the door.
He touches one ear briefly, feeling out the jewelry there. “Not much. Just a dull ache.”
