“And a smile,” Clark added quickly. “So it’s like you’re always smiling with me, Rip.”
My chest warm, I nodded. “Good.”
We adjusted the drawing, and soon enough, I was running the tattoo gun along Clark’s arm and tracing the image on his skin. His face tightened when I started, but he kept himself steady, not even twitching a single time. With the machine humming and Mars grinning off to the side, I matched Clark’s steady breathing and made my mark on his body.
It was hard to believe how long the three of us had been together, and how much we’d all grown in that time. But somehow, as the seasons passed, we just seemed to fall further into the life we shared. Soon enough, I was going to the comic store to pick up a new issue for Mars, and Clark was driving Aunt Grace to her appointment as his old psychiatrist’s office, and Mars was tagging along with Clark when he went down to Portland to visit his mom for the afternoon.
It was funny, but none of us seemed to worry about being left out or whether we were all included in one plan or another. It was more like there was always a helping hand available, and always two sets of arms to catch me when I fell.
It was like we could rely on each other, and, with that extra support, every one of us thrived.
“All set,” I said as I finished the winking eye. “Looking pretty good, too.”
“That quick?” Clark said, fixing his glasses. I held the mirror up, and when he glanced at the work, he laughed to himself.
“Wow. I really did not think I would get a tattoo.”
“Looking sexy on you, though,” I said, planting a kiss on his forehead.
“Very sexy,” Mars agreed.
Clark nodded, then sat back while I applied some lotion and plastic covering to the tattoo. When we were all settled, we wandered back to the front of the shop. There was a fresh coat of paint on the walls and a record player playing to the side. Soon enough, I knew, the place would start to fill with new memories, ones that the three of us could only make together.
“You ready to tell Aunt Grace the news?” I asked.
Clark nodded. He grabbed my hand and then Mars’s. “Let’s do it,” he said. “I’m ready for what’s next.”
CLARK
I got to the Steel Rose first, arriving with Valeria a little before the guys. We ordered our drinks at the bar and then claimed a spot by the pool table. She’d finally started to grow her hair out again, and the pink curls flopped around her ears while we chatted.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I said. “We could still try to figure something else out, maybe.”
Valeria crossed her arms over her chest. “Clark, you’ve got to stop worrying about me,” she said. “I wasn’t joking when I told you I had designs on that bedroom. I loved having you in the house, but honestly, that drab room was a little depressing.” She smiled, then took a long sip of her pink cocktail. “Plus, now I’ll have a place to put that princess bed I was keeping in storage.”
“Still, it’s kind of the end of an era, you know?”
“Nonsense,” she said. “You’ll be just down the road. And you know damn well Ezra is going to insist on regular hangs.”
“You think this is the right choice, then?”
“For you to settle down with two of the hottest and sweetest guys in town? I’d say so.”
I took a drink from my soda, then shrugged. “Not exactly settling down…”
Valeria arched a well-plucked eyebrow. “How’s that?”
I laughed. “Well, when we were talking over things, I kind of insisted that we leave the door open for seeing other people.”
Valeria gasped. “Clark! I never would have guessed.”
“We’ve got clear expectations,” I said quickly, “and nothing will happen without lots of communication, before and after. Our relationship with each other will always come first. But I just realized, with Mars and Rip having so much dating experience, I kind of wanted to explore more on my own, too.”
“You vixen,” Valeria purred. “You tart!”
I laughed, then pushed my foot against hers. “It’s not like that! Just some very occasional fun, you know?”
“And the guys didn’t mind?”
