CHAPTERTWELVE
MILO
“Is this… thread?”Matty asks Ayla.
We’re sitting in the living room and totally surrounded by fabric, buttons, accessories, and other supplies for Ayla’s growing Etsy fashion business. She’s had a passion for restoring vintage clothes since I met her, but going professional has forced her to finally deal with the organizational mess.
Lucky for her, sorting things into boxes is an enjoyable way for me to spend my morning. I grab the spool of fuzzy gold rope from Matty’s hand. “Miscellaneous,” I say. “We’ll subdivide later.”
Ayla grabs the gold from my hand. “Actually, I could use that for that something I’m working on.”
Matty lifts a purple garment from the pile. “Look at this very Milo sweatshirt,” he says, and when he turns it to me, I see that the front is covered by a bright floral pattern.
“It’s gorgeous,” I laugh, and it really is.
“Take it if you want,” Ayla says as she sorts through a small plastic tub on the couch. “It would look good with your favorite jeans.”
I hesitate. “I’m trying to get more professional clothes in my wardrobe,” I say. “I’m going to need them.”
Matty rolls his eyes. “I don’t know what’s unprofessional about flowers.”
“Flowers basically are the profession,” Ayla points out flatly.
I shoot air out my nose. “You know what I mean,” I say, but after a second, I laugh and take the sweater. “I mean this is a really great purple, though.”
Matty leans back against the armchair, his legs sprawled out across the hardwood floor. “If you don’t wear it to the lab, maybe you can wear it when you have your next date with Joey.”
I hold a finger in the air. “It’s not—”
“A date,” Ayla and Matty say in unison.
“Just a free tattoo,” Matty says.
“Right,” Ayla agrees. “Nothing romantic about that.”
“And mysterious Joey doesn’t date,” Matty nods, then taps his finger on his chin. “You’re kind of fucking the tattoo man for the tattoos,” he tells me.
Ayla laughs loudly, and I cover my mouth. “I am not!” I object. “And I don’t even think we’ll f—” I cut myself up. “It just happened. And it’s not going to happen again because like you just said, Joey told Stone he doesn’t date.”
I’ve been holding onto that little bit of information to ground myself in reality. The night of the blizzard was so strange, like I stepped into this fantasy realm above the tattoo shop. It’s been easy to pine for something more to happen between us, now that I’ve had a taste.
It just feels so good, the way Joey wants me. I don’t understand why it feels so fucking good, but it does.
“I guess we’ll see,” Ayla shrugs. “It’s probably up to you whether you hook up again after the next tattoo.”
I blink, then blink again. “Excuse me, what? Why would it be up to me?”
“He’s already made it clear he wants you.”
Matty nods, then leans forward, turning to the buttons that are dumped out on the coffee table in front of him. “Definitely,” he agrees. “And if he’s even a little bit pushy for it, ditch him immediately.”
“Agreed,” Ayla says. “Pushing is always bad, but especially right after he gives you a tattoo. You might feel obligated, and he should be sensitive about that.”
“He’s not going to be pushy,” I say. I pause and try to picture it, and immediately, something tells me Joey just wouldn’t ever do that. “But you think I have to hit on him or something?”
Matty frowns. “Well, you’re not exactly hitting on him if you’ve already hooked up. It’s more like flirting at that point.”
“That doesn’t make it easier,” I say. “Remember, I was asleep when I kissed him the first time.”
