“I thought it looked good,” I agree.
Joey steps around the desk to examine my ink, and I can feel my heart beating in my ears. Our eyes latch together, and then he’s a few inches from me and laying a hand on my shoulder. I inhale his burnt, musky scent and my cock gets hard from the heat of his presence.
Fuck, he just touches me, and I start vibrating.
Joey examines me, drawing his fingers down the sensitive back of my bicep, then gently over my ink. “And you’re thinking of getting another one already?”
“Just a few more flowers,” I tell him, certain in that moment that I’m basically ready for more ink yesterday.
Matty and Ayla were right. I only have to spend a couple of minutes with Joey to know what I want. There’s still so much mystery in his dark eyes, but I know his touch, and I know how it feels when he holds me.
I know how it feels when he marks my body.
“How are you, by the way?” I ask.
Joey pauses, and he drops his hands, but we stay close. “Fine,” he answers. “Just working.”
“Any good books lately?”
He chuckles under his breath. The question seems to surprise him, but in a good way. “I’ve got one waiting for me at the library.”
“What’s it about?”
“The history of Chicago.”
I nod, impressed. “I’ve always meant to learn more about the city.”
“Maybe I’ll get a chance to tell you about it,” Joey says. Then his grip slides around my tattoo again. “So where are you thinking? Here, with the others?”
I look down, then place my hand over his. My heart’s pounding, but it feels right, so I don’t stop myself. “Or here,” I say, and pull his hand down to my forearm. “Where do you think it should go?”
Joey’s breath catches, then comes out like a quiet rumble of thunder. He closes his hand over my forearm and rubs his thumb against my skin. “Another flower?”
“Verbesina—” I cut myself from answering like I’m in class. “Wingstem.”
Joey still holds my forearm, and as we stand there, he drags his other fingers across my skin, inspecting me. “Tell me about wingstem,” he says.
“It’s another wildflower,” I say, “like the blazing star. But this one is yellow, with long, thin petals, and a fuzzy yellow center, all at the top of thin green stems. I thought it would look good with the purple.”
Joey smiles and traces my ink. “I can add to this. Or if you want to look ahead to add a few more, you could start planning that out now. Thinking ahead to future tattoos is smart, if you’re going to go for it.”
My mouth falls slightly open. I don’t remember even deciding I’d get a second tattoo, but here I am, wanting it so bad I can’t stop myself anyway.
Joey releases me. It aches to feel his touch end, but we stay just as close. “So why flowers?” he asks.
I blink. “Well, I’m a botanist—”
“I know.” He cuts me off, then arches an eyebrow. “I didn’t forget.”
“Right.” My cheeks are hot. His voice got just tight enough that I could tell he really thought I should know he’d remember that.
“But why flowers? That’s what you really care about, right? Not school, but the flowers?”
“Oh.” I lean back against the desk behind me. Joey must have been paying attention because he’s right. It feels silly to admit this to him, but my passion really is for the flowers.
“Well, they’re fascinating,” I say. “Each one is so delicate and beautiful. They’ve just always seemed like miracles to me. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the flowers out in nature and in the gardens around our neighborhood. And then in science class, when I learned about their life cycles and how they host butterflies, and bloom, and how they support entire ecosystems—” I cut myself off, shy, but Joey doesn’t move. He just holds my gaze, patient, and waits for me to continue. “They’re beautiful and strange, and somehow, they make everything else possible. Our whole world exists because of these delicate, beautiful, resilient plants. All I wanted to do was to learn more, and I pretty much never got over that feeling.”
“Beautiful things,” Joey says with a nod. It’s like everything with him. He just says a few words, but I feel like I understand him. Beautiful things are worth appreciating, and I can see Joey’s own appreciation in the brilliant work he does.
