“Are these…” Tanner picks up little paper squares from the table and holds them up to me.
“Temporary tattoos,” I finish for him. “Yes. Lauren loved them growing up.”
“Which one?” he asks as he shuffles through them.
“What?”
“Which one do you want?”
I can only laugh and point at the firework.
He grabs the rag off the stove and soaks the corner in the sink behind me. “Where do you want it?”
“Tramp stamp?”
“Don’t tempt me.” There’s a shift in his eyes that steps past just attraction and into something borderline lustful.
I turn my arm and motion to the inside, just below my inner elbow. “Here is fine.”
I look up at him through my eyelashes and try to steady my heart as he brushes his fingers against the fleshy part of my forearm.
“Here?”
I nod and he presses the tattoo down and holds the wet cloth on top. His thumb absently rubs the side of my arm, but he doesn’t acknowledge the goosebumps. Though there’s no denying them or their cause, he keeps his gaze trained on where his skin is touching mine.
“It’s hot out there,” I say and his eyes flick up to mine.
“Don’t.”
A laugh catches in my throat. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t you dare pretend like we are people who talk about the weather. We both know that is the last thing either of us is thinking about right now.”
With our eyes locked, our chests cave in and out with a speed that doesn’t match how still we are standing.
“Eighteen… nineteen…. twenty.” He pulls away the rag and paper leaving behind a silly little firework that we both know was only an excuse to be close.
Since we have met, we have done nothing but look for excuses to touch. His hands are never far from me or my hips. Passing touches and besetting grasps.
He takes his fingers now and traces around my side, feeling the cotton against my skin. Then his hands land on either side of me against the counter and he lowers his eyes to be level with mine.
“Hi Han.”
“Hi Tan.” My voice comes out hoarse and all that my mind can focus on is the smell of him up close. Woodsy and sunshine.
Then his lips find mine softly, like he’s asking permission. In answer, I let my arms slide up his arms and wrap around his neck, pulling him in. My body involuntarily rolls up against his as his tongue brushes across my bottom lip before he bites softly. After a pause at the delicious pain, the urgency shifts. The kisses become deep and fast, and my heart is barely keeping up. Our lips and tongues push and pull as I melt every part of myself into him when a gasp breaks us apart. Well, breaks me away. Tanner stays unmoved until his eyes flutter closed and his forehead drops against my shoulder.
It’s Lauren coming down the stairs.
“Oh my God?” A laugh bursts out of her. “Is this—are you? Oh my God?”
“Want to go check on Win?” I ask Tanner. “Make sure she isn’t sneaking anybody’s sushi?”
He nods, places a kiss on my shoulder before giving Lauren a quick nod and slipping out the back door.
“Oh my God,” she says again. “And that dress? Holy shit.”
I look down and smooth said dress. I went with a cotton red one that falls just right against my chest and hips and it’s hard to ignore the stretch of my hips when I walk in it. It was a bit of abold choice, but the look on Tanner's face was worth it. And that kiss? Well. The dress did what I wanted it to do.
