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“You know, Viv, these are really good. You should think about selling these.”
“Hmm? What?”
Aly gave a long-suffering sigh and tapped Vivi on the head before pointing to the prints she’d spread across the dining room table.
Since neither of them usually had the time to sit and eat a meal together, the table was covered with everything from bills to file folders to year-old magazines and receipts for things they probably didn’t even own anymore.
An hour ago, Vivi had cleared a space and spread out the prints she’d made of her recent photos.
It was late Sunday morning and her sister was leaving in a little while to go to Philly for Riley’s game that afternoon with the Colonials.
She wouldn’t be back until late tonight and then she’d go straight to bed and get up for work the next morning. Aly had been putting a hell of a lot of mileage on her car recently with all her trips to Philly.
“Your photos,” Aly said. “You should sell these. They’re beautiful.”
Vivi huffed out a laugh. “Thanks, but no one’s gonna pay me for these. These are just for me.”
“Who says you can’t make money doing what you love? You should think about it. Have you sold any more designs lately?”
One of Vivi’s part-time jobs was designing tattoos for ColorWheel Tattoos, the studio where she’d worked for years, starting when she was sixteen, creating art for a friend’s father who was a tattoo artist and part owner of the studio.
“A few.” Actually, more than a few. Her designs had begun taking off lately. “Just designed a full sleeve for a veteran. He wanted a reminder of where he’d been for the past twenty years. He was deployed to the Middle East for years and spent some time in Afghanistan. He’s been to Turkey, Germany, South Korea. He tells the most amazing and horrifying stories. He’s been shot a couple of times, broken a few bones, and he’s missing parts of a couple of his fingers. But he’s still this great guy, even after all that shit.”
She dug around in her pile of photos for a few seconds before she found what she was looking for.
She slid the photo toward her sister. “This is him. This is just the start of the outline. Eventually, it’ll be a full-color sleeve.”
“Wow, Viv. This is beautiful. You do amazing work. I’m telling you, you need to find a way to sell these photos.”
Vivi shrugged but couldn’t deny she got a little glow inside from her sister’s praise. “Thanks. I think it’s some of my best work.”
“All your work’s amazing. I hope they’re paying you what you’re worth.”
Aly headed into the kitchen so Vivi didn’t have to respond. If she had, she knew Aly would’ve been all over her ass. Because, honestly, Vivi would do the design work for free.
She wasn’t trained as an artist, had taken a few classes as a teen when her parents could afford it, but she’d always been good at it and she’d always loved it. She’d also known there was no way in hell she was going to go to college because she’d barely been able to get out of high school.
The day she’d graduated, both she and her parents had breathed a huge sigh of relief at having made it through in the allotted twelve years. But she’d be damned if she spent another four years having teachers lecture her about what she had to do with her life.
Of course, that meant she’d had no viable skills when she left high school, which meant she’d been working at a series of dead-end waitressing jobs for the past five years, trying to figure out what the hell to do with her life.
Still haven’t figured that out, have you?
“Oh, hey, can you drop off the water bill on your way to work tomorrow? It’s due Thursday.”
And though Aly didn’t mean it like that, that was a not-so-subtle reminder that Vivi worked three jobs and barely made enough to cover her half of the expenses.
“Sure, no problem.”
Lately, she’d been thinking more and more about what she wanted to do with her life...and still hadn’t come up with an answer.
“Viv, you okay?”
Aly stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room, watching her with narrowed eyes.
She shrugged, shook her head, and said, “Yeah,” but Aly wasn’t buying it.
Her sister didn’t say anything right away, but after a few seconds, she walked over to the table, glass of milk in one hand and bagel in the other, and sat opposite Vivi.
After a few long silent moments, Aly finally said, “We haven’t had much time to talk lately. I’ve been so busy at work and then I’ve spent every other second either on the road to see Riley or on the phone with Riley or with Riley.”
Vivi shrugged, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? Unless you want to spend the rest of your life staring at me across this table, you’re supposed to find a guy and move on.”
Aly pulled a face that made a pit form in Vivi’s stomach.
“Riley and I have been talking about me moving to Philly.”
It shouldn’t have been a shock. Vivi was kind of surprised it’d taken this long, actually. But it still hit her like a sucker punch.
She tried not to show it, but Vivi knew her sister could read her like a book.
“That’s not a surprise,” Vivi forced the words out of her mouth. “I mean, come on, you guys can’t bear to spend a few nights away from each other. You’re such a bitch when you don’t get laid on a regular basis.”
She smiled to let her sister know she was teasing and Aly gave her the older-sister “you’re a pain in my ass” look, which fast faded into an expression Vivi couldn’t quite understand.
“I’m not planning to leave you with the bills. I’m still planning to pay my half of the house. You can’t get rid of me that easily. And I don’t want to sell the house. But...I’m going to be looking for a job in Philly.”
That knot in the pit of her stomach loosened and the dread she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge dissipated. Mostly.
“I’m happy for you guys. I mean, sure, I’ll miss you but it’s not like I’ll never see you again.”
“I know.” Aly shrugged. “It’s just...”
Vivi had no idea what her sister was trying to say. “Is there something else going on?”
Aly shook her head, but Vivi could tell her sister was still thinking about something.
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m sorry, it’s just...” Aly shrugged and shook her head. “I’m going to worry about you.”
Frowning, Vivi shook her head. “What? Why?”
“Because you’re going to be alone a lot more than you already are.”
Vivi’s back straightened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Her sister’s brows arched. “Yeah, I’m gonna call bullshit on that.”
“I’m around people all the time. Hell, I work three jobs. Sometimes I get sick of all the people I have to deal with.”
“But how many of those people do you really consider good friends?”
“All of them.”
Aly’s eyebrows rose higher.
Okay, okay. That was a lie.
“All right, not all of them, but I have close friends who aren’t you. Not that I don’t love you, sis, but you’re not my entire world.”
“I know that. But I’m still gonna worry. I have been worried about you.”
“Jeez, you sound like Mom.”
“Okay,” Aly’s hands went to her hips, “first of all, that’s mean. And second, stop deflecting. You know what I’m trying to say.”
“You mean I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Well...” Aly scrunched up her nose, “kind of.”
“What do you mean, kind of? Not everyone’s life revolves around a guy, you know.”
“Oh please, you know I don’t mean you need a man to make you complete. But...” Aly paused and sucked in her bottom lip before she said, “it wouldn’t hurt you to go on a date every now and then. I know you’ve been asked. I know you’ve turned them all down.”
“I go out all the time. I just do it with a group.” Which was another half-truth. “Seriously, you’re getting hyped about nothing. I’m good.”
Aly didn’t say anything else, probably because her sister could tell Vivi was getting to the end of her patience. And having dealt with their mother for their entire lives, Aly should realize this wasn’t the way to deal with her.
Aly must have taken the hint because she nodded and held her hands up in the air.
“Okay, okay. Fine. I said what I wanted to say. I’ve got to get going. Never know how long it’s going to take me to get to Philly and I don’t want to miss Riley before he leaves for the arena.”
Aly came around the table to give her a one-arm hug.
“I worry about you. Give me shit for it, but I’m not gonna change my ways now. Have a good time tonight.”
“I’m sure I will. I really like Sophie and Derek, and the rest of the guys are a lot of fun.”
“Hmm. Any of the guys you might like more than the others?”
Vivi huffed. “I thought you were leaving?”
Aly raised her hands in the air and grinned. “I am, I am. Fine. This is me leaving.”
“Have fun.”
“Always. You too. And hey, Viv, sometimes the quiet ones can surprise you.”
“Hey—”
Aly disappeared out the door as Viv turned to throw a pen at her sister.
What the hell? Had her sister heard something about her and Justin? There was nothing going on.
Except...
Maybe there was.
She couldn’t honestly say she wasn’t attracted to him because after last night, she saw him in a completely different way. She honestly didn’t know how that’d happened.
But her sister was wrong about her not having any friends. She had tons of friends.
Yeah, but who have you hung out with lately?
Okay, maybe she’d been more of a homebody lately. Maybe she didn’t want to go out and get drunk every night like she used to.
Hell, most nights she was working and afterward, when she would’ve headed to the after-hours clubs, maybe she came home more than she went out.
Maybe you’re growing up.
She snorted. Not that anyone would believe that about her. Her reputation as a party girl preceded her everywhere she went. Her parents had been on a first-name basis with the borough cops by the time she’d graduated from high school.
What could she say? She loved a good party. She loved feeling good and having fun with her friends. So sometimes she drank too much and danced on a few too many tables. Fuck it.
She was only young once and she enjoyed the hell out of dancing, drinking, and having a kick-ass time.
But lately, her friends were hanging out more as couples. Like actual dating, with sit-down dinners and movies. Hell, some of her friends were married and two had kids. Multiple, even.
Every time she thought about that, she shook her head and thought, What the fuck? Seriously? Had her friends lost their fucking minds?
She couldn’t figure out what the hell she wanted to do with her own life. How the hell would she be able to take care of another human?
That’s called adulthood, Vivian. Some day you may get there.
She heard the exasperated voice of her mother in her head and sighed.
She loved her parents and she knew they loved her but... There had been days during her teen years when she was pretty sure they would’ve loved to ship her off to a desert island. Or a military school.
Not that any would’ve admitted you on your grades...
If she rolled her eyes and her mother wasn’t here to see it, did it still count?
Forcing her attention back to her photos, she looked at them with a critical eye. Were they really as good as Aly thought? Or was her sister just blowing smoke up her ass?
Does it matter?
She wasn’t going to have a career as a photographer. She didn’t have the training. She didn’t have a degree.
You don’t have a clue.
But she did have twenty people coming to her house in a few hours so maybe she should take a stab at cleaning the house.
And not think about things that didn’t mean a damn thing.
*****
“Justin! What the hell are you doing? Let’s go.”
“Jeez, stop yelling, D. I’m ready.”
“You s-said that five minutes ago and we haven’t l-left yet. Dude, come on.” Robbie’s voice reached the back of the apartment, where Justin was changing his shirt. “We’re gonna miss the g-game if you don’t g-get your ass in gear.”
“He wants to make sure he looks good.” Derek’s amusement also reached the back of the apartment and Justin shook his head as he made his way to the front room, still buttoning his flannel shirt over the t-shirt he’d had to change because he’d dripped toothpaste on it. “You know, for the ladies.”
“Oh yeah? Who—”
“You say one more word and I will punch you in those perfect teeth.” Justin gave Robbie a look then turned his glare on Derek. “And if you open your mouth one more time...”
Derek just laughed at him, probably because he knew Justin would never follow through on his threats to hurt his friends.
If another team’s player went after one of them, that was a different story. Then of course, he’d stick up for them. But just because his friends were sometimes dicks didn’t mean he went around punching them.
“Looking good, Perry.” Derek made a show of checking him out as Justin walked to the closet to get his coat. Where he thought he’d put it last night.
Shit. Where—
He’d dropped it on the chair next to the door. At least he didn’t have to look for it. Robbie was right, if they didn’t leave right now, they were gonna miss the start of the game, even if Vivi lived only a few miles away.
“All right, idiots. Let’s go. I’m ready. Robbie, grab the beer before we leave.”
Robbie did as he was told and followed Derek out the door so Justin could lock it behind them then they all headed for the stairs.
“Where’re we going again?” Robbie asked. “And where’s Will? I thought he was coming too.”
“He’s picking up Jess.”
Robbie shook his head. “I don’t know why they just don’t move in together. They’re practically attached at the hip.”
Justin wondered the same thing but didn’t want to ask because Will was the best roommate he’d ever had and had become a really great friend.
Justin wasn’t looking forward to the day Will moved out. He was pretty much dreading it.
“Of course, we all know why Derek hasn’t moved in with Sophie yet.” Robbie snorted. “She’d dump his ass five minutes later because he’d never shut the fuck up.”
“The only reason you’re still standing, Junior, is because you’re holding the beer and I don’t want you to drop it. Besides, the only thing we’d be doing five minutes after we moved in together is getting naked.”
While Robbie and Derek shot insults back and forth, Justin just shook his head and headed for his truck in the parking lot. He’d agreed to drive. It’d keep him from doing something stupid, like drinking too much and letting his mouth get away from him.
All morning, he’d been telling himself not to read too much into her invitation. She’d practically invited the entire team. This wasn’t a date.
But now would be the perfect time to ask her out.
And he wanted to ask her out. But he was totally out of practice. For the past six years, he’d dated the same girl. Hell, up until several months ago, he’d thought he was going to marry her.
But even before she’d broken up with him, he’d known something was missing. He just didn’t know how to approach it with Ashley. She’d always seemed so...
“Hey, man,” Derek asked. “You know where you’re going?”
Justin shoved thoughts of Ashley out of his head. “Yeah, I looked at the directions Vivi texted the group.”
“Just checking.” Derek settled into shotgun while Robbie climbed in the back. “You looked kinda...lost.”
Justin didn’t answer as he got them on the road. He knew his way around the area pretty well since he’d spent the better part of the last three years in Reading so he knew generally where he was going. He’d never been to Vivi’s house, though, and that kinda made it hard for him to breathe.
You’re an idiot.
Yep. Total dweeb. He just hoped she didn’t realize how much of one.
“Hey, man. You okay?”
Derek kept his voice low so Robbie couldn’t hear him over Garth Brooks rolling out of the speakers. The guys usually groaned and threw things at him when it was his turn to pick music. But hey, Garth calmed him.
And he’d be damned if Derek hadn’t picked up on that.
Justin checked on Robbie in the backseat but the kid was bopping his head along to “Friends in Low Places,” staring out the side window, totally oblivious to anything else.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna call bullshit on that. You still worked up over Ashley?”
It would’ve been a good excuse. He’d just say yes and let Derek tell him how he needed to move on. They’d had this conversation before. Several times, actually. Every time Derek told him to nut up. That she wasn’t the one and he needed to find a rebound girl.
He nodded, keeping his attention on the road, figuring Derek would drop it.
“Nah, bullshit again, dude. You’re totally hung up on Vivi. Which is good, ’cause it means you’re getting over Ashley. Now, we just need to get you to be able to talk to Vivi without freezing up.”
Sighing, he shook his head. “I don’t need your help to talk to women.”
Which was pretty much bullshit. He sucked when it came to talking to the opposite sex. They might as well be from another planet.
Ashley had been the one to pursue him in high school. He hadn’t had to do much other than nod when she asked him out. The fact that he’d known her most of his life had helped. He’d been lucky enough to play for the local OHL team and had been able to stay at home and go to school with the kids he’d grown up with.
He’d known Ashley most of his life. He’d been comfortable with her.
Damn. That sounded pretty...lame.
“Dude. You’re right. You don’t need help. You need a goddamn miracle.”
Justin sighed and thought about giving Derek a shot in the jaw but, with his luck, he’d crash.
“You get off on seeing how far you can push someone before they punch you, don’t you?”
Derek grinned like a loon. “I’ve got a gift. But you still need help.”
Justin just shook his head, intent on ignoring one of his best friends. A damn good friend who meant well, but if he didn’t shut up, he’d have another bruise to add to the collection from the game last night. Derek had managed to get into a couple of fights that’d left him with a black eye and bruised ribs.
“What’re you gonna talk to her about?”
“Now I gotta have a list of topics? What the hell? What are you? My freaking speech teacher?”
“Nah, man.” Derek shrugged. “You don’t need a list. Just have a couple of ideas to pull out if the conversation stalls.”
Justin snorted. “And how the hell would you know this? You never shut up. When the hell would you need to have a list of topics?”
“I have a gift, dude. But you don’t. You need help.”
Yeah, he did, but his so-called friend didn’t have to rub that in.
“So you’re lucky you have me to help you along,” Derek continued without taking a breath. “You can’t just rely on hockey to get you through. And she’s probably not into videogames so I wouldn’t even bring those up. What else do you do? Hell, maybe you are screwed.”
Now Justin did reach over and punch Derek’s shoulder, careful not to get anywhere near D’s ribs.
“Shut up, asshole. I don’t know why you’re busting my balls. We’re just going to watch a game.”
“Uh-huh. Dude, just admit it. You wanna be more than a casual acquaintance with Vivi. And I get it. She’s cool. I like her.”
Yeah, so did Justin. And that was the problem. He hated how tongue-tied he got around her. She was just so...out of his league.
“And I’m pretty sure she likes you.”
Justin shot Derek a quick glance, but the guy didn’t look like he was giving him a hard time. Derek actually looked serious. No way would Justin fall for that.
So he ignored his teammate and Derek let him slide, turning around to talk shit to Robbie. Luckily, they pulled up to Vivi’s house a couple minutes later so Derek never got back around to busting on Justin.
Derek was still ribbing Robbie when they got to the front door. Justin had just started to laugh at Robbie’s comeback to one of Derek’s asinine jokes and was lifting his hand to knock when the door opened.
And Vivi stood there, huge smile on her beautiful face, rainbow-colored hair sliding over her shoulder. Her bare shoulder. She’d cut off the neckline of her sweatshirt and it had fallen down her left arm.
His mouth went dry.
“Hey, guys. We were beginning to think you weren’t gonna show up but then we figured Derek had to make sure his hair was just right. Come in.”
She stood back and opened the door wider to let them through, but it wasn’t until Derek gave him a shove that Justin got his feet moving.
He nodded at Vivi as he passed by, trying not to visibly suck in air because it would smell like her. She smelled like something spicy and sweet, all at the same time. How the hell did she do that?
Get it together, asshole. She’ll be throwing you out on your ass in a few seconds for being weird.
Amazingly, he didn’t trip over his own feet as he walked farther into the house.
“Just throw your coats on the couch in there,” Vivi pointed toward the room to the left of the front door as she moved past him, “then come on back and join the party.”
To give himself a few more seconds, he took Derek’s and Robbie’s coats and carried them to the room Vivi had pointed to.
Enough ambient light flowed into the space to make it easy for him to see where he was going, even if there was no lamp.
He could clearly see the couch piled with other coats and walked over to drop the ones he was carrying. He was about to leave when more light flooded the room from somewhere else.
As he turned, his gaze snagged on the table in front of the window. No, not a table. A desk with a slanted top. Several large drawings lay on top, and he walked over to look at them.
Beautiful. Absolutely stunning pieces of art obviously meant to be tattoos. He knew because these looked exactly like the kind of sketches his brother would do before inking them into someone’s skin.
There were at least twenty in various stages of design. Some were finished. Some were obviously just started. All of them were amazing.
He was so intent on the pictures he didn’t realize someone was in the room with him.
“Hey, I wondered if you got lost.”
He whipped his head around to see Vivi leaning against the doorframe between this room and the next. He couldn’t really see her face because she was backlit so he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Of course, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell anyway because he pretty much sucked at being able to read women.
But as she moved closer, he saw a slight smile on her face.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to...” He waved at her drawing table and the artwork. “These are great.”
She shrugged and shook her head. “Just some stuff I’m working on.” Then she paused for a few seconds, watching him closely. “Have you thought about letting me take a look at your art? I mean, I know it can be really personal but I’d love to see it.”
Honestly, yeah, he had. But every time he thought about letting her get that close to him and spending that much time with her, he got a hard-on. How the hell would he be able to keep his dick from getting hard and broadcasting how much he wanted her when she was so close to him?
When he didn’t answer right away, she said, “Sorry. I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.”
Moving past him, she grabbed the laptop he hadn’t noticed off the low table in front of the couch and walked toward the entrance into the kitchen, which he could see just behind her.
She stopped in the open doorway and looked back over her shoulder at him, eyebrows raised. Waiting for him to follow.
Yeah, sure, he’d follow her. Pretty much anywhere.
When he started walking, so did she, leading him to the table along the back wall of the kitchen. Sitting at the table, she opened her laptop and clicked a few buttons.
Then she motioned to the chair next to her and gave him another look. This one he could read clear as the red line on the ice. It said, “Sit if you’re not afraid.”
He definitely wasn’t afraid of her. At least not physically. She couldn’t weigh more than a hundred ten pounds soaking wet, and the top of her head wouldn’t even brush the underside of his chin.
Hell, he had no idea why he’d hesitated.
Bullshit.
Okay, okay. Maybe he didn’t want to get his heart trampled. And she looked like a girl who could do it.
Beautiful. Sharp tongue. Quick mind. She could cut you down to size with a few words or make you want to own her body and soul with one look from those blue-green eyes.
“Justin? You okay?”
Shit. He pulled out the chair, turned it around, and straddled it, sitting close enough to see the screen but far enough away that their knees didn’t brush against each other.
Chickenshit much?
Her fingers flew over the keys as his butt hit the chair, her attention focused on the screen. His attention was all on her. Well, on her fingers, actually. Long and slim and mesmerizing.
He couldn’t help wondering what they would feel like brushing against his skin. Shit, was it getting hot in here?
Then his gaze traveled up to her face, her eyes focused on the screen, bottom lip caught between her teeth as she concentrated.
He wanted to run his thumb against that lip, put his mouth over her lips and kiss her until neither of them could breathe. Not that he’d ever do it without asking first. Jesus, would she say yes? He really wanted her to say yes—
“So?”
He didn’t look at the screen right away. She hadn’t turned to look at him so he could study her expression a little more. Of course, he had no idea what she was thinking. But as she continued to stare at her computer, he watched her eyes narrow. As if she didn’t like what she saw.
So he turned and looked.
And huffed out a little breath of amazement.
“Damn, those are amazing. Scroll down. Are there more?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shrug but she scrolled down the page, stopping every so often so he could see the designs.
And they were amazing. Some of them stunning.
She had a knack for the 3-D images. Butterflies that appeared to float over the skin and wounds that seemed to open into the body. That’s not to say her other art wasn’t amazing. But some of these were on the level of what his brother was doing, and that was high praise.
“Vivi...holy crap.”
She turned to look at him, and he could tell she was trying to figure out if he was being sincere. Like maybe he was complimenting her to get in her pants.
Hell, he wouldn’t know how to even try.
But she didn’t know him. Like, at all. Because he never freaking opened his mouth around her. Mostly because he was afraid he’d stick his foot in it and she’d laugh and write him off as a dumbass.
Which you totally are.
“Seriously, Viv. These are fantastic.”
After a second, her lips turned up in the most amazing smile he’d ever seen on her.
Since the first day he’d met her, if she was in the room, he watched her. Which made him sound like a stalker, which he totally wasn’t. Just hugely crushing on her.
But he did know her smiles because he was totally obsessed with them.
He’d come to recognize the fake smile she gave to male customers who tried to get her attention. The ones who asked her out and got a quick and brutal “No, but thanks.”
The genuine smiles she gave the regular customers she liked and her female friends who made her laugh.
And then there were the smiles she gave the guys she liked. Guys like Derek and Will and Jake, whom she considered friends.
This wasn’t one of those smiles.
You’re reading too much into it, man.
So yeah, maybe he was. But the more she smiled at him, the more he didn’t think he was.
Then she shrugged and looked back at the computer, though she didn’t lose the smile completely. “Thanks. I’ve always been good at art. It was the one thing I didn’t hate about high school.” Now her smile dimmed and she shook her head. “But it’s not like you can make a living at this. I freelance for some of the tattoo shops around town. I don’t make much but I’d do it free if they’d have me.”
“Yeah.” He knew exactly what she meant. If he couldn’t play professionally, he’d still be on a beer league where they’d let him play. “So why don’t you do more tattoo design? People pay huge money for work this good. Have you promoted yourself at all?”
Another shake of her head. “Nah. Too busy waitressing to make real money so I can eat and pay bills. People don’t like to pay for art. A lot of them think it should be free.”
And he could tell exactly what she thought about that. Like it made her want to stab something.
“That sucks. But seriously, Vivi, these are really good. Who took the photos? They’re really good too.”
And again, he wasn’t blowing smoke. Some of these were serious art. At least to his eye.
“I did. I’m not as good with the camera as I am with a pad and pencil but—”
“What? Seriously?” He turned to frown at her. “These are amazing.”
Her smile made another appearance and stayed longer this time. She held his gaze for several long seconds, aa heat burst in his gut like a bomb and he was pretty sure he was about to start sweating. And his dick was stiff as a brick. If she looked down, she’d sure as hell be able to see his hard-on.
“Thanks. I...appreciate it.”
She said that the way someone who didn’t know how to take compliments said thank you. Like she wasn’t used to hearing them. Or she was shy.
Vivi wasn’t shy. In fact, before now, he would’ve said she was totally the opposite.
But that tone in her voice...
Now, no one would ever say he was any good at understanding women. But he was smart enough to know he wasn’t good at it.
So maybe he was hearing something that wasn’t there.
And maybe you’re totally off.
Between the hard-on making all the blood rush south and the fact that she was still sitting so close to him, that was probably more like it.
“Uh, so what do you do with these photos? You just take them to document your work?”
She shrugged and her head tilted to the side a little, still watching him.
“I guess. I like having a visual reminder.”
“Do you ever submit these,” he waved at the pictures on the screen, “to tattoo art magazines?”
Another shrug. “A few. They never got picked up so I stopped.”
“Then you didn’t send them to the right magazine. Vivi, these really are—”
“Justin! Vivi! The game’s about to start!”
Derek’s shout from the other room startled them, and he saw Vivi shake her head before shouting back, “Be there in a sec.”
Then she stood and looked down at him and her smile was back to normal. Wide and bright...and just a little distant.
Like she’d shut him down and he hadn’t even asked her out.
“You ready to watch some hockey?” she asked.
No, he’d much rather sit here and look at her art with her.
“Sure. Should be a good game.”
She didn’t say anything right away, just watched him as he rose to his feet, willing his erection to stand down so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.
Again, he noticed how she barely came up to his chin, which amazed him because she always seemed to take up more space because of her personality.
“Then let’s go.”
He followed her out of the room, wishing he’d just kissed her and been done with it.