Whispering With You

30. Let's go see about a tattoo.

Sutton

KELLY GRABS MY HAND THE MINUTE HE rounds his truck and joins me on the sidewalk. I shudder when the warmth of his skin envelops me, the temperature difference obvious in the cool fall night. The closer the calendar edges to October, the chillier the evenings are.

He absently swipes his thumb on the underside of my wrist as he leads me down the sidewalk, the crunching of leaves underfoot loud on the quiet city street. I purposefully slow my steps, falling slightly behind him, my eyes taking In his tall, lean form, appreciating the way the jeans and navy Henley sculpt the body I've memorized over the past few weeks.

With a quick glance over his shoulder, he smirks at me, but he doesn't call me out. "Come on, baby girl." He tugs me up next to him by our joined hands."Let's go see about a tattoo."

It's our date night. Our first official date. As promised, we're in Maybury away from the prying eyes of our small community. He's fulfilling his promise to take me with him for his next tattoo, allowing me to observe in order to determine whether it's something I'd be interested in. Honestly, I've always wavered back and forth on the idea, leaning slightly toward the "chicken shit"side of the scale.

But I love tattoos. Especially on Kelly. He wears tattoos well. I'm kind of hoping I can wear them well, too.

When we come upon the small shop located on the corner of the block, I pull him to a stop before he can reach for the door. He turns to face me, his brow crinkled in question.

"What's our story? For Sully?"

He shakes his head. "No story. He's too smart. He'll see right through us."

"So..."

"Just be us." He smiles down at me, the expression lighting up his face and speaking volumes on how he feels about that statement. To be out in public without hiding — to just be us. I return his smile, squeezing his hand for emphasis.

He must read the hesitancy, though, because he adds, "It's Sully. He doesn't give a shit."

"How can you tell? He could give a shit. He could give lots of shits. He's just been hiding it under that tough facade." After thinking over my statement, I shake my head. "Nah. It's Sully. He definitely gives zero shits."

I press my body into Kelly's, snagging my free hand behind his neck to yank his head down to me. "In that case," I whisper right before I take his lips with mine.

In response, Kelly circles his arms around me, hauling me up until I'm teetering on my tip toes to reach him. He doesn't hold back, throwing everything into the kiss that feels like lasts an eternity but somehow only mere minutes pass.

"Ok," I exhale against his lips. "That's not awful."

"What?" His tone is incredulous as he pulls back and I slowly slide down his body until I'm standing flat-footed again. "The kiss wasn't awful?"

"Shut up. The kiss was fire and you know it. I'm talking about the PDA. I don't hate it."

"The PDA?" He dips his head to steal another kiss, his hand wandering to cup my ass this time.

I swat his hand away and he chuckles. "Behave."

"No. I don't want to. I finally get to show off my girl to the world. You're not going to ruin that for me." He runs his hands down my body, palming my butt, before traveling back up to frame my face. Although his actions are possessive and defiant, the way he looks at me is the exact opposite. It's sweet, oozing with tenderness. His thumbs caress my cheeks once, twice, and then he lets go to reclaim my hand.