The Boys and Me

56. Hold Me Close

I was still in the kitchen talking with Cori when Heath finally came home.

"Hey, nice shirt" He said, walking over to me and kissing the top of my head.

"Nice face" I shot back and he smiled, pulling me into his arms.

"How about you go wash up and relax before dinner? We'll eat as soon as Dad's home" Mom said and he nodded, pulling me to my feet and leading me to his bedroom where I flopped on the bed.

"You talked to her then?" Heath asked and I nodded, closing my eyes and sighing.

"Everything okay?" Heath asked, sitting next to me.

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted" I said and he laughed.

"You had a pretty long day, how about you get some sleep and I'll save you some dinner if you wake up hungry" He suggested and I nodded, climbing under his blankets and snuggling into his leg.

"I meant your bed" He said and I shrugged.

"I want to sleep here. Please Heath" I said, looking up to him. He smiled and nodded, leaning down and kissing my forehead.

"Of course Al, anything for you. You know that" He said with a soft voice, laying down next to me as I fell asleep.

When I did wake again, it was a lot later and Heath was sitting next to me, glasses on and head down reading.

"Morning sleeping beauty" He said, looking to me with a smile. I sat up slightly and kissed him on the cheek.

"What time is it?" I asked, yawning in the process. He laughed at me, checking his phone as his watch was now off his wrist.

"It's 10:30, you hungry?" He asked and I shook my head, grabbing his hand and looking at his little tattoo he had shown me a week ago.

"I kinda like this" I said, tracing the outline of the slug with my finger.

"Well my mom doesn't. She saw it a few days after I got it, because I hadn't put a watch on and it was still pretty bold" He said.

"How old were you when you got it?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Fifteen. Maybe younger, I can't remember. It was my first" He said.

"Has she seen any of your others?" I asked and he shook his head.

"She only found out about my delinquent one because they were all here and Todd and Scotty had their fucking shirts off" He muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Idiots, huh?" I said and he laughed.

"You've only had to deal with it for a month, I've had Todd to deal with my entire life and the boys since high school" He said and I smiled.

"On the contrary of that, they've had to put up with you too" I said and he rolled his eyes again.

"Are you ever gonna stop being mean to me?" He joked and I shrugged.,

"Na, I kinda like it" I said, resting for a little before something sparked my attention, Heath noticing as I sat, up.

"Now what?" He asked and I sighed.

"Does that mean your mom knows about my tattoo now as well?" I asked and he shrugged.

"She'll know that it's coming, not necessarily that you have it already" He said and I nodded.

"But not my other one, right?" I asked and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Unless you told her, she won't know. Nor will she care a heck of a lot." He said.