Tattooed Illusions (BxB)

F O R T Y O N E

Past the thick curtain of cedar trees decorating the landscape was the calm, indigo and lilac waters of the lake. The beautiful hues painted the sky above, as the glowing sun bathed in the horizon. Fireflies waltzed onto the overgrown patches of wildflowers near the lake. Like twinkling stars, the insects illuminated the lush grass and adorned Heidi's brown locks in a halo.

Heidi sent Apollo a wide smile. "Look at how beautiful," he commented. He sat cross legged beside the lake, while Apollo was sprawled out next to him. "How did you find it?"

He threw a small pebble into the water and watched the ripples it created in fascination. In the far distance, mountains loomed, their limbs aiming for the sky. A breeze brushed against their faces and even though it was warm, goosebumps rose on their skin. Heidi shivered.

Apollo pecked his cheek. "I found it why I was gathering fire wood. I knew you'd like it." Apollo draped a blanket on Heidi's shoulders and pulled him into his warm embrace. The scent of charcoal wafted in the crisp air and was fresh on Apollo's fitted, navy tshirt. "You want to swim with me?"

Heidi rose a curious brow. "Swim?"

Apollo grins lazily. "Yeah."

Heidi averted his brown eyes. "I can't swim, Apollo. My parents didn't teach me how to swim."

Apollo lifted his chin with his fingers and smiled at him warmly. His stare was adoring and tender. "I'll help you, baby."

Heidi nodded hesitantly.

His hands grasped onto the fabric of Apollo's shirt. His arms were hooked around his neck. His feet caressed the lukewarm water. His gentleness made Apollo laugh. "You don't have to be scared, Heidi. I've got you. You'll be okay. The water won't hurt you."

As soon as a fish tickles his toes, Heidi abruptly straddled Apollo and hoisted himself into his arms. "Are you sure? I think that fish is trying to kill me."

Apollo chuckled and his lips quirked up into a amused smile. "I'm sure. The fish is harmless." Slowly, he loosened his tight grip on Apollo and attempts to swim in the water. But in reality, he flails pitifully in the water, while he splashes Apollo in the face.

"God, I fucking suck at swimming," he says, his nose scrunched cutely at the dark haired boy.

Apollo brushes a loose tendril of his brown hair behind his ear and smiles softly. "You'll get better, baby. In the meantime, we should head back to the cabin." He pecks Heidi's pouty, pink lips delicately before he cradles him in his arms and sets him down on the pillowy grass. He wraps the fleece blanket around his shoulders and leads him by the hand to their cabin.

The glow from the camp fire illumines Trace's bronze skin. The fire crackles softly when he adds more wood and a small smile adorns his pale lips. The atmosphere is silent without Ashtyn's laughter and the thought pains him.

"You need some company?" Trace sees a familiar figure standing against a tree, his foot propped up lazily. Trace shrugs nonchalantly. "I'm Jersey." He smiles at him. Swirling through his chocolate irises are flickers of warm golden. His luscious, dark curls are sprawled onto his forehead messily. His muscular arms are unblemished, devoid of tattoos, and colored with faint veins. A fitted, black tshirt clings to his skin and his defined abs bleed through the fabric.

Trace's cheeks warm when he realizes he's staring. Jersey's red lips upturn into a smirk. "Checking me out, huh? You find me attractive?" He clamps his graham cracker down onto his golden marshmallow. Biting into the s'more, he licks the melted chocolate off his lips slowly. His smirk widens when he notices Trace's wavering gaze.

Trace grits his teeth at him. "Well, what do you expect me to do when you purposefully do that?"

"It's called seduction, love," he says. The Brooklyn accent seeps into his words. "I'm quite the expert at it, you could say. I've had my fair share of fun in the past."

"Of course you have," the blonde mutters.

"Ah, so you admit I'm attractive," he drawls out.

"No, but you seem like the kind of guy to seek out fun."

Jersey raises an eyebrow. "Are you slut shaming me? Cause, love, I wouldn't do that if I were you." He slowly leans forward and his lips brush against Trace's ear. The chocolate on Jersey's tongue embraces him. "What I do in my free time is none of your fucking business."

"I'm not slut shaming you. I'm just saying that it's kinda weird to start a conversation with 'You need some company?'," Trace counters.

Trace freezes when Jersey's lips brush against his. "You could respond to me, you know," Jersey says. "And, no, I'm not talking about my comment."

Ashtyn watches with pain striken eyes as another guy feels his lips. With his hands buried in his pockets, he strolls back to his cabin, the apology he had rehearsed held captive by his lips.

Abruptly, Trace pushes Jersey away, his blue orbs falling to the dirt under the soles of his tattered Van's. "Me and my boyfriend had a fight, but I can't betray him like this. I'm sorry, Jersey."

Jersey smiles faintly. "Hey, it's okay. I didn't know you had a relationship. If I knew, I wouldn't've tried anything."

Jersey stands up and leaves Trace clothed in silence. Guilt gnaws at him. Even though he hadn't seen Ashtyn in a while, he was still devoted to him.

Hey y'all! Um, if you have any questions, any at all, that you want the characters to answer, please leave them down below. I'll have a Q&A at the end. The questions can be as dirty as you want. I've seen other authors do this, so I wanted to try it out.