* * *
Knox
Ty’s in the reception area of Marked when I arrive. He’s looking at the piercing rings and I nearly bust up laughing. “Dude. Tell me you’re getting a Prince Albert.”
“Jesus. Don’t sneak up on me. And no, I’m not piercing my dick. First off, that’s not really my style, and besides that, you were a whiny bitch while yours healed, so no, no, and hell no. Phoebe said she wants to get more piercings in her ears, so I was checking out what they have.”
My eyes roam the piercings, snagging on this thick barbell that would look fucking killer at the base of my cock.
“Holy Jesus, you’re not putting another piece of metal in your dick, are you?”
“Not now, no. Like you said, recovery time’s a bitch. But I’ve been thinking, maybe after we have another baby. We’d have to hold off on sex for a couple weeks anyway, so maybe then.”
My best friend’s eyes bug out. “Are you? Is she? Damn, you work fast.”
“No,” I laugh. “Willa’s not pregnant. We’ve talked about it and while we both want to give Rose siblings, we’re happy to wait a couple years so I can finish school and she can do her program.”
“Sorry to keep you guys waiting,” Nick, the owner of Marked, steps up to us. “It’s been non-stop in here today. You guys ready to go?”
“Yea,” Ty says. “Mine won’t be long. It’s just another of my favorite lines. I want it right on my forearm.”
Nick looks over the sketch and nods. “Cool, that’ll be quick and it’ll look good in between those vines you have. And what about you, man?” he says, turning my way.
I pull out the sketch Ollie worked up for me. He’s no tattoo artist, but the guy can draw. He took the ideas I gave him and ran. The end result is perfect. “This is what our buddy drew. I want it right over my chest, right next to the rose.” Nick stares down at the art I hand him and whistles. “This is pretty sick,” he says, and he’s right. It’s a compass, pointing north, and tangled in flowers. But if you look closer, the face of the compass is a sun. Because that’s what Willa is to me—the sun around which my world revolves, and the compass that keeps me moving in the right direction.
“Let’s head back,” Nick says, pointing down the hall. I get comfy in the plastic chair along the wall while Ty takes his place on the table. Nick goes through all the prep and then gets to work.
“September, huh?” I ask Ty, already knowing the answer.
He breaks into a grin. “Yea. I mean, it’s fast, I guess, but God, September feels like it’s too far away. I’d marry her next week if I could.”
“I’m happy for you guys. You deserve it.”
“So do you. When are you going to make it official?”
“I don’t know. It’s like we both know it’s a foregone conclusion, right? She knows I’ll ask, I know she’ll say yes. But we’ve got time to figure out the details. We’re not in a rush. Hell, we’re too damn tired from chasing our speed-demon around the house. I swear, my kid crawls faster than most adults walk.”
Nick laughs. “I hear you.”
“You have kids?” I ask. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but he just doesn’t give off dad-vibes. Then again, I probably don’t, either.
“Me? Hell no. One of my friends does. He and his wife just had a little girl a couple months back. She was born early, my buddy’s wife was on bed rest, it was a whole thing. Butshe’s changed so much in just a couple months. She’s not crawling yet, but she’s sitting up, which is wild. It’s crazy. He brought her to trivia the other night and I couldn’t believe how big she’d gotten. And now I sound like a middle-aged man, talking about how fast time goes by. If you need me, I’ll be over in the corner, crying over my lost youth. And I’m not even thirty yet.”
We laugh and the conversation veers in other directions. Nick tells us about some art he did for a couple guys in a rock band, and Ty tells me all about the war poetry class he’s taking this coming semester. It’s not my thing, but he’s damn near shaking with excitement.
Soon enough, Ty’s done and Nick disinfects everything before I take my spot on the table.
“You think Whit’s been acting weird lately?” Ty asks.
“Whit’s been acting weird since we met him,” I say honestly.
“Fair point. But weirder than usual. Like, secretive.”
I think back on the last few weeks. “Hard to say. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own shit I haven’t really noticed. I’ll keep an eye out. I’ve noticed Book’s dad being a giant asshole, though.”
“To paraphrase you, he’s also been like that since we met him.”
“Another fair point,” I agree. “But did he tell you his parents are setting him up? Some girl, I forget her name. Her parents go to the same church Booker’s family does and the Zabeks want Book to start courting her.”
