Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

Noah kept trying to catch his gaze or the way he felt deep inside. The way he'd forbidden himself to ever feel again.
    "May I stay here through your next appointment? Adam is still not here." Noah eventually asked, politely, with not even a trace of his seduction, and Zach couldn't say anything but yes.
    He was focused all through the corset piercing of the next client, Mary, who was a regular girl just fame-struck enough to let Noah watch, but that didn't mean Zach wasn't aware of the gaze on the back of his neck or the warmth of Noah's body each time the man stood too close.
    "They come out in a few hours, right?" Noah asked.
    "Yeah. It's just for the photo shoot. Plus I'm sort of a piercing junky." The girl's voice was muffled as she lay on her stomach.
    "Does it scar?"
    "Not at all. This is probably my seventh corset, right Zach? Do you see any scars?"
    Zach hummed in agreement while Noah exclaimed, "You're my inspiration, doll."
    Mary blushed, the heat spreading all the way to the back of her neck, but Noah didn't pay any attention, "Can you schedule an appointment for me as well, Zach? I'll bring a photographer and we can do a few shots for the album."
    Zach had to blink away the image of Naked Noah spread out on his table, "Sure. Just settle everything with Jill and Adam. They know my schedule better than I do."
    "Thanks, sweetcheeks." Zach looked at Noah's black nail polish as the guy gripped the edge of the working table, leaning in to have a better look.
    "Be warned, Zach will want to remove them as well. He doesn't do permanent on the first go and especially not to a piercing newbie. He doesn't trust us to not keep the piercings after the shoot."
    "Oh I don't have any issues with having his hands on me twice." Noah shared a grin with Mary, but Zach was at a loss with words.
    "I hear ya," Mary quipped and Zach figured that must have been how Noah felt when on a stage.
    Then a phone rang and suddenly the playful Noah was gone only to be replaced with a businessman. In a flurry of words and motion he said his goodbyes and left Zach stunned, leaning over Mary. It was one of those days when nothing made much sense.
    Dancing that night around a pole, having both men and women tuck bills into his thong seemed more difficult than ever. He missed his son and kept thinking about Noah. What would a self-assured and larger-than-life guy see in a stripper? Zach flashed his tattoos, seduced with his gaze but failed to give the crowd even a whisper of a smile. Those he was still only able to give to Archer.
    ****
    "I'm sorry Zach, we won't be able to look after Archer this morning. Gabriel was working earlier and broke a glass. I have to take him to the hospital. Even the bar will be closed until I find someone to jump in. Sorry, man. I gotta go, he's bleeding all over the car." Zach listened to the message Michael had left on his cell at something like dawn.
    "Fucking shit! What am I supposed to do now?" Zach jumped out of bed and started dialing while pacing down the length of his room.
    "Hi, Carole. Sorry to wake you up this early. But could you possibly take Archer this morning? My morning babysitters can't make it," Zach asked desperately.
    "No? You're at work already?" Zach's heart sank. "No, no, I completely understand. I'll think of something. Have a good day at work." He hung up, at the verge of panic.
    "Hey, Adam. I can't make it today." Zach tapped his hand against his thigh.
    "Yeah, I know there's work. There always is. I don't have anyone to look after Archer. Gabriel got hurt and Michael took him to the hospital."
    Zach listened to Adam then promptly answered, "No, he's going to be alright. Probably just needs stitches or something. But I can't take a baby into a tattoo parlor." Zach sighed. "I don't know why not, it's just not appropriate."
    "Fine. We'll come. But don't bitch at me when he starts crying, and warn Jill before I get there." Zach rubbed at his eyes, already exhausted.
    Through another rush where he kissed his son's head and mumbled limitless words of comfort, Zach found himself entering the full parlor with a sense of trepidation.
    He knew Archer would be safe with plenty of people fussing over him, but he still didn't feel comfortable bringing his son into such a crowd. His sense of responsibility flared and he knew he looked as if he were in shock.
    "Hi, little baby!" Jill rushed right over, picking him out of his carrier and lifting him up in the air. "Your naughty daddy never brings you