Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

to look at her before Chase got a word in. "He's actually kinda busy working on me, but you can leave your number and see if he calls you."
    Very discreet.
    Her facial expression went from inviting to shocked and then she looked beyond infuriated when she stared at Ty for a moment and went on looking at Chase, as if waiting for him to disagree. But Chase kept organizing his tools, obviously trying not to laugh while he was probably well aware of her eyes clinging on to him.
    "Sorry, doll," Chase said and flashed her with one of his smiles while lifting his eyes from the packages and gauzes he was organizing on the table next to Ty. "The guy has a point. I am pretty busy with guiding him into the world of body art."
    Even before her eyes widened and then ran over the very obvious traces of already being introduced to the world of body art literately written all over Ty, Ty felt his cheeks burn and then he knew he was blushing. And though he blushed very rarely, once he did, it was like a full face-mask. He turned to stare ahead, not looking at her but not willing to look at Chase either. But he did thank the guy for being as obvious as possible and Chase only found it funny. Funny.
    "If you don't want people to think you're jealous, stop acting like it."
    "I wasn't."
    "Yes, you were."
    "No, I was not."
    "Yes," Chase said and sat on his stool beside Ty. "You were."
    "No. I was not. I was just worried her boobs might fall out and roll into your eyes and then you might actually cause some permanent damage with that thing," Ty said and gestured towards the machine Chase had in his hand. But the man only grunted, rolling the stool closer. "In case you forgot, I already have."
    "No you haven't… It's not damage ." Ty dropped his eyes to the picture planted inside his skin, his fingers slightly brushing the lines swirling against his wrist. "If it was, I wouldn't have come back."
    "You sure about that?" Chase asked. Ty looked at him, now for the first time after he'd found his new skin color and apparently it was still there because Chase cocked his brow and smirked. "Red suits you."
    Busted .
    Ty was ready to respond with a few chosen words but then the machine turned on, if only for a short moment when Chase tested the equipment and the buzzing, however quiet in the collection of sounds, swept Ty clean. Clean of everything. He didn't even feel the gauze clean the lines previously drawn into his skin, didn't hear whatever Chase said to him. All he could hear was the faint sound of that machine and the interlude of his favorite torture, the one he hadn't had in weeks.
    Chase's hand brushed against his arm, but Ty hardly felt it. He was going numb already, too anxious to get it started but the touch that was placed against his bare shoulder woke him up. Chase looked at him with a knowing expression on his face and Ty felt his insides melt a little when Chase moved his hand from Ty's shoulder to his forearm, the touch never leaving Ty's skin. "Have you missed this?"
    "Yes." He sounded too needy for his own good but he had missed it, too much. He'd missed the pain, the other worldly feeling it created and stole him into. Just a sting but it was so much more to him. And Chase probably understood, knew exactly what Ty was thinking, because he went as far as to follow the line of red marker on Ty's skin with his finger while looking at Ty with his eyes like two blue suns. Bright and deadly, giving life and killing at the same time. "I think I missed it too…though I can't get you bouncing like a pony here."
    "I think you could," Ty muttered.
    Chase ran his finger lower until it was right against Ty's wrist. One firm movement and his fingers were around Ty's hand. And he held on, tightly, implying something other than just holding on and Ty's blood rushed towards the lower section of his body. "Perhaps. But I'm pretty sure we will get kicked out if you start moaning in the middle of the work."
    Ty glanced over his shoulder at the mass of people that were moving pass them. None of them seemed to realize what they were talking about. They couldn't hear, not through the mess of sounds and voices and noise that was becoming too intruding now. Ty wished they would've been anywhere else but there. Any place would've been better, as long as it would've been clean from any excess souls. He didn't need random people looking and talking. He only needed one.
    "And just so you know…my eyes work perfectly well even with her boobs falling