Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

release the hold of his lip and the moan rolled out. Not so quiet now, not so silent. And Chase rewarded him with a slow brush against the skin of his inner wrist. "Well, Ty…answer the lady."
    Oh…my…God… "We planned on…um…the big one…" He would definitely embarrass himself soon. It wasn't just the pain that made him feel like he was walking on glass. It was Chase and it was the fact that while no one knew what he was doing, he knew. And he knew he was letting go, if not of himself but of something. And it did make him want to do it so that he knew Chase would enjoy it. And another moan just brushed out, escaped without him even realizing it when Chase turned his hand and went towards the lines on the crook of his arm. "Oh…shit…"
    "I don't have any tattoos myself but my son has plenty… I find it quite fascinating, really. And I must say it was very brave of you to trust this man enough to design the picture before having any other work done on you." She chuckled and evidently talked to Chase. "No offense."
    "None taken… I guess we both got lucky," Chase responded, much more friendly than usual. And his words warmed some hidden part of Ty, folding his secreted feelings even tighter. "Didn't we, Ty?"
    "Yes."
    "So will you be continuing the picture to cover his back also? I noticed that it is still left empty." A question to Chase, clearly, and while Ty was glad she didn't ask anything from him, he was growing a little restless when Chase's answer seemed to take more and more time. His eyes opened, searching for Chase's but he couldn't reach the gaze that was held on Ty's arm. "No."
    Just 'no'. And that was true also because they had agreed to finish what they had started and then that was it. And it was Ty's decision, not Chase's and he had made it clear since the beginning. So why did it feel like shit now?
    "Oh…" she gasped. "If I may ask, is there any special reason for that?"
    Chase's hand went to clean off the excess ink and his eyes looked up at Ty. And what Ty saw was foreign to him because there was something even darker in those eyes. Much too dreadful and deep for him to dive into. "Ty doesn't want anything more. Just this."
    A simple fact but Ty felt as if it was an accusation. And he had no idea what he was really hearing because he felt as if there were things written between the lines and he just couldn't read them.
    "Well, perhaps that is for the best. It looks just perfect the way it is," she said, her smile again vivid in her voice. Chase's eyes held Ty's for one more moment before he went back to his work. "I think so too."
    The burn was back and so was the overwhelming blankness that swept away everything. And for the first time since it had all started over a year ago Ty wanted it to be gone. He was still looking at Chase though he didn't have much to look at. No eyes to meet, no lips to follow. Just the words that already haunted his mind though he'd just heard them. But he sank again, got lost. And he was forced to stay there, forced in place in the pitch black darkness by one hand and a stack of needles and one man and he couldn't find his way out anymore. No longer.
    ****
    Chase had ignored Ty's attempts to get all the stuff packed into the car later that day. He'd said Ty's arm, the left one since he'd only done the one now, wasn't fit for any actual work, and Ty had to wait by the car, close to fucking pouting, while Chase had carried everything to the car and packed his jeep so full, Ty was sure there was stuff they hadn't brought with them that morning. And the car wasn't really fit for the load, though Chase insisted that a classic could carry any amount of weight. Ty silently argued by saying that it wasn't a classic but five feet from antique. That had earned him a mean glare and fifteen minutes of not-talking.
    The drive back took twice as long as their drive to the exhibition, because Chase had to stop by at a gas-station. Not to pump up his 'classic' but to refill his stash of goodies he had in the glove compartment. Ty waited in the car and made sense of the scenery while Chase did the shopping, and his wait extended to close to twenty minutes before Chase got back. A cup of take-away coffee was passed to Ty while Chase started the car and used his other hand and his teeth to yank open a bag of bacon chips.
    "You want some?" Chase asked and looked over his shoulder to the road spreading behind them while he wheeled the car to the road. Ty grimaced and took a sip