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Lexi scrunched her eyes closed, pushing the intrusive thoughts away, bending down with a sigh, she grabbed the arm of his chair and leaned down to slip off her heels. She blindly fished in her purse for her slip-on flats, knowing she’d be more comfortable during their session. Tucking the shoes aside, Lexi made her way toward the back office space where she’d usually find Noah in one of the rooms.
His voice carried down the hall, louder the closer she got. She reached the door frame and paused at his words.
“ Mom , no, everything is fine, Lexi and I have work so we can't come up. No, Mom, it's okay. I promise.” His sigh carried down the hall where she could hear him clearly. “ I can't talk about that, it isn't my story to tell. Please.” He huffed and his eyes rolled toward the ceiling for unknown guidance. “Lexi’s lost her family, Mom. I can’t change how she feels about the holidays. Yes, including the fake commercial ones designed to scare people. Mamma, please, try to understand. I’ll come up once things calm down, I’ll block some days at the shop when I go in. I have to set up for a client. I love you too. I’m good, I promise. She’s good, so good.”
Lexi approached the office door and stopped, not wanting to pull his attention and interrupt the call. She stepped back and leaned against the wall, listening while he finished talking to his mom. After a moment of silence, she padded into the room, heading straight toward where he was sitting behind the desk. Her hands cupped his face and the warmth of his skin seeped into her.
Leaning down, she gave him a slow, sweet kiss, which was out of the norm for her, but she just wanted to show him she appreciated the little things he did for her. She finally pulled back with a small, chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“What was that for?” he questioned.
Because you love me, even when I don’t. “Just felt like it. Can’t a girl kiss her hot, hot boyfriend?”
“Any day, all day, sweet pea.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. Without breaking his gaze, she kissed the pad of his thumb. His nose flared and he inched himself closer to her, invading her space completely.
The backs of her thighs pressed against the desk, Lexi’s arms wrapped around his waist easily, the closeness of his presence setting her world right. She’d feared there would be awkwardness after their date, but the ease of his words and demeanor soothed her worries until it became background noise.
Noah bundled her in his arms and she automatically straddled his waist, shifting their weight to the back of the desk chair. The muscles rippled in his arms, flexing with his fingers into her warm skin. “I missed you.”
“Mmmm,” she agreed, brushing her lips against his in soft strokes. “Your voicemail said something about a tattoo?” she reminded him with a subtle shimmy of her shoulders, then bit her bottom lip teasingly, hoping to keep the heavier topic at bay. “I saw your station was set up.”
“Yeah, the coral phosphorescent ink I ordered finally came in, and I’m dying to see it on my favorite canvas.” The tips of his fingers were warm as they skated across her hip, slipping beneath her shirt. His touch warmed more than just her skin.
The show of being easy breezy wore thin around Noah, and her mask fell away, leaving her behind without the security of her armor.
Her eyes searched his, seeking a deeper understanding, the niggling thought in the back of her mind that her rejection of him bled into other parts of their relationship and compromised the foundation.
“Noah?” she whispered. The vulnerability was foreign to her out in the open. “About the other night…”
Noah's eyes softened as he gazed back at her, sensing the shift in her mood. He knew that something was bothering her, but he didn't want to push her too hard. Instead, he reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“Yeah?” he murmured softly.
“I'm sorry,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I know I’m a pain in the ass.”
Noah shook his head, his thumb still tracing circles on her hip. “No, sweet pea, you're not a pain. You're just you. And that's all I want you to be.”
“My mom always said I was hard-headed.” She smiled faintly, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. “I… I don't want to mess things up between us, you know? The other night...”
“Forget it for right now.” Noah leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “You could never mess things up between us. We're in this together, remember?”
“But you want things,” she countered, trying to reason with him. “You want more.”
“I do. I pushed a boundary too fast, way too soon. I told you.” Noah crooked his finger under her chin, tipping her face toward him and leaving her unable to look away from his intense gaze. “I love you. I’m not leaving. I. Love. You.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a chaotic mess to the world, but to me? Fuck, Lex, I can’t imagine my life without you. That’s not the life I want. I want a life with you.” His gaze bore into her. “I want a life with you, I don't care where we are, how we live, or what the title is between us.”
“You—” A sob escaped her throat, suddenly finding her face full of his shirt. His cologne seeped into her senses , washing over and soothing her.
“I love you, we’ll get through this. You’re stuck with me , sweet pea.”
The emotional rollercoaster she’d found herself on, began to ebb away, making way for an old friend to make a return. Being at the shop for her ink sessions were like therapy for her, helping her heal. At the same time, it still caused her some underlying anxiety by dragging up demons and memories from a past that haunted her. It’d gotten better over time, but never left completely, even as Noah meticulously covered her pain with his work.
The piece he’d designed for her was intricate and detailed. Various flowers and vines started on her shoulder blade and a few petals curved over her arm. It then wound down her back and across her hip until it dipped beneath her shorts.
Noah’s line work was impeccable.
