“That was only, like, my third one. But I didn’t mind. I knew I’d always be able to give him shit for it.” He chuckled at the memory.
“That makes it all worth it, then,” I said.
“Do you have any tattoos?”
A blush crept onto my cheeks, a residual effect of still being slightly self-conscious around him. “I’ve always kind of wanted one, but I’m a little nervous.”
“I could give it to you,” he offered. Suddenly, the whole idea felt pretty intimate.
When I didn’t answer, he trailed one finger along the many earrings in my right ear.
“You clearly aren’t afraid of needles, with all these piercings.”
“That was more of an eff-you to my ex than anything else,” I explained, tipping my head to get a better angle of Harrison’s face. “He thought more than one earring in each lobe was trashy. So, naturally, as soon as I dumped him, I went straight to a piercer. I also contemplated dying my hair blonde, but I’m glad I didn’t go through with it.”
His jaw clenched at my explanation. “He sounds like a piece of work.”
“You have no idea,” I said.
Harrison surprised me by dropping his head to place a soft kiss on my forehead.
“So, last day tomorrow,” I said, wariness coating my voice.
He sighed and dropped my legs so that I stood next to him in the pool.
“Don’t kill me, but I’m kind of excited to get back.” The dagger he’d just inserted into my heart twisted a little.
“Oh?” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“Yeah. I don’t typically spend this much time away from the shop. And I feel like—” his eyes searched mine before they moved to the evening sky that spread out in front of us. “I feel like I have a lot of new ideas after this trip.”
“Like getting a working website,” I teased, letting any anxiety I felt about his comment float away.
“Definitely.” He smirked down at me. “Although, I might still need your help with that.”
“Say the word and I’m there,” I said easily. The water cradled me as I floated, my fingers slicing through its warmth. I moved my hands in gentle arcs around my body, feeling the light, comforting pressure against my skin.
I tipped back my head and sighed. “I guess I’m excited to get back, too. Hopefully the office didn’t implode without both Charlie and me there.” I stopped drifting and placed my hands on the edge of the pool.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Harrison said, moving to stand next to me, his leg brushing mine. He kept occupying my space in the best possible way. “Maybe now you’ll feel better taking more time off in the future.”
“Maybe,” I agreed, hoping he was right.
Eventually, we toweled off and headed back to our room. The ominous one bed now sent a thrill of excitement through me instead of solely nerves.
Would he make a move? Would I have to?
My body was on literal fire just looking at him, damp and shirtless. It took everything in me not to reach out and run my hands along his abs, up to his pecs, and along his tattoos.
He must feel it too.
“I almost forgot,” he said, breaking me from my trance.
“Hmm?” I asked, not fully capable of forming a coherent thought at the moment.
“I got this for you,” he said, picking up the jeans that he’d discarded on the bed and pulling out a small box.
Joy surged up inside me as I took it from his hands.
