“It’s healing. It’s just a little fresh, is all.”
“Jesus, is that why you came back? You almost died?” I pulled my hands away and looked up. He chuckled and shook his head.
“No. I was returning tonight regardless. Some marks have some fight in them, is all. This one was—” He tilted his head side to side. “Entertaining. Seriously, I’ll be back to normal by tonight.”
“Can I at least patch it up or something?” I grimaced. I could see that he was right. It was healing fast. It still looked gross.
“Do you keep bandages here?”
“I’ll make one.” I looked around the room. The hot blood was drying on the floor amongst broken ceramic. Shit.
I hurried away and returned with cheesecloth and tape. He was scowling the entire time I played doctor but let me cover the gashes anyway.
I poured him another cup of blood and told him to go sit down. “I’ll come sit with you as soon as I clean this up.”
He nodded and did as told. Blood was a sticky liquid, and it being warm didn’t help any. I ruined two towels in the clean-up process. Finally, I made it to the living room.
“Sorry, I’m a mess, still.” I laughed. I found Desi sitting on the couch, still in only a towel, flipping through my sketchpad.
“You started a new book?” he asked, turning the page. I plopped down and put my legs under me. I moved in close to him.
“I did. I needed a new project to keep my mind occupied. I don’t know if you know this but working at the movie theater sucks.”
He chuckled but didn’t take his eyes off the paper. “This is really good. Was this for me?”
“It’s my version of the Tarot. Every day I picked a different card and drew whatever came to mind. Do you like them?” I stared down at my version of the Queen of Swords.
“These are amazing. Seriously.” He continued through the book, stopping on this one or that. “You should color these. I want to hang these up in my apartment.”
“Really? You don’t have to just because I did them.”
He shook his head and took his eyes off the drawings. “It’s like seeing the cards through your eyes. It’s refreshing. Some of these are beautiful.” He searched through the book and found the Two of Wands. “And some are—dismal.” He showed me the Eight of Swords. “But it’s all so fascinating.”
“I did one special for you. I don’t think you’ll like to hang that one up, though.”
“More special than all of these?” He smiled. I beamed.
“The Hanged Man.” I pressed my lips together tightly as I reached for the sketchpad. “I actually did two versions of this card, but the second time around, I had a lot more fun with it.”
I found the detailed drawing completely out of place in the book of cartoon drawings and pressed it to my chest to cover it. Desi was onto me, as I could hardly hold the giggles in. He cocked an eyebrow and eyed me suspiciously.
“That is the card I drew when we met.”
“It is. This one took the most time to do.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and flipped it around.
Silence.
I popped an eye open to see his eyes wider than I had ever seen them. His mouth was agape but upturned slightly.
“That’s uh—familiar.” He chuckled and took the book back. “God damn. This is detailed. It’s like looking at the actual picture I took. Which was a pretty good shot if I do say so myself.” He smiled at me, and I relaxed.
“Indeed.”
“What does this have to do with the card?” He cocked his head as he stared down at the dick pic he sent me months ago.
“The Hung Man. Get it, eh, eh?” I nudged his ribs with my elbows. He groaned loudly and tossed the book on the coffee table.
He turned and wrapped his arms around me, pushing me down into the cushions. “You are such a fucking nerd.” He laughed and buried his mouth against my neck. I giggled at the tickling sensation.
