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I’m watching Kelly frantically pace around the apartment. He’s clearly wound up. Johnny has well and truly fucked everyone off this time. The guys stormed out of the apartment a couple of hours ago, and although I didn’t expect to see any of them again before our planning session tonight, Kelly surprised me by coming back. I listen as Kelly calls the shop and asks Mona, the receptionist, to cancel his bookings for today. I get the impression that it’s not something he makes a habit of, but seeing how wound up he is, I don’t think tattooing anyone is a smart idea. I wouldn’t want him working on me in this state. I need to make sure he unwinds. I feel partly responsible for his agitation, so it’s the least I can do.
He hangs up and tosses his phone on the couch in frustration.
“Hey,” I say softly. “Do you have plans for today?”
“Nope,” he grumbles, still lost in his thoughts.
“I was thinking of hitting the beach, but if you’ve got a better idea, I’d be up for whatever.” I smile at him, and it looks like a modicum of his stress melts away. Good. I’m on the right track.
“Actually…the beach sounds kind of perfect.” He returns my smile and my stomach flips. “I’ve not been in forever. Are you ready? Do I have time to grab stuff?”
“Yeah, of course,” I tell him, indicating my unfinished cup of tea.
He races into his room and is back less than five minutes later in boardies, a tank which shows off his impressive biceps and ink, and flip-flops. It’s a great look on him. With his neatly trimmed beard and long, wild hair tamed into a high manbun, he looks every bit the Miami Beach sex god, though he’d easily fit in well on the boardwalks of L.A. I can’t believe that he doesn’t spend every spare waking moment on the sands. My mouth waters at the sight of him.
“Got room for these in your bag?” he asks, showing me his sunglasses and a towel I hadn’t noticed in his hands.
“Sure.” He tosses them to me and I quickly stow them away so that we can get going. “Is it far?”
“A short ride in the truck, or we can walk, it’s a nice day.”
“Let’s walk,” I tell him. I figure it’ll be a good way to see some sights, and I’m not wrong. Kelly points out all sorts of buildings, places, and landmarks as we go, but they’re not the sort of things you’d learn from a guidebook, and he soon has me giggling as he makes up more and more outlandish ‘sights.’ We stand, particularly enthralled by one woman’s laundry waving in the breeze from her fifth-story apartment, as Kelly creates some nonsense about its origins.
Eventually though we reach the beach after taking a long route, and I quickly dump my bag in the sand, pulling off my tank and shorts to reveal my bikini underneath.
“Can I get you wet?” Kelly teases, raking his eyes over my body, as he gestures to the water.
“Fuck yeah! I love the ocean,” I tell him, ignoring the teasing innuendo in his voice.
“You need to cream first.”
I pause for a moment, mouth falling open. The image of Kelly with his fingers pushing inside the front of my bikini bottoms spreads like wildfire in my mind.
“You don’t want to burn right before you get a tattoo,” he adds, looking at me like he knows exactly what I was just thinking about.
“I creamed before we came out, but I’ll let you know if I need to cream again later.” I don’t miss the flash of disappointment in his eyes, and I resist the giggle threatening to sneak out. He’s so easy to tease. “Do you need some?”
“Not that kind,” he scoffs, and I fail to hide my own disappointment.
Damn, I’d love to run my hands over his subtly toned, muscular back and shoulders. I shamelessly perv at him as he strips off his shirt. His body is fine, but his ink is divine, and I get totally distracted. When he turns to put his shirt down, I spy a gorgeous woman surrounded by roses on his shoulder blade, Day of the Dead style. I love it.
“Pervert,” he laughs, catching me staring.
“I was checking you out,” I insist, and he laughs. “I mean, I was checking out your ink.”
“Yeah, yeah…” he mocks. “That’s what they all say. Come on.”
He grabs my hand and gives me a gentle tug in the direction of the ocean, and I willingly let him pull me along. When my feet start moving, I’m surprised that he doesn’t drop my hand. Surprised, but not complaining.
Well, until I hit the water that is.
“Shit! That’s cold!” I shriek.
It’s pretty exhilarating once you get used to it, but initially it takes my breath away and causes goosebumps to break out all over my body.
“It’s the Atlantic! What did you expect? Besides, it's really not that cold.”
“Erm, I’ve been traveling…I’m used to the Indian Ocean. That’s like a bath! This is baltic in comparison!” I exaggerate.
