Page 4 of Obnoxious Bad Boy

So he does remember. I swallow, hugging the computer to my chest. “Oh, that? It was ages ago, don’t worry about it,” I say as if I haven’t made him my nemesis for the past two years because of that event. It must be the aura of his hotness that melts my brain.

His mouth crooks, and it gives me a glimpse of white teeth, but while he’s done his duty and even apologized, he’s still standing in front of me while everyone around us peeks our way, surely wondering what a man like him wants with me. At least that’s what I think is happening, because I find myself unable to look away from the symmetry of his angular features.

“No, I should have apologized then, but I was in a hurry and—I kinda feel bad about it to this day. I’m not that kind of guy.”

His eyes may be the perfect ice-blue, but I’m boiling in his attention. He also stands close enough for me to smell him, and I’m starting to recognize a hint of cinnamon in his cologne and… smoke? Like from firewood? Moss? It smells like a rugged mercenary from a fantasy book distilled into perfume and sold for two hundred bucks a bottle.

You’re not? I want to ask, ready to believe his every word.

I laugh it off. “You can buy me a coffee sometime, I’m here often.” Did I really just say that? I’m a flirting genius. But then… if he sat down to have coffee with me at Rainbowology, my friends would roast me to death. Fuck.

Vex grins and pushes back his smooth black hair. “I have a better idea. How about I give you a small tattoo? Free of charge, of course.”

I blink a bit too fast. I love tattoos. If they’re done well, they can be beautiful and artistic. Vex’s certainly are. But I’m a future lawyer, so it’s not like I can tattoo my neck. No, definitely not. A tattoo is out of the question. My parents would kill me. Maybe even force me to do laser removal. Accepting a random tattoo gift is out of the question.

“O-okay…”

So maybe I’m a bit starstruck.

He grins as if I’d just agreed to give up my kidney. “Great. I have time tonight after the studio closes. Say, around eight?”

Of course he only has time after work, because people sign up months in advance to get ink from him. I may have toyed around with looking at his website, so I know. Is this really an opportunity I can pass on? I could choose a place on my body not likely to be seen by my parents.

Inner thigh, my horny brain suggests.

“I’ll come. There,” I add, feeling my face heat up, and I’m sadly pale enough for that to show. “To the studio. The one down the street?” I ask as if I don’t know exactly who he is.

Vex nods. “That’s the one. Don’t be late,” he says and winks at me before walking off. It seems he does not need my answer.

I stand there, trying to understand what’s just happened, but my heart is rattling so loudly it’s drowning out my thoughts. I love to hate him on a daily basis, but the moment he turned his attention my way, I melted into a puddle of goo.

I don’t consider myself a spontaneous kind of guy, so I’m glad he didn’t ask me to go with him now, because I might have not been able to make that choice. With a few hours to go, I can think of a design and—

He did say it’s after hours. Does that mean we’ll be alone?

What if we shared a few jokes, exchanged numbers, and then bam, we’re texting buddies. And after a few months, let’s say, it’s my birthday, I throw a party, and casually invite him. But then we both drink a bit too much, and (because by then he knows I’m gay) he says he always wondered what it’s like to kiss a guy. So I say that I can show him. And maybe he likes the kiss, and wants to explore—

“Are you okay?” My friend Matt appears at my side with a concerned expression. He’s dressed in a jersey that hugs his muscles. He’s a jock. But also a golden retriever kind of dude. He even has the dirty blond hair to complete the look.

Matt shakes my shoulder. “Earth to Aaron. Was that Vex dude bothering you?”

“Oh. No, I mean…” Get a grip Aaron! I’ve been bitching to Matt about Vex for a year now. We actually became friends over these rants combined with his hate for his now-boyfriend’s ex. I can’t back out now. “He was just…” What could Vex have possibly wanted with me that makes sense? “Asking me where I got my suspenders.”

Matt’s concerned expression softens. “Oh, is there a costume party I don’t know about? Can’t wait to be the troll to my elf again, if you know what I mean,” he says, wiggling his brows.

Ugh. Happy couples are so unbearable sometimes.

“Halloween is almost two months away,” I say dryly. “Are my suspenders a costume?”

“No! They’re great! My grandad had ones just like that.” Matt gets flustered, but he’s so easy to read my attitude softens. I don’t want to put him on the spot. He’s one of my very few friends outside the lawyers-to-be circle, and while he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, he always has good intentions. I can be myself when I’m around him, and that’s worth much more than professional connections.

I sigh. “Well, your grandad had very good taste then.”

Matt clears his throat and scratches his head. “Yeah. Anyway, I was thinking you could pick the film for today’s movie night,” he says, and it’s a big sacrifice, since our tastes are very much on the opposing ends of the spectrum between trashy popcorners and artistic cinema with subtitles.

I can appreciate that by trying to find us some middle ground between classic and trashy. “Hitchcock it is.”

Matt makes a face. “Just not the bird one again.”