by Anna Martin
“I saw your light on, thought I’d say hi.”
“Come on in. I’m about done for the day.”
Tyler followed Max into the studio and smiled as he looked around. “You’ve fixed up a lot more since I was here last.”
Max nodded. “Yeah. I finally got all of my artwork unpacked. It was mixed in among the junk for the apartment, so I had to go through and separate it.”
“All this is yours?” Tyler asked. He sounded impressed.
“Yeah,” Max said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I made the decision pretty early on that I was only going to display my own stuff in here. I don’t work from flash sheets—those are the pages you see with designs on them. Everything I do is custom designed for each client.”
“That’s pretty awesome.”
Max nodded. “If I can’t do what someone’s asking for, I’ll find another artist who can and refer them. I’ve only been doing this for, what, seven years now. I’m definitely not as good as some other people out there, and there’re styles that aren’t my strong point at all.”
“Like what?”
“Portraits,” Max said. “Photo-realistic portraits are so, so difficult. I’d prefer to send a client to a really good artist to do that sort of thing rather than attempting it myself and fucking up. People talk about tattoos a lot. I don’t want a reputation for the bad things.”
“That’s a good business plan.”
“I think so,” Max said with a laugh. “Your design is ready to go, by the way. When you’re ready.”
Tyler nodded slowly. “How about next week? I have four days off after I finish my run of night shifts.”
“I can make that work,” Max said.
“I actually came over for a reason,” Tyler said, and he suddenly looked both shy and awkward.
“Oh?”
“I was going to ask you if you’d like to go out with me. On a date.”
Max leaned back against the ugly desk and folded his arms over his chest. “Okay. I got the impression you weren’t interested.” He cocked his head to the side. “Probably because you explicitly told me you weren’t interested.”
Tyler nodded. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Dangerous,” Max said, teasing.
“Very,” Tyler agreed. He looked slightly terrified, and he wasn’t meeting Max’s eyes. “And I have no idea what I’m doing. I probably should have said that before. But I’ve really liked spending time with you recently.”
“You don’t have to do this, Tyler,” Max said. His stomach sank a little. However much he wanted to go out on a date with Tyler, he didn’t want it to be for the wrong reasons. Like Tyler feeling sorry for him. “You’ve been so great to me since I moved here. I value your friendship too much to fuck it up with some awkward and miserable dates.”
“Well, I definitely don’t want to take you on an awkward and miserable date,” Tyler said, smiling shyly. “If you’re not interested, that’s okay. But I wanted to ask anyway.”
Max took a few slow breaths. He’d never felt this unsure about anything before. He couldn’t figure out Tyler’s motivations, why he’d suddenly changed his mind. It seemed like the question had come from an honest place, though, so he figured he owed Tyler at least an honest answer in response.
“Okay,” he said before he could change his mind. “Yeah.”
“Great.” Tyler beamed at him. “I’ll text you and let you know what time once I’ve got a babysitter arranged.”
Max couldn’t help but smile back at him, appreciating Tyler’s enthusiasm.
“I’ll see you then.”
Chapter 8
Even though he was nervous as hell, Tyler made an effort for Max. He hadn’t been on a date in a really long time, and it felt nice, dressing up to look good for someone.
Juniper was at Dana’s for a sleepover with Casey, so Tyler had the house to himself. He put some music on and took a really, really long shower, then trimmed his beard in the steamy bathroom. He glanced down and wondered if he should trim his pubes too. That was maybe too presumptuous.
Tyler knew he needed to get his hair cut; it was getting too long. His mother would give him hell about it if she saw him like this, but Tyler had been working long shifts to cover a colleague who was sick, so he hadn’t had a chance to stop into his barber. He did his best, working some wax through his hair to style it and decided it was good enough.
On the drive over to Max’s apartment, Tyler finally let himself acknowledge how tense he was feeling. The only way he’d been able to deal with the fact that he was going to date a guy was to not think about it at all. So he hadn’t.
Now it was happening, Tyler felt a little sick.
He’d never had this feeling when he was dating anyone before—not even Victoria, and he’d married her. No one had made him feel like his whole world was turned on its head like Max, but instead of feeling scared by that, he was excited.
When he pulled up outside the studio, Max was leaning against the wall, frantically texting someone and smoking a cigarette. Tyler didn’t know that he smoked.
“Sorry,” Max said as he slid into the passenger seat.
“What for?”
“Smoking. I don’t, normally.”
Tyler hadn’t thought that Max might be nervous too. That was interesting.
He pulled back out and watched out of the corner of his eye as Max unwrapped a Life Saver and popped it into his mouth.
“So I thought we could head over to Richmond,” Tyler said, taking the turn back onto Main Street. “There’s a new sushi and grill restaurant that just opened that I heard good things about.”
Max nodded. “I haven’t had sushi in ages. That sounds great.”
“Okay,” Tyler said, letting out a quick, tense huff of relief.
“How’s work?” Max asked once they were on the main road out of town.
“Busy. Well. Busy for me personally, not so much the department.”
Max reached over and squeezed Tyler’s knee gently. “You okay?”
Tyler nodded and shot Max a smile. “Yeah.”
They made easy conversation as Tyler drove the forty minutes or so it took to get to the restaurant. He’d agonized over where to take Max, afraid if he chose somewhere in Sweetwater he’d be constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering if someone noticed who they were and what they were doing. And if he took Max out of town, would it look like he was ashamed to be seen with him in public?
He still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d asked Max out. It definitely wasn’t supposed to be a pity date. That would be a really shitty thing to do to a friend.
Tyler was acting more on instinct than rational thought, and instinct told him he wanted to see more of Max. He’d figure out the rest later.
The restaurant was fairly busy when they arrived, but that turned out to work in Tyler’s favor. No one was looking at them. Even the hostess who showed them to their seats in front of the hibachi grill didn’t seem to realize they were on a date.
When they were seated, Tyler put his hand on Max’s knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. He wanted Max to be sure they were on a date. Max grinned at him and bumped their shoulders together.
Because the restaurant was so busy and bustling, they didn’t have a chance to hold any particularly deep conversations, but Max did manage to charm one of the ladies sitting next to him. It was fun, though. Tyler didn’t get to see Max like this very often—open and laughing, with his cheeks flushed from the heat of the grill.
“What are you going to order?” Max asked, leaning in close to hear his answer.
“Whatever that is.” Tyler pointed to the big pile of rice and vegetables the chef was preparing at the next grill over, and Max grinned at him.
“Me too.”
They shared a bowl of dumplings instead of ordering an appetizer, because they were Tyler’s favorite, and by the time their entrees were ready, Tyler was starting to relax. Really, being out with Max like this wasn’t much different from
the time they’d spent together, just the two of them. Except now, Tyler felt like he had permission to touch him and to pay close attention to the way Max’s eyes looked when he laughed.
Max tucked his arm around Tyler’s waist when they walked back to Tyler’s car. “This was nice. Thanks for taking me out.”
“Yeah? It was kind of busy in there.”
“Sandra totally checked you out. I had to tell her you’re off the market.”
“I am?”
Max laughed. “Tyler, I don’t think you were ever on it.”
“That’s… actually, that’s true.”
Tyler forced himself to be calm and sensible on the drive back to Sweetwater, overriding some kind of long-forgotten instinct to go and find somewhere to pull over and make out with Max. He busted enough teenagers trying to get it on in their parents’ cars to know the best spots. He didn’t think he’d ever live it down if someone recognized him doing that, or, God forbid, they could get busted by one of his co-workers. So it was best not to.
He walked Max back to the apartment and wondered about end-of-date etiquette. Tyler really didn’t know where tonight was headed. When they got to the top of the stairs above the tattoo shop, he decided to take control of the situation and press Max up against his apartment door. He was more sure than he’d ever been that this was a date that needed to end in a kiss.
“I had a good time tonight,” he said, his voice coming out lower than usual. They were standing too close together too. Tyler was aware his hips were almost flush against Max’s.
“Me too. I haven’t actually dated someone I was into in forever.”
Max’s hands settled on Tyler’s hips, and Tyler took that as an invitation to shuffle even closer. Now they were pressed together, crotch to crotch. It probably shouldn’t have been as thrilling as Tyler decided it was.
“Mm. Me neither.” Tyler placed his hands on the door, on either side of Max’s shoulders.
Max reached up to curl his hand around the back of Tyler’s neck, steadying them both as he leaned in to press their lips together.
It was only the second time Tyler had ever been kissed by a guy and… and… he decided to just stop thinking and enjoy it. Because Max’s lips were soft and full, brushing softly against his own, catching against Tyler’s bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth.
Tyler groaned and pressed his hips closer to Max’s. Which was almost impossible at this point, but he thought Max might be getting hard and Tyler wanted to explore that more. His dick was definitely interested in what was going on. From a kiss. Oh God.
Max’s tongue was hot, flicking at Tyler’s lip, and he opened his mouth a little and let Max do it again, but inside this time. They weren’t rushing, just going slow, even though the tiny little thrusts Max was making, pushing their dicks together, suggested it could go further.
“That was some good-night kiss,” Max said when he pulled away. He kissed the corner of Tyler’s mouth and Tyler just wanted to chase him for more.
“Doesn’t have to be good night,” Tyler pointed out.
“You want to come in?”
Tyler wasn’t sure if that was an invitation, but he nodded slowly anyway. “Mhmm.”
“Okay,” Max said.
Tyler hadn’t dated with any intent since Victoria had died. A couple of women, nothing serious, mostly people his sister had set him up with because she was worried he was lonely. Definitely nothing that had ended up with Tyler inviting himself into his date’s home the first time they went out together. Even though he didn’t want to think about anything in too much detail, he was sure this was the right thing to do. The restaurant had been great, the food amazing, but it was Max who had commanded all of Tyler’s attention all evening.
While Max fumbled to get his key in the lock, Tyler stood close behind him and ran his hands up and down his sides. Max stumbled a little as he stepped into the apartment and flicked on the lights.
The apartment was open-plan and looked comfortably lived-in, despite Max having only been there for a few weeks. He had a huge L-shaped couch, with part of it looking out onto the street below and the other side facing a good-sized TV. There were bright blankets and cushions thrown haphazardly over one end.
As Tyler looked around, he noticed that bright and haphazard seemed to sum up Max’s personal style quite well. He’d decorated the white walls with his artwork and covered the hardwood floors with several rugs. All those colors and styles should have clashed, but somehow Max had made it work.
“I like your place,” Tyler said.
Max grinned, clearly pleased. “Thanks.”
He walked around flicking on lamps, then went back to the door and turned off the main overhead lights. The room immediately became cozier.
“So, uh,” Max started, looking awkward. “What do you—”
Tyler grabbed his waist and shut him up with a kiss, just as hot as the one they’d shared outside, but faster now. Max immediately reached up to wrap his arms around the back of Tyler’s neck, and enthusiastically leaned into the kiss.
Tyler was disappointed when Max pulled away, leaving a final kiss on his cheek.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to kick you out.”
Tyler’s heart sank. “Oh.”
“I told you not to take it the wrong way,” Max teased. He reached up and rubbed his knuckles over the stubble on Tyler’s cheek. “I know where we could take things tonight, and trust me when I say I’m up for that. I just want to do this right.”
“I didn’t realize we were doing anything wrong.”
“We’re not.” Max chewed his lip. “This has been amazing. I want to do it again. That’s a good place to leave a first date, right?”
“Yeah.” Tyler felt more aware of his body than he had in a long time. His heart was still beating too fast, and he wanted… he wanted. In a way that was totally new. “Are we going to plan the next one now?”
“I’ll call you,” Max murmured and leaned in to kiss Tyler again.
Holy smokes. Tyler had a feeling he was in trouble.
Chapter 9
Max ignored his phone the first two times it buzzed. He was with a client, and anyone who knew him expected him to be pretty spotty at picking up calls when he was working.
“Sorry,” he murmured to Devon and wiped down her arm.
“Don’t be.” She smiled at him. He’d done a couple of her tattoos already, and she’d made a special trip down to Sweetwater for her appointment after learning he’d left Pittsburgh. Keeping his clients was definitely not something Max had expected when he decided to move, so making sure Devon was happy was a top priority.
Her left shoulder and upper arm were covered with a half-sleeve tattoo comprised of different flowers, each representing a member of her family. Now they were working on taking it to a full sleeve, starting with several new flowers on her inner forearm. Max had drawn it right onto her skin rather than transferring something he’d predesigned. They’d stuck several pictures up for reference, and Max was enjoying the challenge of making something that could be expanded at a later date.
“Could I take a break?” Devon asked.
“Sure. Let me put a wrap on it real quick.”
They had been going for about an hour and had another hour booked. Max pulled off his gloves and grabbed a bottle of water, taking the opportunity to walk around and stretch out. He could start to cramp up if he stayed hunched over for long periods of time.
While Devon used the bathroom, he checked his phone. One message was from his mom, telling him to come over for dinner sometime this week, and the other was from Tyler.
Max hit the button to call him back and held his phone up to his good ear.
“Are you at work?” Max asked when Tyler answered.
“Yeah, but I can talk. Sorry if I caught you at a bad time.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I can come over later.”
Tyler laughed. “June keeps bugging me that she wants to practice he
r sign language with you.”
“We can do that. Though she’ll probably be better than me. I don’t know very much.”
“That’s okay. I’m guessing she just wants to see you.”
“She’s so sweet.”
It had been almost a week since their date, and Tyler’s work schedule had meant they hadn’t had a chance to see each other since. Max thought Tyler probably needed to work through some things and get a better understanding of his own feelings… even if Tyler hadn’t worked that out for himself yet. Max had wondered if Tyler would swing to one extreme or the other after their date—either giving Max the cold shoulder or becoming incredibly clingy. He hadn’t done either. They’d texted every day, but this was the first time Tyler was asking to see him again.
Max guessed this was what it was like to date someone who didn’t want to play games. It was a new experience for him.
“She’s sweet when she wants something,” Tyler said. “My shift finishes in about ten minutes if you want me to swing by and pick you up?”
“I’ll be working for another couple of hours yet.” Max was genuinely disappointed by this. Hanging out with Tyler until it was time to pick up June from school sounded great. Devon came out of the bathroom, and Max rushed to wrap up the call. “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”
“See you later,” Tyler said.
Max ended the call and grabbed a fresh pair of gloves. “Ready to get this thing finished?” he asked Devon.
She grinned at him. “Let’s do it.”
Max didn’t manage to leave the shop until after 4:00 p.m., meaning he missed the chance to go with Tyler to pick up June from school. Devon had wanted to hang around and discuss some other ideas she had for tattoos, and making even vague plans with clients was something Max was happy to do. He was pretty sure he’d be seeing Devon again at some point.
When she left, he packed up the studio and ran upstairs for a quick shower and to change. Rumor had it a summer storm would be rolling in over the next couple of days. The air had definitely changed, gotten thicker and more humid. Max thought they could use the storm. He threw an umbrella in the back of the truck before heading over to Tyler’s house. Just in case.