The infamous morning after. I’ve had a few of them in the past but none like that. Waking up at three thirty in the morning, his body curled tightly around mine, face buried in my hair, arms clamped in a death grip around my stomach. There was no way of sneaking out of it. And really, if it had been possible I don’t think I could have done that to him…not after last night.

I laid there panicking for a few moments, wondering what the hell I was going to do, stuck somewhere between revulsion at my own weakness and satisfied giddiness…fuck that was amazing. I had stretched a little, relishing in the soreness of my muscles and he stirred behind me, whining a little. We can’t stay this way my mind chanted at me over and over again, along with things like You’re going to get caught and What the hell were you thinking?

I had rolled over, causing him to huff, annoyed and he growled at me when I pushed his shoulder, waking him up.

“Justin, you have to go,” I had said and he moaned, holding me close, burying his face in my neck. “Justin, you have to go,” I said again, shivering at the heat of his breath sighing against my skin.

“Nooooooooooo,” he whined, arms clutching at me and I steeled myself for what I had to say.

“Justin, you have to get out of here.” I said as harshly as I could considering he was cuddled against me like I was some fucking security blanket. What was wrong with me? I had never had problems telling his ass what to do before. “Your mother wakes you up at four.”

“Just…just five more minutes,” he sighed, nuzzling his nose against my throat, lips kissing softly and I pushed hard at his chest, sliding away from him, glad I couldn’t see his face in the dark because I didn’t think I could bear to see the hurt in his eyes.

What the fuck was wrong with me? This was just… I was just trying to get him out of my system. This…this was not…it was just sex. Nothing more. Then why the hell did I feel so guilty?

“Justin…go,” I had said, turning away from him and curling into myself, hating myself when I heard his shaky sigh as he pulled himself from the bed and gathered his clothes, slipping out without another word.

Guilt eats at me as the memory replays itself over and over while I look around my hotel room, making sure I have everything I need before I head out for the day. My eyes fall on the bed, the rumpled sheets a testament to the act that was performed in them the night before. I turn away but the soreness in my legs won’t let me forget. Nothing can make me forget.

I close the door gently behind me, walking out into the dimly lit hallway. It isn’t even light out yet, and I stagger somewhat sleepily towards the elevator, my mind running rampant. What we did was wrong. It was illegal and wrong and…so fucking good. Jesus Christ the mere memory of it is enough to set my body on fire. And it wasn’t even anything that spectacular. I mean…it was amazing…god was it ever amazing but he didn’t like…hang me from the rafters or anything. It was…simple… probably the only simple thing we are ever going to have. What the fuck am I saying? We aren’t going to have anything! This has to stop…

 My entire body tenses when I feel a pair of hands grab my biceps and I nearly scream as my body spins and I’m pressed against the hallway wall. Justin grins down at me, pressing his body to mine and I heave a sigh of relief before slapping at his chest.

“What the fuck are you doing? You scared the shit out of me!” I exclaim and his grin widens before he dips his head, pressing his lips to mine.

I push at his chest a little before eventually giving in, his tongue swiping my bottom lip and I sigh into his mouth, allowing him to massage my tongue with his. I don’t know what it is about his lips but he always tastes so fucking good. There’s no describing it; its just him. His hips press into mine and I can feel him stirring in his pants. I wrench my mouth away from his, but he doesn’t stop, trailing kisses down my jaw. We can’t do this. Not here. Not anywhere. We can’t fucking do this.

“Justin…” I sigh, fighting the urge to wrap my arms around him, to feel his body against mine. “Justin…what are we doing?”

“Nothing,” he mumbles, nibbling at the side of my neck and I can feel him smile as he adds, “…yet.”

I gasp, a little shocked at his candor and I feel him chuckle against me. I push at his shoulders and his lips finally detach from my neck and he looks down at me adoringly. God, no man has ever looked at me that way before. I shake my head.

“Justin…we can’t do this…”

“Oh save it Sky,” he says cutting me off and I look up at him slightly bewildered. “You want me. I want you.” He shrugs, grinning. “Seems pretty simple to me.”

I look at him, my mouth hanging open. “Are you fucking stupid?” I ask and he pouts a little. “This is the furthest thing from simple-”

“No…” he argues, “No its not. You’re just making it really fucking complicated.”

“Justin, do you know how much trouble I can get in?” I ask him, trying to keep my voice down, suddenly aware we are in a very public place. “What we did was illegal!”

He hums, his head dipping to kiss me again and he presses his hips harder against mine as he whispers, “So that’s why it felt so fucking good.”

I moan a little as that familiar tingle spreads through my body directly to my center. Fuck, the things he does to me… I shake my head again, trying to clear it and I push him away again, him sighing, annoyed.

“Skylar…I don’t fucking get it,” he sighs. “I mean what...what we did…last night…” his eyes go soft and I swallow hard, “that was…amazing. And not just the orgasm.”

I laugh a little and he looks at me slightly confused for a second before breaking into a grin himself. I place my hands on his shoulders, sighing a little, trying not to look him in the face because I know the way he’s looking at me is going to melt my resolve instantly. I really have no clue what’s going on with me. I’ve never been this affected by sex before. Usually it’s just…okay…that was nice…done. But this… this is different. This is almost primal. Fuck, I just wanna rip his clothes off right now and all he’s doing is standing there, his hands warm on my hips, lips so close to mine…

“Sky,” he says softly and I’m brought back to the moment, looking up into his eyes… which is a really bad idea. “You want this…I want this…why are you fighting it?”

I eye him skeptically and the way he’s looking at me…Jesus…like he’s never seen anything like me before. Like he’s never going to stop looking at me this way. Like he adores me. Like I’m the only person in the entire fucking world. And God the way his body is pressed against mine…

I have a decision to make. Right here, right now. I can do the right thing. I can tell him that what happened last night was a fluke, a mistake, something that can never ever, under any circumstances happen again. I can tell him that he is my student and am I am his teacher and we are to maintain a certain degree of decorum with each other. Or…

“We…we can’t tell anyone.” I say shakily and the smile that breaks out over his face is so dazzling I nearly melt into a puddle on the floor…Jesus Christ there is something seriously wrong with me.

“Yeah, I get that,” he says, nodding his head eagerly, his hands coming up to curl tightly around my arms, tugging me closer to him.

“I mean…not anyone, Justin,” I say slowly, my insides turning. Maybe this is a bad idea…

“I get it,” he says nodding, his head dipping down and I pull back a little, looking at him wide eyed.

“Seriously Justin, no one…not the guys, not your little friend, what’s his name-“

“Trace.”

“Yeah, him. Not your mom…fuck, especially not your mom…not even your fucking dog-”

“SKY,” he says, and I jump at the loudness of his voice. He grins, laughing a little as he says. “I fucking get it, okay.”

“Okay…” I say, looking at him skeptically and he just smiles giddily down at me.

“Okay then,” he whispers, his breath fanning my face as he bends down to kiss me again.

“Justin…” I say, placing a hand on his chest, holding him back reluctantly. “Not here…”

“What?” he asks, cocking his head to the side, grinning innocently at me. “I just wanna kiss you…”

He nuzzles his nose with mine and I look around uneasily, just waiting for one of the doors around us to open. This is such a bad idea. We really shouldn’t be doing this. But all thought is cut off when his mouth claims mine, tongue dipping in to taste me briefly and there’s no way I can turn back now. Even if this ruins us…I can’t quit him. He feels too good and I know that after last night I could never deny him again. Shit, as simple as the act was it was probably one of the best I’ve had. No, I’m in this…right or wrong…I’m in this.

***

This is not how I planned on spending the day. When the guys invited me to go on yet another “adventure” with them I figured it would be to a record store or something else equally as mediocre to the normal person but was a huge ordeal for them. So imagine my surprise when we pulled up to a tattoo parlor in downtown Atlanta, all the members of the group cheering and grinning as they piled out of the car. Well…all except for JC who’s hesitation was ridiculed by the rest of the group.

“I have this thing…” he had said, swallowing hard, “I have this thing with needles…they…they just kinda…freak me out.”

Justin had offered me his hand as I had climbed out of the car and I had taken it, his fingers clutching at mine, reluctant to let go when I was safely on the ground. It had been three days since our agreement in the hallway, three nights since we…and my mind always stutters there. Saying we ‘had sex’ sounds so technical, ‘made love’ implies that it was something intimate, which it was but not that way and saying we ‘fucked’ doesn’t give it the credit it deserves. But I digress…

While my admonitions about secrecy and caution were met with his promise of compliance, he seems to be doing little to conceal his affections. He is constantly touching me, fingers brushing mine, placing a hand on my lower back, or resting his chin on my shoulder. And don’t even get me started on the giddy grin he has on his face when he looks at me. I’d roll my eyes if I didn’t find it so fucking adorable.

I hug my stomach as I meander around the parlor, surveying the art on the walls. This is definitely not my scene but I can appreciate the work as an art connoisseur, the colors, the designs all reminiscent of art from all over the world. I see ghosts of Picasso, Mondrian, Da Vinci, and Van Gogh in all of these works covering these walls, a modern testament to classic art.

The guys are dispersed around the room, emotions varying from bouncing excitement, Justin practically jumping up and down, to freaking the fuck out, JC sitting in the corner, white as a sheet, trying not to look at Lance or Chris, both of whom are laying across padded tables, Joey and Justin watching as the artists tattoo the Nsync flame around their band mates’ ankles.

“You okay there C?” I ask him, stepping up next to him and he looks at me glassily, swallowing hard.

“Yeah…yeah I’m…” he swallows hard, wiping the sweat from his upper lip, “I’m cool.”

“Dude,” Chris says, glancing up from the tattoo artist working on his leg, “You are the farthest thing from cool right now.”

JC just swallows hard, shifting uneasily in his seat. I turn to find Chris shaking his head, laughing a little as he goes back to watching the tattoo gun work on his leg.

“So…Sky,” Joey says, sidling up to me, draping an arm around my shoulders. I sigh and try to contain my grin. “What are you getting today?”

I look at him a little shocked. “Oh I’m not getting anything…” I say, shaking my head, glancing back at the tattoo artist and Joey flicks his eyes back at Chris, both of them laughing.

“You should get a little something,” Joey says and I shake my head at him again, scrunching up my nose.

“You’re getting one too?” Justin asks, stepping up behind me and I have to fight the urge to close my eyes as his scent encloses around me.

“No,” I say, turning a little towards him and then stepping away when I see how close he is to me. He has to stop doing that…

“Oh come on,” Joey encourages, poking my arm. “Live a little, Sky.”

“I’m living perfectly fine without a tattoo,” I say, huffily, crossing my arms over my chest defensively and they all laugh…except for Justin who looks at the floor, not wanting to be a part of this argument. “And what would I possibly get, anyway?”

“A textbook,” Joey grins and I purse my lips at him, narrowing my eyes.

“My name,” Justin says, grinning at me cheekily and I give him a menacing stare that wipes the smile right off his face.

“Yeah fuckin right man,” Joey says, giving Justin a playful shove, oblivious to Justin and mines silent innuendo.

“You could get a heart,” Justin suggests and I glare at him again, he smiling innocently at me and I crack a smile in return, both of us looking immediately at the floor. We have to stop doing this…

“You could get five music notes to remember us by,” Lance says, coming up behind us. “Justin, you’re up,” he adds, gesturing to the table with a nod of his head.

“Sweet!” Justin exclaims, bouncing his way over to the table and I look over at JC who is watching apprehensively as Justin settles onto the table.

“I’m NOT getting anything!” I exclaim annoyed. This is ridiculous! But everyone ignores me.

“You’re totally getting something,” Joey grins, poking me in the side and I glare at him a little but his grin is so contagious that I’m smiling back at him in a matter of seconds.

“You alright man?” Justin asks as he settles back onto the table, nodding his head at JC, watching as the tattoo artist pulls on his gloves.

“Yeah…I’m…I’m fine,” JC responds and then as if snapping back to himself, “Hey… how are you doing this? There’s no way Lynn signed a consent form.”

Justin clears his throat and shakes his head, “Don’t worry about it, man.”

“But you’re only seventeen…” JC says and I wince. I hate it when people mention how old he is…

“Don’t fucking worry about it, C,” Justin says harshly, scowling deeply. Justin knows this too.

“Okay, okay,” JC says, eyeing the younger man, “no need to get all hostile.”

I walk over between the two tables, watching as the large, tattooed man pulls out a razor and begins to shave halfway up Justin’s calf. I giggle a little, crossing my arms over my chest and he looks up at me, his blue eyes dancing happily.

“What are you laughing at?” he asks, his eyes softening as he looks at me.

“He’s shaving your leg,” I giggle. “That’s a really sexy look for you.”

“Oh you think so,” he teases back, his eyes darkening slightly and I tense a little, realizing what I’ve said. “So what are you gonna get?”

“I’m NOT getting anything!” I exclaim, watching as the artist applies the stencil to Justin’s leg.

“Oh come on!” Justin says smiling. “You know you want something.” Oh I want something alright…but it’s not a tattoo. I sigh irritated. Why does he have such an effect on me?

“You ready?” the tattoo artist asks and Justin looks at him nodding, steeling himself a little.

“You wanna hold Sky’s hand, J?” Chris teases and Justin looks up at me, trying to conceal his smile by biting his bottom lip. I nearly moan…guh the shit he does to me without even knowing it.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” I reply stiffly, watching as the artist brings the needle to Justin’s skin.

He winces before relaxing a little but I can tell he’s on edge. Without really thinking, I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder. His head snaps to mine and he gives me a small smile which fades when I pull back, looking around the room as if nothing happened.

“Alright you’re done,” the tattoo artist behind me says and I turn to look at Chris who’s examining his leg.

“Nice, huh?” Chris asks and I nod. “So,” he says, swinging his legs over the side and standing, moving out of the way so Joey can have his turn, “What are you getting?”

“I’m not getting anything,” I practically yell, shaking my head adamantly.

“Oh come on, Sky!” Joey exclaims. “Don’t be such a pussy.”

“I am not a pussy,” I say defensively and I try to ignore the way Justin shivers, “I’m just not getting a tattoo on a whim. Its tacky,” I say and then looking at the heavily tattooed man working on Justin’s leg I add, “no offense.”

“None taken,” he says, smiling up at me and Justin eyes him a little, his bottom lip protruding a little, moving his hand from his lap to the edge of the table, the back of his hand brushing my thigh. I ignore it, continuing on my rant.

“And it’s so permanent.”

“You’ve never even thought about what you would get if you ever got one?” Lance asks, sitting next to JC who is eyeing the younger man’s leg.

“They…they wrap it in saran wrap?” JC asks, looking at Lance’s leg and Lance nods.

“Yeah, he said it was to fight infection,” Lance replies, stretching out his leg. “Its still kinda bloody.”

JC’s face blanches and he jumps to his feet. “I’m…I’m gonna get some air.”

“You have to have thought about it a little,” Joey says, watching as JC makes his way hastily to the door.

“Well…” I say, looking from one guy to the next. The truth is I had thought about it, but not seriously. This is ridiculous! I am NOT getting a tattoo.

“So you have thought about it?” Chris asks. “And what would it be, Sky? The Mona Lisa down your arm? Water Lillies across your stomach?”

“The Last Supper across your ass?” Joey adds and the rest of the guys snigger.

“No!” I say defensively. And finally giving in a little I add. “I’ve thought about getting something in ancient Greek…”

“Get it!” Joey says and his exclamation is echoed in various ways from the rest of the group.

“I don’t know…” I say noncommittally, my stomach tying in knots. This is not me. I am not the kind of person that just decides to get a tattoo.

“You got time for one more?” Justin asks, looking at the man working on his leg and the guy looks up at me, his eyes roving over me.

“Justin…seriously,” I say, shaking my head at him.

“Where do you want it?” he asks, his tongue snaking out to lick his lips and Justin looks from me to him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“I don’t want it anywhere! I am not getting a tattoo!”

“Okay,” the tattoo artist says smiling. “If you were to get one…where would it be?”

I shift uncomfortably. All eyes are on me now and I really really don’t want to say it. “Um…” I trail and I know my response is going to get catcalls from the rest of the group. “Here,” I sigh pointing to where my hipbone dips to my stomach.

“Sky!” Joey exclaims, and my cheeks redden as laughter fills the room. “You little vixen you!”

“It was hypothetical!” I exclaim, feeling my ears burn. “I’m not doing it!”

“You have to do it, Sky,” Lance says, matter of factly, the lowness of his voice giving his words a certain finality that melts my reserve. I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

“Yeah,” the tattoo artist says grinning, looking back at Justin’s leg. “I got time for that.”

Justin is glaring at him and I’m pretty sure if the guy hadn’t been putting something permanent on his body, Justin would have said something to him. Instead he sits back, pouting slightly, never taking his eyes off the artist who would glance at me every once and awhile.  I feel Justin’s hand slide around the edge of the table, knuckles brushing against my hipbone and I lean forward a little, trapping his hand against the table for a second, pressing hard, hopefully painfully and then pulling back. His eyes flick to mine and I give him an inconspicuous shake of my head. He can’t keep doing this. He pulls his hand back, watching the tattoo artist moodily.

“Does it hurt?” I ask after a moment and Justin looks up at me.

“Not really,” he says nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders and then he winces, the tattoo artist moving around the back of his leg.

“Oh you’re such a badass J,” I chuckle and he scowls at me, shifting a little.

“You’re almost done, kid,” the artist says and Justin’s face pinkens a little.

“I’m fine,” he insists, pouting a little and I rest my hand on the chair, the side of my hand, pressing against his hip slightly. Okay, so sometimes I’m a hypocrite…

He doesn’t look at me this time but his face relaxes a little, waiting for the man to put the final touches of ink in before allowing him to look at it.

“Done,” the artist says, setting the gun down and Justin cocks his head to the side, a grin spreading wide across his face.

“Pretty cool, huh?” he asks me and I nod, smiling a little at his enthusiasm, watching as his leg is wrapped in saran wrap.

“Okay,” the tattoo artist says, pulling off his gloves and grabbing another pair. “You’re next.”

“What?” I ask, my eyes widening a little. “what…no…no seriously. Like…like no!”

“Sky…” Chris says, sighing. “Just do it…for once in your life don’t think. Just do it.”

And I can’t help but glance at Justin when he says this. Spontaneity seems be a theme for me as of late. Justin grins at me as he says “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

My eyes widen and the guys all turn to look at him quizzically. The smile slides off his face when he realizes what he has said and he stutters slightly, trying to explain himself.

“I mean…um…you know…like-”

“Okay, I’ll do it,” I say and all eyes snap from Justin to me in an instant. Victorious cheers fill the room and I feel hands patting me on the back and shoulders.

“Alright let’s get you set up,” the tattoo artist grins

“The other guy can do her,” Justin says harshly, glaring at him but the man seems undeterred.

“Yeah, I can do her,” the other artist grins.

Justin’s head whips to him, his eyes wide. I can’t help but giggle, covering my mouth with my hand, a little embarrassed. Justin scowls deeply, whether from the loss of my touch against his hip or from the artists’ racy comment I’m not sure. Justin opens his mouth to say something but I drop my hand from my mouth, leaning hard onto his wrist.

“Oh sorry, J,” I say when he yelps and I pull away from him, eyes lingering on his, admonishing him silently before looking away again.

“Nah, Scott’s still workin’ on your friend,” He looks at me and I can’t help but smile a little at his obvious flirtation. “I got this.”

Justin is sitting back now, arms crossed over his chest obviously pouting. I fight the urge to roll my eyes, but part of me likes his possessiveness. No man I’ve ever been with has ever been so protective of me. It’s kind of endearing in an annoying sort of way.

“What do I have to do?” I ask my stomach flipping, and he leans over, pulling out a clipboard. I can’t believe I’m fucking doing this.

“Just sign on the dotted line.”

I eye the paper, skimming the legal agreement before signing my name at the bottom, my stomach flipping again as I hand it back to him. I seriously can’t believe I’m doing this.

“Okay…Skylar,” the man says, smiling at me and holding out his hand, “I’m Dom.” I shake his hand and I smile back nervously, ignoring Justin’s huff of displeasure. “What can I do for you today?”

“Well…” I say with a sigh. “I guess something in ancient Greek.”

Dom nods his head. “Do you have a sample or something? I don’t know any ancient Greek.”

“Oh I do,” I say, nodding. “Do you have a pen and paper?”

He raises his eyebrows, surprised. “I do.”

“Wait…” It’s Joey, who’s still laying across the table. I turn to find him laying back with his hand over his eyes. “You know Greek?”

“Ancient Greek,” I say, taking the pen and paper that Dom is offering me, my hands shaking a little. This is insane.

“Oh…” Chris says smarmily, sharing a look with Lance and Joey. “Ancient Greek.”

“There’s a difference!” I say defensively as I look at the paper and try and think of a good word to get branded on my body for the rest of my life…ugh. “I don’t know what it should say.”

“What about art?” Lance suggests.

“Scholar!” Chris exclaims. “Khefren used to call you Skylar the Scholar!”

“That’s stupid,” Justin spats and the guys look at him a little bewildered and he looks at the floor, his ears pinkening.

“What’s your problem, Curly?” Joey asks, eyeing the young man, his voice suggesting that he can’t hold back the question any longer. “You’ve been a pissy bitch today.”

“Yeah,” Chris says smiling. “Your hair frizzing more than usual?”

“Fuck you,” Justin replies scowling, his pout deepening as he flattens a hand over his hair nervously.

“Confucius say that a cranky virgin doesn’t get laid,” Chris teases, poking Justin in the ribs, Justin smacking his hands away impatiently.

“Wisdom!” I say, leaning over the table to write out the word. “Thanks, Chris.”

“What the hell is that?” Joey asks, snatching the paper from me and I realize he’s done.

“That’s sigma, omicron, psi, iota, chi,” I say pointing to each symbol as I read it. “You just-”

“Don’t,” Chris says, putting his hand on my arm and shaking his head. “Don’t try to explain it. Joey’s head will explode.”

Joey gives Chris a condescending smile as I hand the paper to Dom, who eyes it appraisingly. I bite my lip, my stomach flipping over. I’m going to have this on my body for the rest of my life… the rest of my life.

“Very cool,” Dom says after a moment. “Just gimme a sec to trace this up and we’ll be ready to go.”

I shift nervously, sitting on the edge of the padded table. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m never this spontaneous. Justin is standing in front of me, glaring at Dom’s retreating form and then he looks down at me. Yeah…spontaneity seems to be my new thing.

“You don’t have to do this,” he says, reaching out for me and I give an inconspicuous shake of my head that has him snatching his hand back.

“I’m fine,” I say stiffly, tucking my hair behind my ear nervously.

Justin shifts his feet and steps closer to me, his leg pressing into my knee. I sigh. We really need to stop doing this.

“HEEEEEEEEEEY C!” Chris exclaims as JC makes his way cautiously into the door again, face still tense. “You ready for yours?”

Scott, who had been cleaning up his area, grins and revs his tattoo gun. JC’s face blanches completely and he sways ominously, swallowing hard.

“Um…I think…I think I’m gonna pass,” he says shakily and the rest of the group moans in protest.

“Come on you big pussy!” Joey exclaims, throwing his arm around the older man, jostling him roughly. “Even Sky’s getting a little ink.”

He looks at me a little bewildered and I smile weakly back at him. I feel Justin settle on the table next to me, his knee leaning against mine, his hip pressed against me. I feel his chin rest on my shoulder and I fight the urge to let my eyes slide shut. I shouldn’t let him do this but his body is so warm and fuck if I don’t want him right now. I jump when I feel his hand on my thigh and I elbow him lightly in the ribs.

“Watch your hands there, J.” It’s JC that says it and we both look up startled.

He sits up reluctantly and I shift away from him a little and try to look anywhere but at JC’s piercing gaze. This is why I didn’t want to do this…

“Okay, Skylar,” Dom says coming back and holding a thin strip of tracing paper. I stand from the table to look at him and he grins at me playfully as he says, “drop your pants.”

My jaw drops and the guys burst into laughter…all except Justin who looks like he could kill Dom with his bare hands. But Dom doesn’t seem to notice, wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.

“We can take it in the back if you don’t want an audience,” he adds, his eyes flitting to the five other men in the room.

“No, she can do it here,” Justin says flatly and my head whips to him, finding him staring coldly at Dom.

“What the fuck is your problem man?” Joey asks and Justin crosses his arms over his chest, not responding.

“No, its fine,” I say quickly and all eyes are on me again. Shit…

“Alright then,” Dom says before I have a chance to change my mind and he’s grinning at me again. “Drop em.”

I purse my lips at him, glaring playfully as my hands go down to the button on my jeans. Joey and Chris catcall me a little and I give them a cheeky smile over my shoulder, seeing Justin move to stand next to them, crossing his arms over his chest in a scowl.

“Aw girl you’re gonna have to push em down lower than that,” Dom grins, as he pops his latex gloves.

I feel my face burn a little as the guys snigger, Justin still scowling a little, but his eyes are trained on my waist as I shimmy a little, pushing my jeans down low on my hips, revealing my underwear…shit…my lacy-I-may-be-getting-some-later underwear. Dom holds my hand as I hop up on the table, laying back.

Then Joey and Chris burst into laughter and Justin shifts uncomfortably, glancing from my exposed flesh to the floor and back again. My face reddens even more. Laughter is not something you want to hear from guys when you’re laying on a table in your underwear.

“Check it out, J,” Joey teases, nudging the younger man. “She’s wearing your favorite color.”

I look down at myself as Dom lays the stencil against my skin and I see my underwear…a lacy scrap of baby blue fabric peeking out from my open jeans. My eyes flit to Justin and he’s staring glassily at my exposed flesh, his tongue snaking out to wet his bottom lip. Shit, maybe I’m not the only one who gets unintentionally turned on these days.

“S-s-shut up, Joe,” Justin stutters crossing his arms in front of himself….shit.

“May I?” Dom asks his fingers reaching for the waistband of my panties and my head snaps to him, alarmed. “I’m just gonna roll the band down a little,” he adds gently, pulling his hands back and opening his palms to me. “If that’s okay I mean this was where you pointed to earlier…”

“No its fine,” I say nodding my head nervously and I feel his gloved fingers roll the waistband over itself, exposing more of my flesh. Shit maybe I should have gone in the backroom.

“Whats the matter, Curly?” Chris teases and I look to find Justin staring resolutely at the ground. “Oh yeah, you’ve never seen girly parts like these before, huh?”

I do my best to mask my blush and I try to concentrate on Dom wiping my lower stomach with antiseptic, the coolness causing goosebumps to ripple out over my body. I can’t believe I’m doing this.

“Shut the fuck up man,” Justin grumbles and I chance a look at him, finding his face flushed, looking at the ground, eyes flitting to my face every once and awhile as he shifts uncomfortably.

“Okay how’s that,” Dom asks leaning back so I can look down my body at myself.

And there it is…Wisdom in ancient Greek, just below my panty line. It will probably be half obscured by my underwear when it’s done, only viewable to me and – I chance a look at Justin – those I’m intimate with. It’s actually kind of cute. Some of my anxiety quells for a moment before coming back full force. This is going to be here for the rest of my life.

“We can reposition it if you want,” Dom says and I snap out of my daze.

“What do you guys think?” I ask uneasily, seriously considering calling this ridiculous thing off.

“I like it,” Joey says, cocking his head to the side.

“Me too,” Chris says, mimicking Joey’s pose.

“It is very cool,” Lance says nodding.

“Yeah it is,” JC says craning his neck to see.

Everyone’s eyes fall on Justin who is looking at the floor, forcing himself not to look at me, hands still crossed in front of himself.

“What do you think, Curly?” Lance asks, nudging Justin lightly with his elbow and Justin jumps.

“Its…nice...I like it,” Justin says clearing his throat, his eyes watching his shoes scuff the tiled floor.

“You didn’t even look at it,” Chris says, doing his best to hide his smile.

“I fuckin saw it Chris and it’s cool,” Justin spats, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

“You sure?” Dom asks, pulling over a stool and getting settled.

“Yes,” I say after a moment and he nods, reaching for his tattoo gun, checking the needle before dipping it in the ink.

“Okay, it’s gonna be a little sting,” Dom says, leaning over me, resting his forearms against me as he poises the gun at my skin.

I gasp a little as the needle digs in and I tense immediately, yelping a little. Okay so apparently I’m a big fucking wuss because this is NOT a little sting. This is a big, searing pain. I pant a little, my hand moving to grip the edge of the table and that’s when I feel it, his hand covering mine warmly. He pries my fingers away from the edge, holding my fingers in his as he crouches down next to me and my thumb wraps around his hand, squeezing hard.

“Aw poor Sky,” Lance says, patting my knee before moving to sit down, JC following him because now he has a front row view and from the looks of it, JC doesn’t want to be anywhere near that needle.

“Take care of her, Bounce,” Joey says, patting Justin’s shoulder as he and Chris move to survey the art around the walls.

“You doing okay?” Dom asks, pulling back to wipe at my skin with a towel, smearing black ink across my skin.

“Yeah,” I breathe, swallowing hard. “I’m…I’m okay.”

I feel Justin’s thumb rub soothingly across my knuckles and I breathe out slow, sucking in deep when the needle comes back down. I squeeze Justin’s hand tight and his grip tightens on mine, dipping his head to rub my fingers against his cheek, seemingly scratching an itch but I know that’s not the case. I look at him and give him a small smile, which he returns widely, glancing around briefly, assessing that the other guys are occupied before reaching up to brush my hair back from my forehead. I squeeze his hand, this time out of warning and he winks at me. I narrow my eyes at him playfully before chuckling a little to myself.

“Quiz me,” he says when I wince again, and I look back at him glassily.

“Huh?” I ask, a little dazed. Jeez I never realized what a fucking pussy I am.

“Quiz me,” Justin says again, his thumb rubbing over my knuckles. “Like ask me art questions.”

“Oh um…” I say, trying to think.

“Or…” he grins evilly. “How bout I quiz you?”

I purse my lips at him. “Justin, I’m your teacher. I know everything you know.”

“Sure…” he says, mockingly, “when you have your notes in front of you.”

Indignation rises in me and his grin tells me that this is just the reaction he was looking for. Well, at least I’m distracted.

“Fine!” I spat. “Quiz me.”

He screws his face up in thought, pulling his plush bottom lip between his teeth and I fight the quiver in my stomach as he lets its slide slowly out. His eyes lock on mine, blue orbs dancing giddily as he says.

“Temple of Athena,” he says, grinning at me.

“That’s not on your sheet,” I say, a little shocked and he beams at me triumphantly, thinking he’s won.

“Yeah but it’s in the chapter,” he replies smarmily. “If you don’t know that’s oka-”

“The Temple of Athena is part of the Pantheon complex. Its architect was Kilikrates and it was constructed in 425 BC. It is done in the ionic style and is amphiprostyle, meaning it has a porch on each end. There is no entrance to the cella-”

“Okay, okay,” Justin grumbles, eyeing me slightly disappointed. “I get it. You know everything.”

I smile triumphantly at him. I know everything. I know about Greek art. I know about… and then he grins back at me and my mind goes blank. I definitely know one thing, that’s for sure. There is no stopping this.