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than a guy should taste. I’d
kissed plenty of boys since I was in junior high, but it always seemed gross.
At the very least, unsanitary. Raven used to laugh at me when I’d say that, but
it was true. Kissing Aaron though was better than I could have imagined.
    Returning to the booth, I couldn’t believe I had
the chance to really know him. He looked so good in a buttoned up shirt, khakis,
and loafers. The colors on the cobra contrasted perfectly against the red of
his shirt. While Aaron always seemed small when next to Cooper, he wasn’t short
or weak. At six feet, his body was tight with muscles. Seeing me approaching,
his blue eyes locked onto my face and I wanted to sit next to him and explore
every inch of his body.
    Instead, I planned to play it cool. In fact, the
minute I sat across from Aaron, I started asking questions. A part of me feared
if he asked me questions that he might not like the answers I gave him.
    “How long have you been tattooing?”
    “I started working at the shop of a really talented
guy when I was in high school. He took me under his wing and taught me
everything he knew. Once I graduated, I worked for him. A year later, he
decided to move to Florida. Cooper bought his place and we opened our shop.”
    “What does Cooper do?”
    “Nothing,” Aaron said, giving me a grin. “He bought
the place. I run it. He doesn’t do any actual work and he doesn’t take any
profits. He likes saying he owns it, but it was more like a gift to me to make
us even.”
    “Make you even for what?”
    “For putting up with his arrogant ass all these
years.”
    Laughing behind my hand, I couldn’t believe I was
finally having a real conversation with Aaron. Nearly giddy, I was past faking
cool. He’d seen me as a sweaty mess and kissed me anyway.
    “What?” Aaron said when I smiled at him for too
long.
    “I’ve been thinking about you since the wedding
rehearsal.”
    Aaron leaned back in the booth and smiled in that
cocky way men smiled when they had a girl on the hook. “Really? What were you
thinking?”
    “That you were really…handsome. I also wished I
could talk to you, but I never got a chance at the wedding.”
    Aaron’s smile faded. “I didn’t sleep with that
chick. The one I brought to the wedding. I had invited her already and couldn’t
bail.”
    “I understand.”
    Aaron leaned forward and took my hand. His thumb
pressed warmly against my palm.
    “I thought about you too and I wasn’t going to
settle. That’s what I’m saying. I don’t want to play games. I’ve waited too
long to fake shit.”
    Running my fingers against his, I held his gaze and
we simply sat there waiting for our meal. No words were necessary. Even wanting
to know everything about him, I didn’t want to interrupt the perfect vibe we
shared.
    Finally, our food arrived and we used our hands to
eat. No matter the great barbecue before us, I only wanted to stare at Aaron.
    “What are you hoping to do with your degree?” he
asked.
    “I’d like to become a paralegal, but I don’t know
if I can get a BA. I really want to work in an office and have a dress code
that doesn’t involve a uniform.”
    “Any reason why?”
    Shrugging, I tried to be casual, but lying to Aaron
felt obscene. “My family isn’t the kind of people who work in offices. They’re
all waitresses, fast food workers, or janitors. Low pay, low skill workers. I
want to be different.”
    “Isn’t your stepdad that guy with the car
dealership?”
    “Yeah, but he’s not really family. He’s just my
mom’s husband.”
    Aaron nodded. “Understood.”
    “Are your parents together?”
    “Yeah. Nearly fifty years.”
    “Wow,” I said, doing the math in my head.
    Aaron grinned. “They adopted me when they were
nearly fifty. Dad had retired and they wanted to try the family deal again.”
    “Do you have any siblings?”
    “A sister who’s forty. Anna’s a high powered tax
attorney in Miami. She works for a huge corporation and is like