Going Inksane (Nice Ink Book 1)

by Trish Edmisten

  I waited for his incoming greeting and the subsequent beep before I laid into him.

  “I don’t know what possessed you to tell Mom I went on a date, but in the words of the great Andy Garcia playing Terry Benedict in Ocean’s Eleven, ‘run and hide asshole, run and hide’.”

  Satisfied I’d put the fear in my brother, I decided it was time to move on to more pleasant things, starting with finishing my coffee. Then I was going to send a text message to Heath and see if I could interest him in going to the Farmer’s Market with me.

  Whether I wanted to admit it to my mom or not, which believe me I did not, she was right. If I didn’t move things along with Heath, someone else would and with my luck, it would be some opportunistic little twink.

  Chapter Nine

  Heath

  Even though I hadn’t been to the Farmer’s Market before, I didn’t have any trouble finding the place.

  My truck bounced over the uneven dirt of the parking lot as I searched for a spot in the shade. No such luck. It may have been early by my standards, but the place had opened at eight. From the nearly full lot and lack of shady spots, it was obvious these Farmer’s Market groupies took this shit seriously.

  Giving up my search for the ideal spot, I took the next one I found. When I killed the engine, I fired off a text to Ned letting him know I’d arrived.

  My phone immediately pinged with his reply. Good timing. I just got out of my car. Meet me by the entrance?

  I sent back a yes and then climbed out of my truck. I shoved my phone into my pocket and made sure to set my alarm before I headed for the entrance.

  I had to admit I was surprised by the scene in front of me. The place was big, not as big as the swap meet, but it stretched pretty far. I was glad to see the canopies that covered the expansive space. That would definitely make it easier to deal with being outside.

  Despite being only ten in the morning, it was already nearing the eighty degree mark. You had to love summer in the valley.

  As I approached, I saw Ned had beaten me to the entrance. I guess he had managed to get a better parking spot than I had.

  When I realized he was wearing shorts, I was no longer mad at the heat. Ned’s legs were lean and tanned and his calves muscular but not bulging. I would never admit it to him, but I was surprised by the dark hair covering them. For some reason, I’d expected him to be waxed. The T-shirt he wore was bright pink and looser than I would have liked, but it still looked good on him. A pair of Vans tennis shoes completed the look and damned if those things weren’t as pink as his shirt.

  Christ, he was so adorable.

  With the sunglasses on his face, I couldn’t see his eyes, but the smile he gave when he spotted me let me know he was happy to see me. The feeling was mutual.

  Like him, I wore a pair of shorts and tennis shoes, but I had gone with a tank top instead of a T-shirt and I’d stuck to a boring blue. I also sported a pair of sunglasses that let me look him up and down without making him uncomfortable.

  “Hey,” I said when I reached his side. “It’s good to see you again.”

  If Ned was any other guy, I would have given him a kiss, but I wasn’t sure where he stood on PDA. There was also the fact that we hadn’t shared a first kiss yet. I wasn’t about to let a moment like that be a perfunctory peck at the Farmer’s Market. When we kissed for the first time, I wanted it to be something both of us would remember for a long time.

  Ned rewarded me with a shy smile. “It’s good to see you too.”

  “I can’t believe how crowded this place is.”

  “Well, we are getting here late.”

  Ten wasn’t late for me, but I knew what he meant.

  “Are you ready to do this?” Ned asked.

  “Lead the way.”

  “If I’m leading the way, our first stop is going to be the coffee truck so we can energize with some caffeine and sugar.”

  “I’ll never turn down a good cup of coffee.”

  Ned beamed at me. “Then you’re in for a treat.”

  We passed under the arch that led into the covered walkway. Sure enough, there was a food truck right up front that proclaimed it had the best coffee and pastries in town. I didn’t know about that, but I was willing to give it a try.

  “Do you know what you want?” I asked.

  “The iced hazelnut, it’s the best.”

  “It sounds sweet.” Too sweet for me, but I held that part back.

  “It is, but it’s so good, especially with their buttery croissants.”

  “Then I’ll have to try a sip of yours.”

  “Or you could order your own.”

  “Now where’s the fun in that?”

  If I hadn’t been wearing sunglasses, I would have flashed him a wink to go with my grin. The grin was enough to make him blush though, and my inner caveman liked that reaction.

  When we stepped up to the window, Ned ordered his iced hazelnut coffee and croissant.

  “Anything else?” the cashier asked.

  Ned turned to me. “What do you want? My treat.”

  “I was going to treat you.”

  “Nope, you paid for dinner the other night. It’s my turn to pay.”

  “Okay, I can live with that.” Looking at the cashier, I added, “Can I please get a small black coffee and a croissant?”

  “Black coffee is so boring,” Ned teased.

  “Maybe, but it’s good.”

  Ned paid for our order and the cashier handed it over.

  “Did you want to sit while we eat?” Ned gestured to the bistro tables off to the side of the truck.

  “Yeah, let’s sit,” I agreed.

  With as small as the chairs were, I had serious doubts they could hold my weight and I prayed I didn’t end up on my ass in the dirt. I wasn’t fat by any means, but being six foot four meant that I wasn’t a light weight.

  Thankfully, the chair held, but I had a moment of concern when I heard a creak.

  As soon as we were settled, Ned took a sip of his iced hazelnut coffee. The obscene moan that followed made me suddenly want to rush over there and buy him enough of that shit to last all day.

  “Good, huh?” I asked, happy my voice didn’t crack since that moan had my dick wanting to join the party.

  Thank God for tight fitting boxer briefs and loose fitting shorts.

  Ned held the cup in my direction. “You tell me.”

  Instead of taking it from him, I leaned forward and wrapped my lips around the straw. There was no missing his indrawn breath as I took a long pull. I had no doubt his eyes were trained on my Adam’s apple as I swallowed.

  “Yep, that’s pretty sweet,” I said as I relaxed into my seat.

  “Yeah, sweet,” Ned murmured, and I grinned when he shook his head. “Do you like it?”

  “I don’t know that I could drink a whole one, but it’s not bad.”

  “It’s not for everyone.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll just have to get my sweetness from somewhere else.”

  From the blush that spread up his neck, I knew he understood what I was saying. Damn, I loved those blushes and shy smiles. The guy was so sweet, he should have come with a may-cause-cavities warning.

  “So, did you do any interesting tattoos last night?” he asked, and I smiled at the subject change.

  “Actually, I did a really cool dragon on a guy’s ribs.”

  Ned flinched. “I’ve heard rib tattoos are the most painful.”

  “I don’t know about that, but they’re not fun.”

  “Are your ribs tattooed?”

  “Yes, on both sides.”

  “Are you tattooed all over?”

  This was normally the part where I’d smirk and offer to let him check, but I didn’t want to be that guy with him. Ned not only deserved someone who would treat him better than that, but I got the feeling he needed it.

  “No, I still have plenty of open real estate.”

  “Open real estate?” Ned repeated with a laugh. “I love
it.”

  “Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?”

  I knew from the time he had come in with Derek that he didn’t have any ink, but I was curious about whether or not it was something that would interest him.

  “I like them, but I’ve never really thought about getting one. It’s funny, but none of us have tattoos. Derek is the first to get one.”

  I smiled. “Does that mean you’ll all get one now since he’s your leader?”

  “You never know,” Ned said with a sly smile.

  In between eating our breakfast, we chatted easily. I was having such a good time talking to him that I wouldn’t have minded skipping the rest of the Farmer’s Market, but Ned had other ideas.

  As soon as he finished off his croissant, he was on his feet. “Are you ready to experience the awesomeness that is the Farmer’s Market?”

  “Bring on the awesomeness,” I said and stood as well.

  We dumped our empty cups and wadded up napkins into the trash can and then headed toward the heart of the Farmer’s Market. There weren’t just fruit and vegetable stands on either side of the walkway.

  There was a table with locally made honey. Another guy was selling beef jerky with all kinds of wild flavors to compliment the more traditional ones. One vendor was selling bouquets of fresh flowers, everything from roses to wildflowers. With the way Ned lingered over those flowers, I decided I would get him some before we left.

  I’d never bought a guy flowers before. Admitting this was going to make me sound like a dick, but I’d never had to. It didn’t take much more effort than flexing my muscles or flashing a wink and a smile to interest a guy.

  That’s not to say I treated guys badly. I was always good to the guys I was with. I wasn’t rough, unless they asked for it, and I’d made sure they got off before I did, but I’d never had a serious boyfriend. I’d never wanted one. What was the point when I could walk into Whispers any night of the week and be surrounded by twinks before I even made it to the bar to order a drink?

  I’d never wanted to buy a guy flowers before, but I would buy every damn flower in the place if it would make Ned smile. Yeah, I was that gone over this guy and this was only our second date, which meant I was in serious trouble.

  All he had to do was give me one of those shy smiles and I would give him the damn world. Oddly enough, I wasn’t bothered by the realization.

  “Oh my God, Heath, you have to try this olive oil.”

  We were standing in front of a table that was topped with baskets filled with different flavors of olive oil made from olives grown in a nearby family owned orchard. I didn’t do enough cooking to know olive oil came in more flavors than just plain olive oil.

  “Try this and tell me it’s not the best thing you’ve ever tasted,” Ned challenged, holding a small piece of dipped bread in my direction.

  “I thought hazelnut coffee was the best thing I’d ever tasted.”

  “Okay, it’s the best coffee ever, and this is the best olive oil ever. You’ll see.”

  I allowed him to feed me the piece of bread and couldn’t resist letting my tongue flick his fingertips. Ned sucked in a breath but didn’t pull away.

  “Well?” Ned demanded, sounding breathless.

  “You’re right. It’s the best olive oil I’ve ever had. What’s in it?”

  “It’s infused with garlic and rosemary,” the guy behind the table spoke up.

  I almost snorted at his use of the word infused. I’m sure he thought it sounded better than saying he’d mixed it all together.

  “Today only, you can get two bottles for twenty dollars,” the guy said.

  Yeah, I’m sure it was today only and not something he offered everywhere he went. Didn’t stop me from buying two bottles though, one of which I handed to Ned.

  I expected a protest, but he smiled. “Thank you. This is going to be so good on French bread.”

  “I’ve never had olive oil on French bread. I’ll have to try it.”

  “I could make it for you sometime.”

  There was no missing the slight wobble of nerves in his voice, but I wasn’t going to say no to that.

  “I’d like that whenever you’re ready.”

  That must have been the right thing to say because the tension bled from his body.

  “If you want to come over next week, I could cook for you.”

  “I would love to,” I said, and I knew I was grinning like a fool. “In the meantime, what do you say we check out the rest of the Farmer’s Market? That beef jerky booth is calling my name.”

  When Ned laughed, I decided I was going to make it my mission to make him laugh more often.

  My wallet was considerably lighter by the time Ned and I left the Farmer’s Market. Besides the olive oil and beef jerky, I’d given in and bought a jar of honey and even a jar of strawberry jam.

  I’d also picked up a hand painted post card from a local artist. I would have bought it anyway because I was all about supporting a fellow artist. Finding out that sweet little old lady had taken up art full time after she’d retired from her job as a teacher had sealed the deal for me.

  And of course, I’d bought Ned a bouquet of flowers. Even though I could have gotten that same bouquet for half price at the swap meet, at least I could have when I was a kid, I didn’t regret the purchase. Not when he was still talking about it over lunch.

  “Thank you for the flowers.”

  “You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

  “No one’s ever given me flowers before.”

  I found that hard to believe. Ned was so sweet that I couldn’t imagine every guy he’d dated not putting him on a pedestal and bending over backward to make him happy. God knows, I was already doing both.

  “I’m happy to be your first then.”

  Ned gave me a long look. I don’t know what he was trying to find, but I held his gaze, determined to let him see what he needed to.

  “How are you still single?” Ned blurted and then his cheeks turned that sweet shade of pink. “I mean, you’re good-looking and you seem like a nice guy.”

  “I am a nice guy.”

  “Exactly, so why aren’t you already married or at least in a serious relationship?”

  “To be honest, I’ve never wanted that before.”

  “And you do now?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Why now?”

  “The dating scene is getting old,” I said and shrugged. “Or maybe I am.”

  “You want someone to get serious with?”

  “At the risk of scaring you off, I don’t want just anyone. I want you.”

  “Why would that scare me off?”

  “At dinner the other night, you said you don’t date much.”

  “I don’t,” Ned admitted. “I want to try though, with you I mean.” Taking a deep breath, he tried again. “I like you, Heath, and I want to keep seeing you.”

  “Then we’re on the same page.”

  “What about other people?”

  “What? Are you saying I won’t be enough for you?” I joked.

  “No. Wait, that sounds bad. I mean, no I’m not saying that and yes, you’ll be enough for me. I was asking if you wanted to see other people while we’re dating.”

  “Do you?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  The answer didn’t surprise me. “Neither do I.”

  “Good, then we’re on the same page.”

  I laughed, loving the confident way he smirked at me.

  I never thought I would be the kind of guy who was promising exclusivity after just two dates, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Ned was an irresistible combination of sexy and sweet and I wanted him.

  And I meant for more than just sex. Yeah, I wanted sex. What gay man wouldn’t want him? I don’t think he realized how tempting he was.

  For the first time though, I wanted something besides sex. I wanted cuddling on the couch while we watched a movie. I wanted to spend the day at the beach with him
and then tuck him against my chest while we watched the sun dip behind the ocean. I wanted to take him to the Farmer’s Market again and buy him more hazelnut coffee and flowers. I wanted to make him laugh at my stupid jokes and convince him to let me tattoo his virgin skin.

  Yep, I was turning into a total sap, and I was okay with that.

  Chapter Ten

  Ned

  In between getting ready to go to my parents’ house for dinner, along with whichever of the others would show up, I traded text messages with Heath. Since he was at work, I assumed the shop was slow. At least I hoped that was it, though the thought of him stopping someone’s tattoo to text me made me laugh.

  Heath: Do you know what your mom’s making for dinner?

  No idea, but it doesn’t matter. My mom’s a great cook.

  Heath: What’s your favorite dinner that she makes?

  No question, it’s the lasagna.

  Heath: I should have known. Italian is your favorite.

  I loved that he remembered things like that about me. What about you? Do you have a favorite thing your mom makes?

  Heath: My mom was too stoned or drunk to cook for us.

  I cringed at the reminder. I knew that. He had been upfront about his past. Shit, sorry, I forgot.

  Heath: Don’t be sorry. Not your fault.

  I mean I’m sorry for bringing up bad memories.

  Heath: It’s okay. I don’t mind sharing things with you.

  I’m glad, but let’s talk about something else.

  Heath: Okay. What are you wearing?

  I burst into laughter. Jeans and a T-shirt.

  Heath: With those cute little Vans you wore to the Farmer’s Market the other day?

  Even though he wasn’t there, I couldn’t help blushing at the question. I had taken a gamble with the pink, but I didn’t care.

  It wasn’t like pink was my favorite color or anything, but I’d been in love with those shoes when I’d spotted them in the store. And of course I couldn’t wear those shoes without making sure my shirt matched so I’d had to buy a pink shirt.

  Nope, it’s my white Chuck Taylor’s today.