The Color of Summer

by Anna Martin

  Max shook his head. “I contacted all my clients and told them I might not be able to make their appointments after you got hurt. I’m still rebooking everyone—they’ve all been incredibly supportive before you freak out—so I can take some time away from the studio without putting anyone out.” He shrugged. “It’s up to you. I can go on my own, or I can stay here, or we can all go.”

  “How about me and you go. Without June. She can spend the weekend with Dana, and we could borrow my dad’s RV and drive down in that.”

  “Yeah?” Max actually looked excited by the idea. “June won’t mind?”

  “I think it’ll do her good, actually. She needs to have some fun without worrying about me.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  Tyler nodded. A weekend together outside of their usual routine sounded exactly like the kind of make-or-break opportunity their relationship needed. “We haven’t been away from here, just the two of us. It might be nice.”

  “Yeah.” Max gave him a hopeful sort of smile. “Okay. I’ll set it up.”

  AS TYLER predicted, June was on board with the idea of spending the weekend with her aunt Dana and her cousins, especially Casey, though she was still worried about Tyler and his injured shoulder. He dropped her off at Dana’s house after school on Friday with her weekend bag and a promise that he was okay.

  “Are you going to have RV sex?” Dana asked. She leaned against the frame of her front door, arms folded over her chest with a wicked smile on her face.

  “Dana. Ew.”

  “Don’t knock it. Brady was conceived in one of Dad’s RVs.”

  “I really didn’t need to know that.”

  Dana hesitated, then pulled Tyler down into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she murmured against his shoulder.

  “I’m fine.” He kissed her head before pulling away. “Thank you for watching June this weekend. Make sure she has some fun, okay?”

  “We’re going riding and swimming, and Mike is taking the boys out on Sunday with the Boy Scouts so we’re going to bake cookies with Mom.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I’ll get her to call you,” Dana promised.

  As he left, Tyler realized that was exactly what he needed to hear.

  He drove over to his parents’ house to pick up their RV, which was normally kept in a special garage near the back of their property, with the jet skis and the boat.

  Tyler left his car in their garage, then drove the RV over to Sweetwater Ink and parked it around the back since it was too obnoxiously large to fit in one of the on-street parking spaces.

  “I’m almost done,” Max called as Tyler walked into the studio. Several large silver cases were already stacked up near the door, ready to go.

  “Do you want me to load these up for you?”

  Max popped his head around the partition. “Don’t you dare. You know you’re not supposed to be lifting heavy stuff yet.”

  “It’s not heavy.”

  “It fucking is.”

  Tyler rolled his eyes but acquiesced, walking into the studio instead of being useful, so he could look around.

  Max’s collection of stencils was growing steadily, and Tyler admitted that it looked cool, having them all pinned up on the wall. Max had also printed and framed some of his reviews, and clipped the local newspaper article about the grand opening party a few months back. There were still people who didn’t like that there was a tattoo studio in Sweetwater now, but they were the same folks who disliked that there was a Baptist church and a Methodist church on the same street, so Tyler mostly ignored them.

  “It’s unlocked,” Tyler said when Max started hauling stuff out to the RV. He really had no idea that Max needed to take so much stuff with him for the convention. His equipment was fairly small.

  “Do you need to take your chair or anything?”

  “No, thank God,” Max said. “They’ve got some spares. I called them earlier, and there’s space to park the RV overnight too, so we don’t have to go looking for a special parking spot.”

  “That’s good.”

  Tyler was feeling rebellious, so he picked up Max’s laptop bag and took it to the RV. Then went back for his overnight bag.

  “What is all this stuff?” he asked when Max hauled another silver traveling case up the steps.

  “Don’t ask,” Max mumbled. “Stuff.”

  It would take about seven hours to drive to Nashville. Max had a route planned that would see them stopping for dinner at around eight, and still get them in before midnight.

  “Did you know Kendall and Bella are together?” Tyler asked as Max pulled onto the main road out of Sweetwater.

  Max stopped at a red light and gave him a long stare. “You are kidding.”

  “No, I only just figured it out.”

  “I don’t know if you’re adorable or an idiot.”

  “Probably both.”

  That made Max laugh. “They are quite discreet,” he conceded. “But seriously, Tyler, you have two women living together, running a business together, making a life together….”

  “I thought they were roommates. And really good friends.”

  “That makes me wonder if there’s any other gay couples in town. Other than Josh and Toby, obviously.”

  “I know Josh has some friends over in Richmond who are gay. They do a dinner party thing.”

  “Is that code for an orgy?”

  “I’ve never asked,” Tyler said. “I don’t think I want to.”

  Max laughed again.

  If Tyler had been worried about spending seven hours solid with just Max for company, he shouldn’t have been. Things were still a little awkward, and they resolutely avoided talking about their relationship and anything to do with their shared future. But the “click” Tyler had felt right from the beginning with Max was still there, the little things that made them just feel right.

  He was starting to see that it might take more than Max’s commitment issues to keep them from being together.

  They stopped at a Burger King for dinner, not wanting to drive too far off their route to find something healthier. There wasn’t a Burger King in Sweetwater, so Tyler thought he could indulge for once.

  While Max went to the bathroom and picked up a couple of things for the rest of the journey, Tyler called June.

  “Are you being good for Aunt Dana?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied dutifully. “We watched Pirates of the Caribbean, and she told us that Will Turner is a hottie.”

  “I’m so glad you learned that,” Tyler said. “Thank you for sharing.”

  She picked up on his tone and laughed. “Are you with Max?”

  “Yeah, he just had to run to the store. We should get to Nashville in a few hours.”

  “Okay. Tell him I said good night.”

  “I will. Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  He ended the call and cradled his phone to his chest. It didn’t matter that he’d spent plenty of nights apart from June in her life; it still hurt when he wasn’t there to tuck her in.

  Max came back with “dessert”—Swedish Fish and Oreos.

  “You’re such a child.” Tyler grinned.

  “Fine. I won’t share.”

  Tyler gave him a look.

  “Fine. I’ll share.”

  “I can drive this next part,” he said, reaching for the keys and taking them from Max’s hand.

  “Are you sure? Is your shoulder okay?”

  “It’s fine. You know this thing isn’t particularly heavy to maneuver.”

  “Okay. But we can swap back if it starts to ache.”

  “Deal.”

  The truth was, Tyler didn’t want Max to drive seven hours tonight, then spend ten or twelve hours the next day tattooing, and another full day working on Sunday. He’d have to be careful driving but once they were on the highway, it would be fine.

  When they got back on the road, Tyler turned the radio on and l
et Max snooze for a while. He didn’t mind driving long distances. He’d gotten used to it when he was at college in Atlanta and had driven home, sometimes just for the weekend. That had been a nine-hour journey if he took a rest break, and back then he hadn’t thought anything of it.

  They pulled into the convention center just before midnight, right on Max’s schedule. Tyler found the designated RV parking area and killed the engine, then leaned over to gently shake his shoulder.

  “We’re here,” he said softly.

  “Shit,” Max said, rubbing at his eyes. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “I don’t mind. Do you want to shower now or in the morning? I can get the bed made up.”

  “In the morning. If I shower now, it’ll wake me up.”

  “Okay.”

  “Need help with the bed?”

  Tyler shook his head. “My mom got new linens out for us earlier, so I just need to bring it down.”

  Max watched with childlike fascination as Tyler used the electric lift to bring down the bed, which was stored in the roof of the RV when it wasn’t in use. The clever storage meant there was more room out back for the bathroom and a tiny kitchen.

  While Max went to brush his teeth and change, Tyler pulled down all the blinds and quickly changed his jeans for basketball shorts.

  “You want me to sleep on the couch?” Max asked as they swapped and Tyler headed for the bathroom.

  “Not particularly. Unless you want to.”

  Max shook his head.

  “Then get in bed. I’ll be there in a sec.”

  In the bathroom, Tyler brushed his teeth and washed his face and carefully cleaned the scar on his shoulder. Now that the stitches had been taken out, it didn’t itch so bad, but it still felt like the new skin was thin and delicate. He covered it with a huge Band-Aid when he went to bed, in case he was tempted to scratch at it in his sleep.

  When he was done, he turned off all the lights, then crawled into bed next to Max. Max had curled up on his side, facing Tyler. After a moment, Tyler lifted his good arm so Max could shuffle forward and curl up with his head on Tyler’s chest. Very carefully, Tyler started to smooth and play with Max’s hair.

  “I’m sorry for being a jerk to you,” Max said softly.

  “Telling me how you feel isn’t being a jerk.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Max. One person putting pressure on another person to move more quickly in a relationship than they’re ready for is not a nice thing. I don’t want to do that to us. So please don’t apologize.”

  “Oh.”

  Tyler leaned down to kiss Max’s head. “I’m really pleased you asked me to come with you this weekend.”

  “I’m glad you came.”

  Tyler squeezed him a little tighter and fell asleep with Max still curled up on his chest.

  WHEN TYLER woke, Max was already working at his laptop at the small table in the RV. Tyler rolled onto his side and carefully worked his shoulder, easing out any stiffness that had built up overnight.

  “You’re awake early,” Tyler croaked.

  “We need to move soon,” he said apologetically. “I wanted to make sure everything’s ready.”

  Tyler shuffled himself into a seated position and stretched. “It’ll only take me a few minutes to get dressed.”

  “Do you need help in the shower or anything?”

  Tyler winked at him. “It’s too small to do anything in there.”

  “Oh my God,” Max laughed. “I meant with your shoulder.”

  “I know. No, I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

  While Max showered, Tyler put the bed away and made a tiny pot of coffee, just enough to fill two travel mugs. The convention didn’t open to the public until ten, and it was only just after eight, so Tyler thought they probably had plenty of time.

  It didn’t take long for Tyler to get showered and dressed, like he’d promised, and then they walked over to the convention center in the cool early morning, both gulping at the coffee.

  “I want to get our badges and find out where I need to set up,” Max said as they approached the main entrance. “Then we can go back and get my stuff.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Despite the early hour, there were plenty of people already milling around. Tyler couldn’t help but feel out of place; everyone here had lots of tattoos, or piercings, or alternative clothing, or all three. Even Max had smudged-on black eyeliner that morning. Tyler was going to tell him later just how incredibly hot he looked with it on.

  Max came back with a badge and handed it to Tyler. “This gets you in and out, and a ten percent discount at any of the official food stands,” he said.

  “Okay.” Tyler hooked it around his neck.

  “I got a map too. We’re stall 16, right at the front, which is good.”

  Tyler nodded. Max maybe sensed that he was uncomfortable, because he reached over and grabbed Tyler’s hand.

  “Come on,” he said, grinning. “Today is supposed to be fun.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  MAX MADE Tyler sit at his stall and hold the space while he found someone to help haul his equipment into the convention center. Tyler might have been protesting that he was okay to carry stuff, but he definitely wasn’t, and Max wasn’t going to give him an excuse to hurt himself again.

  Plus the guy Max found had a trolley, meaning they could get everything in in one trip. Bonus.

  Tyler looked fidgety when Max got back, so Max kissed him again.

  “How can I help?” Tyler asked.

  “Okay, here’s the deal,” Max said. “No one really knows I’m going to be here, because I filled in for a last-minute cancellation. So I don’t have any prebookings at all. What we’re going to do is hour-long appointments at seventy-five bucks an hour. I’ll tattoo anything, as long as it’s around the size of a credit card or smaller.”

  Tyler nodded. “Okay.”

  “Normal studio rules don’t apply,” he continued. “This is a different audience, so I’ll tattoo hands and necks if people ask.”

  “Got it.”

  “We have merch too, some mugs and vinyl stickers and shit. I need you to take bookings for me, take payments, run social media, take photos, and make sure people go away with a business card. I have about two thousand with me, so get rid of all of them if you can.”

  “Max?”

  “Yeah?”

  “How the hell were you going to do this on your own?”

  Max laughed. “Multitasking, baby. I’ve done conventions before. It’s just a lot easier with help. I got you a Sweetwater Ink T-shirt, by the way. It’s in that bucket.”

  Tyler dug it out and quickly changed. Max tried not to stare at his chest while he did so. And failed. He was okay with that.

  “I might also get you to take it off at strategic points during the day.”

  “Why?” Tyler asked.

  “Partly because you have an example of my work on your chest. And also because I like looking at you when you’re shirtless.”

  “Thanks,” Tyler laughed. “I think.”

  “There will also be a few competitions going on, so make sure you get people’s permission for me to be entered into those. Everything’s on the spreadsheet on the laptop.”

  Tyler stepped over and took Max by the shoulders. “It’s going to be great.”

  Max exhaled heavily. “Yeah. It will. I normally have more time to prepare for these things, so it’s going to be different. But hopefully we’ll get the slots filled, and I can promote the studio. If nothing else.”

  While Max set up his work area, Tyler took the task of arranging the table at the front with all of the Sweetwater Ink merch very seriously. He set up Max’s laptop too, and studied the spreadsheet Max had put together.

  “Do I need to check in with you before I take bookings?” Tyler asked as Max was setting up all his inks.

  “Huh. You probably should, just in case it’s something I don’t want to do or I can’t do. I
don’t want any portraits.”

  “I remember,” Tyler said softly. “You’re good at flowers and nature stuff.”

  “Yeah,” Max said, touched that he remembered. “Honestly, though, today is about promoting the studio and convincing people to book in for a bigger tattoo. This convention pulls people from all over the South. I mean, some of my colleagues from Philly and DC will be here. So we’re getting the word out.”

  “Got it.”

  Max took a deep breath. “Thank you,” he said. Then decided to be honest. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

  “Me too.”

  IF MAX was worried about not having much to do during the convention, he needn’t have been. At one point he had a swear-to-God actual line forming for people trying to get an appointment, and by lunchtime he’d sold out all slots for the whole weekend. Barring any no-shows, he was due to work twelve hours solid on Saturday and another nine hours on Sunday.

  Tyler, bless his heart, was working his ass off. He ran to get Max snacks and coffee, flirted with customers, and found someone with a printer who let him print off a whole bunch of Max’s booking request forms that were still on his laptop from the opening party at Sweetwater Ink.

  It meant Max could just concentrate on tattooing one person after the other and trying to keep his energy up so he could spew witty banter as he worked.

  “How are you doing?” Tyler asked as he finished up his fifth appointment of the day.

  Max pulled off his gloves and chugged water from his water bottle. “Good. Thank you so much. You’re a fucking rock star today.”

  Tyler waved it off. “You’re the rock star. I’m just your roadie.”

  Max had ten minutes until his next appointment and took the opportunity to scarf down a sandwich and candy bar. Just as he was prepping his space for the next customer, a familiar voice called his name.

  “Buzz!” Max laughed. He stepped out of his booth and pulled his former mentor into a hug. “I didn’t know you would be here.”

  “I decided to ride down with Nixon,” he said, slapping Max on the back. “We closed the shop for the weekend.”

  “You were supposed to be taking a vacation, you mean.”