47. Present Day – February
47
PRESENT DAY – FEbrUARY
JOSIE
A fter delivering my evening art class, I head over to The Bull.
Scott lets me in, his eyes bright with excitement. ‘I’ve got some surprises for you.’
Walking a couple of steps into the pub, I take in the finished paint work, the walls now a glorious bare canvas.
‘Ohhh, this is amazing.’ I look around, appreciating the thorough job of repainting that’s been done throughout the whole pub. The guys have worked so hard.
‘Not just this.’ He reaches into his back pocket, and then holds out his fist to me.
I tip my head to the side and look up at him with a slight frown.
He grins, turns over his hand, and opens it up to reveal my anklet. Black stone shining against his palm.
My jaw drops. ‘Oh my God,’ I breathe. ‘Where did you find it?’
‘Will found it.’
‘Will?’ I frown.
His eyes widen and he screws up his nose. ‘ Oops . I think you know him as Apollo.’
‘Next time we do a play party, I’ll pretend I don’t know.’
I go to take the anklet but he pulls it back a little, teasing, and drops to his knees. He winks up at me before fastening it. His large hands are soft but firm as they engulf my right ankle.
Biting my lip, I admire it, my precious anklet, back where it belongs.
I pull Scott up and grab him by the collar, smacking a kiss to his mouth. ‘Thank you.’
He holds me tight and murmurs, ‘You’re welcome,’ not breaking contact.
Nipping his lip playfully, I murmur, ‘ So , you said surprise -es. ’
Scott pulls away and looks down the plain of his face to me, an almost unreadable expression on his face, not smugness but pride, maybe. He waggles his eyebrows and walks backwards, tugging me towards a large square wall at one end of the pub. ‘This wall is all prepped and ready for your mural.’
I go to slide my hands up his chest, aiming to cup them around his neck and pull him in for another kiss, when I notice a familiar shiny clear wrap poking from behind his ear. I’d been so absorbed in the anklet, I’d not noticed it before.
‘Wait—’ I gently turn his cheek to better study behind his ear, and I can feel him smile against my skin. A soft huff of laughter rumbles from his chest.
Behind his ear is a very detailed, very black, very familiar , and very new, eagle tattoo.
‘You got a tattoo?!’ Warmth swells inside me as I lift on my tiptoes to peer closer.
‘You inspired me.’ His eyes slide round to look at me sideways as I hold his head in place.
‘You … This is beautiful.’
‘You don’t mind? It’s probably copyright infringement.’
I laugh. ‘Mind?’ I ease his face back to me, framing his cheeks in my hands as I spell it out. ‘You tattooed my artwork on yourself. My. Fucking. Art. Fuck! ’ I kiss him deeply and he winds his fingers into my hair.
‘I mean,’ he mumbles through his kiss, ‘ I didn’t do the tattooing. But yeah ... I like having you permanently marked on me.’
His tongue explores my mouth, hooking behind my teeth and then he pulls away slowly, sucking on my bottom lip, making heat curl through me.
‘What made you go for it?’
‘I’ve been toying with the idea for a while, but, really, it was thinking about what you said about Marcus. I want to remember him, but I don’t want to live in the shadow of what could have been. I wanted a permanent reminder of him. So, now he’s with me as I move forwards in my life.’
It’s beyond perfect. ‘He always wanted to fly like an eagle.’
‘Exactly. I’ve been looking for ages to be honest, but nothing seemed to resonate. Nothing felt right.’ His eyes are dark and solemn as he stares into mine. ‘It was only when I saw your drawing, it all fell into place.’
I purse my lips together, trying not to grin inanely during this earnest moment.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asks, kissing me again, then pulling away to study my face.
‘I really like it.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yes.’ I let my grin break free. ‘And I’m super fucking envious.’ New tattoo craving well and truly activated. ‘I know you found my anklet, but I want a dedicated Marcus tattoo, too.’ I chuckle at the rhyme. ‘Where’d you go?’
‘I saw Jet, on the high street.’
‘That’s who I use.’ I bump his arm with my fist. ‘You should have told me, we could have got a couples tattoo.’
‘Let me get used to this one first.’ He shrugs like it’s no biggie. ‘Then you can design us matching ones.’
I get lost in his kiss for a long minute, then remembering why I’m there, I pull myself away before I get distracted again.
‘So, this mural you want.’ I nod over at the giant, blank wall. It’s such a good space to get creative with. ‘I’ve made some sketches, thought I’d run them past you before I template it. But now I’m thinking you should rename the pub The Eagle, and I’ll paint your tattoo up there.’
Scott slides his hands around my waist, calloused fingers etching their way across me, pulling me back closer to him. ‘As much as that’s a really good idea, I can’t rename my pub. Besides, when you’ve done this, I need you to do some more painting for me.’
‘Another mural? Don’t worry, I have bull ideas aplenty.’ I reach into my bag to grab my sketch book, a larger one than I usually carry. One I got specifically for my work at The Bull.
‘No, not that kind of painting.’ Scott has a glint in his eyes, which I want to describe as mischievous.
‘ What …?’
He opens his mouth and then closes it again, as if not sure what to say. ‘Let me start at the beginning.’
After a couple of minutes of Scott filling me in, and me only managing to mutter, ‘what the fuck?’ and ‘hell no,’ I find my eyebrows bunched in my hairline, and Scott standing over me with his hands on his hips.
‘You think it’s a bad idea?’ His forehead creases in concern.
‘ No … I …’ I’m speechless. ‘Let me get this straight.’ Try to process it.
He crosses his arms and nods, ready to listen.
‘You want to give me your savings to go and study art in South America? And then you want to display all my paintings when I’m back?’
He nods, bottom lip stuck out as if I’ve completely understood and that’s exactly what he meant.
‘That’s… Fuck . That’s ridiculous.’
‘What? It’s not like I’m building you a gallery or anything extreme.’ He throws his arms up. ‘The walls are sitting there doing nothing, and your paintings are beautiful.’ He pulls me in towards him, first with his right hand, then the left. He lowers his voice, serious as he says, ‘They should be seen .’
I can’t stop smiling as I take in how much he believes in me. Other than Ella and Jamie, he’s the only one.
‘I mean, I’ll build you that gallery if you want.’ His eyes dance playfully. ‘Could always convert the skittle alley?—’
‘No,’ I interrupt him with a giggle. ‘Okay, I’ll allow you to display my art.’ I put on a posh voice that suggests I’m doing him the biggest of favours. ‘But,’ I hold his head between my hands, ‘you can’t give me your money to go travelling.’
‘But it’s your dream.’ He wraps his fingers around mine, dipping down to touch our foreheads together. ‘The art retreat. Seeing Central America while you’re there … South America … The world .’ He kisses the tip of my nose and moves back slightly. ‘And the money’s just gathering dust in my bank account.’
I glare at him, imploring him. ‘What about your dreams, Scott?’
‘I—’ He pulls back, but I move with him, staying close. Trying to make him see.
‘I can’t take your money and, anyway, you want to travel, too.’
He shakes his head. ‘I can’t leave?—’
It comes to me, a lightning strike of inspiration and I blurt, ‘Stop chasing everyone else’s dreams and think about your own for once … Come with me.’ With every word, the plan solidifies in my head. ‘I can use my own savings.’
‘But I can’t?—’
‘ Yes . You can.’ I nod eagerly, pushing closer. ‘Fuck it. Fuck it all.’ My voice gets louder as everything comes into focus. I’d been too scared to really consider it before — never imagined I wouldn’t have to be alone. ‘Leave Enzo in charge and come, too.’ His eyes search mine, swirling and dark. ‘I want to travel with you.’ I grin at the way his jaw is slack, his comprehension scrambling to catch up. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.’
‘You want me to travel with you?’
‘Yes!’ Excitement rips through me at the thought of having someone to share it with, of having Scott to share it with.
‘I can’t gate-crash your art retreat with Abi and Camila.’
‘You won’t. I can start there — join the one they’re doing in a couple of months.’ I shrug. ‘And you can be here getting everything tied up with Enzo. Then come and meet me and we’ll do the rest together.’ I tilt my head and soften my voice. ‘ Please .’
‘Okay,’ he says simply.
‘Okaaay?’ I shriek, my eyes wide.
I twist my fingers into his shirt and grip him tightly.
His face creases into a huge grin. ‘I said okay.’ He drops a kiss on my lips. ‘I can’t think of anything I want to do more than explore the world with you.’
He presses his whole body against me, and I can feel his cock hardening against my stomach.
Reaching down, I grasp it through the denim, and arch an eyebrow at him. ‘There’s probably still some uncharted territory in Oldton in the meantime, you know?’
‘Yo!’ I greet Ella when she answers the phone. ‘Is it a good time?’
‘For you, always,’ she chirps.
‘Good.’ I check my towel is secured around my shoulders and rest back on my bed. ‘I’ve got a while before I need to wash out this hair dye, and I need to tell you something.’
I can hear the phone clunk, probably Ella getting comfy, too. ‘Spill the tea.’
‘I’m going back to my natural colour.’
‘No way,’ she giggles. ‘I can’t even remember what it is anymore.’
‘Ha, ha,’ I deadpan. ‘I’ll be an auburn fox in about half an hour.’
‘I can’t wait to see it. Send me a pic. This is huge news.’
‘Oh no, that’s not the news.’ I bite my lip, a shiver of excitement and nerves run through me as I take a breath.
I tell Ella everything: travelling, the Bull, even my latest tattoo — an impulse decision after seeing Scott’s. I twist my forearm, which is still stinging slightly like a mild sunburn, admiring how Marcus’s star sign is speckled there.
Since Scott surprised me a couple of days ago, my life has been a whirlwind. A kaleidoscope of colour. Fun planning adventures, designing new tattoos, travel agents and booking flights … incredible sex.
‘ Seriously ,’ she pretends to grumble but breaks into a laugh. ‘It’s only been a few days since I last saw you. This is a lot .’
‘I know, and I just couldn’t wait until our next cocktail night.’
‘I’m glad you didn’t. This kind of news is call-me-as-it’s-happening shit. I’m so happy for you.’
‘So, we’re going to Sunday lunch at my folks’ house today. I’m trying to work out how to break it to my parents. It’s all come about so fast.’ A pang tightens my chest at the thought of telling them.
‘Won’t they be excited for you?’
‘You’ve met them, right? They’ll try and tell me I can’t do it.’ I don’t add that previously I’d have believed them, but now, with Scott, I feel I can do anything.
‘Is it manipulative to think that changing my hair colour back might soften the blow? I mean, I’m totally doing it to make my life easier while travelling around. But maybe they can think it’s a small victory on their part?’
‘You know you shouldn’t have to change yourself.’
‘I know.’ And I do. This is on my terms.
‘So, when do you go?’
‘In a couple of months. Abi said I can stay with them and join their next art retreat, and then Scott’s coming out and we’ll start our tour of Central and South America from there.’
‘Jose, this is brilliant. ’
Butterflies race through my chest and I can’t stop my smile. As I tell Ella more, I forget the angst about my parents and revel in the excitement of the adventure — the thought of freedom.