Page 64 of Splintered Hearts

“Ow.” I think for a minute. “You could draw your penis? I can confirm, it’s a work of art.”

Jamie smiles without humor. “I could get up and leave.”

“Not in the mood today. I got it.” I think for a moment, but I can’t think of anything; my mind’s too busy focusing on him. We’d talked for weeks and it was so... nice. I just want a little bit of that back. I want the friend I’d made since that party back. “Anything you want. I don’t care.”

Something flickers to life behind his dark eyes. “Stay as still as you can, okay?” The marker tickles my skin at first and all I can do is lie back. I want to watch, but relax into my pillow instead, trying so fucking hard not to inhale that spicy, woodsy scent of his.I can feel my dick rallying in my sweats, and if Jamie notices, he doesn’t comment on it. “When did you start drawing?”

His hand stiffens briefly, before he relaxes and continues sketching on my ribs. “As long as I can remember, it was—” Biting his lip, Jamie shakes his head. “I’ve always drawn.”

“What were you going to say?”

“Can you stop so I can concentrate?”

“We are feeling spicy today, huh?”

Putting the pen down, he glares at me. “You wanted me to dothis.”

“I thought it would be fun.” He grips the marker hard in his hand, and I ignore the attitude. I thought we were getting somewhere! “You know, believe it or not, you can talk to me a little bit when we’re not giving each other orgasms. It won’t ruin your reputation if you’re a little bit nice to me. I promise your secret will be safe with me. I won’t alert the townspeople that you, Jamie Amato”—I cover my mouth, gasping dramatically—“are not that bad. I promise.” Relaxing back onto my bed, I fold my arms over my chest, mimicking zipping my lips and throwing away the key.

He glares at me and looks down at whatever he drew on my skin before his shoulders sag. Moving higher, he grabs a different marker. “I’m going to draw Mark’s ass cheeks.”

My eyes widen, and Jamie’s lips quirk a tiny bit. “You’re evil,” I hiss. That makes a tiny laugh slip from his lips. “How do you even know what they look like?”

“I’ve seen him running down the hall a few times, from the shower back to Hunter’s room. Those two weren’t quiet or subtle at all.”

“Slightly concerned that you remember it vividly enough to draw it on my skin.”

“That’s not something you can just get over.”

“It’s haunting.”

“Try living with it for years.”

“Trying sleeping with it.”

“No thanks. I have enough problems.”

Awkward silence blooms between us, making my skin itch. “Um, don’t you think it’s funny we never met until recently?” And we’re back to ignoring me. Great. I press further because if there’s one thing Jamie needs to know about me it’s that I’m not a man who can easily be ignored. It’s best he just finds out now. “Don’t you find that weird? Our best friends have beendating... for years.”

Jamie concentrates, but his focus is a little too intentional. “It’s not weird. It’s not like we were friends, Mark and me.”

“Yeah, but—”

He puts down the marker as I glare at him. “I don’t like hanging out with people, okay? Just drop it.”

Maybe this is a bad idea. What do I even want out of it? It’s not like Jamie will just fall for me by drawing on my skin. That’s so dumb. I’m so dumb. “Me-fucking-ow.”

Jamie relaxes a bit with a heavy sigh. “Sorry. I just like being by myself. Hunter knows that. That’s all.”

“So the party—”

“Just another level of hell.” Resting the marker on my hip, he looks at me. “I wanted to show him I was okay with him leaving, though. So I tried, for him.”

“Until you couldn’t.” Ignoring that, he goes back to drawing. “At least you got a spectacular blow job out of it.” Grinning as the tips of his ears redden, I press on. “I think it was a great party.” He sets the marker down and I’m now hyperaware of his hands on me—one on my upper thigh, the other holding the marker now resting on my side.

“You’re distracting me.”

“Mmm, so my body is distracting?”

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