Ink & Flowers by J.K. Pendragon Read Free Book Online Page B

didn't know you could draw."
    Cooper gave a chuckle. "You're better than me."
    "Do you, you know, do tattoos?"
    "Yeah, I used to," replied Cooper lightly.
    Ah. That made sense, so that must be what Cooper "wasn't doing anymore". Luke felt relief and then more confusion. He wanted to ask why, but he wasn't entirely sure Cooper would give him a straight answer.
    "Hey," said Cooper, "if you could get a tattoo, what would you get?"
    "Ha!" Luke couldn't help but laugh at the thought. He'd never even considered it before. "I dunno, 'freedom?'"
    Cooper laughed. "Makes sense. Might be a nice chest piece."
    "Yeah, I'm not getting one. Some chick died from a tattoo a while back, remember?"
    Cooper started up the blender. "Yeah," he yelled over the noise, "I guess you've got a point."
    *~*~*
    Cooper made Luke a full breakfast—eggs, toast, and a fruit smoothie. Luke realised how hungry he was the moment he took a bite, and he proceeded to gobble the entire meal down with shaky hands. Cooper made himself a protein smoothie and sat across from Luke, grinning at him.
    "So, that was dramatic," he said. "Your family always like that?"
    "Yeah," Luke sighed. "I'm usually better at handling it, though. I shouldn't have hung up on her like that."
    "Well," Cooper leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his smoothie. "Guess I shouldn't be keeping you here against your will either, eh?"
    "Against her will, you mean."
    Cooper shrugged. "I'm just saying I can see her point of view. I'm a creepy asshole."
    Luke wasn't sure about that. Cooper hadn't actually done anything to Luke, but didn't the fact that he had wanted to still make him a bit of a creepy asshole? "I don't care," he said honestly. "That's better than my aunts."
    "Well, sure, I mean, your aunts don't walk around with their shirts off, do they?"
    "What? Ew, no, why?"
    "Because I do." Cooper grinned and pulled his T-shirt over his head. "Yeah, that's right, look away. Don't get turned on."
    Luke blanched, that familiar tingling at the pit of his stomach setting in. "Stop it."
    "Stop what?"
    "You know what." He was looking away. Of course he was. It was rude not to.
    "My house, my rules." Cooper stood and snatched the remote up. He plopped himself down beside Luke and turned the TV on. "Fuck yeah, Top Model . I love Tyra Banks. Tyra Banks is a boss ."
    *~*~*
    It was a relief to finally get to school on Monday. Cooper hadn't let up all day, continuing to wander around in various states of undress and sitting uncomfortably close to Luke. A small part of Luke liked all the attention Cooper was giving him, but most of him was exhausted by having to constantly look away from Cooper's body and force down his reaction. Plus, Cooper liked the TV loud, so it was a relief to get up early and head to school where he was able to finish his art history project in merciful silence. After that was three hours of Art History class, which Luke was only able to get through with the knowledge that afterwards he could spend several hours in the studio, lost in the trance of painting.
    Luke hadn't realised how late it was until he left the bright white lights of the studio and stepped out into twilight. He'd finished the first of his paintings and had gotten started on the second. That warm feeling of pride that he got upon finishing a piece was swelling in his stomach, making it difficult to focus on the dread that he felt over going back to Cooper's house. Anyway, if he had to be honest, dread was just one of the many feelings he had about seeing Cooper, along with excitement and guilty pleasure. Maybe he would be shirtless again. Luke had been attempting to avoid looking at him, but it was difficult not to stare when there was so much to look at. Cooper had a roaring cartoonish tiger head on his stomach and a Chinese dragon curling around his collarbone. Luke was most interested in the tattoos that dipped low over his hips, however, and he had found himself wondering several times what they were, and what