Bad Boy Ink (Get Ink'd #5) - Ali Lyda Page 0,29

me feel even more of a thrill that maybe, just maybe, he was letting his walls slip around me. Even if just a little.

The next morning, I had all my notes gathered, the very detailed information I'd managed to gather from various decrypted files ready to go. Normally, I had no problem focusing in class but today I was watching the clock, eager for lunch. Totally just to show off my work—not because I’d be spending more time with Aiden.

And I had to admit...I was feeling so alive these days. Tattooing was challenging and satisfying in that it forced me to create, to be on the top of my game, to build connections with people. It was beyond special knowing my art was inked on people forever. But it didn’t make me feel like whooping at the top of my lungs like this casework did. It didn’t give me the heart-pounding jolt that came from discovering a new clue that was buried deep under layers of encryption and security triggers.

And basic IT stuff for the college… paid the bills. But decrypt a hard drive? Figure out through my skills who may have committed a murder, or fraud? Yeah, that was practically boner-worthy.

For the first time in forever, I was living for all the promise I held for my future.

It was just another reason why I knew I needed that job. This was a pretend case study and it was exhilarating. I loved going through the endless data trying to mine it for evidence. How much better would it be when it was real? The way just anticipating talking about it with Aiden had my skin buzzing was validation that this was the right move for me.

Finally, my class was over, and I had to work not to race to the quad where I would be meeting Aiden. Each step toward him quickened my pulse and stirred anticipation in my belly. Entirely because I wanted to talk about the case, obviously.

I wasn’t wondering what he’d be wearing or if I’d be able to wrangle a smile from him. Not at all.

Aiden was leaning against a tree in the school quad. Sun-dappled shadows fell over his honey brown hair. His creamy skin was clear and fair and looked almost ethereal as tiny spots of sunlight danced over his face. Today he was wearing black skinny jeans that were artfully ripped across the thighs and knees. He also had on a navy Henley shirt with all the top buttons unbuttoned. The collar opened to reveal pectoral muscles I had not suspected were there and a razor slice of a collarbone.

My mouth felt dry.

“Hey, hey there, lurker,” I said as I approached him. “When you lean like that, you look an awful lot like a serial killer. It’s very suspicious.”

“Maybe I'm just waiting for my next victim. Perhaps the brickhead I’m meeting for lunch,” he shot back.

This close to him, I saw the glimmer of a gold chain tucked under his shirt and a tale-tell lump next to one of the buttons under his shirt. Holy shit—he was wearing the necklace I'd given him for his birthday. Instead of being able to reply with a snarky comment, I found myself gobsmacked.

He couldn’t possibly be wearing the necklace still, could he? What the hell for?

I felt almost bad for the forgotten gift. It had seemed funny at the time, a small way to show off my skills and tease Aiden. Now that I was getting to know him, though, I had to wonder how he’d interpreted it.

And what it meant that he was still wearing it.

Aiden's eyebrow arched. “You okay there, oh, God of Thunder?”

My tongue dragged along my lip, my mouth parched. “Yeah, totally.” Total lie. I wasn't okay. My mind was tripping over the appearance of the necklace still, but I had a sneaking suspicion that if I were to call attention to it, our truce would be over, so I said nothing. But crap, the curiosity of it was already gnawing at me.

We walked together toward a small restaurant near campus that specialized in hot dogs. If you could call hot dogs a specialty. I was familiar with the restaurant because they had a “how many hotdogs can you eat in one minute” competition—if you managed to shove more than forty down your gullet in less than sixty seconds, you get a photo on the wall.

There were two pictures on the wall that I was familiar with. One was of me, looking