never had for me before. Then again, I had never stayed with one man long enough to have the chance for this many kisses.
Gordo smiled against my lips, nibbling at my lower lip before pulling back. When I shifted so I could sit across from Andrew, I found him watching Gordo and me with interest. He signed, “Do you like boys?”
For a moment, I wondered if I’d made a mistake. It might have been egotistical to think, but I was sure I was the most stable force in Andrew’s life at the center. If this made him think less of me…
Stop it. “Yes,” I signed back. “Especially this one.”
But Andrew, tween going on twenty, just shrugged and pointed to the art Gordo had been scanning for him. It was a picture of a rooster, and I could see that Andrew had taken the techniques I’d showed him and made them better. It was a damned fine drawing, especially considering Andrew’s age.
“You know you’re a good kid, right?” I asked Andrew.
He frowned and looked at his hands. They were twisting together. I had to thump the table in front of him to get his attention. “I mean it, Andrew. You’re a good kid and I will always be in your corner, okay?”
Andrew gave the slightest nod. It had to be good enough. Looking at my watch, I had to run to work. “I’ve got to go to work,” I signed to Andrew, while saying it out loud for Gordo’s benefit.
Andrew gave me a big, goofy grin. “I can come with you. My apprenticeship starts today!”
“Nice try,” I replied while laughing. After, I leaned in to give in to give Gordo another kiss, and then waved goodbye to both of them, but even as I was driving to Get Ink’d, my heart was back at the center.
The shop was slow tonight. My client was running late, it was Dane’s night off, and Trinity was working on a customer. Next to her was Bryce, a new hire. He seemed pretty chill and was clever with social media. All of us understood it and had our own accounts that we managed, but Reagan was letting Bryce take over the shop’s accounts after Bryce had approached him with some cool ideas for visibility.
I wasn’t bored, per se, but it was impossible to concentrate on my work. My mind was stuck on Gordo, which was becoming my norm. It was new and strange to have a person take up so much space in my chest, filling me with complicated emotions that I actually enjoyed filtering through.
Missing him, for one, was new. Missing anyone was new. But for as much time as Gordo and I had been spending together, I missed him when we were apart. I wanted to spend all of my time with him and Giuliana.
Following an impulse, I decided to call Gordo.
“Hey, you,” he said, picking up before the first ring had finished. “Everything okay?”
“Is it weird t-to say I’m missing you?”
“If by weird you mean wonderful, then yes. I’m missing you, too.”
Heat poured through my limbs, making them feel languid, heavy. I wanted to become a statue, freezing this moment, his words echoing in my ear forever. “It’s nice to hear your voice.”
“You’re such a flatterer,” Gordo said with a chuckle. “So, speaking of speaking and voices… I’ve been thinking. Would you teach me how to sign? Your stutter truly doesn’t bother me, but I know it bothers you. I want to be able to understand you when you’re happy, when you’re upset, when you need control to communicate—whenever. I want to be able to listen to you, Javi, in whatever form is best for you. Is...is that weird?”
My throat was squeezed so tightly it burned. A tear made its way down my cheek. I hadn’t done anything to deserve someone like Gordo. “If b...b-by weird,” I managed to choke out, “you mean the b-best thing ever, then yes.”
“Wanna start tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
“No, like this,” I said gently, shifting Gordo’s thumb to change his ‘A’ into an ‘S’. “Now, show me the alphabet again.”
He went slow, his tongue stuck out in concentration, but I watched in amazement as he signed the alphabet to me.
“You’re a fast learner.”
“I have a teacher who motivates me,” he said, throwing me a wink. I grinned and felt the tightness in my belly that always accompanied flirty banter with Gordo. That accompanied just being near Gordo.
He was stretched out on a blanket on his living room floor,