hadn’t seen anything until this moment.
The ink on both of his arms was bright, with artistic designs, swooping lines, and abstract shapes. But, thanks to the damp fabric of his shirt, she could see that he had ink on his pecs as well.
The tattoos that covered his upper chest also snaked up his neck. Tanner had never been one that thought tattoos were especially attractive, but seeing them on Jacks made that change drastically.
“Hey.” His voice was so deep and low, so heated and powerful.
She snapped her eyes up from his chest to his face, and instantly felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment. She replayed that one word he had just said over and over again, and dammit she actually felt herself grow pliant for him. The way he grinned at her, with those straight white teeth, told her that he knew she had been checking him out. And honestly, that had been what she was doing.
“Hi.” She was so nervous, but this was just Jacks—kind of—one of the four guys she and Zoe had grown up around. There was nothing to be nervous about, she told herself repeatedly. She smiled and pushed away the awkwardness that Tanner was sure she was the only one feeling. She moved closer to Jacks so she could wrap her arms around him, and pressed her chest to his.
Instantly she smelled his clean sweat and the saltiness that seemed to come from it. There was also the scent of his spicy cologne, and Tanner actually found herself closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.
“Are you smelling me?” There was amusement in Jacks’ voice.
She snapped her eyes open and tried to pull back, feeling humiliated all over again, but Jacks wrapped his arms around her waist, held her tightly against him, and actually buried his head in the crook of her neck.
“Don’t move.” His hands were at the small of her back, and with her arms up and over his neck, the edge of her shirt had risen up. The scorching intensity of his fingers touching her bare flesh had every part of her clenching uncomfortably. But it wasn’t a discomfort from distaste, but from this sudden arousal that had slammed into her. “You smell exactly the same.” He whispered against the side of her throat, and the feel of his warm, humid breath along her bare flesh had a shiver racing up her spine. He pulled back and looked down at her, his expression guarded.
She had to tilt her head back to look at his face, not just because he was so tall, but because they were still so close together. But before either could say anything else, Marcus had her in his arms and lifted her off the ground as he gave her a big bear hug.
“Damn girl, you’ve gotten curvy.” He set her down, held her hands as he took a step back, and lifted her arms out to the side so he could blatantly check her out. He whistled under his breath. “Yeah, Tanner, you really got curvy.”
She pulled her hands away and lightly smacked him on the chest. “God, Marcus. I see you still don’t have a filter,” she said through a smile.
“Five has a mouth that rivals a horny sailor that has been out to sea for the last five years,” Beats said with a grin.
“Five,” She tested his known nickname out.
“Said a little slower and with more of a moan.” Marcus grinned, but winced as soon as Jacks punched him in the arm.
“Watch your mouth. These two aren’t groupies for your amusement,” Jacks said with a bite in his voice.
Marcus held up his hands in surrender. “Fuck, dude, easy.” He grinned at her and Zoe, and gave a wink for good measure it seemed.
“But seriously, you can just call me Five now.” They had never called Marcus “Five” while growing up as a nickname, but over the past five years he had taken on the name—for reasons unknown to her.
“But seriously, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He looked over at Zoe who was standing in front of Beats talking with him. “Both of you are.”
She gave a hug to Matty and then Beats, and then they were all sitting on the couch and chairs, beers in their hands, and the atmosphere starting to feel like it used to. It was still a little strange to be right in front of them after all this time, especially Jacks, and not because it had been ages since they had been