Fade Back (A Stepbrother Romance Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page A

twenty-five had better be transitioning into a lawyer or a doctor or they'd desiccate into an aged, grandmotherly fossil. And yet,` here was Fitz: probably almost thirty but still as hot as they come.
    "So what if I'm just a kid? Two years is a long time when you could have anyone you wanted!" She didn't mean to blurt that out, but luckily Fitz took it as a compliment. Becka was gratified to see him blush again as he gave her a sideways glance between the changes of the needles, the crinkles around Fitz’s eyes deepening with his grin.
    "Yeah, but what if you only want one person, and you can't have them? Or you can have them, but they want everyone else as well?"
    "Well, then it's time to look for someone else!"
    "I've done enough of that in my time. I figured it was time to just settle in and focus on art. Let someone else find me for a change."
    Now it was Becka’s turn to blush. Fitz’s smiling gaze lingered on her and she could feel every second of it stretching out for an eternity. She felt herself getting restless again, and to cover her embarrassment, she clapped her hands in enthusiasm when Fitz was changing the ink as she giddily shouted, "Alright! Let's get back to it!" when what she really wanted to do was sit beneath that lingering stare and give Fitz something to see.
    "There's not much more to go for today, just a few more lines. How are you feeling, by the way?"
    "It feels kind of like getting bit by a bug or something, but like, over and over again. Am I going to bleed at all?"
    "Y'know some do, but it looks like you're going to be pretty clean. You've got a thick skin."
    "I heard from this guy once that he got a tattoo, and it scabbed over so much that the whole thing came off, or faded away, when he scratched it, and he sued. Or he was going to sue. Or something." Becka suddenly felt stupid. This anecdote was stupid. She couldn't even remember the guy's name, or what the tattoo was. It was just another of the black light conversations she had with the other Lux patrons, barking inanities into deaf ears until somebody either went in for a kiss, or turned away. She tried to think of the details, why Fitz might find this story cute or interesting, some texture which would make it a worthwhile use of her breath. She couldn't think of anything.
    "I think he was probably pulling your leg. Or his tattooist was really terrible at their job. Let's go with terrible, shall we? Well, I assure you I am not terrible, and this is going to look great. My designs are permanent. They fade with time, just a bit, but they don’t fade away .”
    "I trust you," Becka mumbled closing her eyes, and felt the pen hover over her chest before Fitz again, tender as ever, applied its buzzing nib to her marker-festooned flesh.
    "So how do you know Mick?” Fitz sounded forcefully casual as he stretched Becka’s skin.
    "How do you know I know Mick?” Becka countered playfully.
    "Because Karen said, doh.”
    "Oh yeah!" Becka giggled, which earned her a playful slap and an admonishment from Fitz: "No wriggling OR giggling!"
    "We met in college. He taught me how to break this one difficult code—back when I was a bespectacled nerdy nerd—and I taught him how to think positively. As it turned out, I'm a better student than I am a teacher."
    "Ha! Yeah, he's a little on the sarcastic side, but no one could blame you for that. You were nerdy before? Would’ve never thought that.”
    "Are you calling me pretty?" Becka teased, for the first time all afternoon feeling a little in control of this situation. She was used to flattery, but something about Fitz’s bashful delivery made her happier than a thousand party guys prostrating themselves at her feet.
    "I guess, maybe I am," came Fitz’s reply, which made Becka blush even harder. She could imagine the crimson rushing down her neck and spreading across the fair skin of her chest. She must be burning to the touch.
    "Well, you smell incredible," Becka said, muttering under her