~*Chapter Sixteen*~
As the two friends stepped out of the London hotel room incognito, Leesa grabbed on to AJ’s hand.
"I’m scared," she confided. "What if we break up? Will we still be friends? Cos, God I need you AJ. You make me who I am. I don’t think that I could bear it if we weren’t friends. What if we never speak to each other again? What if…"
He broke her off with a kiss. "Leesa, this relationship is bound to be confusing enough without all this extra worrying. Let’s just deal with it as we come to it, kay?"
"Ok, but…"
"Shht!"
"But…"
"Shht!"
"Rrrrr don’t…"
"Shht!"
"Fine, not talking anymore," she pouted, sticking her bottom lip out.
"Sorry, but I don’t want you psychoanalyzing this barely off-the-ground relationship yet, ok?" he explained, squeezing her hand softly.
"Sorry, but you know I’ve always been a worry-wart… Ok, so what are we gonna do today?" she asked playfully, pulling her sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose and smiling at him.
He intertwined his fingers between hers, and smiled back. "It’s a surprise!"
*********************************
AJ pulled Leesa up outside the tattoo parlor, his smile huge. She looked at him, not thinking he was serious. But he was.
"No way!" she cried, walking off in the opposite direction. He grabbed onto her hand and pulled her into the parlor, his mind already decided on what he wanted.
Leesa complained, "There is no way I am getting one of those things! When you’re old, and wrinkly, your skin’s gonna be all gross and stuff!"
"You don’t have to get huge one, silly!" he scolded her playfully, leaning over the counter of the shop to talk to the artist.
"Fine… you know, I only put on a show to make you feel bad… I’ve always wanted a little sand crab on my ankle… will it hurt much?" she asked, worried.
"Nope, cos I’ll been in there with you," he laughed, grabbing her hand, and leading her into a separate room.
Awhile later
"Oh that is so cool," Leesa cried, looking down at her slightly red ankle. "I want another one! I want that cute little water dragon I saw out the front… on my back, yeah?" she told AJ, who agreed with her. He was in the chair next to her, getting something tattooed that Leesa couldn’t quite see.
"Hey, let me see!" she cried, reaching over to pull open the curtain separating them. Then she realised … he was getting it tattooed on his butt.
"What do you think you’re doing?" she yelped, surprised.
"Never mind, you pervert!" he laughed, looking over at her with a grin on his face.
"Come on, what are you getting done?" she pleaded, as the buzz of the needle started up again.
"Just a little momento of … you?!" he told her secretively. "Let me finish, then I’ll show you."
"OK," she relented, grimacing against the pain of the needle as her water dragon began to take shape.
*****************************
"OK, you can look now… actually no you can’t! It’s on my butt! Not at all appropriate for this situation. I’ll show you later," he told her, laughing at her expression.
"No, that’s illegal!! You have to at least tell me what you got done. You saw mine!" she protested, tugging at his hand like a child.
"Ok , ok! Settle Gretel… I’ll show it to you," he told her, relenting.
"YAY!" she squealed, clapping her hands.
He just shook his head and walked off, grinning.
She ran after him, grimacing at the pain she felt in her ankle from her recent body art addition. She caught up to him, and grabbed onto his hand. "We’re going back to the hotel room," she told him firmly, and started in the direction of the hotel in which they were staying. AJ smiled, and let himself be dragged away from the tattoo parlour.
*************************************
"Okie, enough waiting already… bring it on!" Leesa cried, grinning widely. She sat down on the bed, looking intently at AJ, who seemed uncomfortable.
"What?! This bothers you?" she asked, worried.
"Kinda," he admitted. "I dunno Lees… it just feels kinda weird."
"Come off it man! I’ve seen ya in the buff before… believe me, you have nothing to be ashamed of," she giggled, pulling him close to her so that he sat down on the bed next to her. Then she realised he was serious, and she stopped laughing.
"Are you really worried?" she asked, looking deep into his eyes.
"Lees, I’ve got a confession to make," he started, quietly.
"Look J, what ever you have to say, I’ll not mock you, or laugh at you. You have to trust me, cos we’re in this together, kay? We’ve got to take this one step at a time, and if you don’t feel comfortable, that’s ok. I totally understa---"she trailed off as she saw the tears in AJ’s eyes. "Xander, don’t cry! You know that you’ll make me cry! Tell me what’s wrong!" she pleaded, tears springing to her own eyes.
"Lees… I don’t know how to tell you this. But I know that I have to. So, just let me work out what I want to say, ok?" AJ asked, holding her hand tightly. Leesa looked down at their intertwined fingers, and drew a deep breath.
"AJ, what ever you need, I respect it. And I respect you, and your feelings. Take all the time you need," she told him sincerely, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
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