Jaz let the rest of her fingers circle Ryan’s arm and held him. ‘I’m so sorry.’ This explained a lot about his troubled expressions. ‘I can tell it’s been hard on you.’
He breathed heavily. ‘Having you around has been helping,’ he said with a smile.
Wow, really?
‘Hey, what’s this one?’ Jaz had caught the edge of another tattoo and moved the black light closer to Ryan’s chest.
‘You don’t recognise the Southern Cross?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ Jaz touched each star, and then felt like scolding herself for constantly touching him. But she couldn’t help it, she was fascinated. It made her want a tattoo, because they were so damn sexy on Ryan. She could feel faint hairs under her fingers and they itched to follow their path down to the top of his track pants.
‘It’s to remind me of home, of where I’m from.’
Ryan turned off the black light and switched back on the bathroom light. Jaz blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the brightness. She preferred the dark. There was no way she could touch Ryan like she had in this light.
She studied him, looking back over his even skin to where she knew the tattoo was. ‘So why have it invisible?’
‘It’s just easier this way. It’s not traceable like the guy with the snake tattoo.’
‘Ah, got it. Because you are a secret agent guy.’ She smiled. ‘Ouch.’ Her sore lip didn’t like smiling.
‘Let me finish.’ Ryan went back to cleaning her lip. When he was done, he washed the blood off his hands. Jaz watched the redness swirl down the drain. Her blood.
‘Come on,’ he said with a flick of his head. ‘I’ll find you another jumper to wear.’ His eyes grazed past her chest and she felt her nipples push against her singlet. She had a feeling the jumper was more for his benefit. He led her into his bedroom and opened a drawer next to his immaculately made bed. It was a plain black doona cover with a few matching pillows. It looked so inviting, Jaz felt like she could sleep for a week. Ryan’s matching pine bedside tables were bare except for a photo of who she guessed were his parents and an alarm clock.
‘These your folks?’
Ryan didn’t need to look to know what she was talking about. ‘Yep.’
‘Do they live nearby?’
‘They are north of the city. My little sister lives close by too.’
‘Cool.’ Jaz turned to face Ryan. ‘Man, you should see my room. It’s nothing like this.’
He threw her a dark grey jumper. ‘Here, I know how much you like hoodies.’
‘Thanks.’ Jaz chucked it on and smiled at its warmth. She loved the bigger size, it was loose and warm and smelt like him.
Ryan also got himself a blue long-sleeved shirt and put on. She felt a little disappointed.
‘Hmm, I hope you’re not expecting this back,’ she said wrapping her arms around the soft jumper.
He raised one eyebrow in that funny little way. ‘I guess not. So you want a cuppa?’
Jaz sighed heavily as she followed him to the kitchen. ‘How about a stiff scotch? I’m feeling a tad bit frayed and a little weak, which I don’t like admitting.’
‘I’m not surprised. Blood loss does that.’ He went to the kitchen and made two strong coffee’s. The smell alone seemed to perk her up.
‘Cheers.’
They went and sat in his lounge chair, a big deep brown suede couch and he flicked on the heater.
Jaz used Ryan’s long sleeves as a holder around her hot drink and took a sip.
They sat in silence.
Every now and then, their eyes would meet.
Eventually Ryan spoke. ‘You did great out there tonight. How are you feeling? You seem like you’re handling it okay?’ His eyes drilled her for signs of weakness. Did he expect her to flop on the floor and cry? Jaz didn’t cry for anyone.
‘I’m fine, Ryan. Honestly. I’ll admit I’m a little shaky. I’ve never had to fight that was for my life before. And I wouldn’t call fights with guys at The Ring real ones either, as they don’t fight dirty. So all things considering I think I’m coping okay.’
‘You’re doing more than okay. You let me stitch your arm up without a flinch.’ His pupils were huge, making his eyes more black than brown as he studied her openly. It wasn’t like he was checking her out in an admiring way, more like an amazed way.
‘Well I guess when you have the guys at the gym beating you up, you tend to get a thick skin.’
Ryan chuckled. ‘Somehow I think that’s just how you like it. But that makes you who you are, Jaz.’ He brushed his hand over his head. ‘So what you gonna do after you finish school? Have you thought about it?’