Between the Lies

29| Trust

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Trust

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Chapter 29: Trust (Vanessa's POV)

I rubbed the sunscreen between my palms but hesitated when I lifted them to touch his skin. 

Shit. 

"Vanessa?" he asked, without turning to look at me. 

"Yes?" I mumbled, looking out at the water, cursing at myself in my head. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Nothing," I huffed. 

"Exactly." 

It's sunscreen, for fuck's sake. 

I released a breath and lowered my palms to his back, my breath nearly hitching in my throat. I got his upper back first, mostly around his shoulders and the back of his neck. When I moved a little lower, I leaned forward a bit, trying to read the tattoo on his left side. 

Now that I've seen all his tattoos, at least I think I have, I know that he has three. The first one I saw back at the office. The little line drawing of a dog with a heart above its nose that's on the inside of his wrist. On the left side of his chest, right under the collarbone, he has the words 'Enjoy the journey' inked. The wrist tattoo is a bit lighter than the chest tattoo, so I think that one was his first. And now I'm looking at the third one on his left side. It's the most detailed and complicated one he has. 

But it's a line drawing of the world map with a compass drawn over it, marking all directions. The bottom of the compass arrow pointing to north and south has a little sun drawn onto it, and the top of the arrow has the moon. Under the world map, there's a dotted line drawing of the globe, making a circle and lines going down, dividing it. The world map came on top of that like the globe was hidden behind it. 

"You have three tattoos?" I asked, looking up and down his back. 

"Yeah," he answered. 

When he came out of that changing room, it's safe to say that I was shocked. I mean, I knew from seeing him every day that he most certainly took care of his physique. It was obvious from the way his button-ups stayed tight around his shoulders, biceps, and chest. But I had no idea that Aaron had the body of practically a Greek God. Tattoos aside, he had muscle everywhere. In his arms, in his chest. He had abs, real-life abs, six or maybe more, I couldn't count right. His back was toned and he had two little dimples at the very bottom of his spine. I almost smiled when I saw them because they looked cute. Two tiny dimples on his toned and shredded body. 

Aaron worked out, no doubt. He worked out a lot. He was fit back in college as well, I would see him around campus enough, not to mention, that one night. Sometimes he'd play soccer during his free time with the team and his shirt would be off, sometimes when nobody was there, he'd sneak in and use the pool that only the swim team was granted access to. But he didn't look how he used to in college. In college, he still looked like a young boy. He certainly wasn't a boy now. 

"All done," I mumbled, pulling my hands away, rubbing whatever was left of the sunscreen onto my arms. "What about that one?" I asked, pointing to his left side.