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He sighed and relaxed. He hadn’t talked about his ink and loved that he could be honest with Carson. “I needed you close.”

“I’m honored,” Carson said. “What about this one?” He touched the winged shoe on Luke’s right arm at his shoulder. “Is this for cross-country?”

He nodded. “It reminded me of our times running together. It’s up that high so I can wear t-shirts and keep the tattoos covered. I wanted to look dangerous for bartending, but conservative for my work at the school.” He shrugged a second time. “Plus, I wanted them visible to some people. You’re one of those folks.”

Carson winked. “I love being special.”

“I know,” Luke said. “As for the barbed wire around the anatomical heart, that’s because mine left when we split. I thought it made me look tough.”

“Luke.” Carson scooted closer. “We did a fucking huge number on each other when we walked away, didn’t we?”

“We did, but it’s okay now,” Luke said. “I should get the ink updated or something.” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he’d figure something out.

“No.” Carson palmed Luke’s pecs. “These images tell your story. Our story. If anything, you should get another tattoo where only I can see it.” His smile widened and he crooked his eyebrow. “We start our second chapter right now.”

Luke’s heart soared. His problems weren’t so big because he had his best friend there. Carson was his other half and he loved him. “Our new book starts today.”