"Please," I begged, "I wanna see!" I was almost whining now.
"Jess, no. They're ugly and scary and gross. You don't want to look."
"But I do, Steve! You're not going to scare me. If they were, like, still bleeding, maybe. But scars?" I tugged at the hem of his shirt, teasing.
He grabbed my hand, still grasping his shirt. Our eyes locked and I saw frustration, grief, and heat flash through his eyes in a single second. Then he relented, releasing my hand and looking down at the floor.
As his eyes lowered, he saw the red marks on my wrist and arm from his grip, and then he looked at me again, wincing guiltily. "I'm sorry, Jess, I didn't mean to hurt..."
"It's alright," I replied softly, letting go of his shirt. "If you really don't want me to see your back, I won't push." Taking a step back, I unconsciously rubbed my wrist until I noticed him watching me, and then I stopped with a wobbly smile.
He stepped forward, leaning down and pressing his forehead to mine. "My scars haven't exactly gone over well in the past, okay? Not everyone's into guys with zippers."
I slid my hands up his arms to his shoulders and tilted my face upward, my lips inches from his. "I'm not everyone."
I felt his shoulders drop as he let out the breath I didn't know he'd been holding. I slid my hands down his arms, down his sides, until they were just below the hem of his shirt. Closing my eyes, I slipped my hands under his shirt and around to his back, where the smooth bumps of his scars rippled the base of his spine. It was like reading Braille as I ran my fingertips over his warm skin.
"See?" I whispered. "Not scary at all."
Steve's hand slid behind my neck, pulling my lips the last inch closer until they were pressed against his. He tasted hot and slightly dangerous when he slipped his tongue into my mouth, and my breath caught as he nipped at my lower lip. His other hand slid under the hem of my sweater, brushing the skin of my stomach. I gasped.
"Scared yet?" he asked, his mouth moving to my ear.
I let out a low laugh that became a moan as his mouth moved lower down my jaw to my neck, his tongue and lips working deftly until my arms slid off his shoulders, boneless. He reached down for my hands and softly tugged me into the bedroom, until we were standing next to his bed.
"Your turn," he stated with a grin.
"My turn to what?" I asked, confused.
"A scar. You've seen one of mine, so now I get to see one of yours."