Wear your heart on your skin.

Jordan Wallace || 35 Artist / Owner of 'Permanant Record Custom Tattoo'

[yeahtheyhurt]

[julian-d-heartfilia-blog1]

Julian sighed, seeing that Jordan was stubborn and wouldn’t give this up. If anything, it did make him feel a little more reassured, without having to walk off somewhere in the night alone. “Look, if you’re really that insistent, I don’t live far from here actually. I’m just gonna walk, so if it makes you feel better or have some peace of mind, then you can come with. I just don’t want to make you feel obligated or anything, really. I’m okay,” the paralegal said with a small smile.

He laughed lightly before shrugging as he stepped away from the bar. “Alright, alright, Jordan. Here’s your good deed for the day. I’ll let you escort me home. It’s only a couple blocks from here anyways, so it’s not a long walk, and you can be off doing whatever you need to do,” he murmured.

“Thanks for this. All this.”

[yeahtheyhurt]

Jordan honestly wasn’t crazy about walking, no matter how close Julian said he lived - a turned back was a target, and ever since he’d gotten out of jail, Jordan didn’t like leaving himself vulnerable - but if it was the best he was going to get, then so be it. 

The odds were in their favor that Julian’s admirer - if he had any fuckin’ common sense - had gone home to lick his wounds anyway. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Jordan said, grabbing his jacket off the stool where he’d left it, “You ready to go?”

[julian-d-heartfilia-blog1]

Julian let out a bitter laugh, looking away for a moment as he steadied himself at the bar, sinking into a chair for a moment to regain his standing. “Don’t have anyone to come get me. I’ll be fine on my own, really,” he said firmly. “I’m not drunk. I can walk on two feet.”

The paralegal raised a brow at Jordan’s offer, the drink sliding in front of him. He wanted to protest against drinking it, but gave in and let the bitter, harsh taste slip down his throat. It wasn’t awful, but he was never fond of the taste of alcohol. Reminded him of the drunks that gave him a hard time. He never wanted that reminder anymore.

“Dude, I’m not going to make you leave your night out to walk home some paralegal. Even if I did get harassed. I’ll be fine. Don’t waste your night on me,” Julian said softly with a smile. “It was nice meeting you, Jordan. Thanks for saving my ass.” He paused, before straining to smile. “Literally.”

[yeahtheyhurt]

Jordan eyed Julian with a healthy dose of skepticism, fatigue starting to settle in across his shoulders. “I never said you were drunk. This ain’t drunk, this is scared shitless. And I you’re not makin’ me do nothin’. All I was doin’ was comin’ in for a drink to kill some time - far as I’m concerned, I did that and then some.”

Jordan motioned to the bartender that he wanted to settle up. “And I never said nothin’ about walkin’, either. I mean, much as I wanna think that stupid fuck went home to sleep it off, I don’t really feel like takin’ my chances sendin’ you out there on your own. Or catchin’ a brick to the back of the head walkin’ you.”

Taking out his wallet and leaving some cash on the bar, Jordan sighed. “Just lemme put you in a cab or somethin’.”

Jordan looked at Julian seriously. “I got somebody important to me, and I worry about shit like this happenin’ to him when I ain’t around, so just...don’t argue with me, alright? Lemme do my fuckin’ good deed for the day.”

[lawrenceblackmore]

Jordan & Evelyn - Inked Armor

[lawrenceblackmore]

She smiled slyly at him, biting her lip to hold in her laughter. “If it makes you feel any better, people automatically assume I’m a ditsy bimbo because apparently, you can’t have a pretty face and be intelligent at the same time. Then when people find out my profession it switches to ditsy whore,” she rolled her eyes, annoyed at the way some people thought. “It’s that you’re scary, just.. intimidating. Which isn’t always a bad trait to have,” she shrugged. 

Evelyn let out a giggle, “Oh no. You never scared me… You might look intimidating but.. there’s something about your eyes that throws it off. You have kind eyes. Besides, I’ve dealt with much worse in my line of work.”

She nodded in thanks as he held open the door, immediately hit with the scent of garlic, the restaurant much warmer than outside, making it feel cozy and homey. “Uh huh… Well see, “she winked at him playfully.

[yeahtheyhurt]

Jordan followed Evelyn into the restaurant, letting the door close behind them, glancing around for a table - even this late, Jimmy’s still about half full - when the man himself came out of the kitchen, and did a double-take.

“Oh no,” Jimmy said, shaking his head as he wiped his hands on a rag, and coming up to take one of Evelyn’s, kissing it like she was royalty, “I must finally be goin’ senile, because this, here, can’t be happening.” Giving Evelyn’s hand a squeeze, Jimmy jerked a thumb in Jordan’s direction. “I been feedin’ this one since he was 15 years old - used to come in here and waste my napkins, drawin’ on ‘em; pretendin’ to do his homework - and in all that time, he has never brought in anyone as gorgeous as you. Now, I’ll give Giordano credit, he ain’t done bad, despite havin’ a face like that; but, come on, sweetheart, we both know he ain’t punchin’ his weight here.

Jimmy winked, “You’re my kinda girl.”

Jordan just shook his head, chuckling. “Don’t know if Annamaria’s gonna agree with you there,” he said. “And it ain’t like that anyway. This is my friend, Evelyn, you dirty old bastard. Now you gonna quit droolin’ on her so we can sit down?”

“Friend?” Jimmy laughed, “I should throw you out on your ear for that.” He clapped Jordan on the shoulder. “And you know Annamaria knows she’s the only one for me - that’s why I’m allowed to look.” Then he turned his attention back to Evelyn, already rolling up his sleeve. 

“Lemme show you my Annamaria,” he beamed, “Ain’t she beautiful? That’s 1967; the year we got married.” Jimmy patted Jordan’s arm again. “Worth every penny.” 

Jordan just smiled back, shrugging. “It’s hard to make Annamaria look bad,” he said; and then, “You know we came in here ‘cause we’re hungry, right? We actually gonna get to eat tonight?”

A few more minutes of Jimmy flirting with Evelyn, and giving Jordan a hard time, left them sitting at a table in the window. 

Jordan sighed, chuckling again. “So...that was Jimmy,” he said, “Bet you wish now you let me talk you into a burger after all...”

[yeahtheyhurt]

[lawrenceblackmore]

Jordan & Evelyn - Inked Armor

[lawrenceblackmore]

She smiled in response to his laugh, glad that she hadn’t soured the mood with her secrets and prodding for his own. “Can’t get more stereotypical than that,” She teased. “A big tattooed scary looking guy, with a pitbull. Granted, pitbulls are teddy bears if you raise them right,” she smiled again. “And if I’m being honest, you aren’t exactly a scary guy once you start talking,” she added, hoping he’d take her observation as a compliment. She meant it as one but sometimes her words came out wrong. 

Evelyn shook her head, “Nah, I don’t have time for one either. I’d love to have a dog to keep my dad company while I’m working, but I also don’t want him to have to worry about letting a dog out either.” She could see the pizza place now, and her stomach rumbled at the though of food, she hadn’t realized she’d gone so long without food, having skipped lunch today.

[yeahtheyhurt]

When she said he was scary-looking, Jordan couldn’t help but laugh again, shaking his head. “I’m gonna get a fuckin’ complex or somethin’,” he said, “Jesus Christ.” He took a drag on his cigarette as he walked, taking it out of his mouth to flick his thumb against the filter, ashing it. “You’re like, the fourth goddamn person who said that lately,” he chuckled.

Truth be told, looking scary wasn’t exactly a bad thing in any of his particular lines of work, but the fact that it had become his defining characteristic, was still a little bit...he wasn’t even sure what. Surprising was the wrong word. But Jordan thought of himself as an artist first, and the fact that the rest of the world immediately saw him as a thug, was sort of humbling.

They weren’t wrong...but they weren’t altogether right, either.

“Guess I can’t argue with that,” he said, flashing her a small smile as he shrugged, “Glad I don’t scare you no more though.”

When they got to the restaurant, Jordan dropped his cigarette and ground it out, pulling open the door and holding it for her. “Ladies first,” he said, “And remember, whatever Jimmy says, it ain’t my fault.”

[lawrenceblackmore]

Jordan & Evelyn - Inked Armor

[lawrenceblackmore]

Evelyn pulled his jacket tighter around her as he spoke. She wanted to ask what he had done in the first place to end up in there, but she knew it wasn’t her place. They were already playing a delicate balancing act with the information they were offering up to each other, and she wasn’t about to push him anymore, more so out of fear of being pushed back.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “But I understand. I probably would’ve done the same thing.” 

Evelyn couldn’t picture herself behind bars. Though she knew it was quite a big possibility still. If anyone ever found Peter’s body… She knew it wouldn’t take long to connect the dots. A majority of her nightmares that kept her up at night consisted of the police knocking down her door and leaving her to rot in jail. She knew that wasn’t how it actually worked but at the same time, the thought of doing time frightened her more than anything. She didn’t want to leave her dad alone. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, she tried to change the subject to something lighter. “So… Do you have any pets?”

[yeahtheyhurt]

Not expecting that particular question, Jordan huffed out a surprised laugh around his cigarette. “Pets? Nah...I mean, I think about it sometimes - always kinda wanted a pitbull; friend of mine’s got one - but I work too fuckin’ much, and that ain’t fair to the dog.”

He turned to look at Evelyn - relieved and grateful that she hadn’t asked for more information - just as Jimmy’s sign became visible, flickering in the distance about a block away. “You?”

[serena-ambrose-blog]

I feel you. I can’t sit around my apartment on my ass all day, I go crazy.” She told him shrugging as the wind blew down the alley one more time. “Then you can close up if you really want. And L’Ubriaco sounds fine. Yeah, well I hope you are right.” 

[yeahtheyhurt]

Jordan pulled the door all the way open and held it for her. “I promise. Somethin’ to take the edge off is gonna go a long way to helpin’ you shake this shit off. And it ain’t gonna hurt me any, either.” Jordan smiled, “Come on; let’s go make Matty get off his ass and do some work for a change.”

[alluring-gabriela-reyes-blog]

She saw the way his eyes widened at the look of the room. With a soft smile on her lips, and an amused one at that, she stepped in and took off her coat, hanging it up in the closet. When he seemed satisfied, she nodded. “Yes, that would be for the best. I will call you when this is all over.” She paused and looked back at him. “So far, you are doing well. I hope this continues. Good luck.” 

[yeahtheyhurt]

“Thanks,” Jordan said, “Same to you.” Then he turned, and headed back out the door; ready to settle in downstairs at his post, and hope he was a totally unnecessary expense.

[cosmoxquinn-blog]

Keep reading

[yeahtheyhurt]

Jordan groaned deep and low in his throat as Cosmo touched him, wanting to just pull him close again, to ask him to say that one more time...to promise...but he managed to keep his shit together; smoothing his hands - fingers splayed wide and possessive - up Cosmo’s thighs now that he was straddling him.

Wishing for a little more light so he’d be able to see those blue eyes better.

“You’re so fuckin’ perfect,” Jordan murmured thickly, “How the hell’d I even get you to look at me twice?” 

[cosmoxquinn-blog]

Cosmo tilted his head a little bit, watching the look on Jordan’s face. His heart started to pound a little harder, it was unbelievable the affect this man had on him. He exhaled sharply and leaned in, pressing his lips against his.

His hands moved towards Jordan’s hands to remove the cigarette from his fingers, tossing it out the window. He didn’t even care that it was lit or where it would land. 

He slid his hands towards Jordan’s hips, pulling him up off the window sill. “Come back to bed.” He muttered between his lips, pulling him towards the bed. “And don’t stop kissing me.”

[yeahtheyhurt]

Relief washed over Jordan again as Cosmo kissed him - like letting out a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding - and he let himself be pulled back to the bed, sliding his arms around Cosmo again, not wanting to let him go. 

“I can do that,” he murmured against Cosmo’s lips between kisses. 

When he felt the backs of Cosmo’s knees hit the mattress, Jordan did his best to lay him down gently, climbing up on top of him. He unbuttoned his jeans with one hand while he cupped Cosmo’s cheek with the other, still kissing him softly, steadily, as he stripped again, kicking his pants off.

“Just wanna be close to you, baby,” he breathed, “...for as long as you’ll let me.”

[cosmoxquinn-blog]

Cosmo sat up the second that Jordan got up out of the bed. His eyes followed the man along the room, his lips pressed together in a tight line as he let his eyes move down to his lap.

“It’s more than that.” His voice was soft as his eyes lifted up towards the man, watching him light a cigarette, seeing it shake lightly.

He pushed himself himself out of the bed and walked over towards him. He moved his hands out towards him, moving his hands towards his face. “It’s the Mayor’s daughter.”

“You’ve done stuff for that shady asshole, haven’t you?” He asked quietly, letting his thumbs brush against Jordan’s cheekbone.

[yeahtheyhurt]

As soon as Cosmo got out of bed, Jordan stubbed out his cigarette and came back through the window, closing it behind him, not wanting Cosmo to catch cold.

He was about to tell him to get back in bed where it was warm, when Cosmo touched his face, his hands impossibly warm on Jordan’s skin, and the words dried up in his mouth.

“If I did,” Jordan said, “I promise you I never knew it. Anthony knows how I feel about dirty cops and politicians. He don’t send me to do that shit.”

“You gotta believe me...”

[florence-shaw-blog]

“That could be worth a shot, though we might need them to swear to secrecy if we let them decipher for us. We might have better luck at the cafe near the universities.” She leaned forward in the chair with a hand cupping her chin gently. She looked at him with a faux surprised look and nodded. “Wow, you actually enjoy what you do. There’s a rarity these days, even without our little side jobs.” She added in a little comment to play wih their conversation a bit, nodding in consideration. “I get little dirty detais that people try to hide and bring it back back to the family for whatever they want to do with it. What they do doesn’t really concern me.” She smilmed a bit as she explained. “You’re alright though, we’re on the same team.”

[yeahtheyhurt]

“I actually know somebody...” Jordan said, his forehead wrinkling slightly, “But he might not wanna get involved, even at a distance, you know? Rather keep his name out of it too...” Truth be told, the more he considered it, the less he wanted Cosmo anywhere near this note bullshit. Jordan shook his head. “You’re probably right. That university angle’s probably the best way to go. Think we should look into it?” He chuckled at her surprise. “Yeah, I do,” he said, “I mean, I ain’t curing cancer, but you gotta play to your strengths, right?” Jordan raised an eyebrow and huffed out a laugh at the way Florence described her own line of work, ashing his cigarette and bringing it back to his mouth. “I appreciate that,” he said, “I mean, there ain’t a whole lotta dirt to get on me - all my cards are pretty much on the table - but that’s good information to have.” He thought for a second, debating the wisdom of asking his next question, and then decided to go for it. He liked Florence, and he’d rather owe her a favor than Lucia. Or even Anthony. He liked the balance of power between him and the family, and if he didn’t have to fuck with that, and could still come through for Cosmo, then that was what he was going to shoot for. “Speakin’ of dirty details, Flo...you got anything on the Mayor?” 

[cosmoxquinn-blog]

Cosmo glided his tongue along his lips as he looked down at their hands, he knew that Jordan was expecting a blow out and so was Cosmo but he couldn’t help but turn into this clingy insecure boyfriend.

“He has a daughter on the way…” His voice was soft. “He’s only in trouble because of who he knocked up..” He didn’t look at Jordan - he couldn’t bring himself too.

“It’s not your fault if you can’t figure it out.” 

Cosmo was reassuring himself more than he was trying to reassure Jordan. He knew at the end of the day that losing Declan would have been harder to look at the man next to him - he probably wouldn’t be able to do it.

Because Declan was his family, so was Olivia and their unborn daughter.

Losing them would tear him apart.

[yeahtheyhurt]

“Unless he’s an O’Shea, and he knocked up Mariana, there’s gotta be somethin’ I can do. I’ll ask for a favor. Me and Anthony go back a long way... Lemme try, alright?”

Jordan squeezed Cosmo’s hand, then let him go, figuring he should just take the hint - Cos was back to not looking him in the eye again - and give him some space.

He stood up and grabbed his jeans off the floor, tugging them on, and grabbing his cigarettes and lighter off the bedside table. “I’m just gonna go out for a smoke,” he said. Normally he’d smoke inside, but he tried not to do that when Cosmo was over, so he headed over to the window to climb out on the fire escape. “Stay under the covers, alright?” he said, quietly, “It’s gonna get cold for a couple of minutes.”

Shirtless, Jordan opened the window and climbed through it, settling on the frosty metal and lighting a cigarette with shaky hands.

He should have fucking known better than to think he had a shot at something real. God had never had his back before, so why the fuck would he start now?

[florence-shaw-blog]

“Can’t say I am. I always thought it was a useless skill to have but I suppose we’re proven wrong today. You don’t really look like the type to read poetry in your spare time, so I think you’re forgiven.”She pat his shoulder lightly with a slight shake of her head. She finished off her own and flicked it to the ground, stepping on it to make sure it was entirely out. “Family always did seem important to her whenever we did talk. Very professional, which I admired. You expect a mob boss’ death to be pretty bad, but the report said they were alive for a few days after they were taken. I can only imagine what happened there.” She tilted her head to the side and turned the chair she was leaning against so she could sit in it properly. “I mean for the family mostly. I assume that most people are in the same boat as I am and don’t really care about what they do during the day.”

[yeahtheyhurt]

Jordan nodded his head, agreeing about the fundamental uselessness of poetry, then stopped when he was struck by a sudden thought. “You think it’d be worth askin’ an English teacher about? I mean, I know it ain’t the same as regular poetry, but I seriously have no fuckin’ idea what we’re supposed to do with this shit, you know?” Smoking in silence for a moment, thinking about Estelle’s last few days, he let out a sigh. Head of the family or not, torturing a woman was lower than most of the criminals he’d ever met - and he’d done time with some of the worst - were willing to sink. Whatever they were dealing with now was beyond what any of them were used to. Taking his cigarette out of his mouth, he shifted position to look at Florence again. “Fair enough,” he said, “Guess I ain’t most people though. My day job’s my whole fuckin’ life.” Jordan shrugged a little. “Far as the family goes, I mostly work nights doin’ collections, deliverin’ messages; that kinda shit. Anthony calls me when he needs somethin’ handled. What about you?”

[florence-shaw-blog]

“Quick, hide all the ads for the psychics before she gets any ideas. I guess we should start looking before we do lose fingers.” She pulled her own cigarette from her mouth and tapped off the excess ash.  “Yeah, I didn’t agree to work for crazies, so lets just hope that we hire the right bloodhound.”She looked to him and shrugged lightly. “I’ve talked to her before a few times, but nothing substantial. I talked more with Anthony and the consigliere than her, What about you? If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do?” She was curious, she didn’t decide to make small talk with her coworkers a lot, she was usually supposed to be incognito.

[yeahtheyhurt]

“You any good with poetry?” Jordan asked, “’Cause I ain’t.” Then he nodded at her sentiment about crazies, agreeing wholeheartedly - he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty, but there was a world of difference between doing the shit that had to be done, and enjoying it. Jordan liked a good fight, always had; but that wasn’t the same thing as what it seemed like Lucia had been talking about. “I met her a handful of times with Anthony,” he said, “She was a classy lady. Always treated me good. Didn’t deserve this shit.” He took out his cigarettes again and lit another one, shooting Florence a half-smile. “I don’t mind,” he said, “You mean what do I do in general? Or what do I do for the family?”

[yeahtheyhurt]