I shared his smile. “Thanks for sending Lark my way.”
“She was looking for an excuse to talk to you. I just gave her the money to use her tat as that excuse.” Cooper sat forward and studied me. “I know you’re a good guy. Probably the best guy I know, but Lark’s got something wrong with her. Something broken maybe. I see it around the edges and maybe you saw it too. Just be careful with her.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Kristen fucked you over and you didn’t see it coming. You think you read people and you do read them well. You just overlooked Kristen being a lying whore. Don’t let that shit make you weird with Lark. She’s a good girl and won’t bounce back if you mess with her head or make her jump through hoops proving she’s not Kristen.”
“I’m not going to mess with her head.”
“Not on purpose. Like I said, you’re a good guy. Still, you got hurt. Now, you don’t trust yourself. I just don’t want you fucking things up with Lark because you got suckered by a bitch. Lark could make you happy and I want you happy. It kills me that I found my girl before you. You need this, man. Just be careful of your issues so you don’t make them her issues.”
“Got it.”
Cooper grinned. “You’ve drawn her naked, haven’t you?”
“No.”
“Dork.”
Laughing, I threw my pencil at him. Cooper didn’t even bat it away. He just laughed harder at my lame attempt to injure him. Marriage made him happier than I’d ever seen him. It also made him think he knew everything about relationships. Like he needed another reason to show off.
Chapter Five - Lark
After ditching class and grabbing a bus, I walked into Bluegrass Tats. My breath was minty, hair decent, and I felt pretty confident. Mostly, I was just dying to see Aaron again.
A woman was behind the counter, looking bored. She glanced up at me when I entered then looked back at her magazine.
“They’re busy.”
“I can wait.”
“No.”
“Cooper Johansson said I should talk to Aaron about getting my tattoo finished.”
“I don’t care if President Obama sent you,” the girl said, still looking at her magazine. “They’re busy and you don’t have an appointment.”
“Melissa,” a woman snapped, exiting one of the backrooms. “Stop being rude.”
The second woman was black or a dark skinned Hispanic. She was beautiful with long dark hair and big black eyes. Her arms were covered in tattoos and she wore a tight vest and black jeans.
“I’m Jade,” she said, smiling and erasing much of the tension from Melissa’s attitude. “What did you need, sweetheart?”
“I have an unfinished tattoo and Cooper said I should talk to Aaron about getting it fixed. He said he would pay.”
“Let me see,” Jade said, coming around the counter.
“Don’t you have a client?” Melissa muttered.
“She needed a break. Is there a reason you need to know my business, employee?”
Melissa frowned, but kept her mouth shut. I turned to show Jade the wingless butterfly. I expected her to laugh, but she just ran her fingers over it.
“Aaron can fix that easy,” Jade said as I turned back around.
“Fix what?” Aaron asked, appearing in a white tank top and sending every nerve in my body into heat.
Jade smiled. “Her poor butterfly has no wings.”
My face flushed with embarrassment which was stupid since I knew he would see it. Aaron studied me in a really focused way then smiled. His grin sent me from beat red to a weird purple. At least, this was what it felt like.
“Hey, Lark,” he said.
“From the wedding.”
Aaron gave me a half smile like I was being dumb. “I remember.”
Jade looked back and forth between us then shook her head. “Not a good time to discuss fixing it. I mean, with our clients waiting. You’re not done, are you?”
“No,” Aaron said in that wonderful deep, yet gentle voice.
“Why don’t you two meet somewhere to discuss the details?” Jade asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Since you know each other and all, I mean.”
Nodding, I stared into Aaron’s beautiful blue eyes. He said nothing, so Jade continued.
“Where could you meet?”
“I get a discount at Denny’s.”
“That would work,” Jade said. “Aaron will meet you around when?”
I thought about when I could get away from Dylan’s constant observation. On Wednesday, I usually studied at the library with my friends. Dylan dropped me off and picked me up hours later. I could ditch the library, catch the bus, and get to Denny’s to meet Aaron.
“Would seven work?”
“Oh, that would be fine,” Jade said, giving Aaron a wink. “He’ll meet you then.”
“Are you sure?” I asked Aaron.
“I’ll be there.”
Smiling, I felt awkward with the three of them watching me. Even Melissa stopped flipping through her magazine to frown at me.