Chapter 12
Shaw
I was still trying to figure out my new phone. Instead of replacing my broken one with a replacement of the same model Rule had gotten me the brand new version with all the bells and whistles and the thing was ten times smarter than me. I was trying to text Ayden that I was running late for our coffee date because one of my classes had run late. I hadn’t seen her for more than a few minutes in the last couple of weeks so we were meeting to catch up. She was still acting a little off but between always staying at Rule’s place and having him crash at ours, to shifting my schedules around at work and being constantly vigilant to avoid any kind of run in with Gabe since the protection order had been shut down cold like Mark had predicted, pinning her down and making her talk to me hadn’t been possible.
I was developing a pretty good rhythm. On the days I worked I stayed on the Hill with Rule since his place was closer to the bar and he didn’t mind coming to have a drink and waiting for me to get off so he could take me home he and Lou were like the best of friends now. On the days I was at school or volunteered he would show up sometimes around dinner but often right before bedtime and spend the night at my apartment. I had decided to drop my Saturday shift in order to have one weekend night off to spend with him. He liked to go out on Friday and Saturday nights with his friends so I figured it was cool to let him have a night to get his bro-time in while I was working, plus it was fun to have a weekend day off to go shopping or watch a movie when I was so used to being busy all the time. Being with Rule was teaching me that my time was precious and I needed to spend it doing things I wanted as well as the things that were required of me. That was partly why I felt justified in ignoring the calls from my parent’s that had been coming in nonstop since the trip to Brookside.
I finally got the text sent out and got one back saying she already had a seat and had ordered for us. When I got to the coffee house the place was packed but Ayden had secured a spot by one of the windows and was messing around on her phone. A table full of geeky looking guys was trying to get her attention by talking and laughing loudly but she seemed oblivious. I missed our girl time and I wished she would talk to me about what had been bothering her the last month but with so much on my own plate I was well aware that I hadn’t been the best friend as of late.
I flopped in the seat across from her and gratefully scooped up the frothy drink she had ordered for me. She made a face at me and put her phone away. “I almost saw your boyfriend naked this morning.”
I laughed at the look on her face. “I don’t know what to say to that, you’re welcome?”
She crinkled her nose at me. “He doesn’t have much shame does he?”
“You’ve met Rule, right?”
She picked up her own drink and peered at me over the top of the cup. “I guess he doesn’t really have much to worry about does he? I don’t know how you don’t get distracted by all that stuff inked all over him, I think I would spend all my time looking at his tattoos rather than getting down to business.”
“It’s fun.”
“I bet.” She had a faraway look in her pretty eyes that I just couldn’t let slide anymore.
“Come on Ayden; tell me what’s going on with you lately. I know I’ve been wrapped up in my own nonsense but I can see the change in you. You look so sad all the time and that’s just not like you.”
Her whiskey toned gaze shifted from one side to another before settling on the table between us. She set her coffee down and traced the rim of the cup with her finger.
“I don’t know, I mean I know but not really.” I just watched her because I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. “I used to think I had it all figured out school, boys, my future, all of it. I knew that coming from nothing and no one didn’t matter because I was on the right track and I was going to be something great and now I just don’t know.”
“What brought this on?”
“The night at the rock bar, the night I had Jet take me home I practically threw myself at him.” I saw her flinch a little. “He was polite enough about it all but said I wasn’t really his type and that nice girls like me deserved better.”
“Well that seems chivalrous and nice of him, not life altering.”
“That’s the thing Shaw, I’m a nice girl now but you have no idea about the life I lived before I moved to Colorado. When I was in Kentucky I was out of control. I partied, messed around in all kinds of bad stuff, played around with too many guys and I was a mess inside and out. It took a miracle to get me into this school and away from all of that but part of me is still that girl and when Jet turned me down it just made both parts of me go a little sideways. He’s cute and in a band, I was mad, really mad when he rejected me on the basis of being a good girl, that’s just not who I think I want to be. I’ve been struggling with it ever since.”
I set my coffee down and looked at her out of narrowed eyes. “You let a guy get all up in your head after one brief encounter? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“There was something about this guy, Shaw. I don’t know what it was.”
“Ayden you’re amazing. I don’t care what your life was like before because now you’re loyal and kind, you make me laugh, you’re smarter than practically anyone I know, you’re ridiculously beautiful and we both know that there have been times in the last couple of years that the only thing holding me together was you. I’ve meet Jet a few times and he is nice and definitely a babe but he’s also a rock and roll guy that comes with legions of rock and roll groupies fawning all over him so whatever moment you had with him is not worth this mopey, self-doubt he seems to have spawned in you.”
“This from the girl that pinned over her guy in silence for almost a full decade?” Her sarcasm was biting but well deserved.
“Yes and look how miserable and lonely it made me. All I’m saying is that if a guy can’t appreciate you for how wonderful you are then he isn’t worth it and if he doesn’t want to sully your good image, whether it is real or not then I hate to say it but that just sounds like maybe he wasn’t interested. You are pretty country and he is pretty rock I mean I know I’ve been drowning in opposites attract and all that stupid nonsense for my whole life with Rule but maybe they really don’t and you just weren’t his type. I’ve seen the girls that gravitate to these guys when they go out, heck I’ve walked in on Rule with them over and over again and trust me big brains, self-confidence and ambition are not things these women bring to the table.”
She exhaled loudly. “Maybe. It just made me wonder about what I’m doing. I date, I have a pretty good time, I love living with you and I’m awesome at school but I feel like something is missing and when I see your super-hot, half-dressed boyfriend covered in tattoos looking all sleepy and satisfied I get a little burn near my heart that hurts. I think I’m lonely and not for something casual and simple. Trust me I had plenty of that when I was younger.”
I laughed a little and scraped off some of the foam of my drink with my finger and popped it in my mouth. I think the table of geeks gasped but I wasn’t sure because when I looked back up at them they were all frantically typing away on their laptops.
“So you pick a heavy metal singer to get all mushy and sentimental over? Man we’ve got marvelous taste in men.”
She laughed with me and leaned back to cross her long legs at the ankle. “I think it’ll probably fade away but in the mean time I need to get my head around moving forward without totally forgetting who I am, I mean look at you. You’re not suddenly covered head to toe in ink and sporting a face full of extreme piercings. You took all the parts of Rule’s make your own rules philosophy and used it mellow out and take control of your own destiny not turn into a new you.”
She was partly right. I figured it was probably too much information to tell her I had been seriously considering getting my nipples pierced. Rule was always telling me how sensitive they were, how easy it was to get me turned on and all worked up and ready to blow by just playing with them and after having intimate contact on a repeated basis with someone that had piercings through strategic parts of their anatomy I knew exactly how the little pieces of jewelry could enhance the experience. It had always been Rule for me so I didn’t know what it was like to be with anyone that didn’t have barbells in their cock and through their tongue, but as good as it was with him I had no desire to find out how it was with someone unadorned. I didn’t want them for him, I wanted them for me but I wasn’t sure I was ready to commit to something that big yet.
“He influences me, he always has but I don’t want to be with someone that only wants to be with me just to change me.”
“I know and neither would I. I think when I left home I had the idea that if I didn’t change I was just going to be stuck in that endless rut forever and somehow I lost everything, even the good stuff about the pre-Denver Ayden.”
I reached out and squeezed the hand she had resting on the table. “Maybe you’re just entering a new phase, maybe this isn’t new Ayden or old Ayden but a excellent new incantation of both. You’re fine, whoever and whatever you want to be is just fine.”
“I sure hope so. So have you seen or heard anything from Gabe?”
I shook my head and kicked back in the seat. “No. I’ve seen him on campus coming and going but he keeps his distance. Rule’s retired cop friend says he heard that Judge Davenport wasn’t happy to have his son’s name come up in open court so maybe he put a leash on him. The guys have been really good about keeping me close so I don’t think he has the nerve to go up against Rule or Rome and I’m purposely avoiding all contact with my parents so if he’s trying to enlist them it isn’t doing him any good.”
“So what’s your long term plan? Rome has to go back to playing solider soon and as much as I’m sure Rule likes keeping you close eventually it’s gotta get old. The honeymoon phase won’t last forever.”
I was worried about that myself. Right now he seemed to like hanging out at the bar and didn’t seem to mind juggling our hectic schedules back and forth to see each other and to keep his eye on me, but I agreed with her that it couldn’t last much longer.
“I just don’t know what to do. If the legal system can’t help and my own parents are working against me to keep him off my back I just don’t know. I wish he would just find another girl that is socially acceptable and forget about me.”
“I don’t know either but I’m glad you aren’t trying to handle this all on your own.”
“He’s good for me. I feel like my life is finally my own with him in it.”
“Have you told him that you’re in love with him and have been for eternity yet?”
I gulped down some of my drink and it went down the wrong tube. I hacked for a second until tears filled my eyes. “No! Are you nuts? Why would I do that? He already knows that I’ve had a crush on him since forever and I think just that weirds him out. I don’t want to put all kinds of pressure on him to feel the same about me. He wants to be together and he’s making a true and honest effort to be in this relationship with me and for now that’s good enough.”
She clicked her tongue at me and waved a finger back and forth. “If you think you hide the way you feel about him at all you’re so wrong. The feelings you have for that boy radiate out of you like a bright light. He has to see it every time he looks at you.”
I fiddled nervously with the ends of my hair. “Well he’s never said anything about it and that’s just fine by me.”
“You are so silly. You’ve been in love with this guy since you were a teenager and now you have him and you’re still worried about being open and honest with him? It just seems to me like you wouldn’t want to waste any more time.”
“This is Rule we’re talking about. He’s unpredictable and doesn’t deal with emotions in a typical way. I don’t want to scare him off by getting too intense too quickly. I’ve seen what he does to people that push him and it isn’t pretty.”
“For what it’s worth I think he’s just as sprung on you as you are on him. That glow you have well he has it too just in a darker, slightly more confused way.”
“Well that’s nice to hear. I don’t know that I believe it but still it’s a nice thought.”
We spent another hour and one more coffee each catching up. We talked about school and I told her a little about Margot’s breakdown when Rule went to get my car. We talked about work and how ridiculous Loren seemed to be every time she opened her mouth and we made plans to go shopping the following weekend after another trip to the salon. By the time we were done it was too early for dinner and she had to run to get ready for work. We left on a hug which I’m pretty sure caused the tabled of geeks to spontaneously break into juvenile erection territory and I headed up to Capitol Hill. Since I was off and Rome was back in the Springs for another checkup I had promised Rule I would meet him at the tattoo shop and wait until he was done with his last client.
I hadn’t been in the shop during business hours so when I pushed open the door I was slightly taken aback at how busy it was. There was a girl behind the counter with super short hair bleached out as white as mine and spiked up all over the place. She was answering the phone, handling the people milling about the waiting area and pointing perspective clients in the directions of the appropriate portfolios. There were three other artists set up in the stations not filled by Nash, Rowdy and Rule. I noticed one of them was a very pretty girl with black and green hair that looked like something out of a comic book. There were also six clients in varying positions getting various designs and making various noises and looks of discomfort that had their friend’s and the artist’s laughing and making light hearted comments. Against Me! Was blasting over the sound system and the entire vibe was energetic and exciting. I couldn’t fathom how anyone earned such a good living in such a crazy environment, but it seemed to suit Rule’s personality to a tee.
I stood unsure in the doorway for a full minute just taking it all in until I was jostled to the side by a girl in too tight pants and disgusting Uggs. Her hair was teased up and I could see she had swirling sleeves of ink under her super tiny t-shirt and I guess she was good looking in a trashy, desperate kind of way but the girl behind the counter apparently had no time for whatever she was asking for because her voice, loud and clear with a hint of an East Coast burr told her none to graciously to “F*ck off Liza. I already told you over the phone that he was booked up for the next two weeks and he has no interest in working late to touch your shit up.”
The girl mumbled something I couldn’t hear and leaned over the counter. The receptionist or whatever her title was rolled her eyes dramatically. “Look let me break this down for you; he is not interested in you. You are a client, you give him money to tattoo you not date you and not to flirt with you. He’s busy and I mean busy so if you want work done you will get put in the book like everyone else and come in for your scheduled appointment. Besides he’s got a girlfriend now and has no interest in the little ink bunnies anymore.”
I blinked rapidly in surprise when I realized she was more than likely talking about Rule and that I was more than likely the girlfriend she was referring to. How strange was that? The girl continued to have a little bit of a fit until it became clear she wasn’t going to get past the blond fireball to get to the artists. She shoved past me on the way out the door and immediately a clean cut college guy took her place at the desk. He made his appointment with no fuss and I continued to watch the ebb and flow business for a while until the girl’s attention finally landed on me.
“Can I help you with something?” She wasn’t exactly friendly, more like matter of fact so I started a little bit.
“I’m just waiting for someone.”
“Well you can have a seat over there if you’re waiting for a client.”
I tucked my hair behind my ears and cocked my head to the side and regarded her carefully. “I’m actually waiting for Rule.”
Now that she was looking at me I could see she had really unusual colored eyes, one was dark brown and the other was a swirl of green and blue. She gave a really heavy sigh and narrowed her eyes at me. “Like I told the other tattoo tramp, Rule is busy. If you want to see him you have to have an appointment just like every other client.”
I snickered against my will. “Tattoo Tramp? Is that what you call them?”
She seemed surprised by my question. “Yeah. You have no idea how many poor girls are walking around this town with stupid lower back tattoos just because they wanted to pull their pants down for one of the guys.”
“Oh I would totally believe it.”
She leaned her elbows on the counter and sized me up and down. “What did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t but then again you didn’t ask. I’m Shaw, I’m not a tramp of any persuasion and I don’t have any tattoos so neither of those things applies to me.”
As soon as I said my name her jaw dropped open and she shoved off the big leather chair she was sitting on. Her wicked colored eyes went wide and she smacked her hands down hard on the marble surface separating us.
“Holy shit you’re Shaw? You’re freaking real? Unbelievable! Guys Rule’s girl is here and she’s like an actual girl with an actual brain. Un-freaking-believable. The terrible trio have been talking about you for weeks and I just didn’t believe it but here you really are.”
Like something out of a movie all eyes in the shop suddenly swiveled up to where I was standing. I had spent plenty of time with Nash and Rowdy over the last few week so they both just offered up brief “heys” and went back to what they were working on. Rule’s look turned my insides out and he gave me a wink before saying something to the kid he was working on and sitting back to wipe the excess ink off. The other three artists stared at me openly which would have made me super uncomfortable but the blond had sprinted around the counter and was now standing right in front of me. She was almost the same height as me but weighed a good thirty pounds less, somehow though her wild hair made her look taller and it was hard to believe that loud voice came out of such a tiny package. She was like a punk rock pixie.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for one of those guys to land a serious girlfriend? Forever! Sending away the ink bunnies has never been as satisfying as it is now and I never ever would have pegged Rule as the one to go down first.” She waved a hand over her shoulder at the opposite side of the shop where the three artists I didn’t know were working and pointed to each one. “Bixie, she’s married to a firefighter so she’s never caused to much fuss with weirdo client stalkers, Mase has an on and off girlfriend so he can behave but when they’re off he can give Rule a run for his money in the man-whore department, Jasper, well we call him Jaz keeps his liaisons all quiet and secret because he’s got ties with the Kings of Sorrow the local biker club and apparently that’s supposed to be hush-hush so the bunnies don’t hover around for him too much, but the terrible trio, man oh man I show those bitches outta here all day every day and even with Rule being hooked up with you it still seems like that’s my full time job.”
She talked so loud and so fast I had a hard time tracking everything she was telling me, plus Rule had snapped off his gloves and was prowling towards me in the way that made my legs go all gooey. He moved with a limber ease that was just sexy and confident, also his hair was starting to grow back in and I liked the near black fuzz covering his scalp.
“Are you telling my girl stories Cora? I told you Shaw’s been around for a long time you aren’t going to be able to scare her.” He came around the corner and before I could get myself all worried about whether it was appropriate to touch him at work he had me all wound up with his hands in my hair and his mouth slanted across mine. He tasted like coffee and peppermint; he also didn’t seem to mind that all eyes remained on us while he thoroughly devoured me, like we hadn’t seen each other in weeks rather than just this morning. He gave his tongue one last flick, clicking his tongue ring against the back of my teeth. When he pulled away I’m sure my eyes were glassy and I was breathing hard. I cleared my throat and put a shaky hand on his chest until I regained my composure. “I’ve got like a half an hour left are you cool to hangout that long? You can come chill in the back and do your school shit or whatever.” I nodded and took a step back from him. He was potent and went to my head fast.
“No stay up here and hangout with me. I’m dying to know all about this mystical creature that got you to act human for once.”
He shot an annoyed glance over his shoulder at the pixie. “Shaw this is Cora Lewis. She’s the shop manager and our resident body modification expert.”
She wiggled her eyebrows up and down and gave me a leer. She twirled a finger in Rule’s direction. “Since you’re with this guy I’m sure you’re familiar with my work.”
I choked back a laugh and put a hand to my mouth as a hot flush worked up Rule’s neck. “Seriously Cora?”
She shrugged a tiny shoulder. “What? It’s true isn’t it?”
His arctic eyes landed back on me and the chagrin in them made me laugh out loud. “She’s from Brooklyn. None of us know where Uncle Phil found her and they refuse to tell us but she keeps the shop running like a well-oiled machine. Most of us wouldn’t know if we were coming or going without her.”
“I can stay up here and wait for you. I’m hungry though so you need to feed me when you’re done.”
He bent down and put his lips right next to my ear. “Oh I’ll feed you when I’m done alright.”
A hot shiver shot through me so I gave him a heavy lidded look. “Goody.” He kissed my cheek and made his way back to the waiting client. I shifted my gaze to Cora and blushed when I noticed she was gaining like a demented Cheshire Cat.
“So it’s like is it?”
I blinked and shifted from foot to foot. She grabbed my hand and pulled me around the counter actually shoving me into another leather chair that was stashed back there.
“Like what?”
She swiveled her chair so we were facing each other and gave me a level look. “It’s like all hot and bothered but sweet and fuzzy too. I didn’t know the asshat had any of that in him. You make him human.”
“That was the second time she had mentioned something like that but I had to wait until she fielded a couple phone calls to question her about it. “What do you mean about that exactly?”
“I’ve worked with Rule for the last five years. I was here when he and Nash started their internship right outta high school. Phil and I go way back so I’ve known the boys for a while. I adore Rule. I think it’s genetically impossible not to be kind of in love with him when you come equipped with a vagina. It’s just something about all that angsty, moody swagger he has that makes you want to cuddle him up and make him feel better.”
I knew exactly what she was talking about so I just nodded in agreement. “But he’s also arrogant and explosive, he treats women like crap because too many of them let him get away with it and for a long time after his brother died I watched him just go through the motions of living his life the way it was before. He came to work, he hung out with is boys, he gave me shit on a daily basis and he screwed his way through the entire Front Range but he was doing it all locked inside this bubble that none of us who loved him could get through. He was cold and unreachable but then all of a sudden there were cracks and some of the old Rule was showing through. The robot version of himself he had been operating from for so long started to fade and the good ole human Rule was back and I think it has to do with you.”
“That’s a really nice thing to say.”
“It’s not nice if it’s the truth. So tell me how a vanilla girl like you all virgin skin and no piercings gets into a guy like Rule. From first appearances I would never peg him as your type; you look more Brooks Brothers than Dickies if you know what I mean.”
I twirled a piece of hair around my finger and watched as she typed a bunch of stuff in the computer. She was freakishly efficient and fast and I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about how sexy I found Rule with someone that already had intimate knowledge of my boyfriend’s junk.
“When he was sixteen he came home one day with an awful tattoo of a horseshoe and a shamrock on his forearm. Phil had given Nash a tattoo machine and some ink for his sixteenth birthday and instead of trying to learn on pigs or melons they decided that they would try to learn on each other. Both of them were always really gifted artistically. Nash was more into street art and graffiti type stuff where Rule just fiddled around with it and happened to learn he had some real talent. Anyway I was over at his house and I don’t know if you ever got a chance to meet Remy but identical doesn’t even come close to how those two looked. The same eyes, the same dark hair, the same innate sense that they were out of this world good looking but Rule came home with that terrible tattoo and suddenly he was a new guy. He claimed his skin as his own, made the mark to define who he was and how he was different from Remy and it was just beautiful how much he loved what changing his outer appearance did for his inner sense of self. He’s always been a babe but when he started to customize the hotness it just made it better and better. Without all the tattoos and piercings he just wouldn’t be Rule.”
“And what about you? You’re not into any of it?”
“I don’t really know. I had really particular parents growing up and if I had come home with a tattoo or any kind of extreme piercing they would have grounded me until graduation so I never even thought about it.”
“How old are you now?”
“I just turned twenty.”
“You still live at home?”
“Nope.”
“Then shouldn’t you be allowed to do whatever you want with your body without fear of their reaction?”
I sighed and swiveled my chair back and forth. “Yeah. I’ve actually been thinking about getting a little something done.”
“A tattoo? You know Rule would give you something beautiful especially since he’s the one that would have to look at it all the time.”
We shared a laugh that had the guys in the shop looking at us curiously.
“No I was thinking about getting my nipples pierced.” I wasn’t normally so open but I figured since she did it for a living it was kind of like talking to a doctor about a health problem. Her unusual colored eyed widened and she gave me a huge grin.
“That’s super-hot.”
I shrugged and continued to twirl my hair. “I like the way it looks and like you said I’m familiar with your work so I know it can be awesome I just don’t know that I’m ready for something so extreme.”
“They take a bit to heal but when they do it’s amazing. If you decide to go through with it let me know and I’ll do it for you for free, I’ll just charge you for the jewelry.”
“Well Rule’s birthday is next month so if I do it it’ll be before then.”
She clapped her hands together and giggled like a little girl. She was kind of crazy but I think I liked her. I had always had such a hard time making friends and just being at ease around new people it was a testament to all the positive ways Rule was influencing me that I could talk with this wacky girl with no reservations or inhibitions.
“Oh a sexy surprise I just love that idea. Like I said just let me know and we can work something out, I like seeing my boys happy and doing right by a good girl.”
“Thanks, I think.”
We chatted easily for another hour because whatever Rule was working on was taking him longer than he thought. I watched her process out the clients that were finished getting their designs done and watched her help a few people come in that had questions and were interested in setting up consultations. She chased off another girl that came in looking for Rowdy this time and by the time Rule walked up to the counter with his freshly bandaged canvas I felt like I had made a new friend. She was sarcastic and witty as hell but her insights into the way my guy’s head worked was clear and coming from a different perspective than I had ever heard before.
Rule’s client looked like he was barely old enough to drive but he was sporting some major artwork and had his entire upper arm wrapped up and shiny with ink and salve. I didn’t miss the appreciative look he gave me as he was walking out and apparently neither did Rule. He flicked the kid in the back of the head and told him that if he wanted his sleeve finished he better keep his eyes to himself. He told me to give him just ten more minutes so he could clean up his station and then we could go. I watched him walk away and noticed that the female client Nash was working on and the young girl that the artist they called Mase was working on both did the same thing. Cora was right, it was just some kind of magnetic pull he had over the opposite sex and as long as I was with him I was just going to have to learn to deal with it.
He moved quick and came back to collect me in no time at all. He handed Cora a bank bag and hollered out goodbye to no one in particular and pulled me out with him into the now frigid evening air. I shivered involuntarily and huddled into his side while he adjusted the hood of his sweatshirt over his still mostly naked head and shoved his arms through the sleeves of a black mechanic style work coat that had the tattoo shop’s logo and name embroidered in a bright design on the back.
“Do you want to order something for delivery or go somewhere?” He rubbed his hands together roughly and then pushed them under the fall of my hair to clasp the back of my neck. They felt like blocks of ice so I shivered even harder until he pulled me to his chest and tucked my head under his chin.
“Delivery so I don’t have to move my car.”
“Cool what are you in the mood for I’ll call on the way home?”
“Anything really I’m just hungry.”
“Pizza?”
“Sure but no green peppers or mushrooms on my half.”
I hooked an arm through his and gingerly tried to keep up with his long strides as we made our way to the Victorian. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I frowned as I saw it was once again my father. I was sure whatever story my mother had spun about my last visit had him all riled up but I just didn’t have the patience to get a lecture from a guy who’s new wife was only a few years older than me on morality and suitable romantic partners. I sent the call to voicemail and let go of Rule to sidestep a particularly dangerous and icy patch on the side walk.
He scowled at me and snatched my hand back up. He tugged me around so that I was pressed up against his front while he walked forward and guided me backwards. “I wouldn’t let you fall.”
I reached up to put my hands on his shoulders and gazed up into eyes that were just as frosty as the snow coating the ground all around us. “No?”
“No. You don’t trust me?”
“Most of the time I do.”
“Why not all the time?” We stopped at the front of the Victorian and I moved my hands from his shoulders to the back of his neck which made his hood fall off.
“Because I’ve never trusted anyone all the time. It’s the people I care about the most that always seem to do the most damage.”
“I’m not going to be one of those people Shaw.” If only he knew how bad it had hurt my heart each time I had to see him with one of his conquests he wouldn’t be saying that. I forced a small smile and brushed my fingers over the soft black hair starting to grow on his head.
“I hope not.”
He just shook his head and hauled me inside because it was way too cold to keep messing around outside. He shrugged out of his coat and hoodie while motioning for me to hand my stuff over. “Nash has a date tonight so he won’t be home until later if at all.” He disappeared down the hall to drop his armful in his room and came back on the phone with the pizza place. I took down a couple plates and handed him a beer while looking in a futile attempt to see if the boys had anything in the fridge to make a salad with. I needed to get some normal food in this place if I was going to keep spending time here or I was going to end up the size of a baby hippo.
“I think he’s probably done with having me around in the man-zone. I know Ayden mentioned that she almost got an eyeful while you were over this morning. They’re undoubtedly sick of us.”
He laughed and took a chug out of the beer bottle. “I didn’t mean to surprise Ayden this morning but I thought she was gone. I didn’t know she just went running.”
“Yeah she goes every morning and it’s not like she was complaining in fact she complimented the view.”
He snorted. “Nash doesn’t mind having you here he likes that you actually cook and that we don’t have to get delivery or bring stuff home every single night. Plus you smell good and always pick up the random stuff we leave laying around. If having you here got on his nerves he would say something to me and more than likely to you as well. He has no problem letting Rome know when he has over stayed his welcome.”
I leaned back against the counter and twisted the cap off a bottle of water. “So Cora was telling me all about your ink bunnies or tattoo trollops as she calls them. I had no idea just how far your appeal reached. Girls got work that they aren’t going to love in ten years just to spend time with you. That’s pretty crazy.”
“Cora has a big mouth and exaggerates but getting tattooed is pretty intimate no matter who the client is. When they leave they’re leaving with something you put on their skin forever. They trust you to capture their vision and execute it perfectly so sometimes that means you have to invest in them as a person to some degree. Some girl’s especially younger ones get really wrapped up in the process and turn it into more than it is. I have my fair share of clients that have little crushes on me, that come back for work not because I’m awesome but because they want to spend time in the setting but it’s my job so I keep it professional. I’m not going to lie I’ve hooked up with a client or two but never after work or never while I was in the process of doing a piece. Sex and work don’t belong in the same place.”
I sucked back some of the water and mulled that over for a minute. “Does it bother you that I don’t look like the typical girls you find attractive?”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
I hopped up on the counter and let my legs dangle. I tapped the tip of my nails on the tiled surface and cocked my head to the side while I studied him closely. “I don’t have tattoos or piercings. I don’t have sex hair or wear clothes that are impossible to breathe in, I’m just you know, a normal girl and I’ve seen enough, been around enough of your morning after’s to know that I’m not what you typically gravitate towards and I just wonder if when you look at me you wonder if I could look better if I looked different. Looked more like you and your crew.”
He put the beer down on the dining room table and locked eyes with me while he stalked towards me. Before that would have made me nervous and panicky but now it made me get all warm and breathless. He didn’t stop until he was pressed right up against me, between my legs with our hips aligned in a perfect position to make me forget my own name.
“When I look at you I don’t see anything but you and Shaw, you are perfect. I don’t care what color your hair is, if you’re pale or tan, if you have makeup on or just woke up all I care about is that when I look at you, you always look back and see me. You’re beautiful inside and out and if you wanted to tattoo all that pretty white skin from head to toe I would be honored to put it there for you but if not I’ll take you all smooth and milky white any chance I get.”
It was heart wrenchingly romantic. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever said to me and I was about to go all weepy female on him and blubber out how wonderful everything he said was and how much he meant to me, well either that or I was going to yank his clothes off and have at him right there in the kitchen. I was waffling between the two reactions when the doorbell rang and shattered the mood. He pushed away from me and went to collect dinner. I took a minute to get my composure back. The boy was potent all right and I planned to enjoy every single minute that it was directed at me.