“Trust me, it’s still a bit strange for me when I really think about it. Em was just...Em, you know? We hit it off.”
“She is pretty great,” I say, while searching for my clothes.
Her eyes narrow at me and I swear I see a hint of jealousy. “Did you ever have feelings for her? Honestly.” Bingo. Nailed that one on the head.
“Babe, one of the first times I ever heard Em’s name was out my brother’s mouth, who had already practically proclaimed his undying love for this stranger. Which by the way, was on our very first day in California. I never viewed her as anyone but my brother’s girl. Sometimes I like to egg him on, but it has always been purely platonic between us.”
“And what about me? Do you still see me as your brother’s girl?” she asks quietly.
“Never. You were never his girl,” I rush to say. She lets out a sigh of frustration, so I quickly continue. “Babe, I know I’m trying to lay low about us. Trust me, I want to scream it from the rooftops. But I just want to approach this in the right manner with Jax. We made promises to one another. I just need to figure out a way to bring it up without him feeling betrayed.”
“I know you need time, Jace. I said I was willing to give that to you, but I won’t wait long,” she states confidently.
“And I won’t make you wait long.” I lean down and tug gently on her necklace while advancing toward her lips. I kiss her slowly, hoping I can convey how much I feel for her.
“I’ll be back to get you at seven tonight, okay?” When she nods her approval, I head out the door, right after I shout my goodbye to Lane down the hall.
- Twelve -
AUDREY -
The errands that I briefly mentioned to Jace earlier are a little bit more complicated than I let on. When I step into the shop, the sterile smell is what hits my nose first. I guess that’s a good sign. The clean, black-and-white checkered tile floor catches my eyes as my feet move up to the front counter. The deep blue walls are calming and the decor is tasteful. Definitely not what I expected to find. There are large leather couches and bulky portfolio books scattered on the tables in a waiting area. There aren’t any designs on the walls to choose from like I’ve seen on television.
The receptionist is a tiny little thing with bright purple hair and metal or plastic jewelry in every conceivable place a person could get pierced above the neck. While initially shocked at her appearance, the closer I get to the counter, the more I’m blown away by how beautiful she is. The customers and the guys working here must love having her to greet everyone. Her smile lights up as I put my hands on the counter.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asks, while rifling through the pages of a black notebook.
“No, sorry...I didn’t even think about that...” I trail off. It took enough courage to walk in the door by myself. I almost asked Jace to come with me today, seeing as he now has a ton of tattoos covering his arms, shoulders, and ribs. He probably would have been able to show me the best place to go. I only chose this place because it’s right next to where I work and it looked kind of fun from the outside. God, Lane would kill me if he heard me right now, choosing a tattoo shop because it looked fun from the outside.
“No worries, you might have to wait a bit though. Since it’s Sunday, most of them are about to get off, but I think...” she says, scanning the shop, “Jared should be done soon and he can help you out.” As she pencils something in the notebook, she adds, “I’m Jinx, by the way.”
When she lifts her head to look at me, she laughs at my open-mouthed expression. “Even your name is badass,” I say, because it’s the first thing that pops out of my mouth.
“Thanks,” she chuckles. “It’s just a nickname though.”
“I’m Audrey. I always liked my name, but now I’m finding it majorly lacking compared to yours.”
“No way. Audrey, like Audrey Hepburn, the classic beauty!” She slips on some big, dark sunglasses and places a pen in her mouth as if it were a cigarette holder from the sixties. I giggle as she acts out the characteristic Hepburn pose. “See? Classic.”
“Okay, you made me feel better,” I say with a smile.
“I’ve got you checked in. Just sign these waivers and then you can wait on the couches for Jared.”
“I got her,” a deep voice says from close by. Jinx and I both turn to gaze at the person who’s quickly approaching the counter. The man that advances is tall and has messy, jet-black hair. His black polo shirt barely contains his large muscled chest and arms. Poor shirt. The first thing I notice besides his easy, handsome smile and eyes that promise trouble is the stranger’s tanned, un-tattooed expanse of skin.
“Max, you’re about to get off. Jared can get her,” Jinx states.
“Yeah, I can get her!” I hear a shout from across the shop and I’m assuming that’s Jared. He pops his head up over his stall and winks at me.
“It’s cool, I got her,” Max repeats. “Besides, I’ll bet you a hundred bucks, Jinxy, that she’s got virgin skin. You know how I love poppin’ cherries.”
My mouth drops open at his blatant flirtation. “But...do you even have tattoos? How can I expect you to work on me when it looks like you don’t even have any yourself?” I’m not sure why I can’t keep my thoughts inside my head, where they should clearly stay.
Jinx begins to giggle and Max stares at me in fascination. Without missing a beat, he raises his black polo up by the hem and lifts it over his washboard abs and chiseled chest. Beautiful designs swirl and twist over and around his skin. Half a pair of stunning angel wings fill up the entire right side of his upper body, shoulder to waist. The wings are so finely detailed I want to touch them, just to see if they’re real. Over his heart, the words ‘Even Angels Fall’ are scripted into his skin.
It’s amazing how business-like he appears, but under his shirt is this amazing, beautiful artwork. I watch as he pushes up his sleeves and see that the tattoos continue over his shoulders.
“Impressive...” I whisper.
“I can keep going, if you’d like,” he smirks devilishly and reaches for his zipper.
“No, no, keep your pants on, buddy. You’re qualified,” I rush to say. Jace would not be okay with this.
“I think I need to refresh my memory though,” Jinx giggles.
Max ignores her and gestures toward his walled-off section. I walk in and sit in a chair that looks like it belongs in a dentist office. His area is very neat, almost OCD clean, with everything lined up evenly and all labels facing outward. It looks as if there are about five other guys in this shop and all of their areas clearly show their personalities. Pictures and drawings cover their walls, along with various metal band music posters. But Max’s area is a blank canvas. There are no personal belongings in sight, only the tools he needs to do his job.
“Do you have something in mind or do you need time to search through the look books?” he asks.
I pull out a piece of paper and hand it to him. “These are the words I want. I’ll leave it up to you how they’re written.”
He reads over the quote and asks, “Damn, Jim Morrison? I like you even more now.” He flashes me a smile, which showcases two dimples that are way too adorable to be on such a masculine face.
“The only thing I can thankfully say I got from my father was his good taste in music.”
He nods his head in apparent understanding. “Where were you thinking of getting it?” I point to the right side of my rib cage and he smiles in agreement. “Perfect choice, babe. My favorite place to mark a girl up.”