Chapter 13
LEXI
What in the actual fuck did I agree to? Exclusive fucking rights? I must have been dickmatized out of my mind to agree to that. Sure, I had fuck buddies in the past, but even then, we were never really exclusive. Brandon was infuriating. He drove me fucking crazy, but I couldn’t stay away.
When I got home, Daphne was on my couch. Oopsie. She had been spending so much time at Nathan’s that I almost forgot she was still technically staying with me.
“Hey, stranger. I didn’t think I’d see you tonight,” I said as I discarded my purse at the door and then plopped down beside her on the couch.
“Yeah, we didn’t really get to talk today at work, so I thought I’d come by.
I should’ve texted you, though. I didn’t realize you had plans tonight.
” Daphne was looking into her lap and wringing her hands.
Shit. Did she know where I was tonight? Did that bitch Amanda tattle on me? “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you.”
“What’s up, Daphs? You’re kinda freaking me out. Is everything okay?” Play it cool, Lexi.
“So, Nathan asked me to move in with him.” She winced, waiting for my reaction, like she thought I might be upset.
“Well, duh. I figured that was coming,” I joked.
Anyone with eyes could see how happy they were together.
Of course, they were going to move in together.
“God, I thought someone died.” I put a hand on my chest, relieved that it wasn’t about me and Brandon.
I sent a silent apology to Amanda for that bitch comment. Love you, girl!
Daphne slapped my arm. “Oh, my God. I was so worried about telling you. I thought you’d say it was too soon.”
“Everything has happened too soon, but that seems to be par for the course with you two. Honestly, I’m surprised you lasted this long without making it official.”
“So you’re not mad?” Daphne asked.
“Mad? Why would I be mad? I love you, and if Nathan makes you happy, I love him, too. But if he fucks this up, I will absolutely castrate him.”
“Oh, believe me, he’s aware,” Daphne laughed. “He knows you’re a little unhinged.”
I acted like I was offended, but took that as a compliment. “How dare he!” We both laughed, and I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her tight. “I love you, hooker.”
She returned my aggressive hug. “I love you too, Lex. You’ll always be my number one boo.”
“Ditto.” I released her, went to the kitchen, and poured myself a glass of wine. “Want a drink, or are you moving right this minute?”
Daphne chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll have one. I’m staying here tonight unless you have a hot date.” I almost choked on the wine I was sipping. “Or did you already? That top screams, ‘I’m trying to fuck.’ But it’s still a little early. Was he geriatric, and you got the early bird special?”
“Har, har, har. Very funny.” Was I really going to lie right to my best friend’s face? Nope. Time to change the subject. “So when are you making it official with Nate Dog?”
“Ugh, I hate when you call him that.” Daphne’s eyes shot dramatically to the ceiling. “Well, I wanted to talk to you first, but right away. Aren’t you excited to get me off of your couch?”
“I love having you here, babe, but you haven’t been here much anyway since you met lover boy. As long as you’ll still have time for me, I’m happy for you.”
“I’ll always have time for you.” Daphne reached over and gave my leg a squeeze. “Seriously, Lexi, you’re my best friend, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ll never get rid of me, not for a man, not for anything.”
“Shut up, bitch, you’re gonna make me cry.” We spent the rest of the night drinking, laughing, and reminiscing about good times. Meeting Daphne at work was truly the best thing that happened to me while working there.
The next day, I received a message from Brandon with some dates to start my tattoo.
After checking my schedule, I made an appointment for a few days later.
He kept the texts tattoo-related, and I appreciated that.
The last thing I needed was for him to get all weird and clingy.
Hopefully, we could keep things professional at least while he was working on my tattoo.
I really wanted it, and the sketch he sent me looked amazing.
But this would be the most outside of the bedroom interaction I’d had with someone that I was fucking, and I hoped that wouldn’t complicate things to much.
On the day of my appointment, I arrived at the shop a few minutes early. There was nothing I hated more than being late. I’d rather be ten minutes early than be late for something.
The bell chimed above the door, announcing my arrival. There was a cute girl with wavy pink hair and an undercut sitting at the front desk. She looked up as I entered and offered me a sweet smile. “Hey, welcome in. Do you have an appointment?” she asked.
“Hey, yeah. I have an appointment with Brandon,” I answered.
“Okay. You can have a seat, and I’ll let him know that you’re here.
” I sat in one of the leather chairs in the waiting area and watched her go back to Brandon’s station.
He was hunched over his table, facing away from the door, and appeared to be working on a sketch.
Miss Pink Hair leaned over him and put her hand on his back.
My skin felt a swift rush of heat, and my chest tightened. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so good.
When I thought I might actually throw up, Brandon turned his head and smiled at me.
A big, dumb smile took over his entire face, and it must have been contagious or something because I beamed back at him like an idiot.
Gross. I quickly fixed my face as Brandon waved me over.
Miss Pink Hair returned to the front and told me I could go back as I was getting up, and I gave her my fakest smile as I breezed past her.
“Hey Lexi. How are you?” Brandon asked as I approached.
When I was close enough, I paused. If Brandon were a friend, I’d hug him.
If he were a stranger, I’d probably shake his hand.
But he and I were something else entirely, and I didn’t know how to act while we both had our clothes on.
As I was glitching out, Brandon solved my internal struggle by pulling me into a semi-awkward side hug.
I closed my eyes and let his scent wash over me.
Dammit, he smelled good. Like the shower gel from his apartment, warm and woodsy.
The scent brought me immediately back to the other night.
I don’t know how long I stayed there in his embrace, but it must have been too long. Brandon cleared his throat, causing me to jump out of his arms. “You okay there, Sweetheart?” he asked with a smirk.
I growled under my breath, “I swear to God, Brandon, you’d better stop calling me that.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he laughed. “Come on. Let’s get to work.” He motioned for me to sit in his chair. “Let me show you what I’m thinking and then you can tell me if we need to tweak anything, okay?”
“Okay, sounds good.” I tried my best to relax.
Brandon had an uncanny ability to set me on edge.
This Sweetheart shit was one of the many things he did that infuriated me.
The others were mostly related to his ridiculous good looks and giant cock.
Why would someone’s good looks and monster cock infuriate me, you ask?
Because it made him practically irresistible, that’s why.
And I wanted more than anything to be able to resist this man.
Brandon shuffled through some papers and then turned to show me a few sketches.
My jaw dropped. They were so much more detailed and vibrant than the pictures he had sent me before.
One sketch in particular caught my eye. It depicted a woman from the side, with the tattoo from the other sketches wrapped around her leg.
The woman looked remarkably like me. Of course, it was only a sketch from the waist down, but I’d swear it was me.
I absentmindedly traced my finger over the curve of her hip. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
Unaware of my state of awe, Brandon asked, “You really like it? We can change the colors or placement if you want. If you’d rather have it on the other side—”
I interrupted, blurting out, “No, it’s perfect!” Looking into his eyes was a colossal mistake, as I said, “I love it.”
“Great.” He placed the sketchbook down and moved to retrieve something on the side of his desk.
“Because of where it will be, you’ll have to remove your pants and probably your underwear too.
I have this screen for privacy, and I’ll keep you covered as much as possible.
Is that okay with you?” He was being so professional that I almost forgot this man had been balls deep in me just days ago. Almost.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m not exactly shy,” I joked.
“Yeah, I didn’t think you were, but I still don’t want the whole shop staring at your ass,” he said through a clenched jaw, then set up the privacy screen to block his station from the rest of the shop.
“Here’s a sheet to cover yourself. Wrap it around your lower half with the opening to the right.
I’ll step out to give you some privacy.”
He gave me a small smile and then stepped around the screen, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
This man had seen—and licked—just about every inch of me and was giving me privacy?
I felt more at ease by the minute. I had been so worried about things being weird between us, but it appeared as though I was the only one feeling weird about any of this.
I quickly undressed from the waist down and wrapped the sheet around my lower half as instructed, and then hopped back up onto the table. After a few minutes, Brandon called from outside the screen, “Lexi, are you decent?”
“I don’t know if that’s a word I’d use to describe me,” I called back. “But yes, I’m ready.”
Brandon chuckled and came back into the space carrying a large sheet of thin paper with my tattoo blown up on it. “I need to check the sizing. Can you stand up for me?”
I did as he asked, and he squatted down next to me.
“I’m going to have you open the sheet slightly for me to check the size.
” Following his directions again, I parted the sheet just enough, keeping my intimate bits covered.
He kept his eyes focused on his work. All the while, I was on freaking fire.
Having him this close to me while I was practically naked from the waist down was proving to be extremely difficult for me.
His breath caused goosebumps to pebble my skin, and a shiver ran through me.
Brandon reached out and placed his hand on mine. “Are you cold?”
I exhaled deeply. “No, I’m fine,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady and normal.
“I need to adjust this a bit. Have a seat, and I’ll be right back. Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee?”
“No thanks. I’m okay for now,” I answered and then hopped back up on the table.
“Okay. Be right back.” Brandon disappeared behind the screen.
Lexi, get your shit together. He’s just a man, and you are a strong, independent woman.
Be cool, bitch. This was the point where I’d usually be texting or calling Daphne to talk me down.
But nooo, I had to go and promise her I wouldn’t get involved with Brandon, and now I’d gone and fucked myself into a corner.
Literally. Sure, I could message her about some fictitious guy, but I didn’t want to lie to her, and simply withholding the information somehow felt a little less dishonest.
Brandon returned, and we repeated the same steps. I stood up and opened the sheet, but this time, he seemed satisfied with the stencil sizing. “I think this size should work. Once I lay it down, I’ll have you check it out in the mirror. If you want me to make any changes, just let me know.”
He took his time applying the stencil, making sure all the tentacles lay where he wanted them to. Once he’d finished, he leaned back to take in his handiwork. “Okay, that looks perfect to me, but what do you think?” He motioned toward the full-length mirror nearby.
Keeping the sheet covering my front, I let the rest fall away as I took in the sight of my soon-to-be new ink.
My mouth fell open, but no words came out.
It was so fucking cool. I turned left and right, inspecting every angle.
One tentacle wrapped around my thigh in the front, another stretched partway onto my lower stomach, and another one circled my leg to the back under my ass cheek.
The rest of the tentacles trailed down the side of my leg.
Even though this was just the outline, I knew it was going to be gorgeous when it was finished.
Brandon came closer. He reached out and pulled the sheet back up to cover my ass. “If this is going to work, I’m going to need you to keep that ass of yours covered.”
My cheeks flamed, and I quickly grabbed the sheet from him. I was so captivated by the stencil; I hadn’t even realized I’d exposed myself. “Sorry, it’s just. It’s so beautiful, Brandon, truly. I love it.”
Brandon’s eyes met mine through the mirror, and he gave me a grin. “Good, I’m glad. Now, let’s get started.”
I settled myself back on the table, making myself as comfortable as possible. Brandon had warned me that this tattoo would require several sessions and that the first appointment could be pretty long and uncomfortable. After he had prepared his supplies, he positioned me and then asked, “Ready?”
I let out a shaky breath, feeling more nervous now that we were about to get started. “Yeah. I’m ready.”
“Okay. If you need a break, let me know. If at any time it’s too much, please tell me.” His left hand rested on my thigh near my knee, grounding me.
I nodded and gave him a tight smile as his tattoo machine buzzed to life. It sounds funny, but the moment the needle touched my skin, I relaxed. I guess for me, the buildup was worse than the actual tattooing.
Brandon was a true artist. As I watched him work, I was mesmerized.
His focus was solely on the task at hand, with no inkling that he was as affected by what he was doing as I was.
Although his touch was very professional, it set me ablaze.
His brows furrowed as he concentrated, and the way his tongue peeked out from the side of his mouth as he worked was utterly adorable.
There was no way I was going to make it through several sessions of this. His touch tortured me. I wanted him so fucking bad, and he was just trying to do his job.