9. NINE
NINE
CORY
Time was moving both too fast and too slow. Part of that was definitely because I was staring down the computer clock at the front desk of the shop, and the other part was because I finished my last client a whole hour earlier than expected. When Garrett and I made the plans for our date after the bar incident, I purposely scheduled an appointment right before so that I could lose myself in the steady drone of my tattoo gun until it was time to leave. My plan backfired considering I’d spent that extra hour staring at the clock and pacing around.
Garrett wasn’t coming to pick me up for another thirty minutes, but I couldn’t sit still. I felt like a live wire dangling dangerously close to open water—part of me wanted to see what would happen if I let myself fall. Just for a moment.
The jingle of keys made me jump.
“Sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you.” Lexi hefted her bag over her shoulder as she came to the desk. “Are you headed out? I’m going to grab food because I’m starving. Want to join? ”
I smiled but shook my head. “I’d love to, but I, uh, actually have a date.” I sighed out the last word. Somehow saying it aloud made the anxiety pulsing through my body worse.
A devilish look crept over her face as she leaned against the counter. “Oh? With who?”
“With Garrett. Actually, do you remember the cop that was here on opening day?”
The way her eyes lit up made her look like a cartoon character.
“Shut up! You do not have a date with Officer Sexy!”
I barked out a laugh. “You did not just call him that.”
“I call it like I see it, and I’ve got eyes! If I wasn’t married . . .” She trailed off on a whistle.
“Well it’s not a real date. We’re only going on it because I lost a bet.” I toyed with a sticky note, folding it into smaller and smaller triangles.
“Why can’t a bet date be a real date?”
“Yeah, why can’t a bet date be a real date?”
I snapped my head up. Garrett stood in the waiting room with his off-duty staple of a T-shirt and jeans, a playful smile on his face.
I looked at the clock. “You’re early.”
He walked over to us and gave Lexi a smile before looking back at me. “I am. I was too excited for our not real bet date.”
“Aw he was excited!” Lexi fluttered her eyelashes at me, and then looked at Garrett. “I’m Lexi, and I fully support you real dating the hell out of her.”
He laughed. “Garrett. And I’m glad I have your support. ”
I rolled my eyes, grabbed my purse, and shoved at Garrett. “Yeah, yeah. Can we get going?”
“Eager to get romanced?” He waggled his eyebrows, and it really shouldn’t have been as charming as it was.
“Eager to get this over with.” I held the door for him and Lexi, locking it behind us.
We walked to his truck, nervous anticipation rendering me mute. There was nothing to be nervous about. It wasn’t even a real date.
I was in the middle of mentally scolding myself for acting weird when Garrett’s arm brushed against my back on his way to the door handle. Electricity shot through me at the brief contact, and my breath hitched involuntarily.
He shot me a knowing look and grinned.
Get a grip, Eastwood.
I inhaled a breath and returned his smile before hopping into the car. “Thank you.”
A switch flipped once we were on the road, though, and the anxiety that had consumed me for the better part of the day—for the last two weeks if I was honest—disappeared. As we drove toward our destination, excitement began building in its place. Just because this wasn’t a “real” date, didn’t mean it couldn’t be fun. I could let myself enjoy hanging out with him without there being anything else.
The entrance to the arcade was bright, the bulbs making up the letters flashing in a rotating sequence that resembled a carnival. I managed to unbuckle my seatbelt before a strong, tanned arm shot out in front of me, and opened the door.
When I looked over at Garrett, he was leaning over the center console, a lot closer than he was when we parked. I shook my head, unable to stop the laughter bubbling up. “Aren’t you supposed to do that from the outside?”
“I figured you wouldn’t wait for me to walk around the car. This was a sure bet.”
“Speaking of bets.” I used the motion of getting out of the car to dispel the swarm of butterflies in my stomach. “Should we make some more?”
He sauntered up beside me, placing a hand on the small of my back. “You like losing that much?”
“I need to redeem myself.” I knew I was playing with fire, but the more time I spent in his presence, the more the idea of being burned alive seemed like a good way to go.
He held the door to the building open for me with a smirk. “I’ll never say no to you.”
The arcade was a massive, two story structure, with bowling, billiards, and laser tag on the ground floor, and the classic arcade games on the second. There were bars on both floors that gave wristbands to its twenty-one-plus patrons, but given the direct correlation between alcohol consumption, and the proximity of Garrett’s body, I swore off of it for the evening.
We loaded money on an arcade card and walked up the stairs. “Loser picks first game, so what’ll it be?”
I leveled him with a glare at the loser comment, before pointing to the back corner. “Obviously Skee-Ball. It’s a classic. ”
“All right then.” He swiped the card and the balls came rolling down the chute. “And what are the stakes this time around?”
And here was the problem with my plan, or lack thereof, because even though I’d told myself all day that tonight’s date couldn’t be a real date, the more time I spent with him, the more real it felt. And despite every warning bell blaring through my head telling me how bad of an idea all of this was, a part of me wanted it to be real. I’d been keeping Garrett at arm’s length ever since that first night two years ago because I’d told myself I couldn’t afford any distractions that could derail me from opening DelINKquent Tattoos. I needed to focus on perfecting my art, and building enough of a reputation and desirability so that I could break away and make it on my own. And admittedly, a small part of it was a need to shove my success in the holier-than-thou face of my mother.
But I did all of that. DelINKquent Tattoos was a real place, and in its short time outside of my dreams, it was thriving. We had so many appointments that we were booking six to eight months out, and we weren’t able to accommodate as many walk-ins anymore. I accomplished everything the me at eighteen had set out to do, so surely now it was time to let the me of the present live a little.
The problem was, Garrett seemed like more than living a little. He seemed like living a lot . Like meeting the folks, having a spare key to his place, late-night phone calls, and keeping a toothbrush in his bathroom kind of living, and I just . . . wasn’t there yet.
So I slapped some duct tape over my heart’s mouth and spoke with my brain. It was the one likely to do the least amount of damage to both of us, after all.
“If I win the most games tonight, I get to drive your truck back to the shop.”
“Okay, deal. But if I win, you ride home in the bed.”
I placed a hand on my chest and feigned being appalled. “Officer Adler! That is a crime!”
“It’s a citation, actually.”
“Whatever.” I picked up one of the balls and sidled up to the ramp. Focusing on the target holes, I swung my arm back, and just as I was about to launch the ball, Garrett plucked it from my hand.
“What the hell?”
“What? I said loser gets to pick the game! Winner gets to go first.”
And the motherfucker winked.
***
An hour and a half later, we were securing our vests for the tie breaker round of Laser Tag. I couldn’t remember the last time I played, but I was determined to win.There were a handful of other players in the queue room waiting with us for our round to start, but Garrett and I were only focused on each other. Whoever walked away after the fifteen minutes was up with the most points, shooting only at each other, won.
The competitiveness racing through me felt ridiculous given the stakes. I didn’t actually care about driving his truck, and I knew he wouldn’t make me ride home in the bed, at least, I was ninety-eight percent certain he wouldn’t, but I couldn’t back down from the challenge. So when the doors opened to reveal the dark arena lit only by black lights, I took off running as far away from him as I could. The clocks on the walls showed the one minute countdown to disperse and hide before our guns and vests were activated, and the game officially began. Racing around graffitied walls, wooden crates, and neon metal barrels, I tried to find a secure location. Footsteps sounded all around, but there was no telling if they were Garrett’s or not.
I found two walls that made a triangle with a stack of palettes in front of them and used it as a hideout while I waited out the clock. A loud tone blared from overhead, and the gun in my hands trilled to life.
Shouts of laughter and screams echoed from other players as the game began, but I just waited, watching for Garrett’s hulking form to race by. Three minutes elapsed, and then a fourth. I could’ve stayed hidden, but I needed points to win and I was getting antsy, so I crept out from behind my hiding spot.
My pulse raced as I sprang out from around corners, sweeping my gun out in front of me. There was something thrilling about being both prey and predator.
I was climbing the stairs to the second story of the “abandoned” building, when I saw him. He had his back to me, and I didn’t hesitate. I shot him, the circles on his vest flashing red, indicating I’d hit my target. He spun around and shook his head at me, but I was already booking it back down the stairs. There were only five seconds before his gun would be back up and ready, and I had to make use of them. I could hear him hot on my tail as I ran through the building. Being over six feet gave him the height advantage needed to make it difficult for me to put distance between us, but my size made weaving through obstacles easier, and I used that to my advantage.
Or I tried to, because not even a minute later my vest was blinking, his laughter echoing behind him as he took off running in the opposite direction.
I had never cared about being short, but in that moment, a couple extra inches in the legs would’ve been incredible.
He sprinted into another building-like structure, but by the time I followed after him, he was gone.
Nerves had my heart thundering in my ears, my breathing coming in shallow pants, and my stomach fluttering with anticipation. I was tingling with giddy excitement.
Where is he?
I spun around carefully, noting the objects big enough for him to hide behind, and tried to stay light on my feet as I checked behind each one. I was about to turn around and head back the way I came when I noticed an exit on the far side. He must’ve ran straight out the back.
Creeping through the doorway, I found myself in a dark corner of the arena where the walls of the arcade building met with the walls that made up the maze of the Laser Tag room. The red glow of an exit sign was the only light, and it occurred to me that this likely wasn’t an intended part of the playing zone.
My eyes were just adjusting when an arm swung out of the shadows and hauled me backward.
“Rule number one of clearing a room, always check your six.” Garrett’s voice rumbled next to my ear. My breathing was quick and shallow, and I was one thousand percent going to blame it on the running we’d been doing.
Before I could formulate an escape plan that allowed me to get a shot off before he did, he spun me around and pulled me tightly against his chest.
I craned my neck to look up at him. “How do you expect to make a shot like this?”
“I don’t.”
“Then how do you expect to win?”
One of his hands left my hip, and if there was ever an opportunity to escape, this was it. He knew it, and I knew it, but I didn’t move.
He cupped my face, fingers pressing firmly into the skin behind my ear, and bent down to brush his lips against mine. Not quite a kiss, but somehow so much hotter.
“This feels a little like winning.” He lifted his head slightly and stared down at me with a heated expression, one that had my lips tingling and my body thrumming with anticipation. He lowered his head again, everything in his body language telling me this kiss would rock my world if I let it.
His lips were a breath away from mine when I ducked out of his hold, pointed my gun and shot him. I smirked as the buzzer indicating the end of the round sounded.
He laughed. “Well played, Cory. Well played.” Pushing off the wall, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and dropped them into my hand.
Victory was sweet, but I couldn’t help thinking it had nothing on how sweet that kiss would’ve been.
After Garrett dropped me back off at DelINKquent Tattoos, I spent the entire drive back to my house, replaying our date in my mind. It was fun, but more than that, he was fun. I’d had more fun on our not-date date than I’d had in a really long time, and I knew it had very little to do with Laser Tag or Skee-Ball.
When I got home, I went straight to the junk drawer and dug around until I found the napkin with his number on it.
I didn’t let myself read too much into what I was doing before I hit send.
Me: Thanks for letting me drive your truck. I had fun.
His response was almost instant.
Garrett: Who is this?
Me: Ha ha very funny. Don’t quit your day job.
Garrett: Ouch!
Garrett: I’m glad you had fun. We should do it again.
I was about to respond when a third message came through.
Garrett: Oh, and Cory?
Me: Yeah?
Erasing what I’d been writing, I typed out a new message.
Garrett: I didn’t let you do anything. You won fair and square. I wanted to see your ass in my bed.
Me: You mean your truck bed?
Garrett: Sure, Cory. My truck bed.
My mouth popped open on a grin, cheeks flaming hot as I stood in the middle of my kitchen while Siren stared judgmentally from the couch.
I didn’t respond. There was nothing safe to respond with, so after I let Siren out for the night, we went up to bed.
But I was a fool if I thought there was any way I was falling asleep. Not with the images of myself in his actual bed running through my mind.