Chapter 9 #3
“People are often surprised by how much it hurts, so don’t be afraid to make some noise.”
“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” Abby said, smiling at Adam.
While he felt clammy and shocked from the pain, she was glowing and happy as could be. She must have a really high threshold for pain. He used to think he did, too. Now he knew better.
“Unfortunately, no one will be able to see it,” Adam said, rehashing their earlier argument in which he’d tried to convince her to put the tattoo where it would be easily seen.
“I’ll know it’s there. That’s enough. For now, anyway.”
Adam hoped she wouldn’t expect him to go through this hell again. Once was more than enough for him.
“Almost got the outline done,” Jeff said. “Then we’ll just have to fill it in. That’s going to take some time, so get comfortable.”
Awesome, Adam thought, trying to focus on more pleasant things such as the sex he might get to have with Abby. But as the needle once again penetrated his skin, all thoughts of sex fled from his brain, and Adam couldn’t think of anything other than getting the fuck out of that chair.
“That was so much fun!” Abby said, as they walked along Ocean Avenue, enjoying ice-cream cones after the tattoos were finally finished.
Adam was forcing down ice cream he didn’t really want. He’d much prefer an ice pack and a couple of ibuprofen.
She practically skipped along next to him. “Did you love it?”
He was far more pleased by her excitement in doing something wildly out of character than he’d been by the tattoo. “More than anything I’ve ever done.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“Maybe a little.” He eyed her through his sunglasses. “Yours didn’t hurt?”
“Oh yeah, it hurt a lot, but I was so excited to be doing it that I was almost high off the pain. Does that make sense?”
“Ah, yeah, I guess.”
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“I never said that.” He tossed the rest of his ice cream into a trash can while trying not to watch too closely as she licked hers. “What’s next on our agenda?”
“You said something about a motorcycle?”
“That I did. I can either go get Mac’s from Evan, or I can rent one. Any preference?”
“Whatever you want.”
“Renting would be more immediate.”
“Then let’s rent. You paid for the tattoos, so let me pay for the bike.”
“Not happening. I got it.”
She stopped walking and turned to him. “Why can’t I pay for something?”
“Because. I don’t roll that way. When I take a lady out, I pay.”
“You do know the Stone Age is over, right?”
“I’ve heard that news, and yet, I’m still paying.
” Ignoring her scowl, he took her hand and tugged her along as he headed to the rental place that shared the parking lot with the Gansett Island Ferry Company.
Once there, Adam said to the attendant, “I’m looking for the biggest, baddest, fastest motorcycle you’ve got available. ”
“You’re in luck,” the young man said. “I’ve got one good one left.”
“Yay!” Abby said. “Does it go really fast?”
“Yes, but I don’t recommend going too fast on island roads.”
“We’ll take it easy,” Adam assured him. He signed the paperwork, handed over his credit card and took possession of the bike and two helmets a few minutes later. “Go put on some jeans, and I’ll pick you up at the Beachcomber.”
“It’s too hot for jeans.”
“Trust me, babe, if we crash, you’ll be very glad you wore jeans.”
“I thought you knew what you were doing.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean everyone we’ll be sharing the road with knows what they’re doing.” He tweaked her nose. “Jeans or no ride.”
“You’re kinda bossy sometimes.”
Adam straddled the bike and strapped on his helmet. “I’ve heard that a few times in my life. It’s the curse of being a middle child.”
“How do you figure?”
“Someone was always telling me what to do, so now that I’m all grown up, I like to call the shots.” He crooked his finger to bring her in closer. “Especially in bed.” Adam smiled at her flustered reaction to the outrageous comment. “Pick you up in ten.”
When he glanced in the rearview mirror and saw her fuming, he laughed. And then he decided to use his ten minutes to stop by Grace’s pharmacy to get some pain medication before his arm literally fell off his body.
Abby stomped back to the Beachcomber, irritated with herself as much as him.
His high-handedness drove her crazy, but what drove her even crazier was that she was turned on by it.
Who knew she liked a man who took command and got things done?
Thirty minutes after she suggested they get tattoos, he’d had her at the island’s only tattoo studio.
She’d managed to resist his suggestion that she put the tattoo somewhere people could see it. She hadn’t completely lost her mind, but she’d enjoyed the pleasurable pain of being inked. Next time, she might put the tattoo where it could be seen. Why not? What did she care if people saw it?
By the time she’d stomped up the stairs to her third-floor room, she was breathing hard and mad at herself.
Why hadn’t she listened to Adam and put the tattoo somewhere visible?
What good was it if no one knew she had it?
She rifled through her suitcases until she found a pair of faded jeans and pulled them on.
So much for her new, go-wild philosophy…
She now had a tattoo no one would ever know she had unless she got down and dirty with them, and since she made her deal with Adam, she wouldn’t be getting down or dirty with anyone but him.
Not that the idea of getting busy with him didn’t cause her girl parts to tingle with interest, but she wanted other people to know she was different now. Not just Adam.
The first chance she got, she was going back for a second tattoo, and this one would be somewhere more visible. Pleased with her decision, she grabbed a sweater and headed downstairs to meet Adam, who was waiting for her in the street outside the hotel.
He smiled when he saw her coming, and Abby felt her earlier irritation yield to the excitement of another adventure with him.
Halfway down the stairs, it occurred to her that she was probably too excited to be going out with him.
She had to remind herself to keep her emotions out of it.
They were having fun, not a relationship.
When she joined him at the curb, he plopped the helmet onto her head and adjusted it for her. “Ready?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Slide on and put your arms around me. Hold on tight.”
“Where do I put my feet?”
Adam pointed out the passenger footrests.
As she put her arms around him, Abby was hit with a sudden bout of shyness.
He must’ve sensed her hesitation, because he turned to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I…I was thinking…”
“About?”
“The one thing we didn’t talk about earlier.”
“Which is?”
“Boundaries.”
“What kind of boundaries are we talking about?”
“The relationship kind.” Abby forced herself to look at him. “We talked about exclusivity when it comes to sex, but we didn’t talk about not letting this get serious or anything. I don’t want that. I thought I should make sure you knew that.”
“I don’t want it either, so don’t sweat it. We’re both right out of serious relationships that went bad. We’ve got no business doing anything other than having fun.”
“Good,” she said, pleased that he understood. “That’s a relief.”
“We’re on the same page, Abs. Don’t worry.”
The nickname seemed to take them both by surprise. No one had ever called her that before, and she discovered she liked it coming from him.
“Shall we?” he said.
“Yes, please.”
He fired up the bike and pulled away from the curb, navigating through the traffic that clogged downtown on the way to the less congested roads that circled the island.
As Abby giggled with the sheer joy and freedom, she tightened her grip on Adam’s waist. When her hands connected with his abdomen, she realized he was all muscle. She had to stop herself from exploring further, if for no other reason than she didn’t want to distract him.
They made two full loops around the island before Adam pulled into the parking lot at the bluffs and cut the engine. He got off the bike and removed his helmet.
Abby fumbled with the strap to her helmet, so Adam helped her. “That was amazing. I loved it.”
“I’m glad.”
“But it’s not really a true adventure if I don’t get to drive.”
“Have you ever driven a motorcycle?”
“Nope.”
“Well you don’t start with one like this. I can give you some lessons on Mac’s old bike, if I can wrestle it away from Evan.”
“I’d like to learn.”
He held out his hand to her, and they headed for the stairs that led to the beach below. “Looks like we’ve got the place to ourselves today. Another week, and the tourists will invade.”
“When I was in business, I used to live for the invasion. Now I kind of like the peace and quiet.”
Adam stopped her from going all the way to the beach and tugged her hand to invite her to sit next to him on the stairs. “Have you given any thought to what you’ll do for work?”
“I’m going to run the gift shop at the Surf for Laura this summer. After that, we’ll see. I may reopen the Attic next season, but it’s getting late for that this year.”
“It might be nice to have a summer where you don’t have all the responsibility of running your own business.”
“My thoughts exactly. Have you made any plans, yet?”
“Not really. I’ve had a few people ask me to help them with some things here. It’s enough to keep me busy for a couple of weeks. After that, we’ll see,” he said, using her words.
His phone chimed with a text. “Crap.”
“What’s wrong?” Abby asked.
“Forgot to tell my mom I wasn’t coming home last night.”
“That wasn’t very nice.”
“I know. It’s been a long time since I had to tell her where I was. I’ve fallen out of the habit.”
“Doesn’t mean she won’t worry about you.”
“I’ve been duly chastised by both of you. Won’t happen again.”