Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
Eric
? One Man Band - Old Dominion ?
It’s an in-between night. We’re somewhere on the East Coast en route to Raleigh.
I’m sitting on one end of the couch mindlessly scrolling social media while Tyler is reading a book next to me.
About ten minutes ago, she shifted herself into a more comfortable position by laying down and stretching her legs out and placing them across my lap.
I’m thankful George keeps the AC cranked in here and she’s always wearing either leggings or joggers, because if she were in shorts, I know that I do not possess the mental fortitude necessary to resist touching those goddamn immaculate legs.
She sets her book in her lap and lets out a deep sigh.
“What’s wrong, Sunshine?” I ask, sensing that she’s bored. Not that I can blame her. It takes a long time to get used to being on the road this much. In all honesty, she’s handled the last five months like a champ, but I know how easily the boredom can creep in, even if you’re enjoying yourself.
“I don’t know,” she says. “I feel like maybe I’ve taken this tour too seriously.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well,” she says, sitting up and removing her legs from my lap, crossing them under her. “We’re somehow already nearing the end, and other than the hotel party, I haven’t done anything remotely…I don’t know. Tour-like.”
“Tour-like?” I ask, locking my phone and setting it on the table beside me. She nods. “What would you consider tour-like behavior?”
“I don’t know. Something crazy. Like partying every night or smoking weed or having lots of se—” She stops herself and looks away, her cheeks brightening to a beautiful shade of pink.
“You know I could have helped you with the last part,” I say, propping my elbow on the back of the couch and resting my head on my hand, flashing her my most charming smile when her eyes come back to mine.
“We could be having all the seh you want. But alas…you had to go and set boundaries, and I, as a gentleman, am bound to respect them.”
“That’s true,” she says, tapping a finger on her chin in thought. “Although, that just means I can’t sleep with you. I suppose I am, technically speaking, free to—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I say. I mean for it to come out as teasing as her threat had been, but it has a more possessive edge that neither of us had been expecting. She grins before biting her lip and looking away again. The idea of Tyler being in another man’s bed is nauseating.
“Oh!” she says, perking up. “I know! I know what I need to do!”
I wait for a follow up, but she doesn’t elaborate.
Her brow creases in concentration and she puts her thumb in her mouth and begins biting at her nail.
I don’t know where her mind drifted off to, because it’s certainly not here in this RV, but mine is.
Mine is very much in this RV. Focused solely on the thumb she has in her mouth.
Homed in on her lips pressed gently against the skin around her nail.
Her tongue peeking out and pressing against the tip.
Fuck am I glad her legs are no longer in my lap.
“Care to share with the class?” I say, adjusting my position on the couch to hide the hard-on I now have growing in my sweats.
Baseball…baseball…baseball…
I chant it over and over in my mind, trying to get my brain to focus on something else.
“A tattoo,” she says. When she looks at me, she’s smiling so wide a few creases form at the corners of her eyes. “When we get to Raleigh, I’m totally getting a tattoo!”
“Your first tattoo,” I say. “That’s a pretty big deal. What are you going to get?”
“Actually, we should—” she says, cutting herself off and deflating a little. “No, no, never mind. That’d be crazy.”
“I’m sorry, but isn’t that what brought this whole thing on? Your desire to do something crazy?” She nods once. “Alright then, continue. Actually, we should…”
She scrunches her face like she’s just heard someone scrape metal silverware across a porcelain plate and says, “We should get matching ones?”
She’s so fucking adorable, I can’t stand it. I chuckle, running a hand through my hair, watching as her eyes track the movement and she bites the corner of her bottom lip.
“Yeah, alright,” I say. “Let’s do it.”
“Are you serious?” she asks. “You’ll get matching tattoos with me?”
“Tyler, if you don’t know by now that I’ll do anything you want, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
****
We spent the rest of last night looking for tattoo shops in Raleigh, Tyler ultimately deciding on a place called Rock N’ Roll Tattoo because it, quote, “sounds meant to be.”
The bell above the door tinkles when we enter, and a few people look up and away, then double take when they realize who I am. I smile and wave as a curvy woman with neon pink and green split-dye hair pulled into messy buns at the top of her head approaches the front counter.
“Are you…Eric Ambrose?” she asks, her big, brown eyes wide in surprise.
“I am,” I say, shoving my hands into the front pockets of my jeans, because even after ten years of this, I’m still awkward as fuck every time someone recognizes me.
“Ho-lee shit,” she says, exaggerating the word holy in the most comical way I’ve ever heard. “What can I do for y’all?”
“We’re here for matching tattoos,” I say, nodding to Tyler who is standing as still as a statue beside me. She raises her hand and wiggles her fingers in an adorably awkward wave. “We don’t have an appointment, but were hoping you’d be able to squeeze us in.”
“Absolutely!” the woman says, a bit too enthusiastically, and I chuckle. “What are you looking to get done?”
“Well, that’s the thing, we’re not exactly—” Tyler starts.
“Actually,” I say, cutting her off and turning to face her fully. “I kind of had an idea last night.” She raises a quizzical brow. “Thing is, I uh,” I nervously scratch at the back of my neck. “I want it to be a surprise.”
“A…surprise?” she says, blinking once.
“Yes.”
“You want my first tattoo to be a surprise?”
I nod.
“Do you trust me?”
She thinks it over for less than a second before she says, “Utterly and completely.”
I smile so wide my face hurts.
“Why don’t you go hang out over there,” I say, nodding to the seating area near the front windows. “And I’ll work with…” I trail off, looking back to the woman at the counter.
“Betty,” she says.
“…Betty to get it drawn up.” Tyler nods and heads to the front of the shop while I follow Betty back to her station.
I explain the general idea of what I’m looking for, and we spend the next ten minutes designing and tweaking until I’m happy with it.
A sun and crescent moon done in a minimalist style.
It’s a simple design—delicate and beautiful and perfect—just like Tyler.
“Alright,” I say, walking back out to the front of the shop.
“You ready?” She nods, smiling up at me as she stands and follows me to our stations.
“You’re with Betty,” I say, nodding to the chair to our right where Betty is setting things up.
“And I’ll be right here beside you with Kenzie.
” She looks behind me and waves to my tattoo artist, a woman who looks to be a few years younger than Tyler, with light brown skin, curly brown hair, and kind eyes.
“Since I got to choose what we’re getting, would you like to choose where they go? ”
“Is it something that could fit here?” She asks, pointing to the inside of her right wrist. I nod. “And, if I remember correctly, you have some room there, too?” I pull the sleeve of my jacket up, exposing my wrist.
“I do, indeed.”
“Is that alright?”
“It’s a fairly sensitive area,” I say, removing my jacket and laying it across the seat I’ll be sitting in. “But if you’re feeling brave, then it’s good with me.”
“You’re saying it’ll hurt?” she asks.
“Pain is relative,” I say, shrugging. “I’ve been tattooed in places other people say hurts like hell, but it didn’t bother me.” She seems to think it over before declaring that her wrist is where she wants it. “There’s only one rule,” I say. “No peeking until we’re both done, okay?”
“Deal,” she says, grinning. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”
I can’t help but smile at the genuine excitement in her eyes, and she smiles back.
We then proceed to stand in the middle of the two stations, looking into each other’s eyes and smiling like idiots, until Betty clears her throat and snaps us out of it, and we take our respective seats.
We’re next to each other but facing opposite directions—Tyler facing the front door and me facing the back wall.
Betty and Kenzie shave and clean our wrists before applying the stencils and counting down from three before turning their machines on at the same time and getting to work.
Tyler groans and shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and I turn my attention to her. Her head is thrown back into the headrest of her chair, eyes squeezed shut, and face scrunched in pain.
“Breathe, Sunshine,” I say. “You need to breathe. Deep breaths. In…” I demonstrate.
“Out…” She blows a big breath out through tight lips before taking a long, slow inhale with me.
I reach over with my free hand and lace my fingers through hers.
“Hey,” I say. She turns her head in my direction and opens her eyes.
“I’ve got you.” I move my thumb in slow circles over hers, and her body relaxes.
I spend the next fifteen minutes distracting her with small talk and stupid jokes, and she scolds me for making her laugh because she doesn’t want crooked lines.
We’re done within a few minutes of each other, and I manage to keep Tyler’s focus on me while we’re cleaned up and clear bandages are applied to prevent infection.
Betty gives Tyler the rundown on aftercare, and she asks a few additional questions before she turns her attention back to me.
“Ready?” I ask. She bites her bottom lip and nods excitedly. “One…two…three.” I don’t look down at my wrist. I keep my focus on Tyler because I know I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.
She covers her mouth with her hand as she turns her wrist back and forth, studying intently.
“Do you like it?” Betty asks.
“Yes, it’s beautiful, thank you,” Tyler says. Betty squeezes Tyler’s shoulder and follows Kenzie to the front of the shop, leaving us alone. She looks at me and smiles before turning her attention back to her wrist.
“I feel like the sun is obvious,” she says, tracing her finger over the fresh lines of ink under the bandage. “Sunshine?” She asks, and I nod. “And the moon?” I swallow nervously when she looks back over to me. “Is that you?”
I nod, hoping she doesn’t press it further. I don’t want to reveal the reason I call her “sunshine.” That, much like the moon, I’d be nothing but darkness without her light. Right now, where we are with each other, I like that it’s a secret. Something that’s just mine.
I swing my legs over the side of my chair and stand, offering Tyler my hand.
She takes it and stands beside me before wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me into a hug.
My arms wrap around her shoulders like they belong there, and I pull her closer before planting a quick kiss on the top of her head and forcing myself to let go and step back.
“Anything crazy you want to do today?” she asks as we make our way to the front of the shop. Yeah, I think. Kiss you. Tell you how much I love you. Fall to my knees and beg you to set that goddamn contract on fire.
I shake my head.
“Nah, I’ve had enough crazy to last a lifetime,” I say, handing Betty my credit card.
After I’ve paid and tipped for both of our sessions, a few of the artists ask if I’d be willing to take a few photos and sign some autographs, and I happily oblige while Tyler looks for an Uber to take us back to the venue.
When it arrives, I open the door and let her in first before climbing in beside her, watching as she traces her fingers over her wrist.
She releases a contented sigh before laying her head on my shoulder.
My eyes close and my heart squeezes in my chest at the unexpected contact.
I should move away. Make sure we keep a respectable distance for the last few weeks of the tour.
But no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to make my body do what it should do.
It still craves her touch as badly as it did the night we met.
So, I don’t move.
Because she’s choosing to do the one thing I’ve wanted her to do since I first laid eyes on her.
Stay.