Epilogue One
LEXIE
Three years later
When Reed asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday this year, the answer was immediately to visit a beach on the East Coast or attend a concert.
When I was scrolling through social media, I saw that Jared Benjamin was having a show the weekend of my birthday at a small bar that doubles as a concert venue on the beach in Isle of Palms, South Carolina.
I sent the info to Reed and he told me to pick out a hotel nearby so he could book it. When searching for one, I found this adorable bed and breakfast, the IOP B&B in walking distance from the venue.
Last night was our first night and we are currently finishing up breakfast.
Reed wipes his mouth with his napkin and asks, “So, do you want your birthday present before or after we do touristy shit?”
I squint my eyes and tilt my head, “Depends on what the present is.”
He shrugs, “Let’s just say we will need a few hours for your birthday gift.”
I raise my brows, “Oh?”
He stands and holds out his hand to me, “Let’s go do the touristy shit first.”
I place my hand in his and he leads me out into the cute little beach town.
We take our time, going from shop to shop.
I grab a couple of dark romance books from Between the Shelves and bond with the owner over our love of unhinged characters. I can relate because I’m dating my own real life stalker.
We make our way back onto the street and the faint smell of coffee assaults my nostrils. “Babe,” I say, tugging on Reed's hand and he looks down at me with those gorgeous green eyes that I’ve fallen madly in love with. “Do you smell that?”
His mouth tilts, and he looks around, already knowing, “I don’t see a coffee shop. Let me check online.” He pulls out his phone.
The first thing that pops up is The Ugly Mug Coffee shop. He plugs in the address and we follow until we find it tucked around the corner right next to the pathway for the beach.
The door chimes above our heads and I instantly smile. “Oh my god, babe. This is the cutest fucking shop I’ve ever seen.”
Reed cuts his eyes over to me, the look says what he won’t say on what he thinks about the place.
The walls are a light pink with adorable pictures of cats in suits hanging all over them. There are beautiful green plants in every corner and the floors are black and white checkered.
We don’t stand in line long before we grab our order and walk back to the bed and breakfast.
Once we make it back to our room, I sit by the window in a comfy chair to enjoy my coffee and lemon filled donut.
Lainey texted me to tell me happy birthday earlier and I quickly sent her a message back.
LEXIE:
Thank you!! We are having so much fun so far. I’ll come over when we get back so I can fill you in.
I close my phone and watch as Reed pulls out a black and silver briefcase and sets it in front of me.
I look at it then up at him curiously. “What’s this?”
He stuffs his hands in his jeans and rocks back and forth on the heel of his feet. “Open it and find out.”
I quickly open the buckles and lift open the top. Inside is his tattoo machine with all sorts of different colored ink and supplies. I tilt my head and look up at him with confusion, “You’re giving me your tattoo gun?”
He smirks, “No. I’m going to let you tattoo me and was hoping you’d let me give you one as well.”
My mouth drops in shock, “Oh my gosh, really?” I ask excitedly.
He bites his bottom lip, smiling as he nods. “I already drew a few stencils for you to choose from for yours and the one that I want you to do on me.”
I clap my hands together excitedly, “What are you waiting for? Let me see!”
He chuckles as he lays them out. “So, for you,” he points to the first one, “We have a honey bee on a flower, my name in this fancy font, and another honey bee by itself.”
I look at the stencils and ask, “What if I want them all?”
His eyes darken, “We can do that. We only have time to do one on you and one on me before the show tonight. When we get back home I can do the others.”
Giving him the biggest grin I say, “Perfect. Now let me see what I’m going to put on you.”
He lays out the last stencil that says “honeybee” in cursive with a tiny honeybee underneath it.
I smile, “Where am I putting it?”
He points to a small naked space on the side of his neck and my eyes widen. “Are you sure you want it right there?” I ask nervously.
“Never been surer.” He says.
I laugh, “I don’t think that’s a real word.”
He shrugs, “You know what I meant either way.”
I look over my stencils again and choose his name. “I want this right here.” I point to the top of my hand right under my wrist and his mouth slightly twitches.
“Alright. What do you want to do first?”
I bite my bottom lip with a smile, “It won’t take you long to do mine, so let’s do yours first.”
He teaches me how to prep for the tattoo. After disinfecting the work area, I put on my gloves and shave gently over the area he wants tattooed, then place the stencil.
He taps his lap, “Straddle me.”
I squint at him, “If I do that, no funny business. I’ll have a needle next to your throat and would hate to fuck it up.”
He lifts his hands in surrender with a smirk, “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
I shake my head and laugh, “Right.”
I place the foot pedal on the floor and straddle his lap. He leans back in the chair and rests his hands on my thighs.
Taking my time, I keep asking if he’s okay and if I’m hurting him.
“I promise I’m okay, Honeybee.” He says with his eyes closed. I keep looking at his face to make sure he’s not in pain, but he doesn’t ever flinch.
I finally finish and wipe it like he tells me to.
We get up and he goes to the mirror to look at it, “Damn, baby. Not bad for your first one.”
“You think so?” I ask nervously beside him.
He turns towards me and places a kiss on my nose. “Yeah, I love it.”
I pull my gloves off and throw them in the trash. “Okay, my turn!”
It doesn’t take long before he’s finished with mine. I watch as he admires his name on my hand. He gently rubs his thumb over it then locks eyes with me, “I love you, Honeybee.”
I grab his face with both hands and say, “I love you too.” Before crawling in his lap and kissing him.