15. Cooper
15
Cooper
W e finally closed up the shop and walked hand in hand down the street to a Mexican restaurant I knew she would like.
“This is the best strawberry margarita I’ve ever had.” She exclaims as she sips what’s left of her second one.
I laugh, “They’re good here, right?”
I can tell she’s getting a little tipsy by the pink tint in her cheeks and the wide smile across her face, or maybe it’s all the sex. Either way I’m glad she is happy. I hand our server my card and he comes back a few minutes later with a bag and two boxes for our leftovers.
Bundling back up in our coats and gloves I carry the bag and Trinia wraps both her arms around mine as we stroll back to my townhouse.
Walking in the front door I see Theo and Luna sitting at the table unwrapping a box of cards against humanity.
“Look what I found at the store today! I thought we could play. It looks fun.” Theo grins as he peels off the plastic packaging.
Trinia bounces over, yep she is definitely tipsy, and claps her hands. “You’ve never played this! It’s so much fun. Where the hell have you been? Under a rock?”
“Kinda, in prison.” Theo jokes and Trinia slams her hands over her mouth.
“Oh my god, Theo.” She whispers and my brother bursts out laughing.
“Did you get her drunk?” Theo looks over at me shaking his head. “Trinia is so gullible and fun to mess with when she’s drunk.” He whispers to Luna, loud enough for everyone to hear and she he takes a sip of her wine to hide her smile.
“He didn’t get me drunk. He’s not a pervert, Theodore. I had a drink with dinner.” Trinia shoots him some sass and I swear her attitude and the way she talks back makes my cock twitch.
“Two, baby. You had two massive strawberry margaritas at dinner.” I correct her, pulling a couple beers out of the fridge.
“OK two.” She rolls her eyes and plops down at the table.
“Well it’s almost the weekend so I say dive in. You want some wine?” Luna offers and Trinia nods with a smile.
I lean back in my chair, sipping my beer as Luna reaches behind her and grabs another wine glass from the bar. Pouring a glass for Trinia and sliding it across the table I know it’s going to be a good night.
Trinia gets bratty when she drinks, I know I shouldn’t but I fucking love it. Even though I have loved how good it’s been with us these past few days, if there is one thing I love more than fucking her happy it’s fucking her when she’s pissed.
I adjust myself in my chair and watch as she tilts the glass against her lips. Theo coughs and I look over, he’s shaking his head with raised eyebrows before leaning in to kiss Luna on the cheek.
He knows what’s coming just like I do. We didn’t party too much back in the day but I won’t lie and say we were saints either.
I shoot him a wink as I drop my hand from the back of her chair to rest it on her thigh. The cards are dealt and we begin to play. Forming foul and salacious sentences with the phrases we are dealt.
We drink and laugh over the next couple hours and in that time Luna and Trinia kill the first bottle of wine and immediately open another. While Theo and I are feeling good after a few craft beers from a local brewery.
Since the girls are talking about something far beyond my realm of reason I pull up social media and start clearing out my DM’s.
My business account grew surprisingly quick after opening the shop and now has over a hundred thousand followers. I keep my face off the page and focus mostly on the art but that doesn’t stop women who meet me at conventions or while visiting other shops or even around the area from sending me a message. Hell they don’t even have to have met me to slide into my inbox.
Now some of the messages I get are legit people looking to get details on booking a consultation so I copy and paste a message directing them to my website but many are just scandalous messages from woman typically saying something along the lines of “Tattoo these” under a picture of their tits or “Ink me baby” sent with an ass shot.
Normally I laugh and just delete them without a response but when Trinia leans back after Luna gets up from the table she yanks my phone from my hands just as an image of a girl with a tramp stamp I tattooed last summer pops up spreading her ass cheeks apart with the words “I think it’s time for round two baby” underneath.
I sigh, sinking deeper in my chair as I take a long swig of my beer. I watch as she scrolls through message after message from girls in all sorts of provocative poses.
“What the fuck Cooper? Why are you looking at this shit right in front of me?” She fumes as she keeps scrolling. Opening message after message seeing various different versions of the same thing.
“I don’t know what the messages are before I open them. I sort through it occasionally so it doesn’t get full and delete them as I go.” I explain, reaching over and covering the phone with my hand. Slowly pulling it away to set it down on the table.
“Whatever Cooper. I know better than to paint you a saint.” She huffs, folding her arms in front of her chest and rolling her eyes.
“Really, Trinia? What would you paint me then? The god you pray to when you’re worshiping me on your knees?” I bite back leaning forward and she turns her head to look away just as Theo walks back into the room.
“Uh oh.” Theo sings before he asks, “Did I walk in on something?”
“Nope.” Trinia snaps, getting up she walks over to the bar at the other end of the room and pours herself a shot of vodka. I stand, forcefully pushing my chair back before storming over to her.
“Amor! Let’s go grab a drink down the street.” Theo shouts up the stairs knowing we are about to get rowdy.
My nerves are on edge as blood flows straight through my body settling deep in my groin in anticipation. I snatch the now empty glass out of her hand and slam it down.
“Knock it off. I can’t help what people send me online. Would you rather I hide it from you?” I twist the cap back on the vodka bottle and place it high up on the shelf.
“Don’t fucking tell me to knock it off. I’m not a child, Cooper. I can feel however I want to feel when my fucking boyfriend is scrolling for thirst traps right fucking next to me.” She raises her voice at every word before she slams her hands into my chest, shoving me back.
I hear Theo and Luna whispering to each other by the door before they walk out.
“I wasn’t scrolling for that shit on purpose. It’s just a side effect of the job. I can’t do anything about what other people choose to do. I can only control myself.” I shout at her throwing my hands in the air.
“Do you? Do you control yourself?” She huffs before she continues, “Don’t sit here and tell me you don’t like it. Don’t act like it’s a fucking miserable symptom of your profession. Like an endless display of ass and titties is some life threatening side effect from those prescription drug commercials. You’re not suffering Cooper.” She rolls her eyes and turns to head towards the door.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I shout as I see her stepping her foot into her boot.
“I think I should go. This is clearly headed for a fight.” The last word barely leaves her lips before I’m snatching her other boot off the floor.
“Then fight me, Katrinia. Let’s argue and move on like a normal couple. Don’t just walk out on me again.” She glares at me like she is trying to burn me alive.
“Fuck you! You’re really going to dig that up right now?” She seethes through gritted teeth.
“You fucking mentioned it first, but if we have to hash it out then let’s hash it all out. It’s been a long time coming.” I snarl,throwing the boot across the room before stepping into her space.
“I’ve seen the work on your page. I looked it up after I accepted the assignment. I didn’t see a single photo of your face but there were plenty of women asking for ‘another go’ or a ‘round two’ with you , not your tattoo gun in those comments.” She grimaces before a look of defiance settles into her face.
“Are you asking me if I fucked them, Katrinia?” The softness of my tone doesn’t match the hardness of my eyes as I stare down at her.
“I don’t fucking care, Cooper. I’m sure you did.” She yells as she slams her hands against my chest again. Showing me that she more than cares.
“I probably did. I fucked too many to even keep track of.” The sting of her hand across my face burns before the words are even fully out of my mouth.
“Fuck you, Cooper! I fucking hate you!” I grab her wrists as she pounds her fists into my chest and press them against the wall above her head.
“I buried myself in them looking for you. Trying to get over you but every fucking time I was left feeling more empty and lost than I was before. Because no one ever compared to you. No matter how many times I tried or who I fucked it was always you I wanted.”
She struggles in my grip but I hold her steady. “I never slept with a woman more than once, not since you Trinia. Not until the sea brought you back to me.” I dip my head down and run my nose up the pulsing vein in her neck and listen to her heavy breaths like they are a siren song.
“Until the fates cut our thread again. You’ll have me until I find you balls deep in one of your whores.” She turns her head away from me when I pull back to look down at her.
“I’m not a twenty year old drunken idiot anymore, Trinia. I’m not losing you again.” I kiss her and she knees me in the stomach. Hard . Forcing me to release her wrists. “ Fuck Trin!”
“I’ve been at the shop, Coop! Women throw themselves at you every single day!” She yells.
“So what!” I groan as I try to stand up straight.
“So what? So what!? I don’t want to see that! I don’t want to see women throwing themselves at you every single day. I fucking…” She stops herself and stomps past me towards the bar.
I follow, snatching the vodka bottle from her hand before I shout, “You what? You fucking what, Trinia?”
She scowls at me but doesn’t say a word so I start guessing.
“You what, Trin? You hate it? You’re jealous? You want to fuck them? You’re a lesbian now? If so, go right ahead. I’ll fucking watch. I won’t even join unless you want me too.” I taunt her, slamming the bottle down. “What were you going to say?”
She pushes up on her toes getting right in my face “I fucking hate you, Cooper.”
“Say that again, dorogoy. Maybe the next time you spit that lie past your sweet lips one of us will actually believe it.”
She slaps me again and I feel it burn a trail from my cheek straight down to my cock.
God I’m deranged for this woman.