Rex (23 page)

“Blondie? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, hey. I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d drop by and say a quick hello,” I reply, my tone even, trying to appear casual when inside I’m anything but.

“Come on in. I have about fifteen minutes before my next tattoo.” He holds the door open and I follow him inside. “Do you mind sitting with me while I sketch?”

“Not at all.” I’m excited to see his work, get a glimpse at this other side of him.

We go to a room in the back, a black curtain the only thing separating it from the rest of the space. The room is small. A simple table is set up with inks and needles, and across from it, a small drafting desk. There’s an old, weathered reclining chair in the center.

“Have a seat,” Rex suggests, but just as I’m about to, he catches me off guard, crowding me and pinning me against the wall.

“Hi.” He brushes his lips over mine, the smell of mint on his breath mixed with his own scent has me quickly aroused.

“Hi,” I breathe against his lips.

“I like this.” His voice is throaty as he hooks a finger into the low-cut V of my blouse, grazing the curve of my breast. “I like this a lot.”

“You might like this even better,” I whisper, popping the first two buttons to reveal a red and black satin bra.

His eyes darken, and he takes my hand, placing it over the large bulge in his jeans. He’s already hard. “Do you see what you do to me?” He teases me with his lips and his words while my tongue sneaks out to taste him and he groans.

“Your tongue is delicious, just like the rest of you. I wish I could take you right here, open those legs and taste your pussy,” he says quietly, grinding his cock against my sex, the satin of my panties already wet.

The curtain opens and we pull apart abruptly.

“Oh, sorry, man.”

“That’s okay.” Rex adjusts himself before skating around the very tall, muscular guy completely covered in tattoos from his neck down the length of his arms. “Zeek,” Rex nods, “this is Blon—Vanessa. Vanessa, Zeek. He manages the shop.”

“Nice to meet you,” I greet him, an embarrassed flush warming me when he glances down at my open blouse. I bring my arms up to cover my chest and he smirks. Rex doesn’t notice as he’s already sitting down at the desk sketching.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he apologizes and I let out a nervous laugh. “I just need to get some ink and I’ll be out of your way.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” I come back with, trying to ease the awkwardness of the moment. I nab a chair and slide it next to Rex. “Well, that was an interesting meet and greet,” I joke once Zeek leaves the room.

“Nah, Zeek’s cool.” He continues drawing as I button my blouse, peeking over his shoulder at his art. I’m fascinated by how his large hand glides over the paper effortlessly, back and forth, creating fluid lines, vines, and flowers. It’s mesmerizing.

“Wow. That’s amazing, Rex.”

“Thanks. I’m finishing up a back tattoo of a flowering tree that I started last month. I’m stoked because it’s actually one of the more detailed tattoos I’ve had the opportunity to work on.”

He pauses with the pencil in his hand, looking over at me. “So how are you? Good day?”

“Hmph. Well, that depends… if a good day includes having your bitch of a mother call you to tell you she’s getting remarried.”

“I’m sorry. That sucks.” He drops the pad and pencil on the desk, swiveling his chair to face me, taking both my hands in his. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I guess. It’s just that she’s so—insensitive.” My mouth pinches tight, finding it difficult to speak about the woman who doesn’t deserve to call herself my mother. “It’s hard for me to describe.” I sigh, and he nods his head in acknowledgement. Of course he understands. His situation is even worse.

“I’m sorry, Rex. I know you get it.”

He lifts his hand to cup my chin. “No need to apologize. We all have our crosses to bear.” Tugging me forward, he touches his lips to mine, then reclines back and resumes his drawing. All the stress from before leaves me, as if his kiss cleansed my body of all its impurities. That is, until there’s a knock on the wall.

A woman walks in and she is absolutely stunning. Jet black hair, green eyes, and one of those hourglass figures that can easily be seen through her tight tank top and jeans. A halo of jealousy swirls around my head as I stare at her waiting for some sort of introduction.

“Oh, hey, Sienna,” Rex says casually, looking up from his sketch. “Have a seat, I’m almost ready.”

Of course
this
has to be the recipient of the tattoo. Visions of her shirtless with his hands all over her back make my stomach harden. All I want to do is wring her neck and my intense reaction surprises me.

“Oh, sorry. Sienna, this is Vanessa. Vanessa this is Sienna.”

I plaster a smile on my face and reach out to shake her hand. “Nice meeting you,” I say, narrowing my eyes when she stares at Rex instead of me.

“I’m really excited about this, Rex,” she chirps, a sneer beginning to root itself at the corners of my mouth. Even her voice is sexy.

“Hey, Rex, I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Okay, baby,” he says, and I’m not sure if I’m imagining the trace of disappointment in his voice. But I’m sure as hell not imagining the way it lights me up inside at the way he called me baby, in front of her. “All right, well, let me walk you out.” He turns to address Sienna. “I’ll be right back and then we’ll get started.”

With his hand at my lower back, he guides me to the front door, and surprisingly walks me outside. “I’m glad you came by.” He leans against the window of the shop, arms crossed over his chest, a cocky smile sitting on his lips. He waggles his finger at me to come closer and then grabs me possessively, crashing his lips to mine.

By the time I pull away, I’m breathing way too heavy to be standing on a public street. But I’m glad I’m not the only one.

“So we’re on for seven, right?” I touch a finger to my lips, my composure choppy at best.

“Yup.” He digs his hands in his pockets, looking far too sexy for me to leave alone with that green-eyed monster. “Oh, you know what? Here.” He pulls out his keys and loosens one from the ring, handing it to me. “Just in case I’m running late, you can let yourself in.”

“Okay.” I take the key, shuffling my feet along the sidewalk. “Have fun tattooing that green-eyed temptress in there.” My nostrils flare as I toss my hair over my shoulder, unable to hide the thick layer of jealousy covering me.

“Hey, smartass,” he calls out, and I whirl around, walking backward.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll be tattooing her, but she’s not the one I’ll be thinking about.” He winks, then disappears inside, and I’m left standing here with a pounding heart and the ground moving beneath my feet.

I’m checking my list as I leave my office for the day. Lists are basically my lifeline in the event planning business. If one thing goes amiss, it can literally ruin an entire function. I can’t afford to forget anything because there’s absolutely no room for error. The upside, or downside in some cases, is that it carries over to my life. Of course I say all this realizing that I’ve had my share of mental lapses as of late. The cause of my forgetfulness brings a smile to my face.

I scroll through my to-do’s for tonight to get everything ready for Rex’s surprise, noticing I only have one thing left—wrap up the framed picture of him and Tyler. I reach into my briefcase and pull it out. My heart warms, while my belly does a strange flutter at the thought of giving it to him. I really hope he likes it.

“Heading out for the night?” Tillie asks as I stroll past her desk.

“Yes.” I return the picture to my bag. “And you should go home, too,” I add, pushing the sleeve of my blouse back to check my watch. “What are you doing here so late anyway?”

“What else?” She points to Jonathan’s office. “He has an early morning meeting tomorrow and he needed packets made up for everyone attending. I’m almost done though. I’ll be out of here soon.”

“Okay, good. Well, I have to run. I have
plans
,” I say with a hint of mystery as I make my way to the elevator.

She leans way over the desk, poking her head out. “Have fun.”

“Oh, I fully intend to,” I reply, nervous energy pulsing through my body at the thought of seeing Rex. He doesn’t seem like he’s had a whole lot of happy in his life, and somewhere deep down, in a place where it’s difficult for me to admit, I’m secretly hoping I can be the one to give him that.

I’m surprised at how well I managed to get through the day, considering everything it represents. The fact that my mind and hands were occupied with back to back tattoos served me well. Dr. Billings would be proud. Even Zeek, who knows it’s my birthday, hasn’t said shit to me about it.

With Sienna’s tattoo finished, I begin cleaning up the back room. Pride takes up residence in my chest—this is the one thing in my life that makes me feel good about myself, like I have some sort of worth. A small piece of relevance in this world.

“Yo, Rex,” Zeek pokes his head around the corner, “I wanted to let you know I got some shots of Sienna’s tattoo for your portfolio. It came out fucking spectacular, man.”

“Thanks.” I smile, knowing he’s right. “I guess she really liked it. She offered herself up to me when we were done.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He walks in further, taking a seat on the leather chair. “And I know you’re taking her up on it, right?”

I pause with my hand on the cloth, surprising myself by grinning when I answer. “No, I’m not.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” he asks. “Did you see the bod on her? And she’s willing?”

“Yeah, she’s definitely hot, but—”

“Wait a second,” he chimes in. “Does this have anything to do with that blonde chick that was here earlier?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe, my ass.” Zeek chuckles. “Man, it must be nice to be you.” He gets up, snatching a couple of rags from the drawer. “I’m gonna finish out there and then I’m taking off. Did you want to grab a beer?”

“Thanks, Zeek, but I’ve got plans with the blonde chick,” I joke, and he mumbles to himself, brushing past me then disappearing.

I fish the ringing cell phone out of my pocket, my lips forming a snarl when I see it’s my mother. The ignore button gets pushed immediately and I shove the phone back in my jeans. It’s obvious what she wants, and she should know better than to try to acknowledge me, today of all days.

Determined not to focus on her tonight, I push those thoughts away and instead think about Vanessa. I chuckle at myself, probably looking like a crazy person to anyone on the outside. But they don’t know me. Whenever she’s around, it’s like my lips runneth over. I can’t believe some of the shit that comes out of my mouth. I guess she brings it out in me.

Adrenaline runs rampant through my system as I round the corner to my building, practically sprinting now.

When I step off the elevator, she’s not here. But then I remember I gave her a key, so she might be inside. If not, I can hurry and take a quick shower before she arrives. I jam the key in the lock and push the door open. My keys fall to the ground as my vision blurs, eyes darting around the room. Black and white balloons, a white tablecloth with flowers and candles on my table that barely seats two. The smell of something I can’t make out drifting through the air.