What You Do To Me (Unexpected Love) (34 page)

             
“I lifted my shirt up and before I said
anything,
Derek spoke, “
Really
Abbs, a tramp
stamp?
Can’t
you be a little more
original?
” I dropped my shirt and punched him in the arm, “
Really,
the arm, again!”

             
“
No jackhole
,
I want it here on my r
ibs.” I had lifted my shirt when I said it
.

             
Adam blew out a breath. “This is your first, the ribs are
sensitive.
Like
really, it will be painful, are you sure you want it there?”

             
“Yes, right
here,
” I said again with my right hand on the spot on my left side rib.

             
“
Okay
, let’s do this.” Adam seemed excited. I think it had to do with the fact he was de-
flowering my
skin.

             
Adam wasn’t wrong, the
ribs hurt, but
I was
sure all tattoos
did
. I wanted my tattoo to be in grayscale. I was never one who was into colorful tattoos, at least on my eye candy wearing them. I liked the look of the grayscale.
While Adam worked, we shot the shit and listened to Adam’s rock music. He was into Indie, unknown groups. I heard one song and the group sounded like I’d heard them before. “Who just played that song?”

             
“
Death Match
, they are becoming hot, I’m just waiting for them to sell out like the rest. Right
now,
they are on tour with
Awakening
.” That is why I
had
heard them. I was sitting on stage while they p
er
formed. I couldn’t help, but think back to that
night,
remembering when Alex approached me before he got o
n stage
and again running into him at the bar. My mind then drifted to the sex, the hot, needy sex. I was missing
him,
as much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself
,
my body was aching for him and at times
it
hu
rt. I should call him and
talk.
I know I didn’t give him a chance to prove himself and I pushed him
away,
scared he’d hurt me. The reality of it all was
that
I was hurting myself.

             
Adam snapped me out of my thoughts by spraying me and wiping me down. “Done, take a look. I think it looks hot and you were one tough bitch.” I walked over to the mirror and looked at it. It was amazing and perfect. I loved where I put it and
I
was excited
that
I di
d it. Adam wiped some oint
ment
on it and told me to keep it covered for 2 hours and to keep it moist for the next couple weeks until it
heale
d
. He lectured me about the sun and drying it
out.
I
hadn’t
th
o
ught
about that. No beach for
a bit
and I’d need to
settle for a tankini
.

             
When we got in the
car,
Derek handed me t
he marker and I crossed number 4
off my list. I was amazed at what Derek was doing for me. I thanked him and knew those words were not enough. “Abbs, we aren’t done, wait till tomorrow.” With
that,
we headed back to his place and I couldn’t wait, not after the day I had today.
I wasn’t
sure what he
had
planned, but if it
was
on the
list,
there could only be a few things it could be, because
I’d
already had two through four crossed off and there wasn’t much left.

             
“Wake
up,
Buttercup!” I hear
d
Derek walking into the room. “
Rise and shine unless you don’t want your surprise.” I moan
ed
loudly. “
Here,
drink this.” I crack
ed my eyes and saw
him
holding a cup of coffee. As I sa
t
up,
De
rek
handed
it to me, but he didn
’t approach to sit or lay on the bed like he did the day before.

             
“Fuck, what time is it?” I
reached
for my phone. Before I saw the
screen,
Derek announced
that
it wa
s six thirty. “Are you kidding me, six
thirty,
are you trying to kill me?”

             
“No, as much as I’d like to take possession of those girls, I’m not trying to kill you…
yet.” He winked
at me. “We have an appointment at eight and we need to pack for our night away in DC. We have show tickets tonight and I arranged for a few Museum tickets for tomorrow. We’ll head home tomorrow night.”

             
“Fine, only because I love DC. What type of show,
because
I n
eed to figure out clothing.” I was
sipping my coffee with my eyes closed.

             
“
Dress kind of
clubish.
It’s
not a fancy show, but we’ll be clubbing after
.”

             
“Fine, but no shots and no
skanks.
” I finally open
ed
my eyes.

             
Laughing,
Derek replied
, “Shots maybe and I don’t need a
skank, I have you.” Before I could
throw my
pillow
at
him,
he
exited
the
room,
shouting as he wa
s walking towards his room. “Get your ass out of bed and wear jeans and closed toe shoes for this morning.”

             
I begrudgingly dru
g myself out of bed. I quickly shower
ed
and grab
bed
my toiletries and toss
ed
them into my duffle. After dressing in my required attire, I finish
ed packing and m
et
Derek in the kitchen. He slid
a
bagel to
me and
grabbed
his keys, bag and a travel mug. “Let’s go.”

             
I took
a bite of my bagel and follow
ed
. As I exit
ed
his
place, I reached over, grabbed his coffee with my free hand,
and took a swig. “Let’s
go,
” I said
back as I walk
ed
to the car.  We place
d
the bags in the back and climb
ed
into the front seats. I plug
ged
in my phone and
turned
on
The Frey
How to Save a Life
. Derek looked
over at me.

             
“What’s going on?” I look
ed
at him puzzled. “Come
on,
Abbs, you only play
The Frey
or the
Script
when
you’re
upset or depressed.
”

             
“I’m neither, but I keep thinking I should have talked to
Ale
x
,
I left things with him all wrong. I kept thinking
about
that yesterday when I was getting my tattoo.
” I felt better saying it
out loud, but
I
would rath
er be talking to Lexi about the topic
.

             
“You should call him. I think you need to tell him everything you told me the nigh
t we sat around the fire.” I kne
w deep d
own that he wa
s right, but
I was
scared to open
up
to him. “I don’t think he is the only one you need to talk to either. I think you should talk to Lexi and your mom.”

             
Wanting to change the subject, “So, where are we going?” I look
ed
at Derek and smile
d
.

             
He sm
iled and winked
at me. “
Avoidance,
the Abby I love.” Derek made a left and pointed
to the right. “There.” I look
ed over and saw
a large Harley Davison Dealership. I look
ed
at Derek and wonder
ed why we were
there
. I
didn’t
need a
motorcycle, because
I
had
David’s in the garage under a tarp. “It’s time for you to learn to ride and get number
six out of the way. I’m sick of that beautiful bike sitting under a tarp when you
could
learn to ride.”

             
“How am I going to learn to ride at a dealership?” I still
didn’t
understand.

             
“They have a
beginner’s
riding class at 8 and
you’re
signed up.” I look
ed
at him and smile
d
. I said I wanted to ride, but I mainly said it because I didn’t want to sell the Harley after David died and by saying
it,
nobody pushed the issue
to sell it
,
except
my mother.

             
“I don’t think I
can.” I was
so nervous. I’ve always just been a passenger on a motorcycle, never responsible for driving it. I was scared to learn.

             
“Well, you have the bike,
tat and the biker bitch attitude, but you still need to learn to ride. So, no more acting the par
t, embrace
it,
Abbs.”

             
“Fuck you, I am not a bitch.” At
least,
I
didn’t
think I
was
.

             
“
Come
on,
we need to get you signed in.
” Derek
exited
the car and I realized I didn’t even notice when we pulled in and parked. I was so freaking nervous.
He rounded to the passenger side and opened the door for me. I
got out
and Derek
grabbed
my hand as he shut the door. “Don’t be nervous,
you’ll
be driving on a course and in the parking lot, not road driving today.”

             
I felt a little better knowing
that
, but I still wasn’t completely at ease. We walked into the dealership and Derek took me to the counter in the back and signed me in. The lady at the counter told us that the class was held in the back behind the dealership and people were already back there, including the instructor.
  We
went out
through the back doors and there were a few people standing around. There were a lot of younger guys and I was feeling out of place. I think Derek felt me tensing and he leaned over,
“Breathe
and relax.” I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

             
We
got
started and the instructor, a guy in his fifties, with a goatee and
baldhead
walked us around a motorcycle, going over the basic features of the bike. He asked us all what type of bike we would be riding so he could pair us up with a bike with similar features and size. I looked at
Derek,
because all I knew was
that David
had
a
shiny black bike with lots of chrome.
Derek walked over and whispered in my ear, “
Breakout.
”