Inked: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World), стр. 33
“You’re welcome,” comes from the living room where I knew she was watching. I can’t help but laugh. “Did you have a good afternoon?” she asks, appearing in the doorway.
“What do you think?”
“Well, from the fact that I just watched your little porno in the driveway, I’d say yes. But I never know with you.”
I swat her shoulder as I walk past her and directly to the kitchen for a drink. I know I’m about to get a Bailey grilling, so I need a strong one.
I’m pouring the rum into my glass when I sense her behind me.
“I can’t believe you sent me there, knowing he’d be there.”
“I didn’t know for sure. I was just hoping.”
“You’re an interfering whore, you know that?”
She barks a laugh. “Guilty as charged. But wasn’t it worth it?”
My cheeks heat, knowing what she just witnessed.
“It was okay, I guess.”
“Okay?” she echoes incredulously. “He had you pinned to the car. I thought I was going to combust just watching you. How you allowed him to walk away, God only knows.”
“We’ve had a really great day. After he inked me, he took me for dinner at a surf shack by the ocean.”
“Whoa, hold up a minute. You let him do it? Let me see. Let me see.”
Putting my drink down, I lift my dress to show her my back.
“Ouch, that looks sore.”
It’s only as she says it that I feel it. “I had a good distraction.”
“True that. It’s stunning.”
“He’s really talented.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me more about those talented fingers.”
“Nothing happened beyond what you just saw.”
“But you’ve been with him for hours—practically naked, I’m assuming, to get that done. How—”
“Because it was the right thing to do. This might sound crazy to you, but we just spent time together, actually got to know each other.”
“You make me sound like a sex maniac.”
I raise a brow at her.
“What? I date.”
“When?”
“Err… I had one about four months ago.”
“And you came home complaining that he was too boring because he didn’t try to touch you up.”
“Well, he didn’t. I like to know they’re interested in what I’ve got to offer.”
“Whatever,” I mutter, pushing past her in favor of the couch.
“So are you seeing him again?”
“Friday night.”
She squeals in excitement as she curls herself onto the other couch where she must have been before we interrupted her evening, if her half-empty bottle of wine is anything to go by.
“Book Friday off. I’m not working, we’ll spend the day getting you date-ready.”
“I can’t, I’ve got too much to do.”
“Too much to get a fresh wax for your Brit?”
I throw a cushion at her and turn the TV up in hope of drowning her out.
“Don’t do this to me,” she warns. “I tell you all about the guys I spend time with.” I groan. Don’t I know it.
“I don’t ask for most of the shit you share, B.”
“Maybe not, but I was hoping to get the same in return when you eventually found a guy.”
“I wouldn’t describe one date as ‘finding a guy.’”
She shrugs. “Not important. Is he as perfect and dreamy as he looks?”
“He’s a good guy.”
“A good guy? My dad is a good guy. Teddy,” she says with a sigh, naming our boss, “is a good guy. You gotta give me more than that. Does he give you tingles when he says your name in that accent?”
“Tingles, yes,” I admit, much to her delight. “And I don’t know him well enough to give you much else.”
“You’ve seen him naked. What more do you need to know?”
“You’re a fucking nightmare.”
Chapter Twelve
Corey
“What the fuck is up with you?” Oz asks after seeing his afternoon client out of the studio.
I wasn’t aware that how I was feeling was written all over my face.
“I’ve got a date tomorrow night,” I admit.
“Yes, man. Get in there. Wait… why is that making you look like someone just drowned your puppy?”
“I’ve never been on one before, let alone planned one.”
“Huh.” He drops down on the sofa in front of me and puts his feet up on the coffee table. “So I’m assuming you want to end the night fucking this girl?”
I open my mouth to respond. Usually, I wouldn’t hesitate in giving anyone the details of my plans for ending the night, but with Harlow in mind, it seems wrong.
“I wouldn’t be against it.”
“Oh fuck, man,” he says excitedly.
“W-what?”
“She’s got you fucking whipped. Is this the girl Sledge was telling me about?”
Fucking hell, I forgot those two spend their time gossiping like they’re at a fucking WI meeting.
“Yes,” I admit reluctantly.
“So is she your forever girl, or what?”
I sit forward, my eyes wide. “Definitely or what. There is no forever girl for me. I don’t sign on to that shit.”
“That’s what we all say until she sucks you in and never lets go.”
I think about just how tight she sucked me in on Saturday night, and my jeans suddenly feel too small. She definitely made her mark on me, that’s for sure.
“Anyway, what’s she like? Is she a party-all-night kinda girl or a quiet, romantic dinner and stroll on the beach kind?”
“Dinner and beach,” I say without even having to think about it. I might have met her twice in a club, but anyone with eyes could tell it’s not her ideal night out.
“Find a nice restaurant, something fancy. Treat her. Then take her to the beach once the sun is setting and see what you can get in the dunes.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
“Is that how you got JJ?”
He barks out a laugh. “No, that girl wouldn’t know romance if it hit her in the face.”
I can’t really say I’m surprised, she definitely isn’t the kind who’d expect flowers every Friday night. “Glad I didn’t ask her then.”
“You’d get nowhere, man.”
The door chimes and Oz’s next client walks in.
“You need any more help, just shout.” I nod as he walks off to his room, trailing behind his client.
My head falls