by Bijou Hunter
“If?”
“Things happen.”
“Nothing is going to happen. What were you going to say?”
“I could spend next weekend with you too.”
Aaron nodded. “For how long do we need to sneak around? I get why you need to do it, but how long do we need to hide?”
“I don’t know. Larry is being an asshole. He’s been an asshole since I met him, so I can’t imagine anything is going to change soon.” After a quiet minute, I added, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I just want more of you and I couldn’t give a shit about fucking Larry and his rules.”
“I want to go to college and I can’t do that and pay for rent.”
“Maybe you’ll be in a position to live somewhere else rent free soon.”
Avoiding his gaze, I tried not to read too much into his comment. Aaron sensed as much and seemed cranky afterwards.
“Can we go to your studio so I can look at your artwork?”
“Sure,” he said, sounding bummed.
As I walked to the studio, Aaron followed slowly behind me. I felt him planning things that were too much too soon. A week earlier, I barely knew him. Even after talking on our date and last night, I was still learning about Aaron. He wanted to save me though. A part of me wanted to be saved. A bigger part of me wanted to be with Aaron every possible minute. The logical Lark knew we were rushing into things because of Larry. Of course, the asshole wasn’t a good reason to ruin a good start to an amazing opportunity.
Moving around his studio, I was again amazed by how different I looked to him than the way I saw myself. In the art, my eyes were full of such energy that I never saw in the mirror. Glancing back at Aaron, I smiled. However, he was deep in thought and didn’t notice.
Wearing just his boxers, he looked too irresistible. Especially since he was pouting. I joined him near the door and he stared down at me with those amazing eyes.
“A whole week without you,” he muttered. “It’s bullshit and I need to tell old Larry where to stick his rules.”
“Why force things when this weekend has been so prefect?”
“Because I’m spoiled and don’t want to wait,” he said, fighting a little grin. “If we leave shit to fate, nothing will happen.”
“You sound like a whiny baby,” I murmured, running my fingernails down his chest as I knelt on the ground. “Someone needs a nap.”
Aaron sighed. “Don’t.”
When he reached to stop me, I slapped away his hand. “Don’t boss me around,” I warned, running my tongue along the edge of my top teeth. “I’m no one’s bitch and you will submit.”
Laughing, Aaron caressed my hair. “You can know how hot the look was that you just gave me.”
“Will you draw it for me later?” I asked while tugging down his boxers and freeing an erection clearly on a different page as the pouty man attached to it. “Your cock missed me.”
“Damn,” he whispered, wanting relief immediately. “Let’s go inside.”
Stroking him, I smiled at Aaron. “Tell me you’re beautiful.”
“I’m beautiful. Let’s go inside.”
“Tell me your body is a work of art.” I whispered, kissed the head of his cock.
“Lark.”
“Tell me your cock is a work of art.”
Shivering, he reached to lift me to my feet, but I squirmed away. “I want you in bed.”
“I’m ignoring you now. I refuse to be bossed around on my days off.”
Aaron started to laugh until I licked the head of his cock. A soft exhale later and he was finally a quiet boy while I sucked him soft then with more intensity. Enjoying the salty warmth of his skin, I licked the length of him then teased his balls. As I sucked at the soft underside of his cock, I swore Aaron stopped breathing. By the time he came, I knew exactly how to make him squirm.
Licking away the last drops, I smiled at him. “Aren’t you glad I didn’t listen to you and stop?”
“Baby, I’ve never been so glad about anything in my life,” Aaron said, lifting me to my feet. “I take that back. I was happier when I learned you were spending the weekend here. I was happier when you got out of Bailey’s car and I knew I had you to myself all weekend. Every happy moment is because of you.”
“I am pretty amazing.”
Aaron smiled. “You’re being sarcastic, but I’m not. You’re mine.”
My smile faded and I stared into his eyes. “I want that more than anything. Right here with you, I can pretend the world doesn’t exist outside us.”
Wrapping his arms around my body, Aaron kissed me tenderly. As he held me against him, we sighed in a completely relaxed way.
“I need to take you inside where I can do things to you.”
“What kind of things?” I asked, grinning. “Will I make your dogs howl?”
“Hell yeah,” Aaron said, lifting me up so I could wrap my legs around his powerful hips.
“I’ve never done that before,” I whispered before going inside. “You were my first.”
Aaron kissed my cheek. “I’m less worried about being your first, Lark. I just want to be your last.”
Nuzzling the crook of his neck, I smiled into his warm flesh. “I want to pretend nothing and no one especially not fate wants to keep us apart. Can we pretend that the rest of the weekend and not think about when Bailey will show up?”
“For you, I can pretend anything.”
Chapter Twenty Four - Aaron
Letting Lark get into Bailey’s SUV was torture. If I had my way, she would move into the house and I’d enjoy every morning waking to that lovely smile. Instead, I watched her disappear around the corner, knowing I wouldn’t be alone with her again until next weekend.
Every morning Lark worked at the restaurant, I visited and stole a few kisses while she served me coffee and French toast. She was different now and I loved the changes. More confident, Lark smiled easily and often. Whenever she glanced at me and beamed in such a way, I knew she wasn’t faking anything. Lark was mine and wasn’t planning on letting me go.
The rest of my days were dull in comparison to those fleeting moments with Lark. Hanging out with Cooper was annoying because he kept talking about his sperm and his woman’s eggs. He knew I wanted him to shut up which was why he talked about it more.
After grabbing a sandwich with him where he described how he likely knocked up Farah the night before based on the sheer gallons of sperm he left inside her, I was fucking done talking to him for a while. Cooper just laughed and ate a second sandwich.
“You’re so jealous!” he yelled when I flipped him off and walked out.
Truth was I was jealous that he was with his woman and I had to wait days to see mine. I wasn’t admitting any of this to Cooper who was having too much fun at my expense.
Even before entering the tattoo shop, I heard Jade’s voice and my fellow artist didn’t yell unless someone was on her last nerve.
“You don’t know shit,” Jade hollered at Melissa who shrugged.
Sitting on the couch in the waiting area was Jade’s boyfriend Tony who worked as a bouncer at a local dive. The guy was huge and likely got help of the injection sort to get so buffed. Yet, he was a teddy bear with Jade and she cooed over his every boo boo. Now though, Tony was flipping through a People magazine while his woman schooled Melissa.
“The guy looked like trailer trash,” Melissa said. “No way does a guy with a mullet have the money to pay for a tat.”
“You can’t know what he does and doesn’t have if you don’t talk to him,” Jade nearly screamed. “Where do you get off judging?”
Sighing, I nodded at Tony who gave me a grin. The women ignored me though, so I stepped closer.
“Do we have to yell?” I said, turning on Professor Longhair. Who could argue through the legend singing Jambalaya? Apparently, these two chicks.
“She sent away a customer without even finding out what he wanted.”
“The guy was trailer tras
h.”
“Melissa,” I said calmly, always the voice of reason. “You can’t judge people based on their appearance. Haven’t we all dealt with enough prejudice over the years from being tatted?”
“I’m not tatted,” Melissa reminded me.
“Well, we are and this is our shop. Next time someone comes in looking for a tattoo, you have them talk to me or Jade. We’ll see if we can help the person.”
“And if they can’t pay?”
“We’ll worry about that.”
“You’re the receptionist,” Jade added. “Not our business manager.”
“I’m working on a degree in business.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, freshman,” Jade said, spinning around and joining Tony on the couch.
“She’s a bitch,” Melissa muttered.
Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. “A bitch that’ll ruin you if you don’t watch your mouth.”
Melissa started to complain then put on a smile as the door opened. I knew it was Nick even before I saw him. Every time he came in, his fellow freshman cooed and batted her eyes. Meanwhile, Nick acted like she was a guy and he was incredibly heterosexual.
“Hey,” she said, ignoring his lack of interest. “Are you going to the kegger at Jimmy’s house?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we could meet up there.”
Nick pushed the bangs out of his eyes and displayed a black eye. Melissa looked ready to touch it when he backed away.
“I’m dating someone,” he said quickly. “I’ll see you around, Melissa.”
While Nick walked into my workroom with me following behind, Jade laughed way too hard to be professional. I didn’t blame her though.
“Who’s your chick?” I asked Nick while he yanked off his shirt and got comfortable. “Anyone I know?”
Nick glanced back and shook his head. “There’s no girl. I just don’t want to go out with Melissa.”
“She’s not your type?”
“I sent a guy in here to see about a tat and he said the receptionist treated him like shit. I don’t need her treating me that way one day too.”
“Besides, you’ve got your eye on a girl.”
“My girl is out of reach, but shitty seconds don’t work for me either.”
“Fair enough,” I said, getting my needles ready. “What happened to your eye?”
“A guy’s fist happened.” Nick pulled out his laptop and sighed. “Do you mind if I ignore you so I can get my reading done? I’ll be happy when the school year is done and I can get a break from this boring shit.”
“No problem.”
Nick glanced back again and grinned. “Lark seems happy this week. Giggling over the smallest things. Girls like her don’t giggle over nothing.”
“Lark is perfection, but you’re right about her family. They’re bastards.”
“She’ll have to choose and Lark’s not stupid. Sticking with shit isn’t her style. She’ll choose you and things will get easier.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Nick nodded then the interest in his green eyes turned off and I knew he was done talking. While he read, I worked on the last part of his dragon. It wasn’t easy to focus on anything besides Lark, but I finished his tattoo and headed home to another night alone. Two more days before I’d have Lark back in my arms.
Chapter Twenty Five - Lark
Being alone in the house with Dylan was worse than being alone with Larry. Normally, my stepfather ignored me or made snide comments about my appearance. He really hated the decaled flowers on my Converse. Usually, he ignored me though while Dylan tended to stare.
Even when he wasn’t staring, I could feel him thinking about me. For whatever reason, Dylan became fixated on me after a camping trip one summer when I was eighteen and he was twenty two. Usually guys were obsessed with Raven, the blonde haired, blue eyed, countrified Barbie.
Dylan hated Raven though. Never had a single use for her. I think it was because she smacked him upside the head a lot. Of course, Raven only did that because she thought he was a fucking loser. Her words, not mine. While I didn’t think Dylan was a loser, I did think he was creepy as hell.
My stepbrother could have gotten a girlfriend. A pretty one too and he’d dated off and on, but never serious. Not since the camping trip when he fixated on me. I still didn’t know why especially since I never filled out my bikini, burned easy, and was constantly sneezing from the Maple pollen. There was nothing sexy about me that weekend.
Maybe Larry told Dylan to obsess over me. Whenever his dad ordered him to do something, he obeyed. I suspected this was why Dylan still lived at home. At twenty two, he owned a small construction business and had a contract to work on the local schools. He had plenty of money to move out, but Larry wanted him living at the house. For whatever reason, the asshole liked having Dylan under his thumb. Well, I guessed the reason was because Larry was an asshole and he liked having people under his thumb.
Half of Larry’s family worked for him at the dealership. Even his thug brother Glenn who wasn’t good at anything besides scaring people with his ugly mug. The bastard was more misogynistic than Larry and referred to Raven in casual conversation as the cocktease.
When we arrived home after Dylan picked me up from school, I went straight to my room and studied. As boring as the reading was, I preferred it to watching Dylan brood. He had a face for sulking too. Handsome, yet pouty like he was still an angsty teenage boy mad at his parents, authority, and the world as a whole.
I felt Dylan’s dark eyes on me even before hearing him at the door. Glancing towards him, I smiled then looked away quickly.
“That guy isn’t any good for you,” he muttered.
“Who?”
“You know who.”
“Aaron is nice, but I need to finish school.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, entering the room and leaning against my small dresser. “How were you going to pay to have your tattoo fixed? With blowjobs?”
Frowning at him now, I sighed. “What do you want?”
“I’ll pay to have the stupid butterfly get her wings.”
“What makes you think it’s a her?”
“It’s a pink fucking worm. Logic said it was a chick.”
“I don’t want your help.”
“Why? I was the one who stopped the fuck from finishing your tat.”
“Why are you cussing so much?”
“You’re pissing me off.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“You know,” Dylan said, walking closer and scratching at his short Mohawk, “I thought maybe you didn’t like guys. Not that you were a lesbian or anything. Just that you might be a late bloomer.”
“Is that a crack about my boobs?” I said, trying to change the subject.
“You’re beautiful and I want you.”
Swallowing hard, I sighed again and held my heavy book in front of me. “I see you as a brother.”
Dylan’s dark eyes raged immediately. “I’m not your fucking brother! I met you as a teenager! You aren’t my sister!”
Standing up so better to defend myself, I also figured running was an option. His expression softer now, Dylan hovered over me.
“You don’t need that loser,” Dylan said, his voice calm. “You need someone who knows you. Someone who understands you.”
“You thought I didn’t like guys. I don’t know how well you think you know me.”
Dylan jaw clenched. “You’re mocking me? I pick you up and drive you around every day like your little bitch and you’re going to treat me like shit now?”
“Having you drive me wasn’t my idea. That was Larry. I said I would take the bus or bum rides.”
“Better than spending time with me.”
“Dylan, I don’t know what you want.”
“I told you what I want.”
“Well, that’s never going to happen.”
Dylan grabbed my jaw and forced my head up so he could kiss me. I na
iled him in the crotch with the book immediately. Jumping back, he lifted his hand to hit me and I stared in horror. The blow never came though.
“What the fuck?” he said, adjusting his jeans. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Me? You’re the one grabbing me.”
“I wasn’t going to hit you.”
“Yes, you were,” I said, holding the book in both hands and ready to pound him if he got close again.
“You hurt me. It was a reflex to fight back.”
“Well, sorry about your balls, but you hurt me and it was a reflex.”
Dylan smiled tightly. “That guy is a piece of shit.”
“You don’t know him.”
“Neither do you.”
Studying Dylan, I waited for him to make a move, but he sat on the dresser instead.
“Why me?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t leaving.
“You remember that camping trip?” he said, studying his hands. “I got that damn fish hook stuck in my hand and Dad yanked it out. Just tore it out like it wasn’t attached to my fucking body. I was bleeding and it fucking hurt. Margo patted my shoulder then walked away. Your mom is a bitch, you know? Like all of the women Larry marries, she’s a cold bitch. My mom is like that too. You were gentle though and cleaned it up. I liked how gentle you were.”
My question finally answered, I stepped closer to Dylan with the book in my grip for security.
“Other girls would be gentle. You just need to find someone who’s not like our moms. Don’t be like Larry.”
“He’s a cold fuck too.”
“Choose to be someone else. We all choose. Larry chooses to be an asshole. You need to make a different choice and find a woman who isn’t like the ones you grew up with.”
Dylan studied me through squinted eyes. “Is that what you did? Chose not to be your bitch mom and sister.”
“Raven isn’t a bitch.”
Dylan laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“She’s not a bitch like my mom,” I said, smiling grudgingly. “She just seems bitchy because it’s how she protects her heart. I assume that’s why you act like an asshole.”
Dylan grinned. “It’s one reason, yeah.”
“Choose different, Dylan. You’re young enough to be anyone, so don’t be Larry. I hate that one of him exists. The world doesn’t need more.”
