Chapter 6

chapter six

Davis

"Teeth"— 5 Seconds of Summer

I might have forgotten to mention I'm not exactly the biggest fan of needles.

But then again, it's been nearly impossible to think about anything else besides how good her sweet little pussy tasted with my tongue buried inside of it. How pretty and pink she was, swollen and puffy from the scruff on my chin as I lapped at her greedy cunt. Or those little fucking whimpers she made when she was about to come, her thighs tightening around my head like a vise, the heel of her boots digging into my back when she finally did come, coating my face in her cum.

Fuck. My dick's getting hard again just thinking about it.

Zara is a goddamn fever dream, and I'm not ready to wake up.

I'm not ready for tonight to end, which is why I'm sitting in a tattoo chair with a needle digging into the skin beneath the waistband of my briefs.

The low, vibrating buzz of the tattoo gun pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance up at Zara sitting on the opposite side of the artist, her slender fingers intertwined with mine and a pretty smile on her bloodred lips.

I never knew how much I loved the color red until I stared at it on her lips all night.

Now, it just might be my favorite color.

"You okay?" she asks, leaning forward and placing her hand flat on my abdomen, then dropping her chin onto the top. Under the bright, fluorescent light of the tattoo parlor, I see the tiny gold flecks in her green-colored irises.

Holy shit.

They're beautiful.

I clear my throat and nod. "Mhm. All good. Doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. More like a beesting. Continuously."

Zara laughs. "It does, but not really pain, per se. It's the best therapy in the world. Think you'll get any more?"

"I dunno. Maybe?" My shoulder dips along the chair. "Honestly, I'm the kind of guy who lives for the moment. I never think too far ahead, and sometimes that's my downfall. But I like to live in the now. I'll worry about the rest later."

The needle hits a sensitive patch of skin, and I groan, "Fuck."

Her small hand tightens in mine, and she gives me a reassuring smile.

"The only way to live, if you ask me."

Thanks to her soft hand in mine, before I know it, the tattoo is done, and the artist is covering the art now inscribed on my lower abdomen.

I glance down at the gauze covering Zara's wrist that hides the tattoo I picked for her from view. She got hers first, and we agreed we would get our first looks together.

We walk over and stand near the door, peering at each other with stupid, silly grins on our faces. Once she peels back the gauze, she shakes her head. "Oh god." The tendrils of her low, smoky laugh seep through the air as she inspects the small tattoo on the inside of her wrist. "You would pick this. It's perfect." Her eyes lift to mine, and she shakes her head again, rolling those plump red lips together to stifle another laugh.

A little angel with a set of horns on the top of its head.

I knew the second I saw it this was it. A perfect combination of the girl I've grown to know tonight, even though I know I've only scratched the surface.

She's the perfect mixture of sweet and dirty, and lord fucking knows I want more of the small taste I got earlier.

"Kinda worried now, Loverboy. Not sure the one I picked is gonna measure up to yours, but I guess it's time for the moment of truth." Zara smirks, arching a dark brow as she steps forward and tugs the front of my shirt up, exposing abs that I'm really fucking glad I didn't let go over the summer just by the way her eyes are darkening as they drink me in.

Her fingers lightly trail along the muscles, dipping between the ridges and stroking lower. Lower and lower until her fingers slip beneath the waistband and ghost along the sensitive skin, all while those golden-flecked green eyes hold mine so tightly it feels like I can't breathe.

Fuck.

What is it about this girl?

What is it about her that makes the entire room drown out, and all I see is her?

How is it that we only just met tonight, yet it feels like we've known each other for years? There's an easiness between us, a familiarity that shouldn't exist, but somehow, it does.

"You nervous?" The playful smirk on her lips widens as my shoulder dips.

"Should I be?"

Those perfect lips roll together as she hides her smile, offering me a nonchalant shrug.

"I dunno. See for yourself, Loverboy." Her hands settle at my hips, and then she tugs me toward the floor-length mirror on the parlor wall.

Fuck, am I nervous?

Nah, nervous isn't it. It's anticipation.

It sparks down my spine like a current as she pulls off the bandage, exposing the dark ink, one simple but unforgettable word tattooed just below my hip bone.

Trouble.

"Now you'll always remember tonight," she murmurs, holding my gaze in the mirror, her bright eyes sparkling.

I turn to face her, my gaze dropping to her parted lips as my throat bobs, and I reach for her, sliding my hands along her jaw to tangle in the dark, silky strands at her nape.

"Yeah, that's the thing. Something tells me I'm never going to be able to forget tonight," I whisper against her mouth, each exhale from her lips an inhale that fills my lungs.

Just as I close my lips over hers, there's a loud throat clearing behind us, and begrudgingly, I tear my lips away.

"Sorry, but we're closing. Don't care where ya go, but ya gotta get outta here," a tall guy with a long handlebar mustache says from the entryway of one of the tattoo rooms.

Zara giggles, burying her head in my chest, and I nod sheepishly. "Yeah, man, sorry. We're headed out."

After we pay for our tattoos, we bust out of the door like two teenagers who've just been caught making out, laughing the entire time.

Shit, tonight's been fun.

Unexpectedly something I didn't even know I was missing until now.

The sun's peeking out behind the clouds when we step out of the tattoo shop, rising over the horizon in shades of orange and gold.

"Damn, it's late. Or should I say… early?" I mutter, glancing over at Zara as we walk side by side through the parking lot. "I feel like tonight has passed so fast and yet slow all at the same time."

"I know exactly what you mean. I can't remember the last time I stayed up until the sun came up, let alone going to a biker bar, then getting a tattoo with a stranger."

I nod. I've never done this with anyone before, a spontaneous date, but definitely not a date that I don't want to end.

"My town house is just a few blocks up ahead," she says. "If you wanna walk me?"

Her pinky brushes against mine as we walk, and I don't hesitate to grab her hand, lacing my fingers through hers. We walk in the direction of her town house, and she tells me about her best friends. How they've been friends since they were kids and that they're all at OU together now.

Realization hits me with the force of a head-on collision at the fact that for the first time that I can ever clearly remember, I want to know more than just the surface of a girl.

I want to meet the friends she's talking about with the biggest smile on her face. I want to know what her favorite thing to order at a restaurant is. I want to hear her play her music. Who she is when all the layers are peeled away. I want to know her.

And that's as terrifying as it is thrilling to think about.

"This you?" I ask when we come to a stop outside of an older, two-story brick building with burgundy shutters.

She nods, turning to glance at the building and then back to me. "Yep. This is me. Home sweet home. Davis… look, I know this is crazy, but… I'm not ready for tonight to be over," she says. "I mean… today? Whatever."

The sun's rising, and it's got to be after six, and I should be exhausted after being awake for almost twenty-four hours, but I'm not tired. If anything, I'm on a high after tonight, a combination of adrenaline and want for the fiery, beautiful girl standing in front of me making my heart race.

"Who says it has to?"

She laughs. "Uh… the sun coming up?"

"Always the smart-ass," I chuckle as I step forward, curve my palm over her hip, and pull her against me, closing the distance between us. "Doesn't mean it has to be over. I dunno, maybe it's just beginning."

"Oh?" Her brow arches.

"Let me take you out again. Today? Brunch?"

I want her to say yes, even more than I want to kiss her right now, and that's pretty fucking bad.

I want to spend the rest of the day kissing her, showing her just how badly I want her after getting on my knees for her.

It went too fucking quick, and I want more.

Her eyes search mine, a beat of silence hanging between us, and then a sexy, teasing grin flits to her lips, and she steps back, letting go of my shirt as she starts to step backward toward her house. "Mmmm, I dunno, Loverboy. The auction rules say I only have you for a single night, remember?"

The closer she gets to the house, the harder my heart races. There's no way she's walking through that door without me finding a way to talk to her again.

Her number.

Her socials.

Her fucking student email.

Something.

"Well, we both know how much fun breaking the rules is. C'mon, Trouble, give me something ," I murmur, giving her my best smile. "Break the rules with me."

Pulling her plump lip between her teeth, she rolls her eyes, biting back a smirk. "Three eight six, fourteen eleven. How about if you can convince me to break the rules… I just might." She turns on her heel toward the town house, disappearing through the front door without a backward glance.

I quickly pull my phone from my pocket and input the number she rattled off.

She wants me to chase her? Convince her to keep seeing me?

Well, there's only one thing I'm better at than baseball.

Persuasion.