AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Four
Ava
An outside noise woke Ava. The feat of opening her eyes made her wince and whimper. The bright sunlight was too much to take, but she attempted to crack one eye open, focusing on the bedside clock. She had signed up for a massage session this morning at ten. If she planned to make it on time, she needed to get up now.
Everything felt hazy and her head, neck, and shoulder blades throbbed. She rolled to her side, attempting to rise, but this hangover trapped her to the bed, gut twisting and acid rising. This proved she shouldn’t do this kind of binge drinking. Of all the things going on in her life, letting loose topped her dumb ideas.
What even happened last night?
Kissing Wesley came to mind first. Heaven help her, but Wesley turned her on like no other. And his kisses had made her entire body sing. But like everything else in her life that failed to be easy or serendipitous, he’d shut her down, releasing her insecurity demons.
She’d soldiered up, pretending rejection didn’t faze her. No matter. Besides, Wesley became her chauffeur. She recalled going on a joy ride with him in the Alfa Romeo. Though, after that, places and people became fuzzy.
After propelling off the soft mattress, hastily dressing, and pounding two bottles of water, she scurried outside where tents were erected, housing private rooms for massages. She didn’t want to miss out on this rare opportunity, having never been pampered before. Since Todd had mentioned it, she had kind of looked forward to the treat.
The sunshine, salty air, and the brisk walk to the tent revived Ava some but the throbbing near the base of her neck persisted.
“Hello and welcome,” said a friendly faced woman dressed in black flowing clothes. “Are you Ava Baxter?”
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry I’m late.”
“Don’t worry about a thing. You’re here now and all you need to do is relax. I’m Kaylee, and I’ll be working on you today. Follow me.”
Kaylee led her into a small room, decorated with large potted palms resting in the thick grass under their feet. Over the soft, soothing music piped in, Kaylee gave her the rundown on what to expect during her session before stepping out to allow Ava to get undressed and lay facedown under the sheet on the massage table.
When Kaylee returned, she pressed her hands on the sheet covering Ava’s back, breathing and grounding in preparation for her work. She peeled back the sheet, and commented, “This looks fresh. I’ll be careful to massage around it.”
“What is it?” Ava had been prone to clumsiness when drunk in the past, so it wouldn’t be strange to have a bruise, though it stung a bit.
“Your tattoo. Looks like you got it done yesterday, from the bandage.”
Ava ricocheted off the table, sweeping the sheet around her torso, trying to look over her shoulder by wrenching her chin to the right. “What the fuck!”
Eyes widening, Kaylee backed away. “Um…”
“Are you sure?” Ava slapped that particular stinging spot between her shoulder blades and the base of her neck, sucking air through her teeth when she found an ultra-thin, what felt like Scotch tape, bandage.
“Yes. You have a tattoo. I can see it through the clear bandage.”
Ava cursed again, unable to filter in such distress. “I need a mirror! Do you have a mirror?”
“Um, I have a compact in my bag.”
Ava nodded wildly. “Yeah, that should work.” She scanned her brain, searching for answers at how this could have happened. For years, her army brothers tried to convince her to get one, but secretly afraid of needles, she thus far had avoided the ink. Getting tattooed didn’t make any sense—drunk or not.
Kaylee handed her the little mirror.
“Thanks.” Ava accepted the compact, opened it, and angled it to get a good look at her back.
“What…what is it?” Ava whipped her gaze at Kaylee. “What is the tattoo?”
“Oh!” She blinked, seeming to search for the right word. “A dragon. Like a logo of some kind with a dragon on it.”
With a sickening dipping feeling in her stomach, Ava looked again through the little mirror, recognizing it now. Wesley Scott’sDragon Rocklogo was branded on her skin.
“Um, shall we resume?”
“No,” Ava ground through clenched teeth, seeing red and feeling her hands tremble with rage.
