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“We’re moving on.” Levi looks at me. “I told Axel we’d be there in twenty. You ready?”
Jumping up, I grab my bag and smile at him. “Ready to get poked.”
Maddox offers a low chuckle at my choice of words, but I ignore him.
Conrad is beside me within a second. “Fuck that. I’m coming too.” He’s pulling on his sneakers by the front door before I have a chance to say anything.
“Bye, baby.” Blaire kisses Camden and then is on her feet, heading toward me.
Camden is right behind her. “Yeah, no way, Gray Eyes. I’m coming too.”
Blaire loops her arm through Camden’s. “Aw, are you going to get a tattoo for me?”
His face pales. “Oh, um. You want that?”
She lifts her shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s kind of hot.”
“Is that so?” Camden asks, his eyebrow raised in interest.
Maddox slaps his knee. “Are you that pussy-whipped you’re going to ink yourself, man?”
Camden keeps his eyes connected to Blaire’s. “Fall in love, Mad. It’ll change you.”
That sobers Maddox. “Never going to happen,” he says through clenched teeth. Thinking back, I’ve never seen Maddox with a girl more than a couple times and never on a date, usually at a party or hanging on to him after a game.
Grabbing Conrad’s arm, I pull him close to me. “You really don’t have to go. Levi set it all up with his friend, and I’m just getting a quick nose piercing.”
He shakes his head before I even finish my sentence. “Not going to have some guy touching you while I’m not there.” Conrad snags his keys off the hook by the door and pockets his wallet. “Em and I will drive in my car.” He grabs my hand and shuffles us out the front door.
“What the hell, Conrad?” I try to rip my hand from his hold, but he’s got a good grip on it, so I dig my heels into the ground and stop us. “You can’t take over like this. Going to the tattoo shop was my idea, and you can’t just swoop in and act like this.”
With a firm pull, I’m now flush against Conrad’s chest. “Make no mistake, baby, there will never be a moment that I am okay with another man touching you, especially when I’m not there.” His face is close enough that I can feel his breath against my cheek. “You getting some jewelry jammed into your nose? I’ll be there.”
My heart flutters. Conrad has never been jealous or possessive, and I wonder if all that has changed now that he has the freedom to be with the person he truly wants. Me.
Lifting my hand, I caress his fuzzy cheek. “Let’s go before I lose my courage.”
* * *
The soundof buzzing fills the room, and my body feels hot as my adrenaline spikes. I’ve filled out all the necessary paperwork and am now sitting in one of the waiting chairs with Blaire by my side. Conrad and Camden are looking through one of the books scattered on the glass countertop. Levi has been talking with the beautiful receptionist with bright-red hair and tattoos covering every part of her body besides her face.
Conrad points at something in one of the books and calls Levi’s friend and tattoo artist over. He nods after Conrad asks him something and takes the book away.
The guys come back over to us, and Conrad sits beside me, taking my sweaty hand in his. “How you feeling, baby?”
“Like shit,” I confess. “Why the hell am I doing this? Poking a hole in my nose is stupid.”
He leans in and kisses my neck. “I think it’s going to look hot.” His hot breath against my skin makes my body shiver, despite it feeling like it’s on fire with the anticipation of getting my first piercing.
“Anders?” someone calls out, and I look up to see the piercer I met earlier standing there with a clipboard in his hand. He smiles when I begin to stand, and his eyes rake down my body, blatantly checking me out.
Conrad is by my side and his arm snakes around my waist, hugging me tight against him while glaring at the piercer. I roll my eyes at his absurd newfound jealousy. What Conrad doesn’t realize is that while yes, I did go on a few dates with Ian, I don’t have eyes for anyone else. Not even the hot tattoo artists in here.
While I know he has nothing to worry about, I allow him to continue his claiming. If he feels better making sure that every guy in the room knows I’m his, I won’t stop him. Even though I told Conrad that I needed him to prove his feelings to me, I like the possessiveness he has shown lately. He’s lost me once and I think knowing what that has felt like changed something in him.
We follow the piercer into a small room that smells sterile, like a hospital. There is a black chair that reclines, a rolling stool, and a counter that has drawers with a variety of piercings. A metal rolling tray sits beside the leather chair with a needle, a clamp, an alcohol wipe, a piece of jewelry, and a cork. The cork confuses me, but I’m new to piercings, so maybe that’s normal.
“Take a seat and pull your hair back from your face,” the piercer instructs. There is a license on the wall that says his name is Drew.
