Music, Ink, and Love (18 page)

“Call me when you find out.” He asked.

“We will.” Phoenix beat me to it.

“Okay, so I’ll let you get back to work. I just wanted to let you know about it.”

“Thanks, son.” He smiled as if he had a joke in mind. “This was a short visit, I bet you guys are anxious to go back in that elevator, huh?”

Nix covered her face with both of her hands while dad laughed loudly about what he had just said. I tried to find something to say, but he had me fucking speechless.

“Oh come on, kids, I was young too once.”

“Dad, please, spare me the details.” I chuckled wishing I could run away from his office. I stood up, Nix followed me. “I’ll see you soon, Dad.”

We walked out of his office to the sound of his laughter. Nix’s hands were clammy.

“That was the most embarrassing moment ever.”

“He quite enjoyed catching us in the elevator. We got really into it.”

“That we were.” She held my arm closer to her side. “Let’s go home, Levi.”

“What for?” I played dumb.

“I know a way to spend some quality time. Hurry.”

What she said hit me right inside my boxer briefs. She awakened my desire. I had to get us home. Now.

“L
evi, what is she saying?” Nix asked while I was on the phone.

“Ms. Hassell, I thank you very much for everything.”

“Levi, please...” She begged.

“Yes, I completely understand... Of course... Yes, I’ll be in touch.”

I hung up the phone and turned to look at my very impatient fiancée. The emotions inside of me were about to explode, but I kept it together to tease her longer.

“We didn’t get it. That’s it. We didn’t get the house.” She covered her face with her hands, the sadness and disappointment taking over. “I thought, for sure, we were going to have the house.”

Okay, I had to stop this. “Nix, babe. Look at me.” Her sad eyes, filled with tears, stared at me. “These tears, babe, they better be happy tears because the house is ours.”

“What?” She jumped into my arms and started sobbing. “You’re such an ass, Levi, but I’m so happy.”

“It’s the beginning, Nix. We have our house, the rest with follow.”

“Thank you, Angel. Without you, I wouldn’t have any of this.”

“I want to share everything with you, Nix. I love you.”

I kept thinking about that moment. It had been over two weeks and I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. I even got teary eyes but thankfully, Nix didn’t notice.

The closing was done already, and we got the keys two days ago. We already christened our bedroom floor. The carpet was a little rough on my back.

To my surprise, Dad offered to help with the furniture. Not physically but financially. His house was more like a mansion while we had bought a much smaller house. He came with Nix and I when we had to sign the papers and we gave him a tour of the house.

“It’s a nice house, you kids bought. Do you have everything to fill the rooms? I know Levi has his flat screen in my garage, but other than that, I suppose you only have a bedroom set and maybe a small kitchen table?”

“We have our bedroom set, couch, and small kitchen table.” She said. “Nothing fancy, when the girls and I moved into the apartment, we bought the cheapest.”

“That’s what I thought, no offence.” He looked around the house, again.

“None taken.” Nix seemed uncomfortable. She had never complained about her furniture before. She was alright with what she had.

“I want to give you two a present for your first home together.”

“Dad, this is not necessary.”

“It is, son. That’s what your mother would have done and you know that. Even Colleen mentioned helping you guys. It’s a major step into your adult life. You better start with strong foundation, a good home. In the end, it will be better for you both”

Nix was waiting at home for a delivery truck, the first of three deliveries. Kyle and I had painted some walls until two in the morning last night. The last owner had put a nice beige on all the walls, but Nix wanted to add life to the house and I thought she had a point.

We picked the colors together without arguing. Everybody kept telling us this moment could either cause fights or bring us closer. I had crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t cause us to fight and it didn’t. We had made all the decisions together without one single fight. We made some compromises but that only meant we were a strong couple, right?

I didn’t agree with pink curtains and she thought it was pretty funny. In the apartment, I didn’t really care, but in my home, I wouldn’t get pink curtains unless we have a baby girl someday. Not now, someday.

“Hey, whipped boy.” You’ve been staring at the fucking wall for fifteen minutes. “Are you having dirty thoughts or something or deciding on the carpet of your living room?”

“Shut up, K. I have a lot on my mind.” Being here, at the studio while she waited alone at home sucked.

“Like what? Obviously, you’re not thinking about the drawing you’re doing now.”

I groaned with irritation. “Okay, fine... You are right. I was thinking about the house. Happy?”

He laughed out loud. “You’ve become so... so mature and almost...”

“Shut up. Wait and see when it happens to you. You’ll see how fucking stressful it is to think about everything at the same time.”

He laughed.

“You’re the only guy I know who’s like that. You must be O.C.D. or something. You want everything perfect and in place before you move in.”

“So what? Now, please, leave it or I’ll kick your ass. I have to get this done before tonight.”

Tonight, Nix had planned on taking me out on a date for my birthday. She made reservations in a nice restaurant downtown and I planned on giving her the design of her next tattoo. I had been working on it since she spoke about getting new ink. That had some sort of a super power effect on me. She nearly drove me nuts. That night, sex had been way more intense than before. The thought only gave me goose bumps.

Okay, whipped man, get your ass back to work.

I had done two designs, one in color and one in black and grey. They were pretty much the same thing. She said she wanted some more flowers, and two hummingbirds, old school style. I kept her demands and I added more details to it like water droplets on the flowers and more water in the background. It looked neat. I preferred the color filled one but the choice was hers, not mine.

“What do you think, K?”

“It’s a nice one, Levi. The colors are fucking amazing. The flowers almost look alive and the water is impressive too.” He punched my shoulder.

“What was that for, punk?”

“I hate when you do something better than I can.” He admitted.

“You can do pin-up girls better than I can, so shut up.”

“It’s true, right? I’m much better than you with pin-ups. It’s all about the curves and the tits, man.” He laughed, his hand touching his chest as if he had tits.

“Okay, I’m out of here.” He shook my head in disbelief. “Have fun touching yourself.”

“Happy birthday, mate.” Mate? He definitely hung out with Tiff too much.

I grabbed my coat, my keys and designs before I walked out of the shop with a smile on my face. Working with Kyle meant you never knew what stupidity he would do or say. The fucker was unpredictable.

I drove my car home, anxious to see Nix. She was still asleep when I left her this morning.

I found her lost in her books studying for one of her class. She had told me about an important exam coming the following week. The kitchen table was covered in papers and books.

“Hey, Rock Star.”

“Angel.” She smiled and pushed away her books. “I'm done for the day.”

“You look beat.”

“I am, but nothing a shower can't cure.” She yawned. “You look great, birthday boy.”

“I'm feeling good. I have your design with me, you want to see?”

Her eyes went from sleepy to excited. “Absolutely.”

I laid them on the table and waited for her reaction. The grin on her face said it all.

“Wow! Honestly, babe, both of them are great. I love the colors, but I also love the details and shading of the black and grey. I'm at lost, Levi. I don't know which on to pick.”

“There is no rush, Nix. Take your time because it’s kind of permanent.”

She giggled. “Right.”

Her eyes reverted back on the drawings, she took the color one and lifted it to eye level and then, she repeated the same action with the other one. She really looked confused.

“At what time is the reservation tonight?”

“We have to be there by 6:30 pm.”

That gave us an hour to get ready and thirty minutes to get there and find parking.

“Are you excited about your birthday dinner?”

“I am. I don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been to this place.”

She giggled again. “Me neither, but I heard it’s a good and trendy place.”

“I’m going to take a shower, are you coming?”

“Are you really asking?” Nix gave me a seductive look, maybe a promise of what was to come in the shower.
A man can dream, right?

I slapped her ass and she hurried into the bathroom, laughing loudly.

“Undress me now, fiancée.” I tried to keep a serious look but I couldn’t, role play wasn’t my thing. I could only be myself with her. “I love you, Nix.”

“I love you too, birthday boy. Stop moving now, I have to undress my man.”

Why was this such a turn on? Damn, I knew at that point we were going to be late to the restaurant.

W
hen I first walked into the restaurant, I was surprised to see a band playing jazz music. Their music was smooth, adding more ambiance to the place. The lights were low giving an intimate vibe to the place. The waiter guided us to our table, right across from the band. We weren’t sitting on a two-person table so I started having doubts about what tonight was about. Maybe it wasn’t going to be a romantic dinner? As soon as we sat, the band started playing Happy Birthday and Nix flushed red.

“Hey, whipped boy.” I heard K from behind me. “Happy birthday, man.”

“Hey, K, thanks for coming.” And he was followed by Tyler, Bekka, Tiff, Colleen and Dad.

“Wow! Everyone's here.”

“Happy birthday, brother.” Tyler gave me a quick hug and so did Bekka. Then, I came face to face with my dad, and I couldn't help but have that huge grin on my face. “I don't think we've celebrated my birthday like this in ten years.”

“When Nix called, I figured it would be a good idea to change our routine. We can go back to a quiet dinner at home next year if you prefer.”

“No, this is great. I'm happy to see you here.”

We shook hands and, for some reason, I got a little emotional at that moment.

“Happy birthday, Levi. I still remember your 5th birthday. 24 years ago.” Colleen kissed my cheek and sat at the table facing my father. Everyone sat at the table waiting for me to join them but right now, I had to thank my girl for planning all this.

“You.” I pointed at her. “You are the most magnificent person I know.”

“Wait, the night is not over.” She teased and immediately, I remember our shower together.
Damn, don't get all riled up, Levi.
I didn’t know why but damn, I loved sex in the shower, or wall sex. It only happened with her. Nix was special.

“Levi, what are you thinking about? The vultures?” Only he and I would know that he referred to Nix.

I turned to face Kyle. “Something like that.” I chuckled.

My dad brought some amazing tasteful expensive wine to the restaurant and I had two glass within thirty minutes. One thing my dad knew well was his wine.

I tried to talk with everyone around the table. I realized that Tiff and K were really together and I might have stared at them for two minutes while they were kissing. I stopped watching when Nix kicked me under the table. That hurt, by the way.

“Levi, stop.” She laughed shyly.

“Don’t you find them weird together?” I whispered.

“You say that because Kyle is like a brother to you. You’ll get used to it. Now stop, and look at the menu because the waitress is standing right behind you.”

Oh crap. A steak, it’s the first thing I saw and it pleased my belly.

“I’ll have the grilled chicken breast plate with Caesar salad, please.”

“No pasta?”

She shook her head no, serious. “I have a few pounds to lose before the wedding, babe.”

“No, you don’t. You’re perfect like this.” I hated that she was holding back from eating something she enjoyed just to lose a few pounds. She was curvier than some girls but still nothing to worry about and I never complained about it. I actually love this about her.

“Levi, it’s cool. Don’t overthink this.”

“Babe, I don’t want you to change anything, okay?”

She rolled her eyes and ended up smiling at me when she realized I wouldn’t give up on this. I meant it.

“Thank you, Angel.”

I nodded at her. She got the message. I wasn’t going to let her go under unnecessary stress for our wedding.

“Stop thinking about this, Levi. It’s your birthday. Your day. Enjoy your people.”

“Our people.”

She blushed. “True. Our people. My big family.”