Music, Ink, and Love (5 page)

P
hoenix tried hard not to let me see it but, she looked tired and her mind was elsewhere. Somewhere in San Francisco. She sang to the music playing, she danced when she liked the beat, but each time she thought I wasn’t looking, she was lost and looked preoccupied. Bekka noticed as well and she forced a smile out of her a couple of times.

When a slow song came on, I hurried to her, behind the counter. Tyler wouldn’t mind as long as I don’t steal his vodka.

“Come here, Rock Star.” My hands rubbed against her warm skin. I loved seeing her in a crop top, so fucking sexy, but I hated the other men watching her. My hands hid what was mine for the duration of the song. She danced with me, followed my step and let her body mold against mine. That feeling unveiled how crazy I was for her. Her long brown hair smelled of her usual floral scent, and I breathed it in. Her hands reached for the back pocket of my jeans and kept me close to her.

“I could spend my life like this, with you.”

“You will.”

She chuckled. “Yes, I will. I know what you’re doing, babe, and thank you.”

“Anytime.” I kissed her.

“Do you have any appointments during the weekend? I would love to go this weekend.”

Okay, that was faster than I expected. “Did you ask Brian?”

She nodded.

“I don’t think I have anything scheduled. Do you want me to check for flights and a hotel room?”

“We’ll do it together, in the morning, okay?”
Together
never sounded better.

I responded with a kiss.

The song was replaced by a rock one, and the customers were thirsty or maybe just pretending to be, so I had to let her go. They liked her, and they liked me better when I wasn’t around. Not that I cared what they thought, but I noticed their little game. The money she made at the bar helped her pay for everything she needed, but I missed seeing her at the shop. Kyle and I always had a good time with her around, it was a change from our daily routine.

I didn’t know what her plans were when her university ended, but I definitely wanted her with me or at least more than now. We hung out together at the club and we slept in the same bed, but the weekend was our only real time together and it sucked. I missed the summer and her free schedule. I wanted so much more time with her to know her and enjoy my life with her.

Pussy-whipped or lovesick puppy?

W
hile she showered, I looked at the cost for two roundtrip airplane tickets to San Francisco and the rates weren’t too bad. Pretty decent, I presumed. And then, my mind diverted to condos or houses in Seattle, so I looked at the real estate agent’s website and saw a few nice places. The apartment was fine, but I wanted something for us and besides, I knew it was a matter of time before Tyler asked Bekka to move in with him. He didn’t like being away from her.

“God, that felt good. I really needed that shower. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

I closed the website and prepared to show her the flights I had found. “No problem, baby. Here, take a look. I found a good deal.”

She removed her towel and sat on my lap, naked, and I almost lost my freaking mind. “Oh yeah, that’s the cheapest rate I’ve seen and the departure time is good too. Can you book them?”

I nodded, grabbed my wallet from the nightstand and paid for our weekend getaway. I sighed, still not sure about Brian, not sure about trusting him.

After that, I set my laptop aside and caressed the curves I craved. We fooled around for an hour without really doing anything. We cuddled, tickled, kissed and relaxed into each other’s arms.

“I love you, Nix.” I hadn’t said those words enough lately. “You drive me crazy.” I held her against me, wanting more.

“I have to get to school, babe. I hate to be the party-pooper, but I have to get dressed.”

“You suck.” I joked.

“I do and you never complained about it before.” She teased.

I laughed loudly, but hated the sensation in my boxers. I wasn’t getting any of this now.

She got up and reached her dresser. My eyes stared at her body, her curves and I enjoyed watching her getting ready. At last, I put on my jeans and t-shirt and drove her to class.

Beauty, my Harley, had missed me, and I her. Her motor groaned and Nix interlaced her fingers on my stomach. It reminded me of our road trip. That was the best damn trip of my life. My ass hurt from all the hours sitting on Beauty, but I spent all of those hours with Nix and that was priceless.

After dropping her off, I rode around town only to end up at my mother’s favorite spot. This place calmed me, reminded me of my mother and I missed her a lot recently. Her advice would have been grandly welcome.
How to make my fiancée happy,
my mom would have known. I sat there and enjoyed the scenery, the beautiful view and the sound of nature.

Deep inside of me, I had no doubts I had the potential of making Nix happy, but with the appearance of her father last weekend, she changed and I found it hard to deal with. She used to be so free and funny that seeing her now so lost in her thoughts scared me. Brian affected her more than she was letting me know. In my heart, I vowed to try harder, try understanding how she felt better. If it meant that I had to ask more questions, then, I was going to do it.

I looked at my phone and realized I had been sitting here for already two hours. My stomach growled, I was famished. Nix had a break between classes and bringing her lunch was exactly what I had to do. A surprise visit had to be something girls liked, right?

“I
’m happy to see you here, baby.” She hugged me and it never felt better. This was only the beginning. Her arms caressed my back and my muscles tightened. Thinking about my muscles, I had to hit the gym or go for a run. I was becoming lazy.

“I wanted to surprise you, and I didn’t want to eat alone.”

“Kyle’s not at the shop?” She asked, surprised. Kyle never spent too much time outside of the shop. It seemed to be his version of a home.

“I didn’t even go to the shop yet. I went for a ride on Beauty and ended up at my mother’s place.”

She looked at me, her eyes seeing through me, studying me. “Are you okay?”

“I am.” I smiled. “I worry that I’m not doing enough for you, but I’m here now and I’m okay.” What the hell was that? I should’ve kept my I-worry-like-pussy shit to myself. She didn’t need to know about my little insecurities. I had to be strong for her, support her, not the other way around.

“You are, baby. Come here.” With her fingers, she lowered my chin for our lips to meet. “We’re all good, Lev.” And she kissed me and, damn, was it good? I knew that twenty or thirty years from now, I would still love and desire her. Everything about her was setting me on fire.

“I got you a salad and grilled chicken sandwich, I hope you’re hungry.” I didn’t know why, but hungry sounded much more erotic than needed. Was I hungry for her? Probably.

“As a matter of a fact, I am very hungry.” She played the game, putting emphasis on hungry. How did I get so lucky? I must have been staring at her like a lion hunting a zebra because she started laughing erratically and pushed me away. “Not here, silly.” Nix interlaced her fingers with my free hand and cuddled next to me. “Come on, testosterone, I’m starving.”

We sat together in a quiet area of the cafeteria. I ate a bit, but I was too busy staring at her. I couldn’t even understand why I acted that way. I was acting like a predator.

“I know it’s not a hamburger, Levi, but you have to eat more than that.” She smirked.

“I have to stop eating junk all the fucking time. This is good, at least.”

I ate everything and finished her sandwich. I had to get to work for my afternoon client and Nix had to get back to class.

“Are you looking forward to the weekend?” She asked, referring to meeting her father again.

The weekend scared me to death. I didn’t know what to expect or what he had in mind. He had a band, so I presumed he was going to take her to a concert since it seemed like something they had in common. “I don’t know, Nix. If you are happy to go, then I am too, but I honestly don’t know how and what I should feel about him.”

“You don’t like him?” She asked void of all emotions. “I won’t judge your opinion; I want to know what you think of him.”

I rubbed my face with my hands, trying to find a way to tell her something I had no idea how to say. Sometimes emotions were a lot harder to communicate than I wished. “Before I knew he was your father, I thought he was a cool guy. He came to us as soon as we got to our stations. He helped us out, he seemed like a genuine good man.” I said honestly.

“But?”

“I don’t know, Nix. You looked so terrified and panicked when I saw you with him. I just wanted to get you in my arms and take you far from him. Did he ask you to sing? Brian seemed very excited about the fact that both of you like to sing. I don’t know. To me, it appeared like he came into your life with a strong impact. Like a bullet. We just need to deal with it. Whatever you decide to do after San Francisco, I’ll be on your side.”

“I don’t know. I think I’m willing to give him a chance.”

I felt unsure about it, but... “Then, I will too.”

Nix had to get back to class and I didn’t want to look like I was moping around but damn, I wanted her by my side. I loved when she used to come to work with me. We both had fun. Even Kyle liked having her around. She helped with the daily tasks and even though she could be shy at times around the clients, she goofed around with us like we had known each other for years.

“Don’t be like that, wimp.” She laughed and pushed me against the wall.

“Did you just call me a wimp? The man you agreed to marry? Shouldn’t you say babe, baby, guardian angel or love of my life? But wimp? Really?”

Her face had turned red, but not because she was embarrassed, because she was laughing too hard.

“I love my tattooed wimp.” The word wimp irritated the hell out of me, but coming from her mouth, it was cute in a Nix kind of way.

“And I love my future bridezilla.” If at least love covered how much she meant to me.

“We have to set a date soon, wimp.” She punched my chest playfully.

“I thought you had planned everything already, bridezilla.” I imprisoned her face into my hands and remembered where we were, in the hall of her University. I didn’t care one bit. My lips crashed against hers, I pulled her to me, feeling our bodies warming up and connecting. I thought I heard a small moan escaped her mouth, I took it as my queue to make her want me desperately throughout her afternoon classes. I kissed her until the tension became unbearable and pulled away. “And you call me a wimp.” My hand slid from her face, down the side of her breast and followed the curve of her inked ribs to her sweet, perfectly shaped ass. “Can you handle it? Me? I know and you know you want it, babe. But we can’t.” I gave her a chaste kiss, pulled away before I gave her my heartbreaking grin, the one I normally saved to seduce a girl. “I’ll see you later, sweetie.” Levi the fucking player, I felt like screaming it out loud.

Her face fell, her lips forming an ‘O’. She was going to say something, but she was left frustrated and speechless.

I
entered the shop feeling like Peter Parker when he was possessed by Venom. Feeling on top of my game, powerful and cool. While Nix probably sat on a hard wooden chair watching every minute pass thinking about me. I laughed out loud.