Page 28 of Reclaim Me

Rae leans back against her seat, too, mirroring my posture. My eyes are drawn to the skin of her stomach, which is bared by the scrap of fabric she calls a top.

When I told Will they could move in, I knew I’d be seeing the two of them in a different light, discovering things about each of them that I’d never know if we weren’t living under the same roof, but nothing could have prepared me for the amount of Rae’s skin I’ve seen over the past week. Every time I turn around, she’s across from me or next to me in something short and tight or long and clingy. It’s all crop tops and cutouts and thoughts I shouldn’t be having about the woman I consider my best friend.

Today, those thoughts are focused solely on the delicate curves of flesh peeping at me from under the frayed edges of her shirt because it’s not long enough to cover the entirety of her breasts. Heat washes over me in a shameful wave, and I avert my eyes, focusing on her face instead of her chest.

“I want a tattoo.”

“You want a tattoo,” I repeat, incredulity coating each word.

She nods. “Yep. I want a tattoo, and I want you to take me to get it.”

Everything about her expression tells me she expects me to refuse, but as far as requests go, this one isn’t that bad, so I acquiesce immediately.

“Fine, as long as you let me pay for it.”

Surprise cuts a line across her features, lighting up her almond eyes and turning her smile wild and bright. “Really?”

“Really. What’d you expect me to say no or something?”

“I mean, I figured you understood that I wasn’t asking for your permission, so I wasn’t worried about being told no. I did think you’d ask a few questions before you caved, though.”

“Oh, I have questions, but I didn’t want you on the defensive when I asked them, so I gave you what you wanted first so you’d be more willing to give me what I want.”

Her leg starts to bounce, and I can’t tell if it’s from nerves or agitation. It doesn’t really matter since it won’t stop me from getting as much information as I can from her about this abrupt decision.

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, for starters, why did you choose a tattoo as your graduation gift from me?”

She arches a brow, eyes roving over my heavily inked skin. “Because you have more tattoos than anyone I know, and I knew you wouldn’t take me to some shady spot that’ll give me a staph infection.”

There’s no point in arguing with sound logic, so I move on to my next question. “Do you know what you want to get, or are you going to just decide when you get there?”

Her nose scrunches up into an adorably disgusted wrinkle. “Now you know me better than that. Of course, I’ve already decided.”

I shrug. “I mean, there’s no shame in not knowing either. When I got these—” I hold up my left hand, showing her the skeletal outlines on my fingers “—I had no idea what I wanted. I just walked into the parlor and told CoCo to fill in the space.”

“Right, well, I won’t be doing that. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I want sunbursts here—” She uses her left arm to lift her breasts up to make it easier for me to see the index finger of her right hand tracing the same curves I was just obsessing over, and I nearly swallow my own tongue “—and here. I think I want to get them upside down, so the rays from the sunbursts come down like this—” another demonstration with her finger, this time it traces invisible lines over her ribs “—does that make sense, Hunter?”

“Yeah, Sunshine,” I choke out. “That makes perfect sense.”

“Do you know someone who can do that for me today?” she asks, bringing her arm back down to the table and allowing her breasts to return to their normal position. I make myself look away when the act causes them to bounce a little underneath her shirt.

I push to my feet and grab my plate, heading to the sink to give myself time and space to get my better angels back online so they can remind me that this is Rae I’m thinking about here. My best friend, my headache, my salvation in human form. I shouldn’t be thinking about her in that way, especially when I’m with Indigo.

Things have been going really well with her, plus she’s an appropriate choice for me. She’s not my best friend. She’s not Will’s little sister. She’s not the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and therefore, someone I can’t afford to lose. Rae, on the other hand, is all of those things and more, which is why it makes no sense that I can’t stop thinking about what life might look like if we were something different.

If I felt worthy of her, and she thought of me as more than a drug addict with a heart of gold that she only gets to see.

“Hunter?” Rae has followed me over to the sink. She’s got her hip leaning against the edge of the counter and her eyes on my face. “Did you hear me?”

“Yeah, I heard you. Why don’t you go upstairs and get dressed, and I’ll give CoCo a call to let them know we’re heading their way soon.”

She squeals and claps her hands before wrapping her arms around me from behind. When she comes up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, I lean over to make it easier for her and close my eyes to savor the brief moment of contact.

“Thank you, Hunter!” she gushes before rushing out of the room and up the stairs.

“Anything for you, Sunshine.”

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