Page 65 of Still Love You

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Silas

I can't believe Willow wants to do this. A navel ring? Really? This is so unlike her, although I always knew she had this side of her. The carefree, uninhibited side. The side that lives in the here and now instead of in the distant future. I wish she'd let that side of her come out more often. She's happy when she's like this. She's generally a happy person, but she's even happier when she lets loose and does something she normally wouldn't do.

We go in the tattoo place and are greeted by a tall, wide guy who's probably about 22. His blond hair is spiked up on top and shaved on the sides and he's a wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Tattoos cover his thick neck and both of his arms.

"Can I help you?" he asks, directing the question only at me.

I guess I look more like the tattoo type than Willow does, in her black shorts and fitted white t-shirt. She tends to dress in conservative colors and styles. She likes a sophisticated look, a complete contrast to her mom's style, which is a mismatched hodgepodge of colorful clothes that drape over her body instead of the tailored fit that Willow prefers.

Willow's clothes match her serious personality. But then sometimes she'll wear something totally different that takes me by surprise, like when she bought those red cowboy boots years ago. Or when she wears cutoff jean shorts. When she does that, it's like that other side of her is peeking through again.

"I'd like a navel piercing," Willow says to the guy.

"That's it? Just a navel piercing?"

She thinks for a moment, then says, "Yes."

"Let me get the form." He goes behind the desk and brings back a clipboard with a piece of paper on it.

She takes it and we sit down on the chairs that line the back wall. As she's filling out whatever form he gave her, I say, "Why did you hesitate when he asked you if that was all? Were you going to change your mind? Because if you don't want to do this—"

"I want to do it. When he asked, I was just thinking if I wanted anything else done. Like another piercing. Or a tattoo." She continues filling out the form.

"A tattoo?" I pick her hand up from the clipboard. "Who are you, and what the hell did you do with Willow?"

She smiles and takes her hand back and signs her name. Then she hops up from her chair and hands the clipboard to the guy.

"Follow me." He motions her to a hallway.

I catch up to them in the hall. "I'm coming with."

"I'm afraid it'll hurt," Willow says to the guy. "So I brought a friend with to hold my hand."

So now I'm just a friend? An hour ago I was her boyfriend. Clearly that was just to keep Alex away from me. Willow was so jealous, especially when Alex kept putting her breasts in front of my face. She couldn't exactly help it. The height of the chair put her breasts at eye level. She had nice breasts.

"I'll need you to unbutton your shorts," the guy says, and my attention swings back to Willow, who is now lying down on a table in this tiny room the guy led us to. Willow has her shirt pulled up but still covering her bra, and the guy is wiping the skin around her belly button with a cotton ball that's soaked with some kind of antibacterial solution. He's wearing gloves but I still don't like seeing his hands on her.

Willow unbuttons her shorts and my blood starts pumping harder. Now I'm the jealous one. Actually, I'm more angry than jealous. I don't like this guy seeing her exposed like this.

"You need to unzip them and fold them down a little," he tells her.

I grit my teeth, trying to keep calm, but I'm about ready to bolt up from the stool I'm sitting on and cover her up. Instead, I hold her hand and move closer to her, close enough to signal to the guy that Willow and I are more than friends.

Willow's nervous. She's breathing fast and her hand is ice cold. The guy turns to get something from the table.

"You okay?" I ask her.

She nods. "Yeah." 

I lean down and whisper, "We can leave if you're not ready to do this."

"I'm fine." She fakes a smile. "Just a little worried about the pain."

I kiss her to take her mind off it, and also to remind tattoo guy that she's off limits. As I back away, he's sitting across from me on the stool, waiting.

"Which one do you want?" he asks Willow. He's holding a plastic tray displaying an assortment of navel rings.

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