Page 78 of Virgin Skin

Piston looks up from the tattoo he’s working on to give me a smoldering look and a wink. Jag whips his head up from his own work.

“Hold up…” he says.

“Yes”—I jump in before he can get colorful about the whole thing—“Piston and I are together,” I say, loud enough for everyone to hear.

All the tattoo needles stop buzzing at once and every eye turns to Piston.

“Dude, you’re banging Hero’s kid?” Arrow’s eyebrows go up.

“That’s as wrong as tits on a duck.” Tex tsks.

“Wait.” Hero frowns. “Did you know, Jag?”

“I didn’tknow.” He ducks his head back down to return to his work. “I suspected.”

“How?”

“Dude, they’ve been eye fucking each other since the second Milo walked in here.”

“Nobody is eye fucking anybody,” Piston growls, “and Hero and I already talked it out, so everyone else just drop it, please.”

“And I’m not a kid,” I grumble.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean you couldn’t make your own decisions,” Arrow says. “Just that it’s out of character for Piston to do something so… unexpected.”

Piston looks over at me again and my stomach flutters at the sweetness and intensity in his gaze.

“Some things are worth making an exception for,” he says simply.

Hero huffs, but I swear there’s an undertone of affection in the sound.

“I already warned Piston, but I’ll tell you too, if he hurts you, I’ll hurt him.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t need to hurt anyone on my account.”

“That’s what dads do,” he murmurs, almost sounding shy, before reaching over and ruffling my hair. “At least I think it is. I’m still figuring this shit out.”

I laugh. “You’re doing fine so far,” I assure him, then I hesitate and tug my bottom lip between my teeth. “Seriously though, are you okay with this? I didn’t come here to fuck things up between you and your friends.”

“It’s weird,” he admits with a crooked grin. “But you’re both adults and you can decide who you want to date.” Hero looksover his shoulder at Piston, who’s back to focusing on the customer in his chair. “Piston is a good guy.”

“He is.” I finally let out the breath I feel like I’ve been holding since last night. “Thanks, Dad.”

Is it the first time I’ve called him that to his face? It might be, because his eyes widen a fraction and he looks a little dazed. He reaches over the counter to squeeze my shoulder, then he clears his throat. I don’t need him to find any words to know it means a lot to him. It means a lot to me too.

I’m sure this won’t be the last time everyone is going to weigh in on our relationship, but I can handle it. With Piston by my side and my dad at my back, I think I can handle just about anything.

The hours tick by and eventually all the appointments have come and gone, and the guys start cleaning up and taking off for the day. Hero tells me he wants to have dinner later this week and I agree, then he leaves and it’s just Piston and me here all alone.

I grab the puppy drawing and prance up to his station.

“I have my first tattoo. When can you book me in?” I wave it at him.

He takes it and looks down at the image, a grin slowly spreading over his lips.

“Is this really the first ink you want? Jag was just trying to rile you up.”

I shrug. “I know. It’s cute though. I do have puppy energy, plus it might not be the most badass nickname, but having one makes me feel like I’m really part of the club.”

---