Page 18 of Rookie Mistake

“I dunno. See for yourself, Loverboy.” Her hands settle at my hips, and then she tugs me toward the floor-length mirror on the parlor wall.

Fuck, am I nervous?

Nah, nervous isn’t it. It’santicipation.

It sparks down my spine like a current as she pulls off the bandage, exposing the dark ink, one simple but unforgettable word tattooed just below my hip bone.

Trouble.

“Now you’ll always remember tonight,” she murmurs, holding my gaze in the mirror, her bright eyes sparkling.

I turn to face her, my gaze dropping to her parted lips as my throat bobs, and I reach for her, sliding my hands along her jaw to tangle in the dark, silky strands at her nape.

“Yeah, that’s the thing. Something tells me I’m never going to be able to forget tonight,” I whisper against her mouth, each exhale from her lips an inhale that fills my lungs.

Just as I close my lips over hers, there’s a loud throat clearing behind us, and begrudgingly, I tear my lips away.

“Sorry, but we’re closing. Don’t care where ya go, but ya gotta get outta here,” a tall guy with a long handlebar mustache says from the entryway of one of the tattoo rooms.

Zara giggles, burying her head in my chest, and I nod sheepishly. “Yeah, man, sorry. We’re headed out.”

After we pay for our tattoos, we bust out of the door like two teenagers who’ve just been caught making out, laughing the entire time.

Shit, tonight’s been fun.

Unexpectedly something I didn’t even know I was missing until now.

The sun’s peeking out behind the clouds when we step out of the tattoo shop, rising over the horizon in shades of orange and gold.

“Damn, it’s late. Or should I say… early?” I mutter, glancing over at Zara as we walk side by side through the parking lot. “I feel like tonight has passed so fast and yet slow all at the same time.”

“I know exactly what you mean. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up until the sun came up, let alone going to a biker bar, then getting a tattoo with a stranger.”

I nod. I’ve never done this with anyone before, a spontaneous date, but definitely not a date that I don’t want to end.

“My town house is just a few blocks up ahead,” she says. “If you wanna walk me?”

Her pinky brushes against mine as we walk, and I don’t hesitate to grab her hand, lacing my fingers through hers. We walk in the direction of her town house, and she tells me about her best friends. How they’ve been friends since they were kids and that they’re all at OU together now.

Realization hits me with the force of a head-on collision at the fact that for the first time that I can ever clearly remember, I want to know more than just the surface of a girl.

I want to meet the friends she’s talking about with the biggest smile on her face. I want to know what her favorite thing to orderat a restaurant is. I want to hear her play her music. Who she is when all the layers are peeled away. I want toknowher.

And that’s as terrifying as it is thrilling to think about.

“This you?” I ask when we come to a stop outside of an older, two-story brick building with burgundy shutters.

She nods, turning to glance at the building and then back to me. “Yep. This is me. Home sweet home. Davis… look, I know this is crazy, but… I’m not ready for tonight to be over,” she says. “I mean… today? Whatever.”

The sun’s rising, and it’s got to be after six, and I should be exhausted after being awake for almost twenty-four hours, but I’m not tired. If anything, I’m on a high after tonight, a combination of adrenaline and want for the fiery, beautiful girl standing in front of me making my heart race.

“Who says it has to?”

She laughs. “Uh… the sun coming up?”

“Always the smart-ass,” I chuckle as I step forward, curve my palm over her hip, and pull her against me, closing the distance between us. “Doesn’t mean it has to be over. I dunno, maybe it’s just beginning.”

“Oh?” Her brow arches.

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