Page 13 of Dex

“Yeah, baby. Send me a pic of the new ink.”

“Okay, give me a minute to find it. I’ll send you the pic that Wendy took the day Mike did the design.”

As I wait for her to look through her gallery to find the photo, I get up off the sofa and walk into my kitchen. Opening the fridge I take out a bottle of beer and take a long drink once I open it.

“Sent,” her voice comes through the speaker. Then the ‘ding’ sounds from my phone.

“Okay, let me see this. This had better be a fucking epic tattoo, baby, or I am going to be one pissed off dude,” I joke.

“He did amazing,” she tells me. I put her on speaker and open the ‘attachment’ and take another mouthful of beer. The photo pops up and I spit the drink all over my kitchen floor when I see it.

Well fucking hell.

“Ads,” is all I can say.

I see the tattoo gun, the three hearts and the family tree. The whole tattoo is based on us; Liam, Jay, me and Addy. Holy shit.

“I needed it, Dex. It means a lot to me.”

“Yeah, babe.” Fuck, she has me speechless. A chuckle comes through the phone.

“Cat got your tongue, Dexter Castle?”

“Yeah, babe,” I chuckle. She truly has no idea how much this tattoo heals my heart. “I love it, Ads. It is truly something and from what I can see, your boss did a bang up job. I can’t wait to see it in person. Which will be soon, right?” I ask, hinting again.

“Soon. I promise.” She goes quiet for a few seconds. “I like this,” is all she says. I swear my man card is in jeopardy. If the boys could see how much her words have reduced me to a fucking puddle of mush, they would take the piss out of me. They would never let me live it down.

“I like it too, baby.”

“Why have you started calling me ‘babe’ and ‘baby’, Dex? You have never called me anything besides my name.” I knew this was coming. It just felt right calling her those names. I never did with Fiona. She was always my ‘sweetheart’, but Addy is different. Yeah, she is a sweetheart, but she is my baby.

“It fits. You are my ‘baby’. I want you to be my ‘baby’, my ‘babe’. Fuck, my girl, Ads.”

“I need more time, Dex. This is a lot to take in right now. For years you have pushed me away and now all of a sudden you want me? It’s hard to not think that this will end badly for me.”

“I can give you some time, Ads.Some,” I state more forcefully.

“Thank you, Dex.”

“Can we keep doing this? Talking on the phone and texting? Please, don’t shut me out anymore.”

“I’d like that. I have to go, Dex. I’m working this afternoon. But I will text soon.”

“So, what’s the name of this new studio you work at?” She laughs.

“Nice try, Dexter Castle. I will speak to you, soon. Bye, Dex.”

“Bye, Ads. Take care of yourself, yeah?”

“Will do. Bye.” She ends the call. Fucking shit, my heart is beating wildly in my chest. I am in and I intend to stay.

* * *

It has beenfour days since Addy agreed with me about seeing where things go, but it has to be done via phone calls or texts, no clue as to why but I'm not gonna fucking fight her on it. I have her- somewhat- back in my life and I need to make sure it stays that way. We have talked a few times but text more than anything. She makes me laugh, something she hasn't done before because I never gave her the chance. I always found a way to douse her sparkle. Well, not anymore. I plan on making her shine so fucking bright she will outshine Blackpool’s Christmas lights.

I am just finishing up on a girl’s tattoo when my phone dings in my pocket. I know who it is and I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face.

“What's got him all smiley over there?” The girl’s friend asks. Her two friends are sitting in chairs next to the table. This girl’s shoulder piece has taken me just over an hour. The three of them have flirted like crazy with me since they got here.

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