Page 36 of Honey Undone
“Not a single one,” I confessed.
“Save one of the bags,” Jensen laughed gently and looked over at me.
“Are you implying that I can’t handle tattoo pain?” I turned in my seat, sliding my knee across the seat so I could really look at him. His jaw tightened with amusement and his eyes flickered off the road to watch me shift.
“Being nervous and being scared are two different things,” Jensen teased. It drove me insane how relaxed he was, like he couldn’t be bothered to be anxious about today, about our date. The sun soaked him in warm light and made his olive skin glow, and highlighted the few freckles that danced around on his cheeks and nose.
My body shivered as his tongue pressed out over his bottom lip.
“I’m not scared of a tattoo gun,” I said after a second, confident and sure of myself for the first time today. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, because I was a little scared but it wasn’t over a little pain…
Jensen looked at me and the sun illuminated the golden undertones of his brown eyes. My heart tripped over the feelings that the look gave me, little did he know I was already facing my fears.
JENSEN
Icould smell the warmth of her perfume and spent the entire drive trying to keep my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel. Adeline made it increasingly difficult as she chewed on her gummies in a particular way that made my mouth dry. She hung them between her lips, chewing nervously on each one as we drove down through the thick tree lines.
She said she wasn’t anxious but there was something bothering her. I just couldn’t put my finger on it and Adeline was a steel trap of emotions. Even if I thought I’d figured out what was going on in her head, the chances of her admitting I was right were low.
I’d asked her about her favorite movies and I shouldn’t have been surprised when most of them involved fast cars. She could tease my car all she wanted, I didn’t need anything fancy to drive back and forth from the stadium to the Nest. Half the week it sat untouched in the driveway because I walked or hopped in with another player.
It was only when someone pointed it out that I was reminded how strange my habits were. I had grown up on both sides of wealth, watching my parents struggle to make ends meet. To own over two hundred hotels across the world. I spoke four languages conversationally from summers spent on location while mom oversaw construction. I was homeschooled for most of my life but I had always been taught that wealth didn’t equal need or want. Even though my parents could live anywhere, they had found a comfortable home in Harbor to be close to me. They went on one vacation a year and it was usually to visit family in Canada.
I wasn’t raised on money even when we had it.
I guess that surprised a lot of people but it just seemed normal to me to be well adjusted in my generational wealth. Adeline hadn’t meant anything by it when she teased me, all of the guys at the Nest had nice cars. But to them owning a car was a big deal, it made them feel successful and it was a worthy reason, they had all worked hard for those cars. I just didn’t share those feelings, at least not when I was just driving around Harbor. There was a time and a place for a fast car, the feeling under your feet and speed in your bloodstream.
“Alright,” I said, pulling onto Main Street. “Favorite TV show, and I want something you secretly watch and don’t tell anyone.”
Adeline laughed as I found a parking space close to the tattoo shop and cut the engine.
“You’ll never get that one out of me,” she giggled and I nearly melted to the seat as she clicked herself free and climbed out. I smiled when she took the bag of cola gummies with her and led her down the street to the shop resisting the urge to take her hand.
“In you go,” I said, holding the door open for her.
I inhaled as she passed, letting that spicy, citrus shampoo drown me before following her in. The shop was bright and every inch of the walls was covered with art, skulls and taxidermist animals. I snuck past her as she stopped to admire a giant painting at the front of the shop, her eyes widening in amazement.
“Hey, is Harry in?” I tapped the counter and Jo looked up at me. They were heavily pierced, shaggy bleached hair and always a little quiet. They pointed me to the back of the shop. “Thanks, Jo. Adeline,” I said to her and she turned to follow. Harry’s room was at the back of the shop, it was just lucky that today was normally his walk in day and he owed me more than one favor.
“Knock, knock,” I banged on the open door and Harry looked up from his iPad with a scowl on his face. “What's up grumpy.”
“I see you haven’t learned manners since the last time you were here.” In his leather jacket and heavy boots, his long dark hair was tugged into a bun at the back of his head and if it weren’t for the goofy British accent I might have been intimated. Harry stood, setting his tablet down and stepped forward like he was going to throw a punch.
“I told you, I’ll learn manners when you start taking more than one shower a month,” I teased and he laughed, wrapping me up in a tight hug.
“Who’s the blank canvas?” He said, pulling back and giving Adeline a glare.
“Adeline,” I said, extending my hand to her so she would come a little closer. “This is Harry,” I introduced them, “he’s done at least eighty percent of the art on my body,” I laughed, “at least.”
“He cried getting his underarms done,” Harry said, his lips curling upward as he took Adeline’s hand to shake it. “My God you are a pretty thing,” he added and I tossed him a dirty look that tugged a small laugh from Adeline.
“Addy,” she corrected me. I crossed my arms over my chest to keep from being glaringly jealous about the interaction.
“And you came here with this skud?” Harry scoffed. “There’s got to be a good reason,” he said, letting go of her finally and stepping back.
“First date,” Adeline said, her smile bright and her cheeks slightly red.Harry wasn’t wrong,I thought, just admiring her. I had forgotten how charming he could be and I was already annoyed that he was flirting with her, and that she was playing into it. Whether to bother me or not, I was instantly over it.
“Adeline wanted to get a tattoo,” I said.
