Page 30 of Open Road (Tattooed Hearts Duet 3)

The man threw his head back, laughing as though Slade had just told the funniest joke. If you knew Slade, that was funny within itself. The man did not joke. Lee fake wiped his eyes before settling on us again.

“You might do okay with this crowd, but you wouldn’t stand a chance in the competition. Inkjection and Chopz have this thing in the bag. We’ve been teaming up for karaoke for the past two years, and no one has been able to take our crown. You might have won a few awards today, but in the end, it will be us standing on that podium.”

It was then I realized he had backup this time, one of the snooty hairdressers and a scary girl who was cracking her knuckles as she looked us over. Slade was fuming next to me, and it would be any moment before he erupted, and we were kicked out of this nice place. I would even garner that Lee wanted that. I’d dealt with bullies my whole life, and the way to win was to not give in to their ploy. Acting unaffected, I rolled my eyes and picked up my drink, and slurped the rest of the fruity cocktail down.

“I don’t know what is sadder. The only thing you have is winning this competition or your tattoo designs? Now, we’re here enjoying an evening, which doesn’t include you. Please see yourself out before I get on my new best friend here and alert them to rude guests.”

I held up my phone, opening the app with the icon already pressed. Lee’s face turned red, and I could tell he wanted to respond, so I began to count down.

“And five, four, three, two…”

His posse turned and stormed off before I got to one, and I sat the phone down as the guys sputtered, looking at me like I was some weird creature they’d never encountered before.

“What? I didn’t lie. I wasn’t going to throw down a challenge. I haven’t heard them sing. I always hate that in movies when they get ahead of themselves. Plus, it’s what they wanted. We don’t need a competition to tell us we’re better than them.” I shrugged, picking up a fried mushroom and tossing it in my mouth.

“Does that thing let you pay your bill?” Slade asked, looking at my phone.

“Uh, yeah. Right here.” I showed him the screen, and he took it from me, entering his card information quickly before pocketing my phone and standing. As soon as we were out of the bar, he picked me up, my legs going around his waist.

“Um, why are you carrying me?” I asked, not really hating the gesture. I was glad I’d opted to wear leggings today though, so my butt wasn’t exposed.

“Because your legs are too short.”

Simon snorted next to him, but shrugged. “He’s not wrong, Lenn. And your whole speech back there has gotten us all ready to show you how amazing we think you are. Especially after you guys sang.” He winked at me, licking his lips, and that was when I felt the hard length against my core.

“Oh!”

The guys chuckled and, in the next few seconds, we were back in the hotel and heading back to the room where Simon, Slade, and Zane showed me how much they loved me and my crazy mouth.

ChapterFifteen

LENNOX

The morning had been spentpacking and getting the details for the next convention. Simon offered to take care of it all when he and Zane decided to go for a walk. Zane had wanted to get some pictures of things when it wasn’t as busy, and Simon had some shopping he wanted to do. It gave me time to call my parents and touch base with them.

“How are you doing, pumpkin?” my dad asked.

“Good. I’m experiencing so many new things. I never realized how much I was missing out on.”

“I’m glad that you’re getting out there. Your mom never wanted you to stay home the way you did.”

“I know.” I rubbed my forehead, knowing I’d taken on too much because of my mother’s illness.

At the time, it had felt necessary. But now, even I could admit it had become an unintentional crutch. Noah was a teenager, and Mom was doing so much better on her new medication. She was aware of her triggers, and we had enough support in place to help her.

I spent a few more minutes telling my dad about SIT, the places we’d seen so far, and the amazing food I’d gotten to try. I conveniently left out the person who’d stolen my wallet. No need to worry my dad.

“That’s so good, pumpkin. I miss you and love you lots. Here’s your brother. He wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, Dad. Love you.” I air-kissed the phone before he handed it over to my little brother. Noah’s face came into view, and I instantly smiled bigger.

“Hey, Sis. Guess what?” He smiled at me, wiggling his eyebrows in excitement.

“What?” I made a funny face at him while I waited.

“I got first place at robotics camp.”

“What? You did! That’s awesome!”

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