My mouth slowly fell open. “It’s your birthday?”
Emmett turned his attention to me while still fiddling with the register. He shrugged. “Yep.”
I smiled. “Even more reason to pay you for this.”
He rolled his eyes and started to push some more buttons on the register. I reached into my purse and pulled out my American Express card, sliding it over the glass counter. I couldn’t help but look down and notice all the different sketches of what I assumed were tattoos that people could choose from. They were amazing. Some were colorful—showing bright oranges, purples, and blues—and then to the right, there were some that were strictly black and white.
One tattoo in particular snagged my attention. It was black and the scripture-like handwriting must have been in a different language, because I couldn’t understand what it said. I only knew that the flow of letters looked beautiful.
“Like it?” a male voice asked from beside me. I jolted my head upward and was met with the blonde guy. His hair was scraggly, falling out from his bun. He was attractive, in a caveman type of way. “Yeah, what does it say?” I asked, looking back down at the writing.
“It says, Be you,” Emmett answered.
When I glanced up at him, he was squinting. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized me. I could tell he was trying to figure me out. I felt like I was a page in the middle of a book that he was desperately trying to read but had no idea what the words were actually saying. We stared at each other for what felt like eons before I said, “I like it.”
“I don’t think we’ve met.” The guy beside me moved a little closer. I slowly raised my head and glanced over at him.
“Her name is Fallon, and get away from her, Kip.” I jerked my head back to Emmett, confused by the snip in his voice. He was raising a dark eyebrow at the guy. My eyes traced his face all the way down to his jaw, which was ticking back and forth.
“Only because it’s your birthday,” Kip retorted, but then he turned and winked at me. My face scrunched with disgust, and Emmett let out a loud laugh. Axe joined in too, both of them cracking up.
“It doesn’t look like she’s interested in you, ass,” Axe laughed, looking at Kip.
“I’m not interested in anyone,” I said, propping my hands on my hips.
But let’s get real. Emmett was an entirely different breed that I wasn’t accustomed to. He was fascinating and dangerous-looking with those dark, midnight eyes—that was, until he smiled and that cute dimple appeared. I was intrigued because of how drawn I was to him. His voice. The jolt of energy that flew through my body when he gripped my hips. I felt butterflies for the first time in a long, long time. And although I knew I should have turned around and walked out of that shop, content with my belly button ring, I stayed. I planted my feet and stared into a pair of navy eyes, ready to be a different Fallon, if only for a few more hours.
Chapter Four
Emmett
For the entire ride to Ships, the guys continued to talk about Fallon. How hot she was, where she came from, how fucking sweet her ride was. Kip didn’t believe that I’d just met her, but Axe was my witness. Before I’d even locked the doors to the shop, Kip kept going on that he could feel it. When I’d asked what he’d been “feeling,” he answered, “It. The electricity.”
I very calmly told him he was fucking nuts and to stop smoking so much weed in his spare time. He only laughed but then quickly shut up when he’d watched Fallon unlock her vehicle. My uncertainties were becoming clearer with each second that I spent with her.
This girl was definitely not from around here or, hell, even the neighboring town. She had to be from the city. There was just something about her that screamed “high class.” Her clothes, her glossy hair, the American Express she’d pulled out to pay for her piercing. Then, the car confirmed it. The chick either had a hella good job, was rich by association of her family, or was a hooker (not likely). She was definitely getting her income from somewhere, because I almost busted a nut when I saw her ride.
I basically drooled as Fallon climbed into her Maserati—and not an old one, either. It looked brand fucking new. It was white and sleek. The black rims shone beneath the night sky. I could smell the leather of the interior when she opened the door. The fucking beauty had to be fast as hell, too.
So, for the entire ride to the bar, with Fallon trailing closely behind us, Axe and Kip were trying to guess what she did for a living. Kip was certain she had a sugar daddy, but Axe argued and said she was definitely a trust-fund princess. I interjected once and said she may have had a decent, high-paying job, which caused them to laugh. That was when I began to ignore them and soon got lost in my thoughts, dissecting everything she’d said to me when we were alone. The way her voice shook just a tad when she’d mentioned wanting to be someone else. I couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to know more about her.
I felt like I was in a trance, and it was driving me fucking crazy.
As soon as we started to climb out of my car, I told the guys to head into Ships so I could walk Fallon in—alone.
“Alright, dude.”
Seconds after I shut my door, Fallon parked beside me and shut off her car. She opened her door slowly as I stood back with my hands in my pockets. A light chill went through my body from the cool air.
“You ready?” I asked as she slammed her door shut. Fallon peered over to the flickering Sailed Ships sign of the small bar that us townies went to every weekend. She bit her pale lip, teetering it back and forth between her teeth.
“I don’t know… maybe I shouldn’t. I barely know you or your friends. You could be some psycho murderers or something.”
I chuckled, crossing my bare arms over my chest. “Oh, now…come on. You’ll let a psycho murderer give you a piercing, but you won’t have a drink with him? That doesn’t seem fair.” Fallon laughed, and it was like music to my ears. “Plus, I thought you were trying to be someone else for a change. What happened to that? Pussin’ out?”
Fallon flashed her bright eyes up to mine, their gloss sparkling underneath the stars. A small smile broke out along her lips. “Nope, no pussin’ out over here. Let’s go.”
I grinned as I wrapped my hand around her waist, leading us to the entrance.