“Sorry,” I tell him, even though I’m not really sorry.
“It’s okay. You want to make it up to me?”
“Uh, sure.” I say it more like a question than an answer. I’m always cautious and have to analyze everything. I can’t just say yes to something I’m not all that sure of, but I don’t think Trey would lead me wrong.
“Great. Shower and I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
My heart starts to race. Is he asking me out on a date? “Where are we going?”
“The shop.”
I pull into my driveway and put the car in park as my hope deflates. Not a date, a tattoo. “No, I’ve thought about it, and I just don’t think it’s meant for me to get a tattoo.”
His voice deepens. “Do you trust me, Katie?”
I grab my purse, flip the call from my car to my phone, and walk up the front steps to my house to let myself in. Do I trust Trey? Absolutely. There’s no way I couldn’t. Not after the way he’s helped out and taken care of Lane and me this week. “Yes.”
He breathes heavily over the phone. “Good, I was getting nervous there for a second. I’ll see you in an hour, Katie. Be ready.”
And before I can answer him, he’s already hung up. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?
I rush around and get ready, even taking the extra time to shave all my parts. Not that I’m expecting anything, but a girl should be ready anyway. Yes, I’m hopeful. Even though I know it’s too soon and Jamie thinks I should treat Trey as the rebound guy, I just don’t know. It seems like more than that.
I’m sitting on the front porch when Trey pulls into the driveway. He walks up the porch and sits next to me on the stoop. “Evening,” he says huskily.
I nod, because when he’s this close, I’m sort of a mess. Plus, this is the first time it’s just been the two of us all week, and I have so many things going through my head.
“You okay?” he asks, nudging me with his shoulder.
I laugh, because now it’s like a joke because of how many times he’s asked me that exact question in the last week. “Can we talk about the tattoo?”
He dips his head and steals a kiss. “Sorry, I’ve been dying to kiss you again. Continue, we can talk about the tattoo.”
My lips are warm from the brief touch of his lips. “I don’t want to get one.”
“Why?”
I look down at my hands in my lap, and he touches his chin to bring my eyes up to his. “Tell me why.”
I shrug my shoulders, but I can’t look away. I can feel my face heat as I say what’s been on my mind this whole week. “I don’t want you to see me.”
His eyes widen. “You don’t want me to see you?”
I shake my head.
His hand goes to the base of my neck, and he holds me tight as he leans his forehead against me. “Well, that sucks you feel that way, because that’s all I’ve been able to think about all week.”
I suck in a breath and pull back, but he doesn’t let me go far. He’s holding on to me so that I have no choice but to keep staring into his eyes. “You have?” I ask and then shake my head. “Look, Trey. I’ve had a kid.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I’ve met him. His name is Lane, right?” he jokes before steadying his gaze on me. “I know you have a kid, Katie.”
“Okay, but my point is that I don’t have a body like the ones you’re probably used to seeing. That’s all. I don’t know where this is going or anything, but I mean I want to see you naked… I mean, God did I say that out loud?” I pull back my shoulders and take a deep breath. “Yes, it’s the truth. I do want to see you… but I don’t want you to see me.”
His hands go to my shoulders and squeeze. “Katie, baby, we’re going to see each other. That’s all there is to it.”
“Yeah, but…”
One of his hands travels up my neck, and he cups my jaw. His thumb strokes across my cheek, and he’s searching my eyes, but I’m not sure why. “Katie, honey, I’m going to ask you again. Do you trust me?”
I don’t even breathe he’s so close to me. I can feel his hot breath caress my cheek next to his thumb. I nod my head.
He licks his lips, and my gaze follows his tongue as it sweeps across his lower lip. He smirks. “Good.”
He leans in and presses his lips to mine before I even realize what is happening, but as soon as we touch it’s like my whole world stops. As his hand cups my jaw tighter and his other arm goes around my shoulder to pull me closer, all my senses are on high alert. When his tongue strokes across the seam of my lips, I moan, and he takes the opportunity to push his tongue into the depths of my mouth. “Ummm,” I moan.