Broken but Breathing (Jinx Tattoos 2)

“Sorry, Dad,” Jocelyn mumbled.

Snake ground his teeth.

“What do you like to do, X?” Jocelyn asked.

My girl wants to know about me?

“I like to go on long trips on my motorcycle.”

Jocelyn gasped. “You have a motorcycle?”

“I do. We drove today, but usually, I’m always on my bike.”

“Wow,” Jocelyn exclaimed with wide eyes.

He wanted to tell her she’d love him just as much as he did some day, but he didn’t have the right. Not yet.

They continued to eat and make small talk. The Miles remained quiet, and showed their disapproval as only a snob could. It didn’t bother him, or his woman. Es shined. He saw her hosting skills, and her ability to put a child at ease. He couldn’t help but wonder what their child would look like. The thought blindsided him. He took a healthy gulp of water and forced the wayward imagining to the back of his brain. One thing at a time.

As brunch came to a close, they paid their bills and moved to the garden.

“Maybe you can walk with X for a while, and I’ll hang back and talk to your parents?” Es said.

Jocelyn looked to her parents for approval.

“Yes, dear, we’ll be right behind you,” her mother said.

“You’ve been here before, right?” Snake asked.

“Yes, many times,” Jocelyn said.

“Then how about you give me the grand tour,” Snake suggested.

“I can do that. Do you like flowers?” Jocelyn asked.

“I never thought about them much. It’s usually more of a girl thing.”

They walked through the well-tended greenery and he rejoiced as she became more comfortable with him.

“I really like your girlfriend, she’s nice,” Joc said.

“I can tell she really liked you, too. She loves kids. She used to teach kids.”

“She was a teacher? That’s what I want to do.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes, I’d love to teach art, like Ms. Scantily. She’s the best.”

He smiled. “What does she teach you how to do?”

“Oh, all kinds of things. Painting, drawing, we even made a sculpture out of clay that she baked in this really big oven called a kiln.”

“That is really cool!” he said.

She beamed up at him and he knew his life would never be the same.

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