Love Discovered in New York (The Washington Triplets) (9 page)

Sidestepping me, Kelsey called over to Colton. “What do you think about that pool hall on Berry Street?”

I stiffened, opening my eyes widely.
Oh shit,
I thought as my heart pounded in my chest. I stared daggers into her as I sent mental demands with my eyes.
You better not do it.

“It’s a cool spot,” Colton answered. “Why? What’s up?”

Kelsey looked at me and then back at Colton. “I’m going next Tuesday and you should meet us there. Take care of my best friend tonight,” she said as she reached for the door handle. “Mya, call me later…if you have the will to do it.” And then she was gone.

“She’s funny,” Colton commented with an easy smile as soon as the door closed behind Kelsey.

“The funniest,” I replied dryly. Turning to stand in front of him, I rubbed my hands together. “Okay where are we headed?”

“You’ll have to wait to find out,” he countered, walking to an older model sports car.

His voice alone does something to me
, I thought as I followed him.

“This is a pretty color,” I acknowledged, running my hand along the side of the car, admiring the paint job. “Gray is my favorite color.”

Colton opened the door for me and gestured for me to get in. “Thank you. And that’s good to know.”

I climbed into the car and the black leather felt warm against my thin shirt. Colton hopped in a few seconds later. Revving the engine, he flashed me a sexy smile as we pulled off.

“Mya, Mya, Mya,” Colton started as he maneuvered into traffic.

Looking over at his profile, I felt the fluttering in my belly again, so I looked away.

Oh shit, I know he’s going to ask me about my disappearing act Friday night,
I considered, swallowing thickly.
How am I going to explain leaving his house in the middle of the night
?
Ordinarily,
I wouldn’t think twice about telling a man that Friday night was a one-time deal. I mean, a couple of guys from college would attest to the fact that I can quickly and rather easily end it. But there’s something irresistible about Colton. And for that reason alone, casual, monogamous sex with Colton Davis is not an option.

“Before you say anything, I just want to make it clear to you that I’m not looking for a relationship,” I blurted out, looking back over to him.

He nodded and gave me a sexy smirk. “That’s fine.”

We were silent as faint music from a mix I was quite impressed with floated from his speakers. I studied his face and tried to read his expression as he switched lanes.

That’s fine? Why is that fine? I know he was feeling what I was feeling Friday night. Wait, what am I doing? He said it was fine. He—.

“What does ‘Imitation makes you who they are; Individuality makes you who you are’ mean to you?”

“What?” My voice trembled and came out in a strained burst of air.

Colton glanced over at me, but he didn’t say anything. The question hung in the air as the silence stretched between us. I hoped that he would do what most people do and try to fill the silence, but he didn’t. Since I was trapped in the car with him, I had two options: answer the question or make the car ride to an unknown location super awkward.

I cleared my throat and stared straight ahead. “It was the last thing my mother told me…before she passed away.”

“Did she always have sayings like that?”

I paused, liking that he didn’t immediately go for a sympathetic response. Looking out the window, I smiled. “For me, yes. She might’ve had them for my sisters, too. I don’t know. I never asked. But once a week, she would email me some wise saying. Some she made up, others she found on the internet. But every single one of them applied to me in some way. Needless to say, she didn’t agree with a lot of my life choices,” I concluded with a dry laugh.

“What didn’t she agree with?”

“Getting a degree in Business—but mainly because she didn’t think I would complete it. Selling my car. Moving to New York. Not coming home for the holidays.” I shrugged and continued staring out the window. “But when I got that message, I felt like she got it. Like she got me. I felt…”

“Acceptance,” he finished my sentence, his voice thoughtful.

I turned my head to look at him. His stunning profile looked contemplative as he rolled to a stop. He looked over at me and I saw something in his eyes that spoke to me on a deeper level. I couldn’t quite catch what it meant, but I understood it. And I instantly felt vulnerable.

Why am I telling him all of this?
I thought as I pulled my eyes away from him and stared out the window. My vulnerability and baggage hung in the air thickly and I felt like it was swallowing me.
How is he getting me to tell him so much? Or better yet, why am I so willingly giving him all this information?
I shook my head and we rode in silence for a while.

I opened my mouth to change the subject when he spoke up. “I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you had a really good mom…and she was absolutely right.”

I furrowed my brow and gave him a questioning look.

He continued, “About moving to New York.”

Turning in my seat, I folded my arms and balked at him. “What?”

Colton chuckled. “Hey, I did it too! I’m just saying…it’s pricey.”

I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat. “I just rolled my eyes at you, in case you missed it,” I announced, looking out the window again.

He laughed again. “I did miss it. But thanks for the update.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, looking at the historic buildings in Harlem.

Pulling into a tight parking space in front of a red brick building, Colton parked his car. “We’re here,” he announced.

I climbed out of his car and looked around. People were leisurely walking around and I could hear the loud cries of children in the park across the street. I took in my surroundings before turning and looking at Colton who was resting against his car watching me. He ran his tongue across his full lips and his eyes were trained on me.

I hadn’t ever had someone look at me quite like that before. Lust was one thing. But the way he looked at me went beyond lust. Goosebumps quickly spread across my skin.

“What?” I questioned quietly, walking slowly to meet him on the sidewalk.

His chest rose and fell before he tore his eyes away from me and started walking up the block. “Come with me.”

I followed him to the opposite end of the block. We stopped at a glass door with brown paper preventing anyone from seeing in or out of it. The store front window also had the same brown paper covering it. Colton used his key to open the door and then he stepped back to allow me to walk in first. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the familiarity of the décor made me smile.

“This is the newest Inkwell location,” I stated, looking around the fully furnished tattoo parlor. “Very nice.”

“Thank you,” Colton responded modestly, running his hand over his short haircut. He grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway to a room with the word Colt emblazoned on the wall. “Have a seat.”

I sat in the chair and looked up at him, my stomach fluttered as his brown eyes washed over me. He smiled at me before sitting on the rolling stool next to me. I watched him roll himself to a small sink to wash his hands and then he grabbed gloves. He rolled himself back to me, giving me the same look he had given me outside. My heart pounded in my chest and my mouth was suddenly dry.

Taking his finger, Colton touched the heart behind my ear causing my breathing to hitch. “So I know about this one.” He moved his hand down the left side of my body. “And I know about this one.” His fingers danced from my ribcage to my hip. Even through my shirt, I could feel the heat of his hands and my body reacted.

I watched him as his eyes followed his fingers as he ran his fingertips across my belly to the right side of my body. He trailed his hands up from my hip to my ribcage and then back down again. He toyed with the edge of my shirt. Meeting my eyes, he asked, “Do you mind?”

Unable to talk, I just shook my head as he lifted my shirt over my head. In just my purple satin bra and jeans, I sat still as his fingers stroked my tattooed skin. My nipples hardened and I saw him take notice. His voice dropped slightly when he spoke again. “Now I want to know the story behind this one.”

Finding my voice, I answered, “It says ‘ne laissez pas le joli visage vous tromper.’ It’s French for ‘don’t let the pretty face fool you.’”

Colton nodded knowingly. “I won’t,” he said with a smirk.

I let out a little laugh and continued, “I wrote an article about the perceptions of women and it was called ‘Don’t Let The Pretty Face Fool You.’”

He continued stroking my skin as he stared into my eyes. “What was the article about?”

“The perceptions and misperceptions of women. Being a strong woman and all the disparaging things people say to girls to try to keep them from growing into strong women. Basically, my experiences,” I replied easily, the passion I felt for the topic momentarily distracted me from the fact that I was topless in front of the sexiest man in New York.

“Tattoos tell you a lot about a person.” He stopped stroking me and just rested his hand on my hip. “I’m really good at reading people by their tattoos.”

“Is that right? You think you know some things about me based on my tattoos? By all means, let’s hear it. What do mine tell you about me?” I challenged him playfully, cocking my head to the side.

“What do I get if I’m right?”

“Nothing. Because you won’t be right.”

“Oh, but I will be.” Leaning slightly so he was hovering over me, he smirked. Putting his hand in my hair, he tucked a lock of loose curls behind my ear and then ran the pad of his thumb over my heart tattoo. “This one tells me that you have a big heart, but it’s a bit closed off. That’s why it’s black. I think that you wanted your tattoo behind your ear because you listen to your heart and then follow it.”

My heart thudded in my chest.

Colton ran his hand down my neck and between my breasts and touched the tattoo that quotes my mother. “You never really felt understood. You’ve never had anyone really see you for who you are. You do what you want and people are scared of that. ” Running his hand to the other side of my body, he continued, “You are confident and strong and you stand up for what you believe in. You are so much more than what meets the eye.”

Seconds passed and we just stared at one another. Without warning, I sat up and crushed my lips against his. It was an impulsive, involuntarily reaction to his words. He wasted no time responding, deepening the kiss and letting his mouth move over mine seductively. I pulled away and flattened myself against the reclined chair. My chest heaving as I stared up at him.

Something passed between us and it made me tremble with anticipation. I’d never felt anything so intense without being physically touched before and it made me nervous. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn’t quite stop the fluttering that traveled from my belly to my chest cavity. Feeling overwhelmed, I tore my eyes away from him and changed the subject.

“Did you bring me here to get me naked?” I deflected, hoping he’d get flustered so I’d have a moment to collect my thoughts.

He laughed. “That’s not why I brought you here. But to be clear, I like you and I’d love to see you naked again. But we are here to kick-off our date.”

“There are two things wrong with that statement… I’m not dating right now so this isn’t a date. And I’m already topless so you have me in here halfway naked. Are you sure that’s not why you brought me here?” I teased, folding my arms over my chest.

Colton shook his head and looked to be fighting a laugh. “Fine. We’re hanging out.” He placed his hand in the center of my belly and rubbed his thumb against my exposed skin. “And you’re topless because I’m going to give you the tattoo that you’ve wanted on your back, but didn’t have time to get.”

I uncrossed my arms, letting them fall limply at my sides. “What?” I breathed in surprise.

“You heard me.” He winked before setting up his equipment.

Oh my God,
I squealed internally as I did a little happy dance in the chair.

Colton and I spent the next thirty minutes discussing the ‘Stay Gold’ tattoo that I wanted on my right shoulder blade. After designing it to my specifications, I prepared myself for the tattoo. Colton kept me laughing the entire time with stories about his friends and family. He talked about his family with so much love and affection that I couldn’t help but think about my family and how strained we’d become. The small tattoo took less time for him to actually ink on me than it did for me to explain what I wanted him to do.

“My dad is going to flip his shit when I tell him I tatted ‘Stay Gold’ on someone.
The Outsiders
is one of his favorites.” Colton chuckled as he admired his handiwork. He rubbed ointment on the tattoo and then covered it loosely with gauze. “You can flip over now.”

I took my shirt out of his hand and pulled it over my head. He helped me pull it down in the back so it didn’t disrupt the gauze. Once he pulled me to my feet, I asked, “Are you going to tell him you tattooed a woman on a date?”

He smirked as he watched me pull my hair into a high ponytail. “I’m not telling him that because I’m not dating right now,” he said, mimicking me.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I don’t know why I agreed to hang out with you today,” I growled playfully.

Colton tugged my ponytail forcing my head to tip upward and stared at me for a second. “Yes you do,” he whispered before his mouth covered mine. When his tongue met mine, I moaned in response.

Completely addicted,
I thought as I pushed his shirt upward to expose his hard body.