East comes up behind me, fingers digging into my hip. “You still mad, baby?” His lips move along the shell of my ear and I find that I can’t stay angry with him. Heavy footsteps fall on the hardwood floor and East moves away from me.
“What’s up, brother?” I watch in fascination as Roane and East greet each other with one of those random handshakes that all dudes seem to know by heart. Roane shifts his focus to me. “Dude, Alexa will kill you.”
“She’s legal,” is the response East gives him.
“Wylla Mae, last time I saw you, you barely came to my chest. You’ve grown up, baby girl.”
“Hey, Roane.”
“So, you’re here to get some ink.” He rubs his palms together. “Virgin skin. Do you know what you want?”
“Yeah.”
“All right come on back. I have some forms you need to fill out while I get set up and we can talk about the design you want.”
East gives me a nod and I follow Roane back to his station. I look back to see if East is coming too, but he stays up front talking to the pregnant chick.
“Have a seat.” Roane directs me to a black leather chair and hands me a pen and clipboard. “Fill this out and do you want to look through some books or do you already have an idea of what you want?”
“I know what I want. Do you remember when I was like eight East had to bring me with him to the clubhouse and you gave me a fake tattoo right here on my wrist.”
His face blanks but then he remembers. “That’s right you wanted a sunflower and the word lady.”
“Think you could recreate it but make it permanent.”
“Okay. I got you.” I fill out the paperwork while he starts sketching out the design. “You know East came in a few years ago and got a tat that had a sunflower in it. You know anything about that?”
“No. Where’d he get it at?”
“You’d have to ask him about that.” Roane gives me this look. It’s a look that says I know but I don’t care what you two got going on it’s none of my business, but I support my brother.
A few minutes pass and East finds his way to us in the back. His gazes travels the length of my legs and I scowl at him. I don’t want him checking me out like that right now. It makes feel awkward because it turns me on, and Roane is right here. “What’d you decide on?”
“Nope. I told you it’s a surprise.”
He strokes his chin. “Don’t sass me. I’ll spank your ass right here.”
“East,” I hiss.
“Wouldn’t be nothing Roane hasn’t seen before.”
Roane chuckles and shakes his head. “You ain’t wrong.”
East moves behind the chair putting his hands on my shoulders and starts massaging. I let out a moan because it feels good and East stops. “Don’t be doing that shit right now.”
“You’re the one over here rubbing on me.”
“All right.” Roane takes the clipboard and flips through the pages. Sitting it to the side he grabs his sketch for me he’s been working on. “Whatchu’ think?”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“Of course, it will be in full color,” he ads on.
East grins down at me seeing my choice.
Roane sketched out a skull with a sunflower growing out of the top and underneath in fancy cursive lettering is the nickname East gave me all those years ago— Lady.
“Now when you was a kid the placement was on your wrist. Do you trust me?”