Damaged and the Cobra (5 page)

After getting our booth at Stucky’s, I headed to
the restroom to clean up. My hair looked like shit and my makeup was a mess. I
even stunk of sweat. Staring at myself in the mirror, I realized I was smiling.
Once again, I smiled even when I wanted to cry.

How badly I wanted to impress Aaron like he
impressed me. How much I wished I was special or had a talent to make him think
of me in the way I thought of him. Aaron was more than stunning. He amazed me.
Every time I thought of the tattoos on Judd, Tawny, and the others, I marveled
at the artistry.

Unlike Aaron, I wasn’t really good at anything. I
was okay at lots of things, but there was nothing special about me. I felt like
a loser smiling at myself in the mirror. However, I recalled his lips on mine.
For the first time since arriving, my smile was real.

He tasted better than a guy should taste. I’d
kissed plenty of boys since I was in junior high, but it always seemed gross.
At the very least, unsanitary. Raven used to laugh at me when I’d say that, but
it was true. Kissing Aaron though was better than I could have imagined.

Returning to the booth, I couldn’t believe I had
the chance to really know him. He looked so good in a buttoned up shirt, khakis,
and loafers. The colors on the cobra contrasted perfectly against the red of
his shirt. While Aaron always seemed small when next to Cooper, he wasn’t short
or weak. At six feet, his body was tight with muscles. Seeing me approaching,
his blue eyes locked onto my face and I wanted to sit next to him and explore
every inch of his body.

Instead, I planned to play it cool. In fact, the
minute I sat across from Aaron, I started asking questions. A part of me feared
if he asked me questions that he might not like the answers I gave him.

“How long have you been tattooing?”

“I started working at the shop of a really talented
guy when I was in high school. He took me under his wing and taught me
everything he knew. Once I graduated, I worked for him. A year later, he
decided to move to Florida. Cooper bought his place and we opened our shop.”

“What does Cooper do?”

“Nothing,” Aaron said, giving me a grin. “He bought
the place. I run it. He doesn’t do any actual work and he doesn’t take any
profits. He likes saying he owns it, but it was more like a gift to me to make
us even.”

“Make you even for what?”

“For putting up with his arrogant ass all these
years.”

Laughing behind my hand, I couldn’t believe I was
finally having a real conversation with Aaron. Nearly giddy, I was past faking
cool. He’d seen me as a sweaty mess and kissed me anyway.

“What?” Aaron said when I smiled at him for too
long.

“I’ve been thinking about you since the wedding
rehearsal.”

Aaron leaned back in the booth and smiled in that
cocky way men smiled when they had a girl on the hook. “Really? What were you
thinking?”

“That you were really…handsome. I also wished I
could talk to you, but I never got a chance at the wedding.”

Aaron’s smile faded. “I didn’t sleep with that
chick. The one I brought to the wedding. I had invited her already and couldn’t
bail.”

“I understand.”

Aaron leaned forward and took my hand. His thumb
pressed warmly against my palm.

“I thought about you too and I wasn’t going to
settle. That’s what I’m saying. I don’t want to play games. I’ve waited too
long to fake shit.”

Running my fingers against his, I held his gaze and
we simply sat there waiting for our meal. No words were necessary. Even wanting
to know everything about him, I didn’t want to interrupt the perfect vibe we
shared.

Finally, our food arrived and we used our hands to
eat. No matter the great barbecue before us, I only wanted to stare at Aaron.

“What are you hoping to do with your degree?” he
asked.

“I’d like to become a paralegal, but I don’t know
if I can get a BA. I really want to work in an office and have a dress code
that doesn’t involve a uniform.”

“Any reason why?”

Shrugging, I tried to be casual, but lying to Aaron
felt obscene. “My family isn’t the kind of people who work in offices. They’re
all waitresses, fast food workers, or janitors. Low pay, low skill workers. I
want to be different.”

“Isn’t your stepdad that guy with the car
dealership?”

“Yeah, but he’s not really family. He’s just my
mom’s husband.”

Aaron nodded. “Understood.”

“Are your parents together?”

“Yeah. Nearly fifty years.”

“Wow,” I said, doing the math in my head.

Aaron grinned. “They adopted me when they were
nearly fifty. Dad had retired and they wanted to try the family deal again.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“A sister who’s forty. Anna’s a high powered tax
attorney in Miami. She works for a huge corporation and is like my dad on
heels.”

Smiling, I hadn’t realized Aaron’s family was well
to do. I just assumed because of his tattoos and friendship with Cooper that he
came from a rougher background.

“What are your parents like?” I asked.

“They’re two of the friendliest people you’ll ever
meet. My dad is always laughing this booming laugh. My mom is soft spoken, but
tough as nails. They raised me with a crap full of love and I never wanted for
anything. I wasn’t spoiled though. It’s hard to explain, but they were retired
and focused all of their attention on me.”

“They did a great job.”

Aaron smiled then startled me by standing up and
walking to my side of the booth. Leaning down, he smelled of barbecue, Coke,
and a hint of cologne. My lips opened for him without me even thinking.
Instinctually, I wanted to be closer to him. Hell, I wanted everything from
him. My mind was already imagining him against me in bed. I planned to explore
with my lips every tattoo on his hard body.

When Aaron removed his lips, he licked them and I
shivered. He returned to his side of the booth and acted normal. However, I
could almost feel his heart beating and I knew what he felt.

“I wish I could go home with you right now,” I
said, losing my filter.

Aaron’s blue eyes held my gaze and I saw such
warmth. Yet, for a second, I spotted another harder emotion and felt him
pulling away emotionally. The coldness in his eyes lasted only long enough for
him to blink, but it cut deep into me.

I realized Aaron didn’t trust me.

“My family is low class, but I’m a loyal person,” I
said. “Like I don’t steal or lie or anything.”

Aaron frowned at me. “Why did you just tell me
that?”

“You looked like I might run off with your wallet.”

Smiling slightly, he leaned back and studied me.
“More worried about you running off with my heart.” When I didn’t say anything,
he laughed. “Yeah, sounded corny, but I can see how you’d do a number on me.
Good thing you’re the loyal type, huh?”

Nodding, I felt uneasy like I needed to prove my
worth or he might never kiss me again. A lifetime of insecurities rose up and I
panicked a little.

“When I like something, I like it forever. I love
the same foods I loved when I was kid. I love the same music. The same
everything. I’m loyal.”

Aaron leaned forward and exhaled softly. “You’re so
beautiful and I can’t get your face out of my mind.”

“Really?” I asked like a dope. “No one’s ever said
that before. Well, no one who wasn’t trying to con me into sleeping with them.”

“I don’t want to con you into anything.”

“You don’t need to.”

Aaron’s smile widened. “I’d take you home this very
second except I sense you’re supposed to return home in an hour or so. No way
would I be able to let you go that quickly.” Leaning back in the booth, he
sighed loudly. “I guess we’ll just have to pick another time for you to visit
my place. I can show you my dogs and…”

Aaron didn’t finish. I saw him conflicted over
finishing then he shook his head. “I’ll just show you everything.”

“I want that.”

Aaron studied my face and I felt so alive with his gaze
focused on me.

“I should be taking this slow. Playing it cool like
I don’t really care,” Aaron said. “I know how to play the dating game. Act
interested, but not too interested. Make the girl work for it. I know that
shit, but I don’t want to play anything with you. It needs to be real and the
reality is I want you.”

Smiling wider, I sighed. “I’ve never been good at
dating. If I was good at it though, I still wouldn’t pretend with you.”

“I came into Denny’s three times trying to talk to
you. Each time, I came in when you were on break or it was another server’s
turn. I wanted to ask for you, but what if it seemed creepy or like I was stalking
you. Games haven’t worked, so I’m all in with the truth from now on.”

Laughing like an idiot, I could barely control
myself. “I told myself you came in to see me, but felt stupid thinking that. I
was right though.”

Aaron laughed too. “How fucking lame was I? Like a
high school punk trying to woo the hot girl.”

Shivering, I wanted to touch him so badly. I wanted
everything and had no patience for eating or small talk. My brain said to climb
over the table and just take him. Picturing this sent me into hysterics and
Aaron followed suit. We were just laughing like idiots because months of
longing and plotting and failing had brought us to this cathartic moment.

After settling down, we smiled at each other. “Did
Cooper know you liked me?” I asked. “Was that why he offered to have you fix my
butterfly?”

“Yes,” he said then studied me. “Why do you have a
worm?”

Still smiling, I felt a little of my confidence
leave me. “My stepdad thinks tattoos are trashy. Larry doesn’t see them as art.
When I went to get my butterfly, he sent his son to stop me.”

“I don’t get it. You’re an adult. What the fuck
does he care what you do with your body?”

“He’s a control freak and thinks everything
reflects on him.”

“He sounds like an asshole.”

“He is.”

“Well, even if I didn’t think you were the most
beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, I’d turn that worm into a butterfly. The damn
thing makes me sad. It’s like someone’s torn off its wings.”

“I had been embarrassed about it, but whatever you
do will be a million times better than what I would have gotten. Not that the
guy who was doing it wasn’t good, but your tattoos are…I don’t think there’s a
word.”

“Are you into art?”

“I love art, but I’m not really an artistic person.
If that makes sense.”

“It does. My parents are the same way.” Aaron ran a
finger over the knuckles on my hand. “Mom took a few art classes, but she has
no ability to create what’s in her mind.”

“I would love to take an art class at school, but I
can barely afford the required courses.”

Aaron looked ready to say something, but stopped
himself. Instead, he wiped away the sweat on his glass.

“Is it just you and your sister and the step
siblings?”

“I had a little brother. Phoenix died when he was
almost four.”

“How?” he said, taking my hand again.

“We were supposed to be watching him,” I mumbled,
just saying the words without picturing what happened. “Raven and I were in
dance class and we were practicing outside while Phoenix played with his little
plane. We weren’t watching him and he must have dropped his toy in the pool and
went in to get it. We weren’t paying attention and he drowned.”

“How old were you?”

“Six. Raven was eight.”

“Why were you watching a child?”

“Our stepdad was hung over and he told us to watch
him.”

“Fuck that,” Aaron muttered angrily and the
darkness in his eyes excited me.

“Phoenix was really sweet. Smart too and a good
swimmer. I think that’s why he thought it would be okay.”

Aaron let go of my hand and joined me on my side of
the booth. Startled by the suddenness of his gesture, I froze until his arms
wrapped around me.

“You smile even when you’re sad,” he murmured. “It
kills me to see that.”

Gazing up at him, I let my fingers slide over the
cobra’s fierce expression. The tattoo was so realistic that I was surprised not
to see my reflection in its cold black eyes.

“Phoenix was amazing. I wish every day we had watched
him better and he could be here now.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, nuzzling his lips
against my hair. “You realize there’s a reason the state doesn’t license
children to be daycare owners.”

“I know that in my head. In my heart, I feel like I
let him die.”

“Kids always think shit’s their fault.”

Even knowing what he was saying was true, I thought
everyday of Phoenix floating in the pool. Raven and I were showing off and
having so much fun while our baby brother drowned yards away. Logic didn’t stand
a chance against the pain of such memories.