The thrilling buzzing sounds—like a vibrator but louder and more intense, whirled through my ears when the tattoo gun Velvet used on me echoed through the room. And my breathing was constantly halting—my lungs felt restricted from receiving the air I needed to breathe the longer she etched her artwork permanently onto my spine. Smiling like a mad woman, knowing she was hitting all my sensitive spots—which seemed to be my entire backside. Even though this was the most painful tattoo I'd ever gotten, excitement still grew inside me with every second that went by—eager to see the final result.

I came into the tattoo parlor, thinking Velvet marking my spine would be a piece of cake after the other areas she tattooed in the past didn't affect me. But this new artwork I had her draw up for me, from the top of my spine down to the bottom, is most definitely challenging me and my pain tolerance.

Through the mirror in front of me, I looked at the man standing beside me, watching Velvet torment my back in amazement. Theo—a beautiful, caring, loving man who befriended me on my first day in college after seeing me walk around campus, looking dazed and confused, and as he put it—off. He became the best study partner I could've ever asked for and my go-to guy whenever I needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone I needed by my side. He's seen me at my worst. Seen me at my best. And Theo's the only one who's enjoyed challenging me these last eight years, insisting and persuading me to be my best.

Theo's also a very attractive man. Dark hair, piercing blue eyes, perfect skin, with an innocent boyish-looking face that dresses very well—better than me, actually—who puts a lot of effort into his appearance before even thinking about stepping out the door. He's also the only guy I know that isn't ashamed to walk into a spa with me and get a manicure and pedicure.

Since Theo and I were always joined at the hip, doing everything together, one would think he and I were a hot item. And if I wasn't in love with someone else, or he wasn't gay, Theo would be the guy I'd want to have in my life.

"Just think, Desiree. The man that'll be lucky enough to boink you from behind will be in paradise when he gets to stare at the inking on your back," Theo teased, grinning, then laughing after Velvet paused her torturing session to chuckle at his remark. He looked at Velvet, then me through the mirror, proudly smiling. "Well, it's true. Whichever hole he chooses, or you allow him to satisfy, he'll be extremely turned on because the graffiti he'll be seeing on his Mona Lisa will show how much of a wild side she has. Sometimes men love women who can be wild and out of control." He winked and grinned wider while pointing at my back. "And that peach-colored gladiolus flower with the stem a quote you just had etched into your spine? 'You're always where you're supposed to be.' Shows you enjoy arousing someone's curiosity. Because you know as well as me that means more than one thing," he snickered.

As I looked at Theo, I rolled to my side, using my hip to balance myself. "Are you implying I meant the quote to be sexual?"

Theo's lips stretched wider. And he started pumping his hips back and forth, saying, "I know you and your secrets, Desiree. And I'm smart enough to know it has a hidden meaning. So don't even try lying to me about what the passage means." He winked, still moving his hips as if he was having sex. Then he started snapping his wrist like he was spanking the imaginary person, teasing, "You're right, Desiree. I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Right between your luscious thighs, filling you entirely of me. Now cum for me... all over my cock."

I hurriedly rolled back to my stomach and lowered my cheek to the bed, looking the opposite way of Theo after feeling my cheeks heat from embarrassment. "I'll have you know. The gladiolus means quite a few things. Faithfulness, strength, trustworthiness, never giving up, and more. The peach hue means serenity. And it's a color that protects you from negative emotions like sadness and disappointment since it doesn't allow you to feel them. And as for the message? That's for me to know and for you to just leave alone."

Theo laughed, excitedly saying, "I knew it."

I flipped my head to the other side to face him, ignoring the comment and massive grin on his face. But I had to admit something to Theo because if I didn't, he'd continue drilling and embarrassing me in front of Velvet. "You're right. The tattoo does have hidden meanings. But those meanings are who I am and who I've blossomed into being." Kit's face flashed before my eyes, and I sighed. "I never gave up, Theo. He will be mine, whether Dante likes it or not."

Looking confused, his brows drew together. "I thought you said your brother told you he has a girlfriend?"

"He did tell me that," I sighed, rolling my head toward the mirror and resting my chin on the bed. "But that still isn't going to stop my determination to get the guy I've wanted since I was in middle school. Now that I'm older and have graduated, getting all the degrees I needed to become who I wanted to be, I've decided the best thing to do is move back home and go after what I want. Nobody is biting on my resume here anyway, and since you're moving back to Nebraska, nothing is keeping me here. So, by returning home and how everyone seems to know Dante, I may get lucky enough to land a job there while trying to score the man I haven't stopped thinking about all these years. Even if he has a girlfriend."

Theo re-started pumping his hips forward and backward, grinning like the tease he was. "Well, then. If you can get the man to drop the girl he's with, finally scoring the hottie you've been talking about since we became friends. The same one that made your toes curl when he kissed you. Then if he offers to give you the big D you've been craving. Don't forget to call me so we can have a deflowering ceremony."

***

"I can't believe you talked me into getting a tattoo with you."

I giggled, looking at Theo as he drove out of the parking lot. It's what he gets for embarrassing me in front of my tattoo artist. And for bringing up the fact I'm a damn virgin in front of her. "Why not?"

"Because," he emphasized, "my skin is flawless and pure. Well. It was anyway," he added, sighing, making me smile even more. "I've never had a scratch or scrape in my life. And now I have something on my arm that I'll never be able to wash off."

"But they're matching tattoos," I happily said, grinning. "And I didn't have to talk you into it. You did it willingly."

"Bologna," he scoffed, "You were like. Please, Theo. Please. Please. Please, get a tattoo with me!"

I shook my head and laughed at the way he tried doing a reenactment of me—girly voice and batting his eyelashes with his hand resting over his heart. "So? I said please."

"Not only did you repeatedly beg, please." He looked at me. "But you played with my heartstrings with your you don't love me crap and saying how you wouldn't be my friend anymore if I didn't get the matching tattoo with you." I couldn't help but grin after noticing him eyeing the bandage on his forearm. "Now, I've got words permanently inked on my arm that I have no idea what the hell it means."

I laughed harder. "It's a perfect saying for what you're trying to act all upset about right now."

His head snapped my way. "I'm not trying to act upset. I am upset."

Pfft...

"Liar. You know you love it. And now that you got a tattoo, you'll be getting more. Because once you get one, you'll want more."

"I don't think so," he argued. "What does the thing you insisted I get mean, anyway?"

"First off, you'll get another tattoo. Trust me. Nobody ever gets just one unless they're a pussy. Secondly, I know you love it because it's identical to mine. And lastly, C'est la vie means that's life."

He looked at his arm, then at me. "I'm not getting another one. It sucked ass. That shit fucking hurt. So, I guess you can call me a pussy," he said with a serious look on his face, "because I'm not getting another one."

That's what he thinks.

I laughed. "You're not a pussy. You're just pissed I got you to do something you said you'd never do. And after you got it, you realized how much you enjoyed the annoying prickling sensations and the end results." I grinned, then added, "Not to mention," I emphasized, "I know you're feeling special right now. And you're liking the fact that having the same tattoo as me, in the same spot, that after we part ways and when you start missing me—it'll make you feel connected to me—reminding you of our wonderful friendship and wishing that you were still with me daily."

I knew I was right when he cleared his throat and didn't object to my assumption. Instead, he changed the subject. "So, you never told me. Did your brother ever return your call this morning?"

I hesitantly nodded, quietly and slowly telling him, "He did."

Theo looked at me, his perfectly shaped brow cocked high. "And?"

I looked down at my hands and sighed. "Dante thinks I should stick it out a little longer. And as I wait, I should call every hospital and clinic I applied at and hound them until someone agrees to interview me."

"He doesn't want you moving back home and in with him, does he?"

I'd move back home if I could, but I can't. My father's health was declining by the day a couple of years ago. And because it got to the point, he could no longer care for himself. Since I was in California, and Dante was busy working and traveling, we decided to sell the home we grew up in and placed our father in a nursing home.

"I didn't bring that part up that I planned on coming home this week after he got on my case."

"What did he say?"

"He wants me to succeed and believes I have a far better chance at becoming a highly sought reputable veterinarian in Cali than at home. So he says... but I think it's because Dante and Kit still own the home they bought together after high school."

Theo shook his head. "I don't understand what the big deal is. Wouldn't you think he'd rather have someone or a friend he knows and trusts date his sister than some jerk-off, abuser, murderer, or even a pedophile she had met off the street or in some random location?"

I thought about it for only a second and quickly shook my head. "Nope. He's been overprotective of me for years. His obsession with me never dating his friends will never change. I think what his problem is that if any one of his friends were to date me and they were to hurt me in some way or break my heart, he'd feel he'd have to pick sides—something he doesn't want to get in the middle of. He'd rather keep us both in his life." I frustratedly blew out a breath. "That's the only thing I can come up with."

And I'm sure my logical explanation is accurate.

"Putting it that way, I can see where he's coming from. If that's the case." Is all Theo said before pulling up to a restaurant. "Hungry?"

I nodded. "A little."

"Good. Because I'm starving, and we need to talk over drinks and food."

Drinks... something I definitely need right now—something that'll help me forget about Dante's overbearing ways. Something that'll help me forget how Kit makes me feel every time I think about him—which is practically twenty-four-seven, seven days a week.

I ordered my favorite drink—Alabama Slammer. And Theo ordered his favorite—Strawberry Daiquiri. And instead of ordering a meal, we ordered an appetizer tray to share.

With his elbows on the table, Theo's mouth curved into a smile when he lowered his chin into the palm of his hand. "Tell me about him again."

Even though I knew who he was referring to, I still asked, "Who?"

"Come on, girlfriend. You know who. I want to see your blue eyes light up when you talk about him. Because the way you describe him, he sounds dreamy."

I laughed. "You'll never have him, Theo. He's not gay."

"I know. But I need to envision once again the man my girl is determined to win the heart of, destroying another woman's heart in the process. Not to mention I need to remember what he looks like before I attend a funeral after your brother demangles his face and kills him."

I swirled my straw around the ice-filled drink, thinking about the last time I saw Kit, what he looked like then, and something he said to me the night of my eighteenth birthday that had me clenching my thighs tightly together—wanting to claim my lips. Because of how he looked at me and said it, I know it meant more than one thing.

And I'd give anything for that to happen.

Theo smiled as if he were in heaven. "God, he sounds amazingly hot; I can't get enough of you talking about him," he said in awe after I finished explaining Kit's features to him for the millionth time. Then, as he quietly stared into my eyes, a mischievous look appeared on his face and a smile that said he had come up with an idea—a dangerous idea.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Slurping noises filled the air as he sucked every last drop of his drink into his mouth, then stood, pointing at my drink. "Suck it up, Buttercup. We're going to get the man you've been dreaming about and masturbating to all these years."

My eyebrows curled in confusion. "How?"

He happily sang, "You'll see."

"What about these appetizers?"

Theo waved the waitress over, handing her the tray and asking that they put it all into a to-go box. "We'll stuff our faces along the way to where I'm taking you."

Theo pulled up to the salon and spa I always take him to, grinning as he parked in front of the building. "Come on, beautiful. This pampering is on me. And when we're done with this, I'm taking you to pick out something amazing—something so outrageous that'll assist in putting Kit's mind in overdrive—driving him absolutely bonkers and his mind to bleed to the point where it'll help expedite the process of landing the man of your dreams."

Great. "I'm afraid to ask what that is."

"Don't ask. Just grin and bear it when it comes time to pick out that special item."

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! 🤞🤞