Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
He’s trying to impress her. Fucking humans… At least I’m not that pathetic.
“Let’s get you on the chair and we’ll figure it out,” Victoria says as she takes her stencil and walks around the counter.
Once they’re distracted at Victoria’s station, Magnus comes over and sits in front of me.
“You got to keep your emotions in check,” he whispers as he puts a hand on my shoulder.
I drop my head and sigh as my bear paces around inside, snarling at the world. I can tell it’s going to be another long sleepless night tonight.
“We’re running a business here,” Magnus continues. “And we need you.”
I take a deep breath as I look at him and then look at Victoria as she deals with Curt, laughing at his lame jokes. He’s constantly flirting with her, but she just rolls with it.
She could literally bite his head off. Her inner grizzly bear is crazy strong. She did have two older brothers and we made sure she was tough enough to handle herself.
Against a human? He wouldn’t stand a chance.
But she’s still playing nice. She’s still being professional.
Maybe I should do the same.
My bear lets out a nasty hiss in my ear as he begins to pace around, snarling savagely.
If only my damn bear could get on the same page…
CHAPTER TWO
Lainey
Have you ever had one of those magical moments when everything feels so unbelievably perfect?
That’s how I feel right now. Rolling down the Montana highway in the passenger seat with my two best friends, Carly and Himari, beside me. The scenery is spectacular with the majestic mountains jutting into the clear blue sky. The summer wind is blowing in through the open windows, taking my blonde hair for a ride. Carly is driving. The music is blasting. Open Skittles and chip bags on the center console. Himari’s bare feet out the window in the back. We’re all singing at the top of our lungs, heading to some obscure out-of-the-way tattoo shop so we can each get a tattoo to celebrate the end of college.
We just graduated after a long four years. Summer is starting. Our whole lives ahead of us…
It’s perfect.
But it won’t be for long. Himari is heading back to Japan at the end of the summer and Carly will probably move back home to Boston. I still don’t know where I’m headed once our lease is up at the end of July. I could go home to Florida and stay with either of my parents, but my heart is not really into either of those options. I don’t know. But I don’t have to stress about it today. Right now, in this moment, everything is perfect.
We have all we need. Life can’t possibly get any better.
Free Falling by Tom Petty finishes and Carly turns down the music. “Any more Starbursts back there?”
“Oh yeah,” Himari says as she dumps a bunch into Carly’s open palm.
We pass a few cows in a field. One looks at me. I wave to her. She doesn’t wave back.
“You’re sure this place is going to be good, right?” Himari asks. Out of the three of us, she’s the most nervous to get a tattoo. I think she has a thing with needles.
“It’s the best tattoo shop around,” Carly says. “Remember the big wolf on Jason’s back? He got it there.”
“Jason was so hot,” Himari says, fanning herself. “I’m going to miss these American men.”
“You can always stay,” I tell her.
She smiles sadly and then looks out the window. I know she’s going back. She misses her family. A part of me wishes I didn’t say that. I don’t want anything to ruin today’s fun vibe. I mean, it’s not every day that you get your first tattoo with your best friends.
“I never told you guys,” Carly says, grinning. “I gave Jason a blow job.”
Himari slaps the back of Carly’s seat. “Shut. Up.”
“Get out,” I say, chuckling. “When?”
“At the Saint Patrick’s Day party,” she says, looking pretty pleased with herself.
I laugh to play along, but my stomach is quivering a little bit. I don’t really like hearing salacious stories like this. Carly and Himari definitely took advantage of their college years. We all shared a rented townhouse, and there were more than a couple of guys coming and going from their rooms during that time. Meanwhile, my room was locked up and out of commission for anything more than sleeping and studying. No men for me. No, thank you.
That wasn’t part of my college experience. I had no interest in that at all.
I glance at the GPS as Carly goes into detail. More detail than I care to know.
We have seventeen minutes left until we get to the Heat & Ink Tattoo Parlor. It was over ninety minutes away, but Carly convinced us it was worth the drive. Apparently, they have a woman there who specializes in flowers, which is perfect for me.