“We just wanted to apologize,” Jaxon says before elbowing Mira.
“Ugh, fine. And I’m sorry for telling everyone you were kissing Olly.”
“Yeah, and we’re sorry for giving you crap about it,” Dom says.
“And wearehappy for you,” Finn says, nudging Dom.
“And we’re happy for you,” he grumbles, still salty with me.
“Thank you,” I say, a little smugly. “Appreciate it, but I still don’t take back what I said.”
Dom narrows his eyes. I’d be shitting my pants if I didn’t know he was a big softie.
“Come on, big guy,” Jaxon says, patting his chest and moving him out the door. “He’s not wrong. You’re next,” I hear him say as they walk down the hall.
Pfft, it’s not like I want to be bitten by the love bug or anything.
Damnit! Maybe I do want a bug bite.
Fuck, do I want him. I’ve wanted him since before I broke into his house and kissed him. Best spontaneous decision I ever made. See, not all of them are bad.
“Oh, and your appointment is here,” Mira says, and I nod my head. “Send them back, please.”
I hear her before she even gets to the door.
“I’ve changed my mind. We’ll have to do the nipple piercing another day.”
Oh, thank the Lord.
“So, what do you want done today, Ms. Brandy?” I ask when she enters.
“Well,” she says, plopping her ass down in my client chair. “I want a tattoo. Nothing too crazy, Jasper. I just want one half of a BFF heart on the inside of my forearm.”
“Ummm. Ok. I can do that.” I look through my drawers until I find a pre-made stencil. There are a handful of designs that are popular with college girls. Jaxon came up with these pre-mades so we don’t have to hand sketch. It helps us push walk-ins out the door quicker.
“I’m assuming you want Ms. Cook’s name in the center?”
“Of course, dear. Who else would be my BFF? I mean really Jasper.”
“Hey, it’s permanent. I needed to make sure.”
“I’m buying her one of those necklaces and giving her one half. And because she got the mermaid tattoo in honor of me, I’m getting the necklace for her.”
“That’s really sweet, Ms. Brandy. I’m glad you two have each other. We all need friends. The real ones, ya know, the ones who stay. It seems like she’s that for you. It truly makes me happy knowing you guys have each other. The loneliness gnaws at you when you’ve always been on the outside.”
She scoffs. “Jasper, you act like you don’t have any friends. You have that plus some. I mean, look at all the people who care about you. I can name at least nine people, and I’m sure you have more hidden that would do anything for you. You are so verylucky, Jasper.”
I smile because, yeah, yeah, I do. They’re not just friends, they’re family.
I hear Jaxon yelling across the hall, teasing Dom about the miniature Doberman Pincher he’s thinking about getting. I chuckle to myself. It fits him perfectly if you ask me.
“All right Ms. Brandy, are you ready?”
Adate.He’spickingme up to go on a date. I’m not the kind of guy who needs a grand gesture, an over-the-top declaration. And I’m not worried about him wanting to be seen with me. Not really. He needs to work through whateverthisis, just as much as I do. But kissing me on the sidewalk for all to see, well, that was a bit of a surprise.
Then there’s the whole Marcus and Jacob situation. When Spencer and I came back from looking at the building across the street, I saw Jasper talking with Marcus.
At first, I wasn’t going to interrupt. It’s Jasper’s personal business, and I respect that. But when I saw Jacob sitting with them, or who I assumed was Jacob, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ask him a couple of questions about the cupcakes for the carnival.
