I hoped more than anything that it wasn't the case but it'd be naive to think otherwise. Or maybe I was just that pessimistic.
I blew out a breath. "What do you think we should do?"
He looked pensive for a moment before scrunching up his nose in a way that made his lightning bolt tattoo move. "Let's take him out. You think Dex will be up for it?"
"Maybe." How the heck should I know for sure?
It turned out that Dex was up for it. Right before setting the alarm to the shop, I heard him invite Blake out to Mayhem.
"Not tonight, man. I'm not up for it," was Dumbo's creaky, hoarse answer.
Blake saying no to a drink? Unheard of.
"C'mon," Dex argued back. "My treat."
It took a little more coaxing but eventually, like the freeloader he was, Blake finally agreed. We met up at Mayhem a few minutes later, piling into the same booth we'd used on our last trip to the bar what seemed like forever ago. This time, there were more people—Widows, men who weren't members of the MC, and other random clients. I waved at the handful I recognized and slid into the booth beside Slim, with Dex following after, slinging an arm over the back of the seat.
The guys and Blue blasted through two beers each, with Slim and I carrying the majority of the conversation as he tried to convince me—again—to get a tattoo.
"Just a little thing," he insisted.
I lifted a shoulder. "I don't know."
"Tiny." He pinched his fingers together so that there was only about an inch between them. "Smaller than that heart you did for me."
I grimaced. "I don't know about a heart though."
A huge grin swept his face. "I can make you a mini dragon."
He was talking about the electric blue dragon with rainbow fire. "Where?"
"Anywhere but your lower stomach," he said confidently. "If you have kids that thing'll end up looking like alifesized one."
I burst out laughing, watching as a small smile crossed Blake's features. "With my luck, it'lllook like it’s trying to eat my baby."
Dex nudged me with his shoulder. His facial expression careful. Did he look jealous? Jealous that I hadn't told him I'd started considering it? Jesus. There was enough I needed to tell him, but I'd been too much of a coward to. "You wanna get some work done, babe?"
"I think so, but Gingervitis over here wants it more than me." That earned me an elbow from Slim that I returned with a laugh. "Maybe though. Just maybe."
"Don't know where?" Dex asked.
I glanced over at my favorite redhead and smirked. "I know where I don't want it."
Slim elbowed me again. "Sucks we can’t do it by your scar."
My stomach felt the equivalent of a plate shattering on concrete. The blood drained from my face and I lost my breath. The urge to squeak was right there, slithering its way up my vocal chords.
The arm over my shoulders tightened a fraction. "What scar?"
Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap!
I forced a smile onto my face, and there was no doubt in my mind it was shaky and weak.
I could lie. It would be easy enough to change the conversation. The only problem was, the instant I thought aboutlying again andhaving to divert the topic to something else, guilt pinched me right in thekidneys. Maybe it was because I knew Sonny was still mad at me, but maybe it was because these were people that I cared for more than I had others in a long, long time.
But the answer, the realization, was right there.
I didn't want to. I shouldn't have to keep hiding something that was as essential a part of me as my name.
