I swear I see his jaw tick, but he nods his head in confirmation and schools his features, giving me a warm smile instead and joining us for dinner.
Chapter 22
Penny
It’s Valentine's Day and I sent Autumn off to school with cookies and cards for all of her classmates.
The coffee shop is busy with people getting goodies for their significant others, and there’s finally a lull. I make each one of the employees at Blank Canvas Ink their favorite drink and grab the extra dozen cookies I made to bring to the shop.
When I enter, the sound of tattoo guns buzzing echoes around the room. Declan, Preston, Becca, and Jude are all with clients, so I set everything down on the receptiondesk and try to sneak out quietly. I made sure to label their drinks so they would know whose is whose.
“And what is my girlfriend doing in here?” yells Becca from across the shop. I pause and turn around. “Hot damn, did you dress up for me, because you look like sex on a stick.” Becca looks me up and down, and I blush at her comment.
Out of me and Jordan, I’m usually the bold one. But Becca beats me tenfold because she has absolutely zero filter on her mouth. She might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love her personality. She’s bold and beautiful. I hope she likes her coffee cup because unbeknownst to her, I kissed it with my red-stained lips.
I hear tattoo guns pause and see heads pop up. Now I just feel self-conscious. I’m wearing a red bodysuit with mesh puffy sleeves that go down to my wrists, black corduroy bell bottoms, and red booties. My makeup is minimal, but I’m wearing red lipstick to match.
I catch Declan’s eyes, and he’s staring at me like he wants to eat me.
“Who the fuck is that, and can I have her number?” a voice I don’t recognize says. It came from the guy Preston is tattooing. Declan’s head swings toward the man, and I swear he’s about to say something, but then I see Preston slap the guy on the back of his head and tell him to ‘shut the fuck up.’
I take a few steps forward, not passing the pony wall because everyone is working, and say, “I brought you guyscoffee and cookies. They’re on the reception desk. But I’ll see you later.”
“And she’s the sweetest person alive, people! That’s why she’s my girlfriend! Platonically, unfortunately,” Becca pouts for everyone to see.
I laugh and say, “Thanks, babe.” And I give her a wink.
She puts her hand over her heart and gives me lovey-dovey eyes, and I smile back at her.
It doesn’t escape me that I can see Declan tattooing an attractive brunette, who’s getting a tattoo on the top of her thigh, and he’s extremely close to her… privates.
I tamp down the flare of jealousy, because I’m not jealous, while everyone but Declan says thank you and goodbye. I can feel the heat of his stare on my back as I leave the shop, and I sigh out loud once the door closes behind me.
I tilt my head towards the sky and soak in the sun because it’s a beautiful day, but I can’t help but feel a little sad on Valentine’s Day. My high school boyfriend was my only Valentine, and after that, I’ve never had someone to share the day with besides Autumn. I’m a romantic at heart and love love. Tonight, I’m going to binge romance movies and eat my weight in cookies because my parents are taking Autumn to a kids’ event downtown, giving me the night off. I’m not going to lie, I’m excited to have the time to myself, but I’m just going to wallow in self-pity while I think about how I’m probably never going to find love in this lifetime.
I turn to take the few steps back to the coffee shop when the door to Blank Canvas Ink opens behind me. “Penny, wait,” Declan says, and I turn to look at him. He’s wearing an olive-green T-shirt that accentuates his eyes, combat boots, and dark jeans. His style might be simple, but he looks fucking edible.
“What’s up?” I ask, trying to keep my eyes on his instead of wandering all over his body. Who would have thought that keeping a male friend around who looks like a model would be so hard?
“Thank you for the coffee, you didn’t have to do that.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I know. But it’s Valentine’s Day, and all of you guys come into the coffee shop to support us, so I thought I would do something nice.”
“What are you and Autumn doing tonight?”
“Autumn’s staying at my parents and I have a pint of cookies and cream ice cream to eat and a list of movies I’m going to watch.”
He nods his head. “I was thinking, I don’t get off until around seven, but do you want to come over for dinner? I was going to cook steaks and asparagus.”
I shake my head. “Declan, I shoul–”
He holds up his hands. “As friends. I swear. Plus, I have something for Autumn that you can pick up.”
I hesitate because I feel like I’m playing with fire at this point. It’s going to be complete torture being in his presence, alone with him, but I don’t have any self-preservation instincts. “Okay, sure. Just text me when to come over and I’ll be ready.”
~ ~~
When Declan gives me the go-ahead to come over, I put on my pink slides and grab my tote bag of goodies.
