Chapter 30 - Johnny - Increased Affection
Becca walked into the kitchen and, with barely a hello to anyone, she grabbed Alex and pulled her straight out the back door.
I shake my head and laugh as the door closes behind them.
“What was that all about?” Connor asks.
“She has her heart set on getting into the pool,” I say, helping myself to a beer from the fridge. Becca and I should have stopped to pick up something a little tastier than this, but a couple of mass-produced domestic beers won’t hurt me. “She doesn’t like to show too much skin in public, so she’s pretty excited that you have a private pool.”
Connor raises an eyebrow at me. “Oh? You know all about Becca now?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I dodge the question with a half-truth. “But we have been hanging out a lot. Just as friends, though.”
“Mmhmm, okay,” he says in his sassiest voice.
“Fuck off,” I laugh.
“Yeah, yeah,” he says. “Let’s get out there. We don’t need to be in here right now.”
I look around, noticing for the first time that we’re the only people in the house. “What about dinner? I thought I was cooking?”
“Not necessary, man. Alex got her cast off, for one thing. But we’re ordering pizza from Tino’s tonight, anyway. I need to know if he still thinks I’m a sketchy fuck.”
I snort out a laugh. “I think you’re shit out of luck on that front, C. You wandered around their neighbourhood, asking strangers about Alex, when you were still trying to track her down after the last show. You will forever be a sketchy fuck to that guy. Just be happy he’s still going to make us pizzas.”
We walk out onto the deck that leads down to the pool.
“Yeah, I haven’t tested that theory yet. I never give them my name when we order.”
“You’re an idiot. You know that, right?”
Connor releases a breath and rubs his hand down his face. “Yeah, man. I know.”
We stop at the railing and look out at the pool. It looks like it’s a full on party already. The lounge chairs are full, and there are people splashing in the pool. I can see Becca’s head sticking up out of the water, a huge grin on her face as she throws a ball to Alex on the other side of the pool.
“Hey, I forgot to ask you, how did the tattoo go today?”
“Great,” I say. “Lana is an awesome client. That woman’s pain tolerance is next level. We have two or three more appointments to go and then she’ll be done.”
“That’s great, man. You do good work.”
“You should check out the piece I did on Becca’s leg a while back. It’s the horror villain collage on her left leg.”
The look of shock on Connor’s face is priceless. “She let you touch her? Alex says she hates to be touched and there are very few people she even allows to be close to her. You think she’ll change her one night rule for you?”
I know she’s changed her one night rule for me, but whether it’s only for the duration of our fake relationship remains to be seen. I’m going to enjoy every minute of it either way. My plan is to boyfriend her so good that she never wants to stop.
“Well, I guess I’m one of the few people now. It might be because I let her tattoo me first. Allowing someone to stab you with a need usually involves reciprocal trust of some sort.” I laugh at Connor’s face when I say Becca tattooed me. It’s surprise and disgust and disbelief had a baby and the result is his facial expression.
“You let her tattoo you? Where? How bad is it? Did she do more damage than necessary? Is it horrible? I need to see this.”
I pull down the side of my trunks and show him the little camera.
“Hey, that’s not bad. She has a steady hand.”
“I know, I was surprised. She wouldn’t tell me what she was doing, and she tattooed it freehand. I was expecting maybe an X or something like that.”
Connor steps toward the stairs down to the main level, taking us toward the pool where everyone else is. The pool itself is about halfway between the main house and the pool house, with a large concrete deck surrounding it. If it were shaped like a rectangle, you could almost mistake it for a community pool. Its oblong shape, with a small offset section for a hot tub, coupled with the intricate landscaping surrounding it, makes it easy to tell it’s a recreational pool belonging to someone with a lot of money.
