He drops his right arm on the table, tapping a patch of unmarked skin. “Something that’d fit here.”
“You want me to design a tattoo?”
“Yeah...” he pauses, his eyes implying the unspokenbaby. “Can you?”
“I think so, but what do you want?”
“Dealer’s choice.”
“No,” Hyde clips, setting his sandwich down. “Not her choice. It’s your body and tattoos are for life. Millie’s talented but she doesn’t fuckingknowyou.”
“I asked her to draw it, not ink me, Hyde. I can say no if she picks a pony.”
Noah chuckles, turning my way. “Please make it a pony. Better yet, a pink unicorn.” He looks at Hyde. “Creed’s arms and chest are littered with random shit. It’s not that deep.”
My brother snaps his head toward him. “Four years and you really don’t know him, do you? Every tattoo means something, reminds him of a memory, an event, a person, or a lesson he learned.” His eyes cut back to Creed. “So yeah, itisthat deep.”
They look at each other, a nonverbal conversation passing between them. It’s intense. I know they’re best friends. Noah, Dash, Hyde, Creed... they’re tight-knit, but my brother and Creed’s connection runs deeper.
Hyde turns to me with a serious expression. “If you’re designing his ink, make sure it fits him. Not your mood, sis.”
I grit my teeth before I tell him just how intimately I know Creed, but I refrain, shrugging my sleeves even lower.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can come up with.”
The truth is, I already have an idea.
38
Creed
It’s almost midnight when I start to believe tonight’s not one of those nights Millie will slip into my room so I can kiss her until our lips are numb before I make her scream into the pillow.
I close my laptop, strip off my clothes, and crawl under the sheets, leaving the bedside night light onjust in case.
Millie’s little routine feels like Russian roulette. She starves me for days, sometimes, driving me out of my fucking mind, probably on purpose.
It’s a miracle my best friend hasn’t caught us in the act yet, given his sister keeps ambushing me around campus, stealing breathless kisses, or falling apart on my fingers.
While I love every second, a part of me wonders when this will end.
Nothing lasts forever, and we’ve been pushing our luckmore and more, going as far as me slotting my hand between Millie’s legs under the table at lunch just to see her cheeks pink up.
I know Hyde sees the way I watch her. He’s not an idiot, but he is somewhat convinced Noah’s the one she’s into. He’d put my fucking head through the closest wall if he knew what I’m doing with Millie whenever he looks the other way.
The first twenty-four hours after she comes beneath me, I’m on cloud nine, then as time passes and she doesn’t feed this craving inside me, my mood deteriorates until the only thing on my mind is another fix.
And it’s not even the mind-blowing sex...
It’s having her close I crave most.
If someone ever told me I’d be pining after kisses, I’d laugh all the way to fucking Sunday. I’ve never been into kissing, but I could kiss Millie for hours and never get bored.
Everything about her is fascinating. The sounds she makes, how her small fingers map every inch of my face, how she pulls me in, her button nose nuzzling my cheek while I devour her mouth, taking handfuls of the moment while it lasts.
Fuck. Instead of sleeping, my mind’s circling around her again. The fact I haven’t seen her at all today only adds a layer of desperation to my madness.
I’ll end up mad or dead because of this girl, I swear.
