“Soph…” The sound of my name coming from his lips makes me shiver as he continues. “I like that. Short for Sophie?”
“Sophia, but only my parents call me that,” I tell him.
I feel his low chuckle all the way to my core. We stand there, looking at each other. I take in those green eyes, the color of the hidden trees. I can get lost if I’m not careful.
“Okay then, I guess I’ll leave you kids to it.” My best friend gestures between us after a moment and leaves the rooftop terrace. Jax and I stay exactly where we have been standing for the past few minutes, not saying a word at first.
“So—”
“I was thinking?—”
Of course, we start talking at the same time. I chuckle nervously, and he smiles. “Ladies first.”
“Well, I was just about to ask about your tattoos.”
“What about them?”
He rolls up his sleeves, revealing more beautiful designs. My hands itch to touch them, and I need to focus on keeping my fingers to myself. “Who’s the artist behind those?”
“My cousin and I.”
“You’re a tattoo artist?” My mouth drops open and I’m sure my jaw’s hit the floor.I love following tattoo artists on social media!
“I sure am. We just opened the Brooklyn location of King Tattoo last year. I manage the shop for my cousin.”
When it clicks, I can’t hold in my excitement. “Your cousin is King of King Tattoos? No freaking way!”
“Yes way.”
“Oh wow, that’s so cool. I saw the Peacocks posting about the place on their socials.”
He smirks. “Do you follow a lot of the local hockey players on social media?”
“Well, I know some of them personally, so that’s why I follow them. Haisley, who you just met, introduced me to them.”
“That’s cool. Half of the team has been at the shop since we opened, as their arena is also in Brooklyn.”
I smile at that. “Do you live near the shop too?”
“Like ten minutes away. I love that part of the city.”
“I’m glad. I’m actually from Brooklyn, born and raised,” I tell him with pride.
“It’s rare to meet someone who grew up in the city. I’m from Nebraska, so you can only imagine how different it is.”
He turns to look at the city expanding around us. It’s a beautiful, clear night. You can spot many of the landmarks from here. I walk next to him and lean against the railing, the feeling of calm washing over me. This is exactly where I was supposed to end up tonight.
Present day
A cough from the other side of the bar catches my attention and snaps me out of my memories. Jax looks even more intoxicated than earlier.
“I think I’ve solved my relationship problems,” Jax drawls and finishes another beer.
“And what’s that?” I try to sound interested even though the only thing I’m thinking about is how I want to go for a little ride around the city with his bike.
“I’ll stay single for the rest of my life. I know I should’ve considered it back in senior year when my long-term high school girlfriend cheated on me with the star quarterback.” He laughs bitterly. “In her words, she wanted a good guy instead of the bad guy. What a cliché right? It turned out thathewas sleeping around and had an STI that she caught too. But to her, I was the bad boy, not that cheating asshole.”
I look at him, narrowing my eyes. “Are you telling me that this bad boy persona is all an act?”
