Tempting Tatum (32 page)

“Love you, too” she says with one last quick peck on the lips, and then she’s out the door.

“That’s new,” Ember says behind me. I can hear the smile in her voice.

“No, it’s not. Saying it out loud is new, but not the sentiment,” I tell her as I walk back to Tatum’s room to grab a few more hours of sleep.

I roll out of bed around noon and clean up my mess in Tate’s bathroom. After I get my clothes in a trash bag, I throw my bag in the back of my truck and head home to change. Rushing through another shower, and a quick sandwich later, I’m pulling into Self Expressions right on time. I unlock the door and get set up for my first client. Jeff, the artist we recently hired to pick up some of the work, walks in behind me.

“Hey, man. Haven’t seen you in a while,” he says in greeting.

“Yeah, we seem to be on opposite shifts and the other night, Ash took my two clients because my girl was sick.”

“Your girl? Holy shit, dude, it hasn’t been that long. You been holding out on me?” he laughs.

I smirk, but don’t reply. I’m ready for all they can dish out. Tatum is so worth it.

I’m in the middle of a skull chest piece when I hear Jeff talking to Asher. “Holy fuck, she’s hot. I got this,” he says.

I just roll my eyes. He can have her and all the others. I got mine and nothing else compares.

“Watch yourself, Jeff. If Blaise hears you talking about his girl like that, you’ll not only find yourself unemployed, but knocked out on your ass,” Asher warns.

What the fuck!
I sit my gun down and tell my client I’ll be right back. I rip off my gloves and stalk to the front desk. I make it just in time to see Tatum walking through the front door. She spots me immediately and I huge smile graces her face. My girl.

I hold my arms open and she walks straight into them. “Hey you,” I say.

“I missed you today,” she replies.

“I’m in the middle of a chest piece, want to come watch?” I ask her.

She nods her head, still smiling. I lace our fingers together and lead her back to my room. As I walk by Jeff, I smack the back of his head with my other hand. No words are needed; he knows she’s mine and he fucked up. I’ll give him a pass because she is beautiful, and he didn’t know she was mine; now he does. No more second chances, not that I think he’ll need any. Jeff’s a good guy, and if he does, well, I’m good with kicking his ass. It’s whatever.

I introduce Tate to my client and verify he’s all right with her watching. She sits quietly in the corner watching my every move. I see her cringe a few times as my client grits his teeth. We’ve talked about it before, and she’s not a fan of needles. That’s fine with me; I like her smooth, creamy skin just the way it is.

The rest of the night flies by. I know it’s because Tatum is here with me. I tell her she doesn’t have to stay, but she insists she was good with watching me do what I love.

After closing up shop, she follows me back to my place. She surprised me as I was walking her to her car, saying she packed a bag for work tomorrow. Asher is never here, so we have the place all to ourselves. We don’t have to worry about my sister overhearing us. Not that I care really, but I know it bothers Tate.

We shower together, which leads to me taking her hard and fast against the shower wall. I apologize for losing control, but she says she loved every minute of it. I swear this girl was made for me.

We’re lying in bed with me spooned in behind her when Tatum says, “I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents, and my life here.”

I hold my breath; I have no idea what she’s going to say next.

“When I came here with Leah and Brent, I closed up the house and put the neighbor kid on the payroll to keep the lawn mowed. Leah didn’t want me to make a rash decision and sell, then regret it. I put most everything in storage, except for what I brought with me,” she explains.

I still have no idea where she’s going with this. Is she trying to tell me she wants to move back to Ohio? If that’s what she really wants, we’ll make it work. I’m sure I can join a paid department or maybe even open another branch of Self Expressions. Or is she saying she’s changed her mind about us?

I roll over so I’m facing him. He’s beautiful. I know you’re not supposed to call guys beautiful, but that’s what he is. His dark hair is still damp from our shower; his defined jaw is covered with the day’s stubble. I reach up and trace his jawline with my finger. His silver eyes are boring into me. I can tell he’s confused and scared maybe?

“I know what I want to do with it, with the house.” I scoot closer and lay my head against his chest. His arms are immediately holding me tight against him. “I want to sell it.”

I feel the release of air from his lungs and his body relax.

“You’re where I want to be. Ohio has nothing for me, and Tennessee, well, it has you.”

“Thank God,” he says with relief. “What can I do to help?”

“I think I’m good. I’m going to call and make an appointment with a realtor and get it listed. Not much else to do really. I’ll eventually need to go through the storage unit and decide what I want to keep and what I don’t, but the apartment isn’t big enough for that,” I chuckle.

“Bring it here,” he says. “I have tons of space and Asher is moving into Grace’s condo. He’s moving his stuff out this weekend. I’ll pay to have it moved here and you can go through it as you want.”

“Thank you, that’s sweet, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go through it all just yet.”

“Well, when you are, the offer stands,” he tells me.

We lay there in silence holding each other, both at peace. I hear him say, “I love you, Tate, so fucking much,” just as my eyes fall closed.

The next few weeks fly by. Work, Blaise, and conference calls with the realtor. Leah’s mom set me up with a friend of hers and she’s been amazing. She emailed me the contract so I didn’t have to drive back to Ohio just to list the house. It’s been three weeks since it’s been on the market, and there have been a lot of interested buyers. I’m sad, but at the same time, I could never live there. Not without them. So this is just the ending to another chapter.

Today is Saturday and Leah and I are going out for a girls’ day. I miss her so much. She and Brent got married last week in Hawaii, and we need to catch up. I pull into the lot and see Leah standing by the door; she waves.

I jump out of my car and rush to her, giving her a huge hug. “I missed you, Mrs. Wethington.” She holds up her ring finger to show her wedding band nestled against her engagement ring.

Leah laughs. I follow her into the salon where we are getting manicures and pedicures. Before we know it, we’re done at the salon and heading to lunch. Leah claims her appetite has doubled in the last week as she rubs her belly. My eyes follow her movement and I can see the start of a small baby bump.

“Leah, I am so happy for you. You’re going to be a mom,” I say, excited.

“I know. It’s scary and exciting all at the same time.”

“Just remember that Aunt Tate is always around when you need a break or a night out on the town,” I tell her.

She laughs, “I’m going to hold you to that. Wait, let me get my phone. Can you say that again so I can record it? You know, just in case you change your mind.”

I laugh at her antics. I’ve missed my best friend, my sister from another mister.

The entire day is so much fun. It’s been longer than I care to remember since just the two of us hung out like this. We part ways at the restaurant so we can each go home and get ready for tonight. The eight of us are meeting at Backwoods tonight to celebrate Leah and Brent’s nuptials.       

Blaise is waiting for me at the apartment when I get there. This hinders the process of me getting ready. The man is tempting! Ember texts me and lets me know she and Jackson are riding over with Asher and Grace.

When I finally pull myself away from Blaise, I push him out of my room and lock the door. Otherwise, we would not be going anywhere.

I rush through my shower, careful not to get my hair wet. I don’t have time to dry it. I throw on a black sundress with a teal design and Ember’s teal cowboy boots. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and call it good.

As I open my bedroom door, I run into a wall of muscle. Blaise. He holds me at arms-length as he checks out my outfit.

“Uh um,” I clear my throat to get his attention. His silver eyes shining with mischief capture mine. “Stop undressing me with your eyes, Mr. Richards. We don’t have time for that,” I scold him.

“Baby, I can’t take my eyes off of you. You look hot,” he says, pinching my ass.

I laugh and swat his arm away; we really need to leave.

Backwoods is packed tonight. Ember says it’s because the band just got signed with a big label. Small town boys making it big and all that. Blaise leads us to a table in the back corner large enough for the eight of us. Just as we go to sit, the other six come walking through the door.

Blaise orders a round of drinks, with a bottle of water for Leah, to toast the happy couple. I don’t plan on drinking anything other than water after this shot. I don’t want Leah to be the only sober one among us. She’s all smiles either way. I love seeing her this happy.

We all toss back our shots and hit the dance floor. The song “It Goes Like This” by Thomas Rhett is playing. Blaise pulls me tight against his chest and I melt into him. I’m not really sure I can even call what we are doing dancing, really. He’s holding me close as we gently sway back and forth. I’m in my own little Blaise consumed world and I love every freaking minute of it.

As the song ends, his lips find mine. I stand on my tiptoes to gain better access as I open for him. The kiss is gentle, yet demanding. He’s taking what he wants, and I am more than willing to let him.

“I think I need to sit down after that,” he says. I can feel how the kiss affected him. I turn so my body is directly in front of him. His hands find my hips as I lead us back to the table, hiding the evidence.

A few feet from our table, a blonde girl and her friend step into our path. “Blaise,” she says curtly.

His grip on my hips tighten as he pulls me tight against his chest. His arms snake around my waist. He obviously is trying to send a message to this girl.

“Beth,” he says, sounding bored.

Beth…
Oh shit!
This is her. This is the girl he was with who cheated on him and got pregnant by someone else.

“New flavor?” she sneers.

“No. New love,” he says, placing his lips against my neck. I shiver at the contact.

“Humph. This one must be making you work for it,” she says, pointing to where his arms are around my waist.

“Don’t you have a husband to go home to? Oh, that’s right. You cheated on him too and he divorced your sorry ass. Best of luck,” he says, and guides us to move around her.

“That bitch ain’t got nothing on me,” she says as we pass.

Blaise stops us and jerks his head around. “You don’t fucking look or breathe in her direction. This girl,” he reaches for me, “is the most important person in my life. She’s off limits to you. Don’t talk to her, don’t even look at her. Take your cheating ass somewhere else. We don’t need your shit,” he snarls.

Then, he kisses me. His lips capture mine, possessing me. I can’t help the moan that escapes my lips.

“ARGH!” I hear Beth growl.

By the time Blaise releases my lips, she’s gone. Good riddance.

As we reach the table, all eyes are on us. Asher raises his eyebrows, asking, “You good?” to Blaise.

He nods his head and kisses my temple. “Never better,” he says.

We don’t see Beth the rest of the night, and we’re able to relax and enjoy ourselves. Brent got a little tipsy, well a lot tipsy, and made sure he told everyone within hearing distance that he knocked up his new bride. Leah just laughed and smiled. They are both radiating excitement and love.

As I survey our group, I realize life is moving on and that’s okay. That’s what they would want for me. I wish more than anything my parents were able to meet Blaise and his family, but more than likely, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t lost them. It’s bitter sweet. I’ll miss them every day. I look over at Blaise as he talks with his hands to Asher, Brent, and Jackson. I will love him every day. He’s so tangled up in my heart that there is no chance of killing the roots.