Accidentally Good & Bad

Chapter 24

I'm about to get stabbed by a million needles.

I'm getting my tattoos. I decided to get them right after school, only stopping by my house to change, not wanting to miss out on the fun. Besides, I've always wanted a tattoo. And what better than to symbolize my first best friends?

I am getting something similar to the boys. But instead of wings on my forearms, I'm treating them like angel wings, having one on each of my shoulder blades. Parker's name will be on my left shoulder blade, and Will's will be on my right. 

Archer skipped out on it, making up some excuse of needing to grab food from the grocery store. He said he might meet up at the parlor later, but I doubt it. I think it's because of our little 'incident' earlier. Who knew boys could be so hard?

I had already done Archer's name, since it was the smallest and I wanted to test my pain scale. I'm taking a small break when the tattoo artist comes back in. "You ready?" the tattoo artist asks in his gruff voice. His name is Jett, tall and strong. But he's really just a sweetheart. 

"Yeah!" I grin at him and he smiles back. 

I lay down on my back first, allowing him to do the wings that will take more time. At the sight of blood, Parker excuses himself to use the bathroom. How he did this himself blows my mind. Will excuses himself to yell at Parker to hurry up in the bathroom, the slurpee causing him to need to pee. I groan and wince at the pain, considerably worse than before. 

A large and slightly calloused hand takes mine. I immediately react, gripping it tightly. The hand squeezes mine once, fitting over mine like a glove. The owner of the hand sits down, criss cross, and bends their head down so I can see their face.

Archer.

"You okay, Hattan?" He whispers, concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," I manage to breathe out. 

He stays right there with me, the entire eternity of my tattoo. When it's done, and I've been bandaged up and everything, he still won't let go of my hand. Jett winks at me and gives me a knowing look. I blush and gently hug him goodbye, making sure to tip him very generously. 

"Let me see your ink!" Parker and Will exclaim. I tell them to pull the bandages back gently on my back to they can quickly reapply it later, and the exclaim in awe by Jett's work. It looks great. 

"Where's Archer's name?" Will asks. The question they were dying to know. The question only Will would have the nerve to ask.

I blush, but I still slide down the hem of my white and black striped flowy top to reveal the collar bone tattoo. It's a replica of Archer's, I have his name on my collar bone in cursive. I let my shirt slide back up but Archer's eyes stayed glued to wear it was. 

Will's phone dings and interrupts our silence. "Gotta go get Lillia, Park my mom wants you over for dinner. She wants to talk about filing a lawsuit against the jerk that hit you." He looks up and smiles at me and Archer. "Hattan, can you hitch a ride with Archer?"

"Sure!" Archer and I answer over eagerly. 

"See y'all later." Parker and Will walk off to his car.

Archer and I walk to his car in silence, having to turn a corner because he parked his car a little far away. Once we turn the corner, Archer grabs my hips and swings me onto the wall, pressing his lips against mine. I kiss his lips greedily, fingers lacing through his hair, tugging. He presses me harder against the wall, right hand leaving my hips to trace my tattoo with his name. When we finally break away from each other, we pant quietly and stare at each other. His lips are red and slightly swollen and I can only assume mine are the same.

We silently slide into his car. He backs out and starts driving. I stare out the window, listening to Lana Del Ray's Summertime Sadness blare into my ears. It's not even summer yet. But  I don't mind. 

Without a word, without even looking at me, Archer reaches his right hand over and takes my hand. He rests our interlaced fingers of my shorts cladden thigh. I smile softly and peek at Archer out of the corner of my eye. He has a small smile on his pink lips and squeezes my hand once. 

We drive silently, not needing to say a word, sitting in comfortable silence. Occasionally I'll squeeze his hand, or he'll squeeze mine. I watch our small town of Monterey, California whiz past us. Palm trees, green plants, and coral pink flowers. People walking down the streets laughing and unaware of everyone else's problems. A cotton candy man is smiling and giving a little girl a cone of it. Everyone is in their own little world.

And I'm in mine. 

Archer stops the car at a red light, taking his hand out of mine. He leans over to press a softly kiss on my lips before pulling away to drive once again. We both have smiles on our lips, in pure bliss. He places a hand on my thigh, the other one gripping the steering wheel. The windows are open, wind whipping at our hair and I'm thankful for the ponytail I have in my hair. 

The next time we reach a red light, it's bright out now. I open the compartment before me and take out two pairs of Ray Bans. I lean over and kiss Archer, smiling against his lips as I pull away and slide a pair of the sunglasses on his face. I sit back in my seat, a bright smile on my face as I slide the other pair of sunglasses on my face. Archer chuckles, causing me to look over and smile at him.  He tries to give me another kiss but the car behind us honks the horn, causing us to jump. He hurriedly puts the car into drive. I laugh and he joins in.

When he takes my hand again and starts rubbing circles in my palm, I let another smile slip out.

So this is what love is like.