Chapter 22:

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  I scowled at the worn brick building in front of me. My scowl became more severe due to my squinting at the flashing turquoise neon sign in the front window.

  How do I keep finding myself in these kinds of situations?

  "Come on, Angel Eyes, we don't have all night." Axel grumbled, impatiently beside of me. "It closes in two hours."

Oh, know I remember. I glared at Axel to which he just smirked.

"A bet's a bet, Angel Eyes." His voice was so smug I wanted to slap the smirk right off his handsome face.

Of course I lost the pool game. Axel's a pro, and I was a novice who still hadn't learned when to keep her mouth shut. I groaned, burying my face in his strong chest. I felt his laughter vibrate through him. I looked up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes I could muster- I even threw in a pout.

"Do I really have to?" I batted my eyelashes.

He froze for a moment, his eyes were starting to soften from their previous amusement at my squirming. His lips parted slightly as if he was in a trance. He was starting to melt under my gaze. He was gonna cave... or so I thought.

His smirk was back so quickly it was like it had never left his face. "Nice try, but you're not getting out of this that easily."

"Fine. Let's get this over with." I grumbled and walked through the entrance of the tattoo parlor.

A little bell chimed as the door swung open. I had to admit the inside of the tattoo shop looked ten times better than the outside, broken brick exterior. The walls were lined with glass panels that had charcoal black designs on them that ranged from simple little butterflies to ornate dragons. The whole place was lit with the same luminous turquoise light as the sign in the window. The faint scent of burnt sugar wafted with the strong smell of ink.

A burly man with tattoos covering almost every visible piece of skin- including his bald head- came out from behind the counter. He walked up to us, and I felt my stomach do a nervous flip when I craned my neck to look into his face. He laughed a deep rumbling laugh when I immediately tried to conceal my fear with what I hoped was an indifferent look.

"Hey there, sweetheart." He smiled.

His smile made him seem somehow less intimidating. It soothed my jittering nerves. "Hi."

"My girl here is looking to get a tattoo." Axel swung an arm around my shoulders.

"I'm not your girl." I shrugged his arm off, sending him a glare.

"Looks like you're in trouble." The man laughed at Axel's dejected look.

"He most certainly is." I continued to glare.

"Hey, the deal was if I win you get a tattoo. So it's time to suck it up, and let me pick out your tattoo." Axel crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why do you get to pick it out?!"

"Because it'll piss you off. And you look too damn cute when your mad to pass up the opportunity." He winked.

"Well I must look pretty freaking irresistible right about now."

"Always, Angel Eyes." He not at all subtly checked me out.

Bex Where stories live. Discover now