more for us | grayson dolan (book two)

eleven

"Is he in there?" Grayson's soothing voice speaks from beside me.

"I think so." I gulp while turning to look at him.

"Should we go in now?" He furrows his thick eyebrows as his eyes glance up to the tattoo shop in front of us.

"Maybe we should wait a few minutes. He might be with a customer." I stall, twirling my brown hair between my pointer finger.

"You're stalling." He groans while shaking his head.

"No, I'm being considerate of my brother's work schedule." I lie.

"I always know when you're lying, remember?" He lets out a deep sigh as he moves his body, allowing him to fully stand in front of me.

"Maybe we should come back another day." I bite down on my lower lip.

"You dragged me all this way to make sure he's okay. We're going in." Grayson takes my hand and gently pulls me toward the entrance.

I groan and push my feet forward. There's no point in trying to fight it. I need to see Jake one way or another. I've been so worried about him lately, if I don't check up on him then who knows what will happen.

The sound of classic rock music blasts through my ears once we step inside the shop. A tall man with a long brown beard and a bandana is sitting behind the front desk. He's looking down at the appointment book, but lifts his head once the little bell above the door rings through the shop.

"Can I help you?" His deep voice slightly intimates me.

"Yes, I'm here to see Jake." I awkwardly clear my throat.

The man nods and rises to his feet. "Monroe, your three o'clock is here." He calls out.

"Oh, no, I'm not-" I try to protest, but the man is already halfway across the room.

"Maybe we should get tattoos." Grayson says while looking through the book of different designs.

"What would you get?" I ask while walking closer to him. Gently wrapping my arms around his bicep, I lean my head on his shoulder as my eyes scan the endless display of tattoo art.

"Something cool. What if we got a matching rolling stones tongue?" I can hear he cockiness in his voice without even looking up.

"I am not putting their logo permanently on my body." I shake my head while laughing.

"You're lame." He rolls his eyes with a sigh.

"Maybe you should put it in a secret location, just so I can see it." I smirk while lifting my head up to look at him.

"My left asscheek." He states with a straight face.

"I can't stand you." I say while hysterically laughing.

"Stella." Jake's voice suddenly interrupts my fits of laugher.

Grayson and I turn around, quickly stepping away from the tattoo book. My eyes scan my brother's appearance. He's wearing a red t-shirt with black ripped jeans. He looks okay, so I let out a sigh of relief.

"Jake." I grin and step closer to him, untangling my arms from my boyfriend.

"Uh, hey." He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck, looking down at the ground.

"How are you?" I continue to eye him.

"I've been busy." He casually shrugs while finally locking his eyes with mine. "I'm sorry I haven't tried to contact you."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I nod while crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He mutters while looking down again. "I'm sorry."