jkane180, you are an angel, you know that? Thank you so much, again.
Chapter Six
A couple of days later, on my day off, I was sitting at my new kitchen table, reading the paper and eating cornflakes, when the doorbell rang.
I wasn't expecting anyone, but I smiled and felt excited at the thought that it might be Alice or Jake. It would much more likely be Alice.
It wasn't Alice though, it was the UPS delivery man, handing me a thin envelope. Dread passed through me so cold and harsh that I shivered, goosebumps forming on the back of my neck.
I sighed, and the man wished me a nice day.
Right, nice day. Sure.
I went back to the kitchen and placed the envelope down. I knew what it was without even opening it. Without any complications and Emmett and I agreeing on everything, our divorce went through quickly. Quicker than I felt comfortable with.
I didn't open it, but instead, grabbed my handbag quickly and pulled off the picture that was on the fridge.
I almost ran down to the tattoo parlor, and the minute the bell chimed, I stopped, realizing how much of a rush I really was in to come down here.
"Hi." I heard a woman's voice before I saw her.
She walked in from the back, dressed in ripped, jean shorts and a t-shirt. Her hair was long and black, and she had that tough girl look to her but was still beautiful.
"Hi," I answered. "Is Jake here by any chance?"
"No, he's coming in in a few hours though. I'm Leah. I work with him. Can I help you with anything?"
I shook my head, feeling stupid for even coming down here. "He and I had just been talking about a tattoo. I was thinking of getting it today."
"Oh, okay, great. If you want to come back, he'll be in by noon. If not, I'm free. No one comes for tattoos before noon anyway. I just had some sketches to do."
"It's okay. I'll come back later. Thanks for your help, Leah. I'm Rose, by the way."
"Nice to meet you." She smiled.
I stepped outside the shop and took a deep breath. What the hell was I doing?
I knew this was going to happen. It wasn't supposed to be shocking.
Slowly, I made my way back up to the apartment and tore open the envelope. Sure enough, I was officially divorced. It was scary how a single document could separate you from someone you'd been so close to.
I had to do something other than dwell, so I stored the papers away and tried to continue reading the newspaper. I couldn't catch on to a single word, so I tried editing some photographs.
That didn't turn out well either. I ended up slamming my laptop screen down like a crazy person.
The only thing left to do was go to the gym.
Hours passed by the time I was in the shower cleaning up. I did my make-up nicer than I'd done it in a long time, put on a simple, everyday dress, and used my curling iron to fix my hair so it wasn't dull.
I looked like I was trying to impress someone and felt sick to my stomach at the thought of the wolf dressed in sheep's clothing.
That's what I was. You couldn't even see the bad side of me like this.
Maybe someone could like the pretend me. Maybe Jake...
When I went back down to the shop, he greeted me happily. "Leah said you dropped by."
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm ready for that tattoo."
"Cool. Come on over and take a seat."
I did, thanking him for the stool he'd pulled into his work station.
Leah was working on a big, biker-looking man and gave me a wink when I smiled at her. She was nice.
I pulled the picture out of my handbag for Jake and held it out to him. "I was thinking on the inside of my wrist—my forearm kind of."
The way he looked into my eyes with his dark ones made me wish I hadn't come here. He didn't deserve this.
"The picture's beautiful, and I'll do a perfect job of it if you've decided."
"I've decided. I'm ready," I assured him.
I watched as he transferred the picture into a workable design and had me approve it before getting started. He was an amazing artist.
"Just relax," he told me.
I watched him as he prepared everything. He had an ever-present smirk across his lips, like he knew I was watching him... and liking the way his muscles flexed under his shirt so visibly with every small movement.
"You're scared."
"I told you, I'm not scared. I'm excited."
I was fascinated by the process he took to mark my skin with the ink. It didn't hurt badly; it was a bearable burn, and besides, I liked the hum and how easily it relaxed me. Not even my two hour workout got my mind off things like this little needle did.
"I still think you should let me take you out... We get along, don't we?"
He caught me off guard, and all of a sudden, I noticed he was already cleaning the excess ink from my skin gently.
"I think you're really nice and interesting... but don't you have a girlfriend?"
He frowned.
"Not that I'm aware of."
"I saw you with a brunette not long ago."
What the fuck? Did I just say that?
"You do like me," he teased happily. "You're watching me, and I didn't even know it."
"I can't help it that I live in this building and you work here." I tried to cover it up, keeping my cool.
He held his smirk.
"It was probably Ali; she's here all the time... Besides, I'm more into blondes."
After he'd covered the tattoo and explained how I needed to take care of it while it healed, I thanked him. "Maybe I could get you lunch if you'd like," I offered. I knew he'd say yes, but asking him was much easier than saying yes to him asking me.
"Yeah, I'm hungry as hell."
"Great, I could eat too." I smiled.
I waited while Jake told Leah he'd be back later to close up so she could leave when she needed to. I waved her a goodbye as she did the same back.
I wasn't sure why I felt so uneasy around Jake. I mean, he had the bad boy appearance, but I knew that didn't mean he was going to cause me harm. If he got involved with me, I was sure he'd be the one experiencing harm, not me.
"Where would you like to go?" he asked.
"Do you like Italian food?"
"Yeah, the place around the corner?"
I nodded.
"Okay, yeah, let's do it."
He held the door open for me, and we began our short walk over. He asked me what I did for work, and I gave him the short history of my career. He seemed impressed.
When we were seated, he asked me more, so I told him about my recent trip. I didn't get into Emmett and the fact that I had been married.
"What about you? Tell me about your work."
He shrugged. "Leah and I just decided one day this is what we wanted to do. We're both creative, you know. So we did our apprenticeships here together and pretty much run the place. The boss is never really around. We're thinking about buying it off him when he's ready to give it up." He made it sound like it was something the two of them were trying to get him to do soon.
I wasn't aware of how much two people could talk about work until now. I knew I was avoiding my personal life, and thankfully, he didn't seem pushy. He was really nice, though, and easy to talk to.
"There's somewhere really special I think you'd like... You think I could take you?"
I frowned, confused by what he could possibly mean. "Like a date?"
His smile was bright, but he shook his head. "I'd love to take you on a date, but this wouldn't really be one... What do you have to do now?"
"Nothing..."
"Great, you're going to love it. Come on, my car's back in the lot."
"So, what is this place?"
"It's a surprise."
"Why won't you tell me?"
The walk to his car, and the short drive, went pretty much the same. I couldn't possibly imagine what he'd have as a surprise for me.
When he pulled into the parking lot, the sign on the building confused me more. It was a foster home.
"I don't understand."
"I used to live here... I visit all the time. They need people to come be mentors for the kids and... to just be there, you know? You seem like the kind of person who likes kids... and believe me, you're getting more out of it than they are... Not that you're not wonderful, but the kids are really great."
I got out of the car and looked at the building.
"I'm sorry. Should I not have brought you here?" he asked, getting out of the car and leaning his arms on the hood to look at me.
"What if they don't like me?" I was suddenly so nervous.
I finally looked at him to see he was smiling. "That question right there is why I knew you'd fit in here. Come on, you're going to have fun." He closed his door and came around to my side, taking my hand into his large one.
I looked down at our hands and followed up his tattooed arm. His skin was such a nice color—so full of life. The opposite of mine. He was beautiful.
His eyes were watching mine when I looked up, and he gave my hand a squeeze.
"Okay," I agreed with a deep breath.
He continued to hold my hand as we made our way in, and he introduced me to some of the adults who worked there. When we were let in through the second set of doors, there was a big living area with kids of all ages doing a number of different things.
It was all dropped when they saw Jake. At least a dozen of them called his name and rushed over.
"Hi, guys!" he said excitedly, not letting my hand go.
"This is my friend, Rose. I thought you guys would get along. She's really nice."
I smiled at him, and the nervousness left me when they all really seemed excited to meet me. The little girls told me I was pretty and they liked my dress, and a sweet little one named Mia begged for me to let her do my hair.
My hand left Jake's as I was dragged to the "salon" the girls had set up in one of the corners. They had me sit in a chair and pretended I was their client. I had literally never had more fun in my life.
I asked them if they wanted their hair done and gave them all braids, wishing I had bows. I wondered if next time I was allowed to bring things for them. I was sad for them, but happy they still had their innocence and knew how to enjoy themselves. They made the best out of what they had.
"Jake, Jake, Jake!" Mia jumped around him when he approached us. He'd been outside with some of the other kids.
"Yes, my princess?" he asked, leaning down to pick her up.
She took the delicate chain from around his neck and played with the small gold cross. "Rose is nice," she told him.
She was tiny and looked even smaller in his arms. He kissed her cheek with a loud smack. "Yeah, you like her?"
"Yeah," she nodded, kissing his cheek in return.
"I like her too."
I blushed at his compliment and returned the smile he was giving me.
"Well, I really have to go back to work... Should I bring Rose again next time?" he asked the kids around us.
They were all in favor. I felt needed, and it was so nice. I'd definitely be back.
I actually didn't want to leave. "They're so great," I told Jake as we exited and waved our goodbyes.
"I know, and I knew they'd like you."
"I like them too. I can't wait to come back."
"You can become a volunteer like me and go pretty much whenever you want. They also need people for help during holidays and stuff like that."
"I'd really be interested in that." I smiled.
"Yeah, Ali and I spend most holidays here. Our parents moved out to Florida, and they understand this is more important."
I nodded, thinking about how good it would feel to be there with the kids to help with Easter egg hunts and opening presents on Christmas.
"Thanks for bringing me."
His hand unexpectedly took mine and drew me close to him. I was nervous again.
"What do you have to do for the rest of the day?" he asked.
I bit into my lip, thinking. "Nothing really... It's my day off."
"If you want, you could keep me company. I'm closing the shop alone tonight. Leah has a date she needs to get to."
I shrugged. "Yeah, I'll hang out with you." I actually really wanted to.
