AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Your loving reviews for these two just fill my heart with joy! I hope this chapter does the same for you :* One more and an epi to go after this, my friends! XO

– SHOW ME YOUR TATS –

CHAPTER 5

Rosalie and I make plans to meet up on Friday, which on one hand is way too fucking long from now, but on the other it gives me plenty of time to pull my shit together before I see her again.

I still can't believe she agreed to go out with me—suggested the date herself if we're gonna get technical—after my babbling confession and apology and all in all acting like a love-struck lunatic.

Still, the smile she gave me after we exchanged cell numbers, telling me to text if anything comes up before we meet in a few days' time, gives me all the assurance I need that maybe my behavior wasn't quite as ridiculous as I'd feared.

Wednesday turns out to be a motherfucker of a day, and Thursday doesn't treat me much better, sweating my balls off swinging a hammer in the slick, humid heat of a Seattle summer. I'm so bagged after work I can't do more than shower, eat, and then drop my tired ass into bed, but it's okay because it means the days pass fast and Friday turns up before I know it.

I take it easy today despite my boss's demanding schedule, not wanting to wear myself out and have my fatigue make a bad second impression once I finally get to see Rosalie's face again. Ah, I can just see it now—those beautiful baby blues, soft pink cheeks, full, plump lips, bouncy curls in her long, golden hair—portrait perfect, with a sly smile I know hides a fire I hope to stoke into a blaze just for me.

After work I shower, careful of my healing tattoo, shave, jerk off twice, just in case, and then get dressed in a black short-sleeved button-up and a pair of snug-fitting, ultra-dark-rinse blue jeans. My hair doesn't take much to style, but I run a bit of product through to be sure it looks its best, and with a shot of mild cologne, I head out the door.

It's seven forty-five when I pull up in front of Touch of Sass, having agreed to pick Rosalie up at eight. We have a reservation for Marcus's Steak House at eight thirty, which means plenty of time to get to the downtown restaurant, so long as my girl isn't running late.

At five to eight I head inside, not wanting to arrive too early and make her feel rushed. I'm pleased to find her ready and waiting, though, looking divine in a short black dress with a royal-blue cardigan and pointy black heels. She isn't styled as hard-edged as I was expecting, and I'm amazed how someone with a body full of ink can manage to look so lovely and soft. Maybe it's her lack of facial piercings, with only a tiny diamond nose stud to compliment the rest of what she's got going on, or it could be her light, natural makeup, with long, dark eyelashes framing her bright-blue eyes and what appears to be just a hint of pink lip gloss shimmering on her mouth. Either way, she's a delectable sight to behold, making my imagination run rampant with just how much more of her there is to discover under her clothes, and I'm glad I thought ahead and rubbed two out before.

"Hi," Rosalie says as I make my way to where she's standing beside the front counter with Zaf. My date's gaze rakes over me with stark appreciation, and she grins. "You look good."

She's so bold and forward it makes my head spin like a top; the way she so openly and honestly says what's on her mind leaves me fumbling for what to say in return. "Uh, thanks. You, too. I mean"—I pause and let out a low whistle, motioning up and down her body with one hand—"wow."

Rosalie smiles like nothing I just said was awkward, instead coming straight for me and linking an arm with mine. "Shall we?" she says, looking up at me with a grin, and I swear I melt a little, like some swooning teenaged girl.

"This way, my lady," I reply, leading her to the door where we both bid goodbye to Zaf. We walk arm in arm through the warm evening air, and I help her into my boosted-up truck, the engine growling nearly as loud as my appetite, though I'm hungering for two different things.

The drive to the restaurant is short, the atmosphere loud and busy as we walk inside, but we luck out with a table in a quieter back corner. Rosalie hangs her purse on the back of her chair before I help her slide into it, and she smiles at me and my first ever attempt at chivalry.

I'd never been one for grand shows of gentlemanly behavior before, but honestly, I could get used to this. I feel almost giddy with my need to impress this amazing woman out with me tonight, and Rosalie's pleasantly amused face as I take my chair opposite her tells me I'm on the right track.

A server comes by immediately, relaying the specials to us as he drops off menus and then takes our drink orders, leaving just as quickly to retrieve my beer and her Cosmo. We scan the menus with some light comments regarding the selections, and when the server returns, we both order the same thing: an eight-ounce steak cooked medium rare, with a twice-baked potato and seasonal vegetables on the side.

Rosalie takes a delicate sip of her drink once we're left alone, raising it slightly to me when I do the same with my beer. She's been smiling at me since the moment I walked into her shop tonight, and the sight of it warms me in a way I've never known before.

"So you work in construction," she asks, not at all hiding her perusal of my upper body.

I grin, making one of my biceps jump even though my arms are relaxing with just my wrists on the table, and Rosalie laughs. "Yup, been with Arov construction for . . . damn, twelve years now. I started there when I was just a kid, straight outta high school. I like the hard work, to be honest. It keeps me focused, and I don't need to pay out the ass for the gym."

"Fair point," she replies, taking another small sip as her eyes all-out blaze at me from across the table.

I clear my throat, not wanting to get too ahead of myself, or her. As much as my mind wants to go exactly where she's leading it, tonight is special, something to be savored and enjoyed. I want to do this right and earn every moment I get to spend in her presence. I want to know her like I've never known anyone in my entire life. "How long have you been tattooing?" I ask, curious enough to continue our conversation from earlier in the week.

"About eight years. After I got my first dozen, I decided everything about them was for me. I apprenticed under my own artist, then worked at her shop for a bit. I opened Touch of Sass six years ago and it's been amazing, to say the least. How did you end up finding it?"

"Ah, you do work on my best friend, Bella Swan," I say, and her eyes light up.

"Oh, I adore Bella! Such a sweetheart," Rosalie exclaims. "How is she? It's been a month or so since I saw her last."

I smile; I can never help it when B's name is brought up. "She's good. Still singing, hoping to make it big one day."

"I'm sure she will. Is she still with Edward? Do you know him, too? You must . . ."

"She is, and I do. Him and I go way back, too."

"It's pretty cool that we already have a small circle in common," she says, and I nod in agreement. As quick as all this has been, I can already see us hanging out with the gang, going for coffee, out for movies, all those things that people in love do with others who are similarly inclined.

The server returns with a hot loaf of fresh bread and some butter, and we tuck in with more light conversation. All in all things are going really well, and I'm surprised just how easy it's been for me to talk to her all evening. Like, really, honestly, and truly talk. Normally I'd just be putting up with the babble, listening to and saying barely enough in return to get the woman home and into my bed, but with Rosalie, I'm soaking up every word. Every look, every smile, every gesture. She's just fascinating to me, and the greedy-ass motherfucker in me wants to experience it all, top to bottom, inside and out, every last detail about her, and more.

Our meal arrives quicker than expected, and we both dig in with abandon, chatting casually as we go. I'm surprised she can eat the way she does, not once holding back or proclaiming to be full. She matches my appetite with dainty bites and elegant table manners, but still finishes her whole plate, and I'm impressed.

"Do you want dessert?" I ask after the server clears our plates and places a menu of temptation before us.

Rosalie picks up the black folder and peruses the offerings, a small, delighted smile gracing her face. "Yes, I'll have the apple-pie tart with vanilla ice cream."

"Make that two," I tell the server when he returns, and Rose and I talk some more while we wait for our next course.

"So what do you like to do in your spare time, Emmett?" she asks me, her finger trailing lazily around the rim of her second Cosmo as she tilts her head at me in question.

"Hmm, well, I play rugby with a club sometimes, usually only during the winter season, though. I like movies and TV, mostly action and comedies but I can sit through a chick-flick if I have to. Ah, I enjoyed getting a tattoo quite a bit. I could see that maybe becoming a new hobby of mine . . ."

Rosalie laughs, raising her glass at me in agreement. "I can't fault you there."

We both drink to it, and then our desserts arrive.

"What about you?" I return, once we've each swallowed a bite. "What do you like to do outside of work?"

"I'm a runner," she supplies. "I put in anywhere from five to ten miles a day, four or five times a week. I like TV and movies, too . . . action and comedy works for me. I'm not much into gooey chick-flicks to be honest, so you don't have to worry about enduring any, should we ever find ourselves watching something together."

I can't even tell her how much I would love to curl up and just laze about watching TV together, not if I want to avoid coming on too strong. "Well, that's a relief," I say instead, and she grins slyly at me like she read my thoughts anyway.

After declining anything more from the server, he brings by the check, and I hand him my card without looking. I add a twenty-percent gratuity to the bill, and then we're done here, but I so do not want the night to be over.

We head out arm in arm to my truck, and Rosalie gives me her address, which isn't that far from her shop. When we arrive there much too quickly, both of us sit silently for a moment, until finally I sigh and get out to walk her to her door. She stops at the main door to her building, turning to me with a soft, yet eager gaze.

"I had a really great time tonight, Emmett. Thank you."

I clear my throat, shoving my hands deep into my pockets to keep myself from grabbing her and kissing her senseless. "I did, too," I say instead, a grin rising to my face at what I now realize was my first real, legitimate date. Not a hookup, not a booty call, not pleasantries to sit through before I can finally get my dick into one hole or another, but actual time spent with someone I really fucking like, and I want to do it again. "Can I call you sometime? Soon? Like tomorrow?"

Rosalie smiles brightly at me before her eyes darken and her lips curve into a sexy smirk. "Yeah. Or you could just come up now, if you want?"

I want. Oh god, I want to so fucking badly it almost hurts, but I won't. Not yet. I need to do this right, proper and shit, like she deserves. "Thanks, but uh, listen . . ." Her face falls slightly and I curse myself internally, but press on. "I like you. I like you a lot. And as much as it would make my fucking night to come upstairs with you, I don't think I should. Not until you know that I am in this for so much more than that, because I am. Let me show you first, please?"

A soft, sweet smile blooms over Rosalie's mouth, her blue eyes sparkling in the dim outdoor lights. "I'd like that," she says, stepping back and looking down, but my desires get the best of me and I follow her movement, getting even closer into her space.

My hands leave my pockets, one coming to rest against her cheek as the other slides around her back. She folds into me fluidly as I look down into her face, my fingers now trailing into the twist of her hair.

"Just one more thing before I go?" I whisper huskily, and she nods.

I kiss her gently, letting my lips linger without seeking more, savoring the soft feel of them as they yield to mine. Rosalie's arms come around my back as she responds, and when she attempts to deepen things, I let her.

Our mouths move silently, tongues stroking softly, small pecks interspersing the deeper push and pull of what is quickly become a heavy make-out, until with a groan, I force myself to step away. Rosalie is panting as she stares up at me from the short distance I've put between us, the sound of it solidifying my already-alert dick and telling me I need to go now before I just say fuck it all and take her right here on the damn sidewalk.

"I'll call you tomorrow," I say, my voice laced with desperate lust, a clear match for the look in her eyes, which of course, only fuels the fire more.

"Okay," she says breathily, giving me one final grin before she turns and lets herself into the building, looking back through the glass door once and then moving out of my vision as she turns down a hallway.

Holy shit, that was intense. The whole night was amazing. Fucking incredible. I run my hands over my hair as I head back to my truck, sliding into the driver's seat and just sitting there with the engine running while I gather my thoughts. I did the right thing, and I know it. My cock hates me right now, my balls already feeling blue, but it will be worth it a hundred times over, because there's one thing I already know for damn certain and it's the best feeling I've ever had in my life.

I'm in love with this woman, and one day, if she lets me, I'm going to fucking marry her.

Thanks for reading!

Please review!

XO