Colt & Serena: A Hysterics Companion Novella (The Hysterics Book 2) Read online

  “So, Cruz said you want this on the left side of your chest?”

  His jaw worked as he glared at the screen while nodding.

  I rolled my eyes. “Like here?” I let my fingers glide over his pec right where Cruz had told me to put the scrolling letters. I let the slow graze of my fingertips break him from his jealous stare. His eyes snapped to mine and I smiled at him sweetly, biting my bottom lip a bit to finish out the foreplay.

  “Take your shirt off. Let’s get this shit started.”

  As I peeled off the stencil from Dane’s chest, I read the words carefully to make sure there wasn’t a typo anywhere: In black ink my love may still shine bright.

  I let Dane check it out in the mirror.

  “Ready?” I asked as I pulled my gloves on and set up my ink in front of my gun.

  Dane nodded and that’s all I got.

  “You’re not very chatty, are you?”

  He cleared his throat as I let the needle buzz to life in my hand. “No, I am. My mind is just somewhere else right now.”

  “Behind that curtain or in the gutter?” I let a coy smile linger as I felt the vibration from my gun radiate through my hand into my entire body. It was thrilling to finally be sitting in a chair about to press ink onto this hot guy’s chest. It was a complete turn on, but I had to keep reminding myself that his chick was only a few feet away.

  His face, neck, and chest turned all kinds of red as he muttered, “The first. Or maybe both.”

  I scrolled over the letters, trying to chat here and there with Dane even though I could tell he was one of the silent types of clients. The more I looked at him, the more he looked like someone I knew, or had met, or something, and it was driving me mad.

  “Do I know you from somewhere?”

  He cringed as I traced the K.

  “Um…I really don’t think we’ve met. I would have remembered you.”

  I wiped, dipped, and kept going, still trying to figure out how I knew this dude.

  “You look so familiar.”

  “My buddy’s dad owns the joint across the street, Mountain Breath. Maybe I’ve seen you there?”

  “Oh, my god!” I screamed, pulling the gun away from Dane’s chest. It finally clicked. I even had to put the gun down because my hands started shaking so badly.

  “What?” The surprise that raked across his face was hilarious.

  “You’re fucking Dane Pearson! Holy fucking shit!”

  He nodded, completely taken aback. “I’m really glad my name makes you so…jubilant? I guess that’s a good word for this.”

  I took a few sharp, deep breaths in and wanted to die from the embarrassment of my fangirl freak out.

  “You okay?” Dane looked overly concerned, lying on the table, propped up on one elbow.

  “Uh huh. I just can’t fucking believe it!” Trying to still my hand or my voice was completely futile at that point. Dane. Fucking. Pearson. In my freaking chair! I shrieked to myself as he looked up at me, completely confused.

  “Believe what?”

  “That you’re Dane Pearson from The Hysterics and I am fucking tattooing you!” My voice was pretty shrill at that point.

  How the fuck am I going to finish this tattoo?

  “You know my band?”

  “Know it? I love your band!”

  I could hear my heart thudding my chest.

  Is this fucking normal? Am I about to have a heart attack from fangirling?

  Is that a fucking thing—death by fangirling?

  He chuckled a little and that made me want to die a thousand deaths right on the spot. I even contemplated diving head first under the tattoo table.

  Dane pointed to his bare chest. “Do you think…?” He trailed off with an eyebrow raised as I continued to gawk at him like a fucking idiot.

  “Oh yeah! Shit! Ok!” I tried to laugh off my nervousness, but holy shit balls of fire, I was still freaking out. Thankfully, the chick Dane had come with emerged from behind Cruz’s curtain and they started chatting a bit. I needed the distraction to get back into my tattooing zone and calm my fangirling a bit. Somehow—and for the love of god, I have no idea how—I composed myself enough to continue to drill ink onto one of my favorite drummers of all time.

  I started to wipe Dane’s chest again, checking for smooth lines and anywhere that might need a second pass, when the tall tattooed woman leaned over Dane’s chest. “Oh, Serena, it’s breathtaking!”

  “Thanks! I actually didn’t get your name.” She was out-of-this-world pretty, totally someone I would have filmed with. I caught myself tripping back into my old ways and it felt so good to be able to stop myself and remember that I was out of that world for good.

  “Fae, my name is Fae. It’s nice to meet you. Take care of him, will ya? He’s my ride.” I watched the cute exchange between Dane and his girl, and I could see how much he loved her. A stab of jealousy took me by surprise, not of being his or in her position specifically, but of the way he looked at her. I had never had someone look into me and really see me for more than a hot chick with awesome tattoos that can eat pussy like there’s no tomorrow.

  Someday. Someday that will be me looking into loving eyes.

  2

  Serendipity

  Colt

  “Hey Marty.” Mav’s father looked up from wiping off the dinner menus with a towel.

  “Colt, what are you doing on this side of town this late?”

  I shrugged and grabbed the can of PBR that was set in front of me without even a question. “The guys all had plans tonight, so I figured I’d swing in for a quick drink.”

  “Well, that’s nice of ya. Dane was just in here with a looker.”

  “Yeah? What were they up to?” It was odd for Dane to be over this way too, without Maverick anyway. Those two were inseparable for the most part. It was all too cliché, the bassist and the drummer being best friends, but that’s how it had been since we were kids.

  Marty leaned an elbow onto the bar top, sipping from his water bottle. “They went across the street to Vatican.”

  That little shit.

  “Damn, he knows how badly I want to finish my leg. Well, time to go give him shit for getting inked without me.” I threw a couple bucks onto the bar, taking the last gulp of my beer. “Catch you later, Marty.”

  “Have a good one, Colt. Always a pleasure.”

  Trotting across the street, I saw that almost all the lights were off in the shop. I knocked on the locked glass door and Cruz came around the corner.

  Opening the door for me, Cruz grabbed my hand. “Hey, man. It’s been a while. When are we finishing that leg?”

  “As soon as you have some free time, brother.”

  Cruz nodded. “I’ll check the calendar and let you know. Dane’s getting finished up now.”

  “Thanks.”

  Making my way to the back, I saw the long legs and tattooed gorgeousness of the new chick Dane was seeing. I racked my brain trying to recall her name, pausing a little before making my presence known. Finally it came to me just as she started to turn around. “Hey Fae!”

  Dane was right next to her, getting pushed down by a chick with a tattoo gun in her hand. In a high-pitched voice I heard the tattooist exclaim, “Hey, we’re almost done. Just finishing the last letter.”

  I walked over to the table to check out what my band mate was getting. “Dane! That’s sick.” The bold lettering popped off his chest with so much meaning, I almost got choked up. I swallowed hard to hide it. Dane would have lost his shit if he knew I was getting emotional on him.

  “Thanks man. What are you doing here?”

  “Marty. I went in to grab a beer and he ratted you out.”

  “Sorry man. This one I needed to fly solo on.”

  “Solo, my ass. Fae is here.” I pointed my thumb over to his bombshell of a girl.

  “It’s different.”

  “Yeah, whatev—” And then my world stopped as her name hit the air.

  “Colt, this is Sere
na.” Dane’s voice broke into my goo-goo-filled brain of ogling his hot-ass tattooer.

  Her eyes got wide as her gaze darted up to me. “Ha-hi.” She stuttered as she wiped Dane’s chest and he cringed. “Am I done?” Dane tapped on her gloved hand, which was still rubbing down his chest as her stare stayed locked with mine.

  “What?” She stammered, “Y-yeah! All done! Wanna look?”

  Dane checked his tat out and then bolted to the back doubled over, clutching his stomach. He might have said something, but I was too enamored to listen or care.

  We dove into chatting about her apprenticeship and how much she had fanned over our band for years. One thing led to another and I was inviting Serena and Fae to our next practice, completely ignoring the no girls rule.

  “Yeah, we have practice almost every day. Why don’t you come tomorrow?” I sat down on her table, trying to play off how nervous I actually was. She was so flirty and touchy, I was shocked. I had her in between my legs, my hands on her ass, and she didn't seem to care in the slightest.

  Coolest, fucking, chick! EVER!

  “Oh, my god!” Her shrill was deafening. “I would fucking love that!”

  “Fae, you should totally come too.” I had gone and invited one chick, might as well make a fucking party out of it.

  “Come where?” Dane slowly walked back over to us, looking pale with his hands digging into his pockets.

  “Colt invited Serena and me to your band’s practice tomorrow.” Serena popped up and started to clean and bandage up Dane’s new tattoo.

  “How’re you feeling?” Her smile had faded as concern took over.

  “Oh fine. I’m a big boy, I can handle the pain.”

  Fae laughed. “I’m sure the toilet agrees.”

  There was an awkward silence as Fae tried to salvage the situation.

  “Colt, inviting chicks to our practice, huh?” Dane glared over at me.

  I nodded, staring at the floor. I felt like a beat puppy whenever Dane gave me that look.

  “Rodney is going to flip his shit.”

  Dane was totally right, but who gives a shit? We needed to have some fun, and having our biggest fan at a practice might actually help us. Having Fae there so that there was more than one girl was a plus; girls liked to travel in packs. It confused the ever-loving shit out of me, but it was a social norm that I had grown to accept without question. “He can suck it. He’s too much of a prima donna, I’ll take care of him.”

  Dane and Fae said their goodbyes and left Serena and me alone in the almost empty shop.

  Cruz walked into the back. “Hey, you guys hungry?”

  We both shrugged and Cruz smiled. “Got it. Well, I have some paperwork to do in the back. See you tomorrow at eleven, Serena?”

  She nodded and grabbed my hand. “Yeah. I’ll be here.”

  Cruz handed her a key. “Awesome. You open up then. See you at noon.”

  Her eyes got wide as she stared at the shiny metal in her hand. I figured this was a big deal from her reaction, but I hated being out of the loop.

  “You wanna get out of here?” I pulled her close to me as she nodded. “Good.” I slowly pressed my lips onto her soft cheek and I melted. I fucking melted right on the spot.

  How is this real life? Is this shit love at first touch? Is that really a thing?

  Serena

  “I cannot fucking believe how easy it is to talk to you.” Colt sat next to me at the bar waving to the older bartender to bring us another round of beers. “And it is a total plus that you drink beer!”

  I laughed, putting my hand on his shoulder. “I’m stoked that we’re doing this. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun just talking to someone.”

  “So, Colt, are you going to introduce me to your lady friend?” The bartender was leaning on the bar in front of us.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry. Marty, this is Serena. She works at Vatican.”

  “It’s a pleasure, Serena. What a beautiful name.” Marty took my hand gently as a warm smile washed over his leathery face. “Well, smoke break time. Care to join me, Colt?”

  Colt shook his head and lifted up his sleeve, revealing a clear nicotine patch. “Been going strong for a few weeks now. I can’t believe Mav hasn’t complained to you about my terrible mood swings at our last few practices.”

  “Hold on.” My hand flew onto Colt’s forearm. “Marty knows Maverick Steele?”

  A throaty chuckle came from behind the bar. “I better, that bassist of theirs is the fruit of my loins.”

  “Holy shit!” I had to take a few seconds to compose myself, to keep the crazy fangirl at bay. “Your son’s band is my favorite of all time, sir.”

  Marty shook his head, his smile never wavering. “Cut the sir crap out. Marty, Pops, or Papa Steele will do just fine.” He winked and started to polish the bar glasses in front of him. “And just to set the record straight, they’re my favorite band, too.”

  I giggled and turned my attention back to Colt. “So, what is your biggest flaw?” It was blunt, but I was ready to kick the conversational getting-to-know-you crap up a notch.

  “Hmmm, let’s see. A real flaw?”

  I nodded.

  “I don’t ever want to be married.”

  I was shocked. How much more perfect could this guy be?

  “Me either!”

  His eyes got wide.

  “Not the response you were expecting?”

  Colt laughed a little. “Most girls would have walked out the door after hearing that.”

  “Well, I am not most girls, and I want to be with my life partner because I want to be, not because of some piece of paper that is legally binding. Where’s the romance in that?”

  He slammed his hand onto the bar with a huge smile taking over his face. “Exactly!”

  “So, this is pretty awesome!”

  Colt looked at me, a crooked smile playing on his lips. “So what’s your biggest flaw?”

  I immediately regretted asking him that in the first place, but he had been honest with me, so I owed him something equally honest. “I used to do porn.”

  His smile faded as he waited and stared at me.

  “I’ve never done anything with a guy, always either solo or with a chick, mostly Maja. That’s it. It is what it is. Now it’s out.”

  I had never told any guy I found attractive that before. I usually hid it and then a few weeks later they’d put the pieces together, freak out, and dump me. It had actually been so long since I had been on a date or anything close to a date that I couldn’t even remember the last one.

  “Thanks.” Colt took a quick sip of beer.

  “Thanks? For what?”

  He grabbed my hand. “For being honest. What’s in the past can stay there. I won’t lie, it’s not thrilling that countless dudes have jerked it to you at some point, but who am I to judge? I watch porn. I’m a fucking musician for crying out loud.”

  He swallowed his swig with an eyebrow raised, waiting for me to take the conversation from there.

  “I just can’t believe what an amazing day it has been. I have never believed in luck or fate or anything like that crap, but today is kind of proving me wrong.”

  “How so?” Colt’s hand landed on my thigh, sending chills throughout my body.

  “Well, this morning I quit a fucking horrible job I hated where they treated me like shit, then I got promoted at Vatican, and now I am sitting at a bar, drinking with a totally hot guy that I have fantasized about on more occasions than I care to admit.” My cheeks burned immediately.

  Did I really just admit that?

  Those words really came out of my fucking mouth.

  Smooth, Serena. Way to fucking go.

  “Ha, really?” Colt started to chew on his bottom lip, eyes locked on my lips. It was written all over his face. I was slowly starting to turn into a piece of meat and grossness covered my entire body as Colt’s hand started to slowly creep up my thigh.

  “I should go.” I shoved up from my sea
t, feeling way too exposed. I pulled my purse over my shoulder and started to make my way to the front door as fast as my feet could move on the slippery tile in my kitten heels.

  “Wait, what happened?” Colt was trotting after me. “I thought we were having a great time.”

  I spun around, trying to fight the tears that were welling up. I hated how sensitive I got about feeling cheap and used, but being a fucking porn actress will do that to a girl. “We were. I just can’t do this.”

  “Do what? Have a good time? Be attracted to someone that is attracted to you? Have a beer with someone that doesn’t repulse you?”

  The way he was putting it made me feel even more crazy. “I’m just not used to someone only wanting to have a beer with me. Usually there are strings.”

  “Well, I am not most people, and I definitely don’t have strings in mind. Can we just finish our beers and then you let me drive you home?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, ok. I’d like that.”

  Once we sat back down and I took a couple deep breaths, everything seemed to flow smoothly. We kept the conversation light. He commented on how much he liked my mermaid pin up on my forearm and I picked his brain about what the next stage of The Hysterics’ musical progression would be.

  “Hey, Pops.”

  Marty hollered down from the other end of the bar. “What do ya need, Colt?”

  “Two burgers all the way.” Colt glanced over at me. “If that sounds good to you. Marty makes a killer burger.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “Coming right up!” Marty made his way into the kitchen.

  “Is he really going to stop what he was doing just to cook for us?”

  Colt shifted in his seat so he was completely facing me. “Marty opened this place because he loves to cook. He just gets stuck working the front because he feels like he is more needed here. So whenever we come in, he likes to cook for us because it’s his real passion.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  After wolfing down one of the most delicious burgers in the entire world and drinking one too many beers, I was finally completely relaxed again.