“Now, now.” Rogers bangs on the window, making us jump. I reluctantly pull my lips from Grayson’s.
Grayson opens the window and Rogers shakes his head, chuckling at us.
“Looks like your unblemished record continues for another day, St. Clair.” He offers Grayson his hand, and he takes it, and they both grip each other firmly before Rogers pulls away. “We’ll get off and leave you two lovebirds to whatever it is you were about to start.” Winking playfully, he leaves us and climbs back into his car. With two quick hoots of his horn, he screeches off the track.
“Now, where were we,” I say as I reach down the side of Grayson’s seats and flip the lever that pushes his seat all the way back. Grayson lies back and places his hands behind his head, his eyes are alight with desire.
“Now you have me where you want me, what do you intend to do with me?” He asks me.
I grin, leaning over him, and I pull down the zipper on his college trousers. “Bad, bad things, Gray.”
I climb back into my seat and finish fastening up my buttons on my school shirt as Grayson re-fastens his trousers.
We both catch each other’s eyes as we dress and grinning, he leans across to me and kisses me. “We’re going to be late for the next part of your surprise.”
I shrug and smile. “It was worth being late for.”
“Sex in my car with you is most definitely worth it,” he agrees.
We head back into town and I’m excited about where he is taking me next and look around me to try to guess where we might be going. He pulls into a car park just off the main high street and he climbs out and purchases a parking ticket.
“Ready?” He asks, leaning into the car to place the ticket on the inside of the windscreen.
“You bet I am,” I say, brimming with excitement. I climb out of the car and race round to his side and place my hand in his.
Grayson chuckles and kisses my forehead. “You’re unbelievably cute when you’re excited.”
We walk for a few brief minutes past the many high street shops. I see a jewellers up ahead and my stomach flips. Is he taking me there? As we near the shop, my stomach erupts in butterflies. Is he buying me jewellery? However, we don’t stop outside the jewellers; we carry on past. I laugh internally at myself. Jesus, did I honestly think he was going to do something as crazy as propose? I mean, who gets married at eighteen and only nine months together? Truth be told, though, I’d marry him in a heartbeat. Grayson is it for me.
He comes to a stop and I look up at the shop sign ‘Reckless vandals.’ Looking through the shop window, I see a guy sitting in a chair, whilst a woman leans over him with a tattoo gun.
“You’re buying me a tattoo?” I ask him, wide-eyed. This I was not expecting at all.
“You can have one if you want one, but actually it’s me who is getting a tattoo today.”
“You are?” I ask in surprise. I’m unsure why him having a tattoo would be part of birthday surprises.
Grayson pulls open the shop door and tugs me in behind him. The girl looks up as we walk in and she smiles. “Hey, Grayson. Take a seat. Kyle will be out shortly.”
“Thanks, Emma,” Grayson replies with a polite smile and he leads us over to a small leather sofa in front of the window.
“So, you’re getting a tattoo?” I whisper.
A smile tugs at Grayson’s face. He knows I have zero patience. “That’s normally why people come to a tattoo shop.”
I look around me and notice they also do piercings. I am a little addicted to piercings. I had started out at ten years old with just two piercings, one in each ear. Then at sixteen I’d gone behind my mum’s back and got my belly pierced. Last year I had two more piercings in my earlobes and two conch piercings. I was the same with tattoos; once I’d started, I’d wanted more.
A guy with a Mohawk and tattoos all up his arms comes out from the back room. “Grayson pal. You ready?”
Grayson nods and intrigued, I follow him through.
“So I’ve worked on some designs based on your ideas.” Kyle tells him. He grabs his sketch pad and opens the page and holds it out for Grayson.
I lean around Grayson to get a better look.
“Is that Celtic?” I ask, recognising the similarity in its style to the one that my mum and I both had done. I look closer and can make out that it is two hearts interwoven with one another. All three designs are similar, but one just looks that bit more alluring. “What does it mean?” I ask Grayson, as my heart hammers in my chest.
He looks at me from over his shoulder. “It’s a Celtic love knot. It symbolises eternal love.”
I gulp. Is this tattoo for me?
I examine the designs again, as my heart hammers at a rapid pace. I inhale a sharp intake of breath when I spot that ever so delicately, something is written along one of the lines of the heart. “Is that?”
“Manchester.” Grayson confirms. His voice sounds a little uncertain as he watches my face for my reaction.
I gawp at him in shock. “You’re having me tattooed onto your skin?”
He nods and continues studying my face. He’s nervous of my reaction. It throws me when Grayson is nervous, because he is usually so self assured.
“Can you give us a second?” I ask Kyle, who has been sitting quietly holding the sketches out for us to see. Kyle smiles and hands the pad to Grayson and makes himself scarce.
“Look, if this is freaking you out, I can..”
He doesn’t get to say
