Page 23 of Mark Us Little Bear
“You’ve been gazing at Amber, for an hour, trying to get a better look at her insides.”
“That is disturbing.”
“Tell it to your face.”
“You’re very saucy today. Is it because we’re surrounded by it?” I fire back.
He turns away from me before a smile slips free.I love making him smile.
“So are you, by the way,” I tease, “When she was making sauce with Nana, you stared. It’s a miracle her bra didn’t snap from all the tension.”
He finally chuckles and drags his white set of teeth over his lip. “I hope she stays. It sucks to give up on something you worked hard to achieve. And she’s still figuring out what she wants, at least, I think she is. It’ll be a shame if she returns home when she could stay here and search for it.”
“Search what?”
“The thing that makes her want to wake up and do it.” He clarifies. “We’re lucky to have found it so early.” Ronnie always makes me think about things that are so trivial to me.
We are lucky.
Ronnie has run the club since he was twenty-three, and I always wanted to be a tattoo artist so I started young. I’m twenty-six-year-old but I started practicing when I was eighteen.
“Have fun, Nana, I love you.” Ronnie kisses her forehead, waving goodbye to the staff working in the kitchen.
“I love you too, honey.” She gives him a quick hug. “And you too, Bradley and Amber. Thank you for coming to see me and for all your help.”
“Our pleasure,” Amber says mid-hug.
“Don’t make me blush, Nana,” I reply.
She tosses her palm down, happily grinning from ear to ear.
“That’s my job,” Ronnie tosses it in the air like an insignificant comment but my eyes encounter Nana’s and she arches her brow as if saying “There’s your answer.”
My eyes zoom in on Ronnie, hopping on his bike and getting ready to head home as the front door closes behind him.
“Safe ride, kids.”
Ronnie
Revving my R1, I signal them to switch lanes but before I finish my balls jump to my throat.
Those goddamn speed bumps.I grab my aching nuts.
Sucking in a deep breath, I ride onto the side of the road and stop the bike.
I can feel their attention falls on me. The chattering in the helmets stops abruptly, replaced with, “Ronnie, are you okay?”
I glance at them but can’t speak, so I shake my head.
Little speed bump.I whimper in pain, barely able to form a coherent sentence.
“Ohhh, the speed bump,” Bradley acknowledges. “Shit that must have hurt.” He’s dying laughing as I watch him drop the kickstand down and try to inhale properly but can’t.
“I need a minute,” my voice is a little pitchy and full of pain.
“Oh no, your nuts.” Now Amber can’t stop laughing her ass off.
I’m going to whoop their asses for this.
