Page 27 of Small-Town Secrets
Aaron
"Areyousureyou want to get a tattoo?" I asked my friend Jake as we parked in front of Oceanport's only tattoo studio.
"I'm not sure, I'm only browsing," Jake reiterated, but I'd known him to be impulsive in the past. If he was walking into that studio...
"Just promise me you're not doing this to impress a certain omega."
"Please, I would never do something so stupid."
I only looked at Jake. Did I really have to remind him of that time he'd gotten drunk and tried to abscond with a freakingphone boxbecause he'd somehow convinced himself that Conner would 'absolutely love it in his living room'?
"I'm not drunk today," Jake defended himself before I could bring the story up.
"You've done stupid things when you're sober too."
"Everybody does." Jake unbuckled his seat belt. "Don't try to tell me you haven't."
He had a point there. On top of the list of stupid things I'd done? Sleep with my baby brother's best friend.
Who was I to judge Jake for his escapades?
When we entered the tattoo studio, we found Raphael deep in conversation with an older customer. Or, at least I thought it was a customer at first glance. On second glance, I recognized the elderly lady in her wheelchair as old Mrs. Rosewood. A sweet, if a little eccentric, lady and Nathan's great-grandmother.
Everyone in town knew her.
"How's it going?" Raph asked us with a smile after we'd exchanged greetings. Both he and Mrs. Rosewood seemed to be in good spirits. Maybe the handmade underwear Raph let the old lady sell in his studio was going well.
"Going great." I nodded at my friend. "Jake is here because he wants to impress an omega, or that's what I'm thinking. Please tell him it's stupid."
"Aren't we all a little stupid in love?" Mrs. Rosewood chimed in. She turned to Jake. "If you really want to impress Conner, why don't you buy him some nice new underwear?"
"Thank you," Jake declined. "I think Conner has enough underwear. Although you make really lovely underwear," he added when Raph shot him a sharp look. "Besides, I'm not the only one here with an omega to impress."
What was he playing at?
Jake elbowed my side. "I saw Laurence leaving your house last night."
Seriously? And he was gonna bring that up now? In front of Mrs. Rosewood of all people? "I was teaching Laurence some self-defense moves," I said, looking at Jake in a way that should let him knowhewas going to need some self-defense moves if he continued this line of conversation.
Jake did not seem impressed. "Really? Is that all you did? Laurence sure seemed in a hurry."
"Oh no, did your date not go well?" Mrs. Rosewood jumped to all sorts of conclusions. Of course. "I can give you a pair of underwear for free if you think it might comfort Laurence. That boy has been through so much! He should have something, orsomeone, to keep him warm."
Was the old lady just picturing me and Laurence in bed together? She totally was, wasn't she? "It wasn't a date," I said, trying my hardest to sound unperturbed.
"No? That's too bad. Do you not like Laurence?"
"I..." Why was I suddenly being put on the spot? When I glanced at Jake, I saw that my friend was holding one hand in front of his mouth, suppressing laughter. The bastard.
"Yeah, Aaron," Raph joined the conversation. "Do you not like Laurence?"
"Why are you all suddenly so interested in my love life?" Not that what I was doing with Laurence had anything to do with my love life. I'd only wanted to help Laurence out.
And cook him a three-course meal.
I still wasn't sure why Laurence had stormed out halfway through it.
In any case, I wasn't going to discuss that withthesepeople.
