Chapter 10

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I knew Sookie was going to balk when I pulled up on Matilda. She needed to take a deep breath, though. Riding my ‘88 Harley Davidson softail made me feel free, and Sookie needed to feel some of that freedom. I smiled when I saw the look on her face.

 

“You ready?” I grinned. She had an appointment at eight. The tattoo she wanted would take a little less than an hour and a half.

 

“Uh huh. I’ll drive,” she offered.

 

With a beer in her hand.

 

“No you won’t,” I said. “You’ll hop on and enjoy the wind in your face.”

 

“You mean in the final minutes of my short life?” Dramatic much?

 

“I’ve had my bike for over a decade, Sookie. Never had an accident. Josie has been riding on it with me since she could walk. Are you going to let an eight-year-old show more guts than you?” I challenged.

 

“Well shouldn’t I work my way up to it? Like first a dirt bike and then a Vespa and then a crotch rocket and then a Harley?” Sookie suggested nervously and humorously.

 

I laughed and said, “No, my Harley is way safer with me driving than any of those other little shitstains. I love that bike more than I love Dimples. You’re going to be just fine.”

 

“I think you love a good fart more than Dimples,” Sookie accused as Tray came into the room.

 

“Who’s Dimples? You hooking up with a stripper, fucker?”

 

“No, Dimples is Josie’s new puppy. She wouldn’t let me name him something manly like Killer or something. Now Sookie is trying to puss out and not hop on the back of Matilda.” She had a name, I fucking loved that bike.

 

“Well it’s good Jo got a male dog since she already has a bitch,” Tray smirked.

 

“Wait until you have kids, man.” I made no excuses for being whipped by my daughter.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” he was in serious denial. “Back to Matilda. Sook, she’s perfectly safe, I assure you. Eric won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me, one ride near the coast at this time of day and you’ll never want to drive that SUV of yours ever again.”

 

“Sookie, he’s right,” Amelia added. “You don’t know freedom until you feel the wind in your hair while you’re staring at the ocean.”

 

Sookie still looked nervous – and hot in the half shirt she was wearing – but she nodded. “Fine, fine I’ll try it. Do I need to put on different pants or shoes?”

 

“Only if you want to. There are pegs for your feet so they won’t get ruined,” I told her.

 

“Okay.” Sookie chugged the rest of her beer. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

 

I smiled at her as I reached out to tug her arm to follow me. When we got outside she still looked nervous as fuck, but she sucked it up like a big girl. I picked up the helmet and plopped it on her head. It was a full helmet that covered her ears, whereas I had a brain bucket style. I kept my eyes on hers while I buckled the strap under her chin. Her skin was soft and her eyes looked so much prettier in the sunlight. I still needed to get laid. I would make that a priority after I had Jo for the rest of the week.

 

“You’re going to love it,” I told her quietly, settling my hands on her shoulders.

 

“We’ll see about that.”

 

I winked before I got on the bike and put my own helmet on. “Hop on,” I said as I fired her up, making Sookie jump.

 

She was a bit clumsy getting on, but she did it. Sookie even got her feet on the pegs and wrapped her arms around me without prompting. Her tits felt amazing pressed against my back. I held her hands against my stomach for a moment before I put Matilda into gear and started to take off.

 

I started slow, while getting out of the neighborhood. Rene’s shop was right off the highway near the ocean. The ride up was going to take about forty-five minutes. Forty-five minutes I got to spend with amazing tits pressed against me. She held me tight too, which I liked a lot more than I should have.

 

Once we got on the highway I felt Sookie’s head rest against my back. She was probably watching the ocean. It was a gorgeous view. The sun was just setting which was one of my favorite sights. I could only imagine what Sookie was thinking about. She had a lot on her mind, I knew it. Taking her on the bike wasn’t just to get her loosen up. It gave her an opportunity to clear her head; she’d had a big day working for the first time, not to mention the shit she was going through with her family and probably her ex. I didn’t want her to feel obligated to talk to me. I enjoyed our conversations, generally, but a nice, quiet ride was so, so soothing.

 

When we got to the tattoo shop Sookie held on a little longer. I turned Matilda off and waited for Sookie to let go. She finally released me and got off the bike on shaky legs. She was still taking off her helmet when I leaned my bike on her kickstand and stood up.

 

“Well, how was it?” I asked as I unbuckled my own helmet. It was probably the first time she saw me without a hat. My hair was short, yet scruffy, and probably looked like shit.

 

Sookie smiled thoughtfully and then went into the shop without answering me.

 

She fucking loved it. I followed her in, smiling when I saw Rene sitting there looking at a stencil. I’d shot him an email earlier in the day to tell him what Sookie wanted. He was as genius with a tattoo gun. She was in great hands.

 

“Hey, man, this is Sookie,” I said. I called when earlier to set her appointment.

 

“Northman, nice to see you,” he said in that crazy Cajun accent of his. “And Sookie, it’s good to meet you, chèr.”

 

“It’s good to meet you too.” Sookie’s accent was thicker than usual and she curtsied to Rene.

 

“You must be from up north,” he joked with her.

 

“Bon Temps,” she said.

 

“I know. I’m familiar with your family name. You’re prettier in person,” Rene said with charm.

 

She was stunning. I kept that to myself though.

 

“She’s coming to the best for her first tattoo,” I smiled, reaching over to rub her shoulder.

 

“Northman, you’re the best suckup I know,” Rene said, making Sookie laugh.

 

“Well you do great work,” Sookie told him. “Tray sings your praises too.”

 

“I’m a walking billboard,” I laughed.

 

“Eric said you want an empty birdcage. I did some drawing if you want to look.”

 

Sookie and I walked toward the back with Rene. His receptionist, Randee Sue always gave me the creeps with the way she eye fucked me, so I did my best to ignore her when we walked past. We got to Rene’s room, a room I spent many, many hours in.

 

I took a seat in the empty stool and allowed Sookie to work with Rene. It was her turn to be a big girl and do it on her own. Baby steps, right? When he showed her what he’d come up with she stared at it for a long time before she looked back at me. I could see her eyes ready to well up, but she kept it in check.

 

“Good?” I asked from my seat.

 

“Yes,” she answered. “This is perfect, Rene.”

 

“Very good,” he nodded. “Where do you want it?”

 

Sookie popped her right hip out a little and lowered her pants some to touch the spot where she’d put my hand a few days before.

 

“Is here good?” she asked.

 

“It’s all up to you, chèr,” he told her. “You get comfy on the gurney and we’ll start the prep.”

 

“Want me to hang out here with you or should I leave you alone?” I asked. It wouldn’t bother me if she wanted to do it alone.

 

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” she said.

 

“I don’t mind sticking around,” I shrugged. I loved every part of getting and seeing tattoos. “It’s gonna hurt like a bitch, you might need a hand to hold.”

“Don’t scare the girl,” Rene said, shaking his head.

 

“I don’t want to lie to her and tell her it’s going to feel like a kitten licking her.” I would lick her… I needed to stop.

 

“Distract me with some of those bad jokes you tell but think are funny,” Sookie suggested.

 

“Hmm, like why did the snowman have a smiley face?” I grinned. “Because he heard the snowblower was coming.”

 

That one actually made her laugh.

 

“He’s funnier when he’s trying to get laid,” Rene warned her.

 

“Hey now, she’s an employee. You know I don’t fuck around with employees.” At least not after Felicia.

 

“Not anymore. He learned that lesson the hard way,” he said to Sookie. “What color do you want the roses?”

 

“Ummm…” She thought for a moment. “How about a coral color like my shirt? One that color, one more magenta and one a deeper shade of purple? Can you do that?”

 

“Oui,” he winked. “I need you to tug your pants down a little more, too.”

 

I wasn’t so sure it was safe for me to be in the room if she showed too much. The more time I spent with her, the sexier she got. Fuck, I was screwed, and not in the good way. I did not take my eyes off of her though, not for a second.

 

Sookie eased her pants down a few more inches until I was pretty sure her mound was just barely covered. She definitely waxed.

 

“Why can’t zoo animals take tests?” I blurted out, trying to distract myself from wanting to pounce on her. “Too many cheetahs…” That was a Josie joke.

 

Her giggling distracted me from the newly bared skin but then her tits were bouncing with her laughter.

 

I needed to get laid. That was apparently my new mantra.

 

“Tell me if you need more once the needle touches you,” I winked. I wanted to grab her hips and bury my face between her… I stopped that train of thought right there.

 

“I will.”

 

Rene came over with his disposable razor and removed any hair from the specified spot on Sookie’s hip. She put her right arm up over her head to give Rene more room to work and her shirt, what there was of it, rode up. From where I was standing I could see the underside of her right breast.

 

I wanted to nibble on it. I was so glad she was riding behind me on the way home.

 

“Why did the tomato blush?” I asked, trying to peel my eyes off of her exposed skin. It looked lickable.

 

“I don’t know,” Sookie replied. She lifted her left arm to match the right.

 

“Because it saw the salad dressing,” I told her. The corny jokes weren’t helping at all.

 

“That’s… Please tell me Josie tells you these,” she said through her laughter. It made her jiggle.

 

I had to stifle a groan. All I could imagine was watching her tits bounce as I fucked her. I still needed to pay Dawson.

 

“She does. She’s a little comedian,” I smiled. It was true. “I can keep going if you want more.” I would hopefully distract her from the pain once he got started.

 

“Sure.”

 

Rene applied the pattern to her skin and then handed her a mirror so Sookie could check the placement.

 

“That’s perfect,” she told him.

 

“Good. I’ll start the outline while Chuckles works on his standup routine.” Rene opened a fresh package of needles to load into the gun.

 

“It’s working, isn’t it?” I laughed. “This one isn’t a Josie joke. Mel told it to me a few weeks ago. What’s the difference between a snowman and a snow woman?”

 

“Where you shove the carrot?” Sookie snickered.

 

“Nuh uh, snowballs,” I chuckled.

 

“I was close,” she laughed. “I have one for you.”

 

“I’m ready.” I had a million more.

 

“This is the worst joke ever, I want you to know that,” she prefaced. “How many babies does it take to paint a house?”

 

The gun started to buzz and Sookie’s eyes went wide when the needles touched her. She groaned and bit her bottom lip as Rene began to work.

 

“I don’t know, how many?” I rolled my chair a little closer in case she needed to hold my hand.

 

“Depends how hard you throw them,” she replied.

 

“You’re right, that is a terrible joke,” I said with a little smile. “How did the hipster burn his mouth?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“He sipped his coffee before it was cool.” That joke may have been worse than the baby joke.

 

“I’d like to throw a flag on that one. It’s not really a joke as much as it is an explanation,” she said. So far Sookie was handling the tattoo like it was being licked on.

 

“Okay, this is almost as bad as the baby joke. What kind of shoes does a pedophile wear?” Another Mel joke.

 

“I’m afraid to find out.”

 

“White Vans,” I told her.

 

Sookie laughed loudly at that one.

 

Bounce, bounce, jiggle…

 

Fuuuuck me…

 

I wanted to reach up to stop her tits from jiggling, but she would’ve frowned upon that, I was sure. Thank fuck I was able to keep the hard-on at bay. The jokes were helping me with that.

 

Because I was a sadist I stood up to look down over Rene’s shoulder. Sookie’s prone body looked like pure sex and I wanted to fucking devour her. I did my best not to look at her like I wanted to spread her thighs and drive my cock into her.

 

“Since we’re on the subject of perverts,” Uh oh. “What do you call a guy with a blue penis?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“A tight-fisted wanker.”

 

I looked up at her face. She had a cheesy grin, which made me want to do several other dirty things to her.

 

“That’s…” I trailed off before I cracked up laughing. That was a good one as far as corny jokes went.

 

“Thanks. Why do elephants have four feet?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because six inches doesn’t cut it.”

 

“Are you telling dirty jokes, Miss Stackhouse?” I laughed. It was cute.

 

“Yessir,” she answered.

 

Because she was fucking evil.

 

“It’s kinda hot,” I winked.

 

“Why did the condom fly across the room?” She whimpered when Rene got closer to bone.

 

“Why?” I asked. I moved to the head of the gurney in case she needed me.

 

“Because it was pissed off,” she answered.

 

“I don’t know if that’s funny or gross,” I laughed.

 

“Okay, snowballs,” she snickered. “Oh! Did you hear about the girl who went on a fish trip with six guys? She came home with a red snapper.”

 

“I almost feel like you’ve been reading the Playboy jokes,” I chuckled.

 

“Close. I’ve heard my brother’s jokes, which is pretty much the same thing,” she giggled.

 

“Clearly,” I smiled. “How are you doing with the tattoo?”

 

“So far so good,” she answered as her eyes settled on mine. “How does it look so far?”

 

I turned to get a good look at it. I pulled my phone out to snap a picture of the art.

 

“It looks sexy as fuck,” I told her, showing her the picture.

 

“Don’t hold back, tell me how you really feel,” she said before looking at the screen. “Looks good.”

 

“Yep. Now you’re officially a living canvas,” I said. “You still haven’t seen all of mine.”

 

“Someday.”

 

“Mmhmm,” I hummed, moving to focus on Rene again. I was doing pretty good. As sexy as she looked my cock hadn’t twitched once.

 

The tattoo took another thirty minutes or so before Rene was finished. I snapped a picture right after he wiped away the ink. It looked damn good. I was glad I told her about him. He was amazing at what he did.

 

“Have a look, chèr.” He handed Sookie a mirror.

 

Her eyes focused on the mirror and within seconds she was blinking back tears. Sookie sat up and slid off the gurney to stand in front of the mirror on the wall. She nodded her approval and wiped a tear off her cheek.

 

“Thank you, Rene. This is stunning,” she said.

 

“You’re welcome, Sookie.”

 

She turned around to look at me and I wasn’t at all expecting it when Sookie leaned over to kiss my cheek.

 

“What was that for?” I asked quietly.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered. It was all the answer I got.

 

I brushed some if her loose hair behind her ear. I wanted to kiss her back but I didn’t.

 

She paid Rene for the tattoo. He went over the aftercare procedures with her before we left.

 

“Want to stop to get some gelato?” I asked as we made our way to Matilda.

 

“Yeah, that would be good,” she agreed.

 

“Good, I know a place,” I winked. I did the same thing as I did earlier and put her helmet on her. It was the parental part of me that did it, I think.

 

“Thanks.” Sookie waited for me to get on the bike and then she climbed on behind me.

 

The gelato place wasn’t far from the shop. I used the short ride to rid myself of any lusty feelings I had while watching her get inked. How someone could turn me on getting a tattoo, I didn’t know. I was sure that it was a sign I needed more than my hand to induce an orgasm.

 

Sookie hopped of the bike like a semi-pro at the gelato shop. It was one of those little stands you walked up to a window at and then sat outside while you ate it.

 

“What’s your favorite flavor?” I asked as we walked up.

 

“Usually it’s mint chip but I want to try something different,” she said. Her eyes scanned the list of flavors. “I think I’ll try the peach champagne.”

 

“That’s a good one,” I nodded. I’d had every flavor. “Are you going to allow me to buy it for you?” I was going to get a scoop of salted caramel.

 

“If you insist.”

 

“I do.”

 

We stepped up to the little window to order our gelato. I ordered two scoops to Sookie’s one. The shit was delicious. Sookie took her cup to a table a few feet away and sat down once we were paid up.

 

“I need to ask you a favor as my boss,” she said.

 

“Sure, what’s up?” I took a bite of my gelato. It was my turn to moan.

 

“I need to go to New York for a few days to pick up my stuff, so I was wondering if I could have a few days off. I can leave on Sunday and be back by Thursday so I’ll be able to work the weekend. Bill offered to have everything packed up for me but some things I’d rather do myself,” she said.

 

“Of course,” I nodded. It wasn’t like she was going to party. I knew she had shit to take care of. “How are you feeling with all this?”

 

“With all what? The move? The breakup? The job? In general it’s overwhelming. That’s the easiest way to describe it,” she told me.

 

“That makes sense. I’d be a hot fuckin’ mess. You’re handling things a lot better than I would be.”

 

“I have moments when I think about going back,” she admitted.

 

“I know it would be easier to go back, but something tells me you would be miserable.” It would be the same thing. If her mother wasn’t running her life it would be the ex.

 

“Because I’d end up where I started. I’d spend my life feeling stagnant, like I didn’t fit in my own skin. This is scary as hell but it beats feeling like I’m only existing instead of living,” she answered.

 

“Have you felt more alive lately?” Getting away from the problem doesn’t always change things.

 

“It’s kind of hard not to when you’re speeding down the highway on a motorcycle,” she admitted with a smile.

 

“You liked it.”

 

“Yeah, I did,” Sookie said. “And not just because it would piss off my mother. That’s just a bonus.”

 

I chuckled at that. “That’s a very good bonus. Anytime you need to clear your head or just want to go for a ride, let me know. If I don’t have Jo I’ll be happy to take you.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she promised.

 

Once Sookie and I finished our gelato we hopped back on the bike so I could take her home. The ride didn’t take as long, and I noticed when she snuggled in closer. She was probably getting chilly, I knew I was. Either way it felt nice. It made me start thinking Josie was right, it was time to get a girlfriend. I enjoyed the feel of a warm body pressed against mine. Sookie wasn’t on the girlfriend menu, but I decided to make myself available. It was time.

 

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