When we've finally stopped kissing and come back to the reality of the theme park around us, I notice lots of people staring at us, Cameron included. I ignore them all.
"Why don't we buy you some dry clothes to wear?" Jaxon asks.
Yes, please. I want to give Jaxon his shirt back so people stop ogling him.
"Okay. I think I saw a souvenir shop by the Turbulence roller coaster. Let's go look there."
Jaxon and I link hands and walk to the Turbulence roller coaster and sure enough, the souvenir shop is right next to it. We stroll inside and look around. I pick out a dark green Adventureland T-shirt and a pair of navy blue jogger pants.
It's not the most fashionable outfit, but it'll do.
Jaxon buys the clothes and I go to a bathroom to change while he waits outside. When I'm finished changing, I come out in my new outfit. I hang onto my wet sundress and hand Jaxon his shirt. "You can have your shirt back. You're too distracting without it. For everyone."
He laughs and hands me his plushie. "Okay." He slides his red T-shirt over his head and finally covers his body. I hand his plushie back to him and smile.
I feel better already knowing people won't be staring at him shirtless.
"How about we call it a day and get some Korean BBQ?" Jaxon asks.
"Yes, please!"
He grins. "My thoughts exactly."
We leave the theme park and walk out to the 300c. I hop into the passenger seat and Jaxon gets behind the wheel. He places his new plushie on the backseat, then starts the ignition and we're off.
After a minute of driving, Jaxon clears his throat. "Thank you... for winning me that plushie..."
I turn to smile at him. "Of course, baby. Anything for you."
He smiles as he looks toward the road in front of him.
I connect my phone to the Bluetooth. "Let's listen to some music." Britney Spears' Criminal bumps, strums and whistles through the speakers before she goes on to serenade us with a timeless ballad about the struggles of falling in love with a criminal. I can't help but steal a glance at Jaxon.
"What are you trying to say?" Jaxon eyes me back.
"I'm not trying to say anything. The song is very fitting though. You can't deny that."
"Yeah, it is." Jaxon chuckles. "Does that mean I need to get your name tattooed on my 'lucky charm'?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me and winks.
"Jaxon! That's not what she means! Britney says her name is tattooed 'on his arm, his lucky charm.' Not that 'lucky charm.' Do people even get tattoos there?"
"Yes, in fact. They do. Leo has an elephant face on his."
Leo? What the?
Jaxon laughs at my bugged out eyes.
"Doesn't that hurt?" I ask.
"Oh yes."
Yikes.
"Should I get your name tattooed on my arm then?" he corrects himself.
I consider his question.
I've always wanted a tattoo. Maybe I should get his name tattooed on me... Or we could both get one! Matching!
"We should get a couple tattoo!"
"A couple tattoo?"
"Yeah! Something that matches!"
"So, you're getting a tattoo now?"
I nod happily as I sign myself away to the idea.
"You're serious?"
"Dead serious."
Jaxon contemplates for a minute. "You know it'll hurt like hell, right?"
I gulp. "I know."
"And it's permanent."
"Jaxon, I'm not stupid."
"I know you're not. I just want to make sure you're making the right decision."
"Jaxon, I've always wanted a tattoo. I admire yours. They're so... sexy."
He smirks. "Sexy, huh?"
I nod and he seems satisfied with my words. "Okay then. What should we get?"
"Hmm. Something small and cute."
He raises a brow at me.
"What? It's not like I'll make you get a teddy bear on your arm." I snicker but he doesn't join in. "Don't worry. I won't emasculate you," I assure him.
My internal scavenger gets to work scouring through my mind's filing cabinet of tattoos I've seen in my lifetime. Couple Tattoos... Couple Tattoos... Oh, here. She discovers a folder labeled, 'Couple Tattoos' and pulls it out. Inside is a picture of a couple with matching bands inked across their ring finger. She turns on her office light. Aha! "I know! Let's get JC tattooed on our ring fingers!"
"Like a commitment ring?"
I nod.
He smiles brightly with his cute dimples. "I love it. Let's do that."
"Okay!" I grin just as wide.
"Do you want to get them today?"
"Can we?"
"Sure. I can take you to my favorite tattoo parlor after lunch."
"Yay!" I begin jittering with nervous excitement and Jaxon laughs.
I can't believe I'm doing this! I'm really getting a tattoo...
At Kim's Korean BBQ in Farmingdale, Jaxon and I are sitting around a table with a built in grill and Jaxon is cutting our crispy 삼겹살구이 (samgyeopsal-gui) or grilled pork belly into bite size pieces with scissors. He finishes and places the scissors on the table. "So, you take a lettuce leaf and spread this paste on top," he begins a demonstration. "It's called 쌈장 (ssamjang). It's made of soy bean and red chili. Then put the 삼겹살구이 (samgyeopsal-gui) on top of that with any vegetables you want or even some 김치 (kimchi), roll it up and eat it."
I follow his directions exactly and pop the bundle into my mouth. The combination of flavors is beyond blissful and the pork belly just melts into my taste buds. "Mmm..." I hum in approval.
"You like it?"
"Mm hmm."
Jaxon chuckles. "Me too. It's one of my favorites. My mom used to take me to get Korean BBQ for a treat. Whenever she had a little extra cash..." He clears his throat. "So, I want to buy you a new car, to get to work when you start."
"That's not necessary, Jaxon."
"Then how are you gonna get to work?"
"I was thinking I could drive your Ducati..."
With his incredulous expression, you'd think I just asked him to join the mafia.
Wait. I'm already part of the mafia.
Well, kind of...
"Charlotte, you are not driving my Ducati. It's too dangerous."
"Oh, come on, Jaxon. I'm not a child. I know how to drive."
"It's not the same as driving a car."
"Then teach me how. Please." I try to appear as cute as possible using my lethally persuasive puppy face.
Jaxon sighs in defeat. "Fine. I'll teach you how. You know I can't say no when you make that face."
"Yay!"
He can't suppress a smile at my excitement.
We continue eating our meal and as we savor each bite, our table is contently quiet aside from our intermittent hums of approval. I put my metal chopsticks down with a clink as I recall something. "Guess what, Jaxon??"
He glances up at me with mirth in his ebony eyes. "What?"
"We both have birthdays in June!"
"Really?"
"Yeah. And only 2 days apart. Mine is on the 22nd!"
"Well then, I guess we're meant for each other." He leans over the table to kiss the spicy and savory flavor off my lips. "Mm. Tasty." He winks and sits back down.
Holy crap.
I'll never get used to that...
I clear my throat. "So, uh... my mom wants us to come over for my birthday. She really wants to meet you and she said she'd make us dinner."
"Okay. Sounds good to me." Jaxon smiles.
"Really? You're willing to meet my mom already?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I love you, Charlotte."
I flush. "Okay, I'll let her know we're coming."
Jaxon and I walk hand in hand through the entrance of Artistic Ink in Woodmere and a heavily tattooed and gorgeous White woman with long, blond hair and deep blue eyes greets us. "Jaxon! How's it going? Come to get some more ink?"
An unwelcome image of her fondling her tattooed fingers all over Jaxon's chest, back and neck claws at my mind and that green demon is back.
She gave him tattoos??
"Yeah. Me and my girlfriend. Em, this is my girlfriend, Charlotte."
She offers her inked-up hand and I eye her suspiciously while I shake it.
You hear that? I'm his girlfriend. So back off! I warn her with my eyes.
She doesn't seem phased by my visual threat or to give a single ounce of care. "Good to meet you, Charlotte. I'm Em."
"Same to you..."
She turns to Jaxon. "What will you guys be getting today?"
"A couple tattoo."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. We want JC tattooed on top of our ring finger."
"How cute!" she squeals. "Okay, come with me. We'll pick out the font and design, then I can tattoo you both." She takes us behind the front counter and types away on a computer. "These are the different fonts for the letters. Go ahead and pick which one you like."
Em keeps her distance from Jaxon and sensing her disinterest in him, I gradually warm up to her.
She seems harmless.
Jaxon and I scan through the different fonts and decide on a Janda Elegant Cursive font. We then pick out tiny pink hearts to adorn each side of the letters. After filling out all the paperwork, Em prints our stencils and takes us to a back room. "Alright," she pipes up. "Who's going first?"
"Do you wanna go first?" Jaxon glances at me.
I take a deep and balancing breath. "Okay."
"Have a seat." Em points to a dentist-like reclining chair.
I take a seat and Jaxon pulls up a chair next to me. He laces the fingers on his right hand into mine. "Just squeeze my hand and focus on me, okay?"
I nod.
Em slaps on a pair of black latex gloves and pulls up a chair on my left side. She cleans my ring finger and shaves it with a new, disposable razor because even the finest of hairs can get in the way. She cleans it again, uses a damp cloth to stick the stencil to my skin and rubs some ointment on top. She then gets the tattoo machine ready and finally points the needles at my finger. "Ready?"
Oh my gosh! I'm really doing this!
I nod. "I'm ready."
I flinch from the tiny pins of pain that take over my ring finger and squeeze Jaxon's hand.
"Look at me, baby."
I peer into his gorgeously infinite and captivating ebony eyes that I've fallen in love with.
"Focus on me, okay?"
I nod.
Jaxon lifts my right hand to his lips and showers the top with featherlight kisses. As always, his touch and kisses are very distracting. I focus on the feeling of his soft lips pressing delicately against my skin and the chilling hot sensation does wonders to mask my pain as usual.
Jaxon's touch is an expert guise and he is more than aware of this fact.
Before I know it, the tiny pins of pain are gone. "Finished," Em states with pride.
"Already?" I glance at my ring finger and sure enough, a gorgeous tattoo of JC in elegant cursive with cute and tiny, pink hearts adorning each side is inked into my skin like a permanent ring. "Awe, it's so cute! Thank you!"
She smiles. "You're welcome. Now, let me put this protective ointment on it and then we'll get your finger bandaged up. I'm gonna give you a paper with care instructions to take home. Be sure to follow them. Your skin should be healed in 2-3 weeks."
"Okay."
Em takes a minute to clean up and replace everything with new and sterile materials, then gets to work on Jaxon's tattoo. I hold his hand to comfort him, but he doesn't seem to need it. He's as still as a stagnant pond the entire process.
Right. He's used to the feeling. This isn't new to him.
When she's finished bandaging Jaxon up, she walks us to the front counter. "That will be $200."
Jaxon hands her his card.
We say goodbye to Em and drive back to the mansion. As we enter the front doors, I realize that all the other gang members are still gone and we have the mansion to ourselves.
Hmm...
An idea pops into my head.
I know the perfect present for Jaxon...
"I'm going to bake you a cake, but you can't see it until it's finished."
"Okay..." he eyes me suspiciously.
"What's your favorite flavor?"
"Chocolate."
"Alright. Chocolate it is."
I invite him to leave with my eyes and he takes the hint. "I'll be in our room." He leans down to kiss me, then walks toward the stairs.
For this idea to work, I need to move fast before the other members get home and before Mr. Kim comes in to make dinner at 5:30. It's now 4:00. I have an hour and a half to carry out my plan.
I fly to the kitchen at the speed of light and begin hauling ingredients out of all the cupboards. I toss them all into a mixing bowl and whip up the batter for a chocolate cake as flour dust clouds the air.
I'm making a mess...
After sliding it into the oven and setting the timer for 35 minutes, I stealthily sneak upstairs and into my old room. The balcony doors have already been replaced, but I still don't like the vibe in here. This whole room has been tainted from Ian and Kade...
I shudder and focus on my destination: The closet. Upon opening the door, my whole body slumps.
Dang it. Miss Montgomery moved all my things already. I'll have to be sneaky in front of Jaxon...
I scurry into our room and Jaxon is sitting at his desk. He peers up from his laptop. "What're you doing?"
"I just need something."
"What do you need?"
"It's a secret." I slip into his closet and shut the door. After rummaging around and compiling everything I need into a tote bag, I furtively make an exit and dart across the room.
"Charlotte, what are you up to?"
"You'll see!" I snicker.
With that, I make my escape and close the door behind me. I can't suppress my giggles.
This is so exhilarating.
I find a bathroom on the first floor by the kitchen and change into Jaxon's favorite lingerie. It's a red, lacy, corset-style top with matching panties, garter belt and stockings. I bolt back into the kitchen, trying not to slip in my stockings.
I really hope no one comes home...
The cake has 15 more minutes. I poke around inside the fridge and find the leftover whip cream Jaxon bought a few days ago as well as the strawberries. I wash and slice the remaining strawberries and pray nobody comes in while I'm dressed like this.
It's so thrilling though...
The possibility of being caught.
When the timer sounds for the cake, I put it in the freezer to speed up the cooling process and quickly clean up my mess while I'm waiting. I take it out of the freezer, ice it with whip cream and artfully craft a heart on top out of sliced strawberries.
Okay. Now, everything's ready.
I climb onto the island counter where I ate Chicken Fettuccine next to Jaxon my first night here and lay across the sleek and cold surface. Holding the cake in my lap, I whip my phone out and snap a sexy photo. I text it to Jaxon along with this message:
Come and eat your cake. 😘
He responds immediately.
😍 I'm coming right now.
I wait anxiously for Jaxon to arrive and after a few minutes, I hear footsteps approaching outside the door. I glance up and my heart pitfalls into my stomach.
"What the hell??"
Oh crap.
Khleo is standing in the doorway, gaping at me. I spring off the counter with the cake in hand and shamefully hide myself behind the slab of marble.
This is exactly what I was afraid of!
How could you be so stupid, Charlotte??
"Well, I sure didn't expect to come home to that. What a pleasant birthday surprise," he sneers. "I swear you guys are like rabbits with how much you ****. Better be careful or you'll have little bunnies hopping around..."
"Shut up, Khleo." Jaxon has just entered the room and is piercing him with an icy glare. "What we do is none of your business. Now, get out."
Khleo throws up his hands in surrender and leaves, but not before throwing me a devious grin.
Seriously, what is his deal?
Jaxon advances on me and sweeps me into his arms. I almost drop his cake in the process. "Mmm..." he breathes against my neck. "You look so delicious..." he massages a wet and sultry kiss onto my skin and I shiver. "Let's go to our room and I'll eat my cake, chocolate and vanilla. I suddenly have a huge appetite..."
Holy crap.
After showering and getting ready for bed, Jaxon and I crawl into the blankets together. I snuggle up into his chest and he folds his arms around me. He plants a gossamer light kiss on my forehead. "Thank you for an unforgettable birthday, Charlotte. That's the best birthday I've had in 16 years."
Awe, really?
I press a loving kiss onto his lips. "Anything for you, baby. I love you."
He pecks my lips over and over again like a chicken and I giggle. "I love you too, Charlotte. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Sleep comes so naturally and easily when Jaxon's next to me. The flashy and fashionable hostess of Dreamland welcomes me into those golden gates with open arms.
I've just finished cutting bite size pieces of a Gala apple and now I'm on the prowl for my little rascal. She's not in her bedroom and she's not in her playroom. She must be getting into some sort of trouble as 4-year-olds often do. "Sweetie! Your snackie is ready!"
No response.
Hmm. She must be playing hide and seek. Her favorite game is to hide from her Mommy...
"Mommy's gonna find you!"
I swing open the door to the hallway closet where she usually hides. "Gotcha!" But all that's inside is a stack of folded blankets.
Hmm. That's strange. Where could she be hiding?
"Where's my sweet girl??"
Still no response.
A shattering gun shot paralyzes my entire body.
No.
The sound came from our bedroom.
I frantically bolt down the hall and into our bedroom and the sight before me twists my stomach inside out. "No!" Our beautiful little ball of life is still and limp. She's bathing in her own blood on the cream colored carpet next to Jaxon's UZI, semiautomatic pistol.
I scramble to her side and gape in horror at her round, doll-like eyes, staring up at me blankly, completely void of all vitality. I shake her tiny body in desperation. "Wake up, baby! Please, wake up!"
Nothing.
"Please, wake up! You can't leave us! Please!"
Still nothing.
"No..." I choke out as glossy tears begin to blur my vision.
I lift her tiny and fragile form into my arms and clutch her to my chest. "Guns are not toys!" I begin to weep in regretful frustration. "How did you find this??"
"Mommy told you not to play with Daddy's guns..."
"Charlotte, wake up! You're having a nightmare! Charlotte??"
Gasping for air, I open my eyes to Jaxon's dimly lit face hovering over mine. His ebony eyes are laced with concern. "It's okay, baby," he plants a soothing kiss on my lips. "It was just a dream. Come here."
Laying back down next to me, he offers his open arms. I gratefully snuggle into them and he squeezes me against his chest. He kisses my forehead and rhythmically strokes my back. I attempt to relax into his medicinal touch and scent, but my head is still reeling from that dream.
It felt so real.
Why did I dream about us having a child? Jaxon said he could never give that to me. And after that horrid scare, I don't know that I want one...
"Are you okay?" Jaxon asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," I attempt to steady my shaky voice.
"What did you dream about?"
Should I tell him?
Probably not.
"I just dreamt about Vick, that's all."
Jaxon squeezes me even tighter. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry. He's gone now. He'll never harm you again."
I nod.
Why do I feel so guilty for lying?
It was only a dream...