The next week passed by smoothly and Cal and I were as great as ever. It was like we were back to our first week in New York; it was almost like a honeymoon period all over again. I went to college everyday and came home after shortly followed by Cal and we spent our nights together watching movies, eating takeout and fooling around. When the weekend came, Cal stuck to his promise of dropping the weekends and we spent it out and about in New York, including visiting Central Park which I'd wanted to take him to since we'd moved here.
I'd planned to keep my distance from Brodie but he appeared to be absent from our Medieval English classes all week so I didn't have to worry about seeing him. We had made amends and he'd taken me out and shown me the ropes of driving again and we'd laughed and joked like old times, however, I'd been mad at Cal at the time so that was the whole reason I'd felt no guilt about spending time with Brodie. Now that Cal and I were perfect again, I felt uneasy about being friends with him. I didn't want to give him any further reason to think he had a chance with me and risk fucking things up again.
As Monday came around again, I felt like normality had finally returned and I was back on campus drinking coffee with my friends.
'So, my ex-roomie came back for the rest of her stuff and we got in a huge fight!' Penny was telling Georgie and I as we sat together in the coffee house.
'Was that the last of her stuff?' I asked her.
'Yeah, she won't be back,' Penny breathed as she took a sip of her drink.
'Why did you fight?' I asked.
'She called me a stuck up bitch,' Penny told us. 'Only because she pissed me off all the time with her loudness and all of her friends coming in at all hours and all these guys turning up with her every weekend. I mean it was ridiculous; so I complained and that somehow makes me a stuck up bitch.'
'You should have punched her in the tit,' Georgie said. 'That's what I would have done.'
'Of course you would have,' I chuckled.
'At least she won't be back,' he said. 'You have a dorm to yourself, you can't complain about that.'
'Oh, for sure,' she said, smiling cutely. 'I love it.'
I smiled as I admired the way her little nose wrinkled when she smiled like that. She was so adorable.
'So, Bethan, I was meaning to ask you,' Georgie said, turning to me. 'Do you think Cal would do a tattoo on me?'
'Okay, first of all.' I held up my finger to show my seriousness. 'Is this a genuine question or are you planning to throw a dirty remark next?'
'It's a genuine question!' he replied, holding his palm to his chest dramatically as if I'd insulted him.
'What do you want?' Penny asked him.
'Melpomene and Thalia,' he said.
'The theatre masks,' I said with a nod. 'That's cool; I like it.'
'What the fuck is Melomene and Thalia?' Penny asked.
'Melpomene,' I chuckled. 'They're masks that symbolise opposing themes in theatre. Melpomene is the muse of tragedy whilst Thalia is the muse of comedy; in simpler terms, two masks - happy and sad.'
'Oh, that's so cool!' Penny said.
'I'm sure he would do a great job for you,' I told him. 'If you're serious about it then we can go down to his shop and see what he can do?'
'Go to his shop; I would love to!' Georgie exclaimed. 'Can we go after college today?'
'Umm...I don't know,' I chuckled, awkwardly, wondering if Cal might be mad at me for just turning up.
'Well, what's the issue?' Georgie asked. 'We're going there for his business; he wouldn't mind would he?'
'No, of course not,' I said. 'Sure, if you really want it done then yeah, we can go.'
'Yes!' Georgie cheered. 'Okay, well I'm heading to class. Meet you guys here at the end of the day?'
'Not me,' Penny sighed as she moved to her feet. 'I have a geochem tutorial with Professor Grey.'
'Okay, that sounds like something that will make me die from boredom,' Georgie said, grabbing his books.
'So you don't care about the future of our planet?' Penny asked, as we headed for the exit.
'Of course I do,' Georgie replies. 'But only for as long as I'm alive and I'm pretty confident earth will be fine until my time comes; after that, I don't really care.'
'That is so selfish,' she told him.
'That's me baby,' he said, grinning widely.
'Ugh, I hope Cal puts you through a shit load of pain,' she said.
Georgie frowned and stuck out his tongue and she threw up her middle finger before turning to me and smiling.
'See ya, Bethan,' she said as she waved before turning on her heel.
'Have fun saving the planet!' Georgie called, chuckling to himself as we crossed campus.
'You know that's not what geochemistry is actually about?' I laughed.
'Yeah, I just love messing with her,' he chuckled. 'She's adorable when she gets all mad.'
'Yeah she is,' I agreed with a laugh.
'So, I'll meet you here after classes end, okay?' Georgie said.
'Yeah,' I replied. 'See you later.'
We parted ways and I headed over to Hamilton Hall for my Medieval English class. I moved through the hallway and bumped into Sierra, a girl from class.
'How are you finding it?' she asked me.
'I actually really love it,' I said. 'It's one of my favourite classes.'
'Professor Fawkes always seems to love picking on you because he knows you'll have an answer for everything,' she chuckled. 'The rest of us are just like...clueless half the time.'
'You're making me sound like a total nerd,' I laughed. 'Honestly, I just do my research before class as soon as I get the brief.'
I did always do a little research to touch up on my knowledge, but truthfully, I was a little bit of a nerd when it came to the likes of greats such as Chaucer.
'Clearly Brodie West does too,' she laughed. 'That guy is way too hot to be that smart.'
'No, he's actually really smart,' I told her. 'He also loves a good debate, hence why I hate answering Fawkes' questions; you can guarantee Brodie will challenge me every time.'
'Classic sign of a crush,' she said.
'Ugh, don't even go there,' I laughed.
I laughed with Sierra as we moved into class and my smile faded slowly as I spotted Brodie in his seat. I quickly perked up and smiled brightly at him as he returned it before moving to my seat.
Class sailed by without Professor Fawkes picking on me at all and throwing all of his questions at the people hiding in the back. As we all left, I quickly moved through the hall to try and get to my next class a little earlier and Brodie appeared beside me, joining me on our walk to the exit.
'Hey,' he greeted. 'How was your weekend home?'
'It was really great,' I replied.
'I'm glad to see you didn't kill yourself or anybody else on the roads,' he chuckled.
'Yeah,' I laughed. 'I made it there and back safely.'
'Good to hear,' he said.
'Where have you been all week?' I asked, regretting the question leaving my mouth right away.
'Oh, I just wasn't feeling so good,' he said. 'Why? You miss me?'
'No,' I answered, feeling my cheeks blush. 'Just curious.'
'I'm glad you noticed I wasn't around,' he chuckled. 'It's flattering.'
'Don't do that,' I groaned a little.
'Sorry,' he responded automatically. 'I didn't mean to...you know. I was just messing with you.'
'It's fine,' I said, shaking my head and smiling. 'I'm this way so...see you around.'
'Yeah,' he replied as he turned to head in the other direction. 'See you, B.'
I quickly headed away from Brodie, letting out the breath I'd been holding and moved through the hall to class.
I'd found myself becoming so much more engaged in my classes now that I felt happier within my life. I loved everything that I was learning and it felt great to notice within myself that I was really striving. My professors were always so positive towards my contribution in my classes and I could tell they really liked that I was a genuine student who wanted to spend her first year actually learning and not just partying the year away.
At the end of the day, Georgie was waiting for me by the coffee shop as promised and we took a cab ride down to Brooklyn.
'Ooh, it's so quirky,' Georgie said as we walked up to the shop. 'I like it.'
We entered and the little bell jingled as Tori's perfect face popped up from behind the desk. I hadn't seen her for a little while and it was kind of unsettling to be here with her after all of the shit I'd had with Cal over her. I reminded myself quickly that I had no reason to be cold with her and I was here for Georgie.
'Hi, Tori.' I greeted her casually with a smile.
I could feel Georgie looking from her to me and I had no idea what he was thinking but I was praying he'd keep that big mouth of his shut, whatever it was.
'Bethan,' she said with a smile, looking a little curious as to why I was here. 'You here to see Cal?'
'Well, my friend is,' I said, signalling to Georgie. 'He wants to see Cal about a tattoo.'
'Oh, okay,' she said, nodding. 'Well, he's a little busy right now but I can give you a quote if you'd like? Cal can go through the design with you when he's free.'
'Sure,' Georgie said.
We headed up to the desk and Georgie pulled out his phone to show Tori the ideas he had for his tattoo. My mind drifted off as I took in the buzzing sound from the back and wondered if it would be okay for me to just head out there to see him.
'So, that's basically the masks right there,' Georgie was saying to her. 'But I want something unique and bold and really out there, you know?'
'Yeah,' Tori chuckled. 'I like it; it's neat. We've done a few of those in here.'
'Ugh, really?' Georgie asked. 'I don't want to have the same as someone else.'
'Cal will put his unique touch on it,' she said. 'I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed; you'll be in great hands.'
'Is he almost done in there?' I asked her.
'I don't know,' she said, slowly eyeing me and I noticed her tongue move into her cheek before she put on a wide smile. 'Let me check.'
She turned and popped her head into the back through the curtain before coming back out and nodding to me.
I waited for her to speak and my head turned as Cal moved through the archway and greeted us with a huge smile. Just the sight of that smile made my heart soar wildly.
'What are you doing here?' he asked, happily. 'Hey, Georgie.'
Georgie straightened up and smiled as Cal addressed him and I almost laughed at his blushing cheeks. 'Hey, Cal!'
'Georgie wants a tattoo,' I told him.
'Oh really?' Cal asked with a grin.
'I've priced it up,' Tori told him.
'Okay, great,' Cal said. 'What are we getting?'
'Here.' Tori pulled some images she had printed from the printer and slid them across the counter to him. 'That's the design ideas; you can talk it over with him.'
'Will do,' Cal said, picking up the papers. 'Come have a seat Georgie, you can tell me how you want it.'
Georgie nodded and followed Cal to the waiting area seats and I remained standing, watching as Tori moved about behind the desk, her face completely blank. I'd noticed that her and Cal hadn't looked at each other once, not even when they were talking and their tones with each other were totally flat; it was obvious there was a tension in the air. Clearly, they hadn't made up from their argument last week and she mustn't have gotten over him ditching their Sunday idea yet.
After a few seconds, she glanced up at me after sensing that I hadn't moved to sit with Cal and Georgie.
'You alright?' she asked me, looking my body up and down.
'Oh, yeah,' I said, nodding politely, trying to look away from her piercing eyes; the colour was so bright against her tanned skin. She really was extremely pretty.
I turned away from her and moved a little closer to my friend and boyfriend who were deep in discussion.
'I love that, Cal.' Georgie was nodding.
'You happy with that?' Cal asked him. 'Be sure about it, because once it's done, there's no going back.'
'I'm sure,' Georgie said. 'It's amazing.'
'Okay, lets get you booked in,' Cal said, moving to his feet. 'Tori, find Georgie a ninety-minute slot with me please.'
'Sure thing, Boss,' she replied, slowly, moving her eyes to the computer. 'Okay...we have a space on December 7th, if that'll work for you?'
'Geez,' Georgie replied.
'That's like forever away,' I laughed. 'Don't you have sooner?'
'No,' Tori said, flatly, as if my question were stupid. 'We have a very long waiting list. Especially for slots with Cal.'
'Oh, I really wanted it done before that but I guess that'll have to be okay,' Georgie sighed.
'Don't worry about it,' Cal said. 'Squeeze him in somewhere this week or next; give him a Saturday if you have to.'
'Wow, thanks, Cal!' Georgie gasped.
'There is nowhere to squeeze him in,' Tori replied. 'And you don't work Saturdays, remember?'
It was an obvious and intended dig at him. It was also completely immature and unnecessary. Was she suddenly forgetting who worked for who? I could feel my body starting to fill with irritation as she continued to piss me off with her miserable attitude.
'I know,' he said, using the tone that I knew was him composing his temper. 'But it's for a friend, so I'll come in on Saturday to do it.'
'That's so nice of you,' Georgie said. 'But honestly, I don't want you to change things around for me. Saturday is your day off with Bethan.'
'Yeah, exactly,' Tori said, before blinking apathetically and resting her head on her hand as if she were bored of the situation.
'It's fine,' I said. 'I'll be coming with you anyway for it.'
'You will?' Georgie asked.
'Of course!' I replied. 'It's your first tattoo, you'll need moral support.'
'Oh, I'm so excited!' Georgie clapped his hands quickly.
'It's final then,' Cal said. 'Put him down for Saturday.'
'Fine,' Tori breathed slowly. 'What time?'
'Ten?' Georgie asked.
'Ten it is,' Cal said.
Tori spun in her seat and continued with the booking as I watched Cal eye her up carefully. The atmosphere was completely tense and I could only imagine how awkward it must be for Charlie working with the two of them.
'You'll need to pay a deposit,' Tori told him.
'Don't worry about that,' Cal said, and she turned quickly to frown at him. 'We've agreed a price, he can pay in full when it's done. No need for a deposit.'
'You've agreed a price?' she asked. 'I already quoted him.'
'Yeah, and I've given him a discounted price because, as I've already said, he's a friend,' Cal said, narrowing his eyes at her.
'Okay, sure,' she said, her voice sounding completely annoyed as she spun back around and sighed. Now I understood what Cal meant about her having too much to say about how he ran his business. She was pissing me off but I remained composed, not wanting to get involved.
'Well, thank you again, Cal,' Georgie said. I could sense he was beginning to feel awkward and I was too so it was time for us to leave.
'You're welcome,' Cal replied.
'Are you finished with your client?' I asked Cal, changing the subject.
'Oh, yeah...I wasn't with a client,' he replied, as the curtain moved and Charlie stepped out grinning.
'Hey, Bethan!' he called, loudly.
'Hi Charlie,' I chuckled. 'Are you guys finished for the day?'
'Sure are,' Charlie said.
'Oh, I thought you were busy with clients; I thought I heard the gun,' I said, wondering why Tori had said so.
'Well, I was busy with a client,' Charlie chuckled before slapping his palm hard against Cal's back. 'Here's my last client right here, all done and ready to go. He cried like a little bitch though.'
'Shut the fuck up,' Cal sniggered.
'You got another tat?' I asked. 'Oh my god. Let's see.'
'It's taped up,' Cal said.
'Take off your shirt,' Charlie laughed, shoving him lightly.
'I'll show you later,' Cal replied, nodding to me.
'Show her now,' Charlie said with a smirk. 'I want to see her reaction.'
I frowned and smiled at their interaction, quickly feeling myself get a little vexed as I noticed Tori rolling her eyes as she continued working on the computer.
'Fine,' Cal sighed, pulling at the neck of his shirt to reveal the film taped to his chest.
Myself and Georgie quickly moved forward to get a better view and Charlie carefully peeled back the film to reveal the writing that was a little smudged on his skin.
'Oh my god,' I gasped.
'Holy shit,' Georgie cried. 'That's fucking cute as fuck!'
'That's my name!' I cried.
Sure enough, my name was inked in italic a little to the left of the centre of his chest underneath the writing that he already had there. It was small and quaint but I was completely taken aback.
'I'm so jealous of you guys,' Georgie said. 'You are goals.'
'Why did you do that?' I asked him.
'Because, you belong there,' he replied.
'Awwww!' Georgie cooed. 'I hate you guys.'
'I'm blushing,' I giggled, slapping my palms against my cheeks.
'Well, I'm going to head home,' Tori said as she jumped to her feet. She grabbed her bag from under the desk and threw it over her shoulder. 'See you all later.'
'See ya, Tor,' Charlie said.
'Bye,' Georgie said with a polite smile.
'See you around,' I said, quickly.
Cal didn't speak to her and quickly turned back to me with a smile as the door closed behind her.
'Ready to go home?' he asked, as Charlie taped his tat back up.
'Yeah,' I smiled, brightly, completely thrilled that Cal had gotten my name on him. I still didn't know what all of his tattoos symbolised; I'd still had yet to ask about a couple, but I knew they all represented something significant to his life. The fact I was now permanently inked right above his heart was a whole new level of commitment; as if moving to a whole other state for me wasn't enough.
We said goodbye to Charlie and headed out into the street where Cal locked up and pulled out his keys, unlocking the car.
'Come on, Georgie,' he said. 'I'll drop you back to your dorm.'
...
'Thank you for being so nice to Georgie,' I said as I lay on top of Cal's body in our bed later that night. 'He is beyond happy.'
'A friend of yours is a friend of mine,' he said against my lips. 'Apart from Brodie.'
'Don't go there!' I warned.
'I'm not, I'm not,' he chuckled before planting a kiss on my lips.
'I can't believe you got me inked on your chest,' I said, gently rubbing my finger across the film taped over his tattoo.
'Why can't you believe it?' he asked.
'Well, more like I just didn't expect it,' I told him.
'Good,' he replied. 'You weren't meant to.'
'I love it,' I said.
'I love you,' he murmured, pushing his lips against mine and kissing me. I instantly brought my hands up and gripped the back of his neck, pulling myself into him harder and letting our kiss deepen. Laying only in my bra and panties on top of his bare skin, I could feel the desire to have him take over me automatically.
'I want you,' I groaned, moving my legs apart to straddle his body as I moved back in to kiss him some more.
'I'm all yours,' he replied.
'Yes, you are,' I whispered.
Cal's hand came up my back quickly and popped my bra strap open and it fell down my arms where I quickly lifted to discard it. I squealed a little as he suddenly flipped me over onto my back and brought his hands to the sides of my underwear, taking them into his grip and slowly sliding them off.
'You're inked right here on my skin for good now,' he said as his eyes burned into mine whilst he slid my underwear down my thighs. 'A permanent mark right on my heart.'
'Good,' I murmured, taking in the outline of his toned torso in the dim lighting. I just wanted him to hurry up and get my panties off.
He whipped them quickly over my ankles and threw them to the floor before dropping back on top of me and bringing his lips back to mine.
'You know that you are the only girl that I'll ever love in my lifetime, don't you?' he spoke against the skin of my neck; a great weakness of mine.
'Yes...' I breathed heavily, taking in the feel of his lips against my skin, sending tingles all over my body.
'I am obsessed with every little part of you,' he spoke as his mouth moved down my chest to my breasts, kissing me and nipping at my skin.
'Oh, I love you so much,' I groaned.
'Not as much as I love you,' he murmured, as his mouth reached the bottom of my stomach and he sucked hard at the skin there, purposefully leaving his mark.
Before I could speak, my thighs were pushed wider apart and I felt the warmth of Cal's mouth reach my centre. He kissed me repeatedly there before his tongue began to move up and down my slit and his mouth moved in coordination with it, making my legs quiver a little.
'Oh, shit, Cal,' I moaned, gripping onto his hair tightly and pushing him a little harder against me.
He continued to move his mouth against my completely moist centre, groaning to himself as he became more and more aroused and lapped up my wetness. The sounds coming from his mouth sent vibrations through me and made the pleasure even more intense.
'Cal, come here,' I begged.
'I'm staying right here,' he growled, sucking at my clit and making my hips buck against his mouth. 'I love the taste of you.'
'Please,' I moaned, clawing my nails up his shoulders.
His mouth moved away from me as his body slid up mine quickly and his lips came back to me.
'You wanted me to stop?' he asked, his voice a low growl and I could see the hunger in his eyes for me.
'I need you inside of me,' I groaned, pulling his neck in so his lips pressed to mine. 'Now...I need to feel you inside of me now.'
'Beg me,' he demanded, kissing me hard. He slid the side of his hard shaft up and down my soaking slit, slow and teasing and almost sending me over the edge; I was about to flip him over and jump right on it if he didn't hurry.
'Please,' I groaned.
'Please what?'
'Please, just fuck me now.'
I felt the sudden entry of him inside of me and my back arched as I groaned out loud. He instantly moved in and out of me, hard and fast and moans escaped my mouth.
'Can you taste yourself?' he murmured as he kissed me deeply and fucked me quickly.
'Uh-huh...' I tried to speak as I breathed through our kisses.
'You like it,' he growled.
'Yes,' I moaned, pushing my hips out to try and take even more of him into me.
He granted my wish and quickly slammed his dick deep into me, making my nails sink deeply into the skin of his back.
'Oh fuck!' I moaned out loud.
'You want it harder, baby?' he whispered.
'Yes!' I cried out.
He began to fuck me even harder, making my head tip back and I bit down on my lip, not feeling the pain as I was consumed by the pleasure of Cal inside of me.
Out of nowhere, he rolled onto his back, pulling me on top of him and I instantly threw back my head and moved my hips. I had complete control of how much of him I wanted and this position pushed him even deeper inside me to the point where it felt like he was in my stomach. I moaned even louder as I rode his dick as hard as I could, feeling myself beginning to climax as I listened to his groans underneath me.
His thumb came into contact with my clit and he rubbed me in circular motions and I bounced faster on top of him, relishing every bit of pain and pleasure I felt from each thrust. His thick member inside of me and the stimulation on my clit sent the indescribable feeling of bliss to spread through every limb of mine as I cried out loud.
'Fuck!' I screamed, as my orgasm hit me hard.
'Cum for me, baby,' he growled and I obeyed as rode his dick right through the orgasm and he groaned loudly, bucking his hips up as he cum inside of me.
'Oh my god!' I breathed, leaning my hands against his chest as I caught my breath.
'Come here right now,' Cal said, wrapping his hands around my arms and pulling me down.
I slid off him, ignoring the wet patch I knew was about to spread on the bed and moved right into his warm arms, resting my head in his neck as I came down from the blissful high.
'I fucking love you,' I panted.
He breathed a little air of laughter and kissed my forehead gently. 'I fucking love you more.'