"The owner Drew seems like a dick but he's pretty cool." Hardin informs me as we approach the small brick building.

A bell sounds above my head when Hardin opens the door for me and we walk inside. Steph and Tristan are already inside. Steph is seated on a leather chair and Tristan is looking through what appears to be a book of tattoos?

"Took you long enough!" Steph kicks her leg out as Hardin and I walk by and he grabs her boot in his hand before it touches me.

"Already being annoying I see.." He rolls his eyes and attempts to lead me over to Tristan but I pull my hand from his and stand near Steph.

"She's fine with me." She tells him and he scowls at her but doesn't say anything in return.

Hardin stands next to Tristan about twenty feet away, grabs a black book like the one Tristan has in his hands, and flips through the pages.

"How was the dinner with his family?" I ask Steph quietly.

"It wasn't bad actually." She looks over to her boyfriend and back to me, "they were nice, much nicer than I thought they would be. The eating portion of our dinner was a disaster though, I ordered lamb chops on accident because I was so nervous and felt too stupid to correct myself after. Tristan traded me plates though, thank god."

"Well I'm glad you had a nice time, I told you they would love you." I remind her.

"How are things with your mom? Have you seen her lately?" Steph asks as a young guy with hair the same length as mine walks out from the hallway and over to us.

"You ready?" He asks her.

"Yep, sure am." She beams at him and lays back on the chair as it reclines.

She lifts her shirt up to expose her stomach, stopping just under her bra.

"I haven't seen you in here before." The guy looks up at me while he wipes the surface of Steph's bare stomach with a towel.

"I have never been here before." I reply.

"My name's Drew, I own the place."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Tessa."

"Are you getting any work done today?" He smiles.

"No, she's not." Hardin answers for me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"She's with you, Scott?"

"Yes, she is." He pulls me closer.

He's obviously doing this for show. Hardin said that Drew seems like an asshole but I don't get that vibe from him at all, he seems really nice.

"Cool. About time you got a girlfriend." Drew laughs.

Hardin relaxes a little but keeps his arm around me.

"So why don't you get something done?" A buzzing noise fills the space and I look down at Steph's stomach to watch in amazement as the tattoo gun drags slowly across her skin. Drew wipes the excess ink off with a towel and continues.

"I might, actually." Hardin tells him.

I look up at Hardin and his eyes meet mine.

"Really? What do you want to get?" I ask him.

"I don't know yet, something on my back."

Hardin's back is virtually the only part of his body that is completely ink free.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He rests his chin on top of my hair.

"Speaking of getting work done, where the fuck are your rings?" Drew asks, dipping the gun into a small plastic cup full of black ink.

"I'm over them." Hardin shrugs.

"If he messes this up because you won't stop talking to him, you're paying for the whole thing." Steph looks at Hardin and I laugh.

"I'm not going to mess it up."

"I'm not going to pay for that shit." Hardin and Drew say in unison.

Tristan finally joins us and pulls a chair over to sit by Steph, he takes her hand in his.

"What are your plans for tonight?" Tristan asks.

"Nothing, it's Sunday." Hardin answers.

"So? There's a party.."

"Nope, no fucking way."

"Why not? You two haven't been to a party in how long?"

"Doesn't matter, we have our own place we don't need to go to lame ass parties."

"They aren't lame, they're a lot of fun." Tristan remarks.

"No, they aren't."

I agree with Hardin, they aren't fun. There were a few instances where I thought I was having fun at that damned frat house, but when I think back to all of the terrible memories there I clearly wasn't.

The last thing I want to do is hang out at one of those infamous parties. Hardin and I would surely fight, not to mention Hardin isn't supposed to be anywhere near campus right now. Him showing up to a frat party would definitely not look good for him.

"Sure man, you used to love those parties."

"Yeah, used to." I can tell Hardin is getting annoyed with Tristan so I attempt to change the subject.

"How long have you been doing tattoos?" I ask Drew.

"Since I was about sixteen. I used to practice on myself." He tells me, showing off the massive designs on his legs.

"Hardin and Zed were my first actual clients when I opened the place."

Hardin stills at the mention of Zed's name and Tristan looks away.

"That's cool." Are the only words I can find.

"Yeah, those two kept me busy. They were in here nearly every day, I swear the two were an item before I met.."

"Alright, that's enough of the sappy walk down memory lane." Hardin interrupts.

"So tell me what you want, I'm almost done with her." Drew says.

I look over at the small and freshly inked cluster of birds drawn into Steph's skin. It's sort of lovely actually, the placement of them.

"I love it!" She smiles, handing the mirror back to Drew before sitting up.

"What are you going to get Hardin?" I ask him quietly.

"Your name." He smiles.

Shocked, I step back from him with my jaw to the floor.

"You wouldn't want that?" He asks.

"No! Gosh no, that's.. I don't know, that's insane." I whisper.

"Insane? Not really, it's just showing you that I am committed to you and don't need a ring or marriage proposal to stay that way."

His voice is so clear that I'm no longer sure if he's joking or not. How did we go from joking to commitments and marriage in less than three minutes? This is how it always is with us so I suppose I should be used to it by now.

"You can't get my name tattooed."

"Actually, I can if I want to."

"It's not a good idea." I press and the bell on the door chimes as two figures enter the shop.

"Maybe not your name but something that reminds me of you."

I look back at Hardin, then back at the new guests.

Zed.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Hardin groans and I look over to the body standing behind Zed, it's..Jace?

Why would Zed be hanging out with Jace? I know they are in the same circle of friends but Zed is so different than Jace.

"Looks like we have a full house now!" Drew pulls the white gloves from his hands to shake Zed's hand and pat his shoulder.

"Jace." Drew barely acknowledges Jace and I like him even more for it.

I need to get Hardin out of here if Zed is staying. As the thought passes through my mind Zed looks sideways and spots Hardin and I. Disbelief and disgust are the most prominent emotions on his bruised and battered face.

"What the hell happened to your face bro?" Drew yells.

Zed's eyes are circled in deep purple bruises and his nose is still swollen.

"We should go." I tell Hardin and he surprises me by nodding.

I want to ask Zed about telling Tristan that he was going to press charges after he promised me he wouldn't, but I know better than to try to speak to Zed right now. Hardin would lose it and seal his fate.

I can feel Zed's eyes on me but I don't want to look at him, I know what he's thinking. I know he's wondering why the hell I am hanging out with Hardin at a tattoo shop, He's probably upset because I told him I would think about what he said about my relationship with Hardin.

"We're going to go." I tell Steph and she stands to her feet again.

"No! Don't go! We were here first." She looks at Zed and he stays silent.

"Come on, just come back in an hour or two." Tristan requests.

"Man, shit sure has changed around here." Jace smiles and Hardin's breathing increases.

"Let's just go." Zed stares at Hardin, avoiding me.

Hardin glares back with equal intensity, tension swirling between them.

"Fine, way to be a bitch Tristan." Jace mutters before they exit the shop.

"We'll see you around Hardin, Tessa." Jace's smile sends a chill down my spine and I have to grab Hardin's t-shirt to keep him in place.

"He's just trying to.." I begin.

"I know." He huffs, trying to control his temper.

"Ugh, I can't stand Jace sometimes." She complains.

"No one can." Drew agrees.

"I can't believe how awesome this looks!" Steph admires her tattoo in the mirror and for a second I find myself daydreaming about what I would chose if I were to ever get a tattoo.

"We're going to run next door and get some food, want anything?" Steph asks.

"A pepsi." Drew replies before they leave.

"Ready Hardin?"

"Sure." Hardin steps away from me and pulls his shirt over his head.

My mind is still reeling from the encounter with Zed. I'm so glad nothing came of it and Zed decided it was best to leave.

"Do you have an image chosen?" Drew asks.

"Uhm, it's more of a quote." Hardin responds.

"A quote?" Drew speaks my exact thoughts.

"Yeah, it's a line."

"You're a fucking loser." Drew teases but Hardin doesn't seem to mind, he just smiles and shakes his head.

"Your back is a blank canvas right now, I could go so many ways with this and you want a quote? It better be a good one."

"It's short."

"Well?"

"I just want it across the top of my back, it's 'I never wish to be parted with you from this day on'. Just make it like an inch in height, you can free-hand it." Hardin instructs and turns his back to face Drew.

I never wish to be parted with you from this day on..

"Hardin, can we talk about this for a second please?" I ask him.

I swear he knows about my plans to go to Seattle and he's taunting me by getting this tattoo. The line he chose is perfect but cruelly ironic considering I have been withholding my move to Seattle from him.

"No Tess, I want to do it." He dismisses me.

"Hardin I really don't think.."

"It's not a big deal Tessa, it's not my first tattoo." He jokes.

"I just.."

"If you don't shut up I will have your name printed across my entire back." He threatens with a laugh but I get the feeling he would actually go through with it to prove his point.

I stay quiet to try to think about what to say, I should just blurt it out right now before the gun touches his clear skin, if I wait..

The now familiar buzz of the gun sounds and black ink litters Hardin's back.

"Now come over here and hold my hand." He smirks, holding his hand out to me.

This is a disaster, a full on disaster.

Hardin's POV.

Tessa shyly grasps my hand and I pull her closer to me.

"Stop moving." Drew snaps.

"My bad."

"Does it hurt?" She softly asks.

The innocence in her eyes still astounds me to this day. She was on her knees last night and twenty hours later she's speaking to me the way she would a wounded child.

"Yes, really fucking bad." I lie.

"Really?" Worry flashes over her features.

I love the feeling that comes with the needle transferring the ink to my skin, it's no longer painful, it's relaxing.

"No baby, it doesn't hurt." I assure her and Drew, being the dick he is, makes gagging noises behind my back.

Tessa giggles and I put my middle finger in the air.I didn't mean to call her baby just now, in front of him but I don't really give a fuck what he thinks and I know for a fact he's head over heels for the girl he just had a baby with a few months ago so he can't say shit to me.

"I still can't believe you are doing this." She says as Drew spreads the ointment over the new tattoo.

"It's already done." I remind her and she looks worried as she stares at her phone screen.

I don't know how to feel about the worried expression on her face because she's the one always talking about marriage and shit so why the hell does she look so on edge? It was probably Zed coming here, that fucking asshole.  I know he saw my car in the god damn lot and he still came in here, obviously looking to start something.

I hope Tess doesn't make too big of a deal out of this tattoo, it's not that serious. I have a shit load of tattoos, this one is for her and she should be happy about it. I know I am.

"Where the fuck are Steph and Tristan?" I look out the windows of the shop in an attempt to spot Steph's bright ass hair.

"We can go next door and find them?" Tessa suggests after I pay Drew and promise to come back and let him give me an entire back piece.

I nearly knock his teeth out when he suggests giving Tessa a sleeve or belly piercing.

"I think I would look cool with my nose pierced." She smiles as we walk outside.

I laugh at the thought and bring my arm around her waist as a bearded man stumbles past us. His jeans and shoes are dirty, and his thick sweatshirt is stained with liquid. From the smell of it, I assume vodka.

Tessa stops next to me and the man does the same. I gently pull her behind me. If this homeless drunk thinks he is coming any fucking closer to her I will fucking...

"Dad?" She says so low that it comes out as a whisper and I watch in confusion as all the color drains from her face.

THE END

(There will be a third book for those of you still wondering, It may get rated r pretty quickly so try to save it to your library asap. The title will be After 3 and the first chapter will be up tomorrow or Thursday, I'm still deciding:) I love you all so much for reading and I can't believe we've made it through the second book already! What were some of your favorite parts? Thanks again for reading, talk to you soon! xo)