by Gemma Weir
“Hands off,” I snarl, glaring at Garrett. “Sit your ass down, else I’ll tattoo Hello Kitty into your back piece.”
Garrett the asshat bursts into laughter, but he releases Rosebud and plonks his ass down into the chair, stripping off his shirt and flexing his all too toned muscles.
The next two hours pass quickly, and Rosebud effortlessly charms Garrett until he’s declaring his undying love and suggesting they run off to Vegas together. I’ve always loved my job, but I’ve never enjoyed it more than I have today while Rosebud’s been here with me.
When Garrett’s all wrapped up and his shirt is firmly back in place, he scoops Rosebud in for a hug, flipping me the bird over her shoulder. “Rosie darling, I’m serious. We can be in Vegas and married before dinner.”
Her laugh is high and contagious. “I think I’ll pass thanks, although it is an incredibly tempting offer.”
Garrett grasps at his chest. “You wound me.”
Shaking my head, I smack him around the back of the head. “Get out of here, dickhead. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks and hopefully I should be able to get the rest of your shoulder done.”
“Thanks, man.” Garrett says, pulling me in for a man hug and saluting Rosebud as he walks out of the room.
“He’s a lot of fun.” Rosebud says.
“He’s been my client for years. He’s a good guy. You hungry? I don’t have any more clients in ‘til later so we can go grab something, or we can take a ride out somewhere. Your choice.”
“On your bike?” Rosebud asks, her voice hopeful.
“Yeah, on my bike.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“You like riding with me?”
Her white teeth appear, and she nibbles on her bottom lip as she nods.
“Well then, friend, let’s go for a ride.” I hold out my hand and she takes it without thought, letting me lead her out of the shop and into the courtyard where my bike is parked. Pulling her forward, I lift her into the air then lower her down onto the leather seat. She looks so beautiful, so perfect on the back of my bike. Today she’s wearing denim shorts and a black fitted halter-neck shirt. Her creamy skin looks soft and inviting and once again I have to remind myself that she’s my friend and that’s all she can ever be.
“What’s the matter,” she asks, and I realize I’ve just been standing and staring at her for far too long.
“Nothing,” I say, climbing onto the bike and waiting for her to shuffle forward and wrap her arms around me. “You ready?”
“Yes,” Rosebud says excitedly, squeezing my waist a little tighter.
Once the shutter has lifted, I start the engine and cruise onto the road, quickly gaining speed as I zoom along the highway in the hot Texan sun. As the miles roll away beneath us, my mind clears, and everything feels a little easier. This is my favorite thing in the world, and having Rosebud pressed up against my back only makes it better.
Twisting the throttle, I urge my bike to go faster and Rosebud squeals with laughter. I smile wide in response, loving that she seems to be enjoying this as much as I am. An hour later, I pull off to a roadside food cart that serves the most amazing tacos and has one hell of a view of the seemingly endless fields and valleys around us.
“It’s so beautiful,” she says as I lift her from my bike and settle her onto the floor beside me.
Turning to stand behind her, I place my hands on her shoulders and admire the view. “It is. It always surprises me that we can be in the middle of nowhere and only an hour from a huge city.”
“I’ve never been to Texas before.”
“I’ve been all over, but this is home. I’m not sure that it’s the place that holds me, but the people definitely do.”
Lifting her hands into the air she finger-combs her hair, then twists the strands into a long braid. “I know that feeling. All my family and friends live in LA. My brother Eric thinks I should take a job opportunity that would mean I would have to move out of state, but it’s a big decision and I just don’t feel ready yet. Plus Taylor threw a hissy fit when she found out I was thinking about moving.”
At the mention of Taylor, I step back from Rosebud and tension fills the space between us. “Have you spoken to her?”
Rosebud’s lips dip into a frown and she shakes her head. “No. I thought… I—well I thought she would have called or at least texted by now, but there’s been nothing. Has she contacted you?”
“No,” I reply immediately. “I’m not sure we have anything to say to each other.”
Rosebud spins to face me, her expression aghast. “What do you mean? She’s your sister; you have so much to talk about.”
I wince. It’s doesn’t matter that I’ve known for over a decade that Taylor is my sister, hearing it said aloud still feels like a kick to the gut. “Rosebud, she tried to kiss me yesterday.”
“This must be really hard for her too.”
“Look, she’s your best friend, I get that. But she’s known since she was a kid that we shared DNA and she never said a word. She knew I was in love with her and she stayed quiet and let me pine for her. You don’t know all the details, but it’s fucked-up.”
Rosebud gasps. “I don’t understand. How could she have kept it to herself for so long?”
Sighing, I motion to the food cart. “Let’s get something to eat and then I’ll explain.”
Moments later I take the trays of food from the man in the cart and hand over a twenty. I can feel how unsettled Rosebud is behind me and I silently curse myself for bringing Taylor up. I wish we didn’t have Taylor between us, but we do and there’s nothing either of us can do to change that, so maybe it’s about time we have this conversation. Maybe this will clear the air and we can agree never to mention her again.
Rosebud walks ahead of me and lowers herself onto a wooden bench. I sit opposite her and hand her the paper tray of food and the bottle of coke she asked for. We eat in silence for a few moments, then Rosebud pauses and looks up at me expectantly.
I drop my remaining food back into my tray and pull in a deep breath. “I don’t know everything and honestly I have no fucking clue what’s going on in her batshit crazy head.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Rosebud says, giving me an out that I’m incredibly tempted to take.
“Taylor and I met when we were just kids. We became best friends and then when we were teenagers, I fell in love with her. She always had a boyfriend, until right at the end of our senior year when she dumped Derek. I thought it was my chance. I thought she was my soulmate and I thought she felt the same way as I did. My last day in LA she kissed me, and we’d planned to meet up later that night at a party. When I got home that afternoon, I overheard her mom and my dad talking about DNA results and him claiming his daughter. I left right then and there, just packed my car and left, because I couldn’t tell Taylor that our parents had screwed us over. I couldn’t tell my soulmate that we couldn’t be together because our parents had an affair and instead of us being destined to spend the rest of our lives together, we were brother and sister.”
A laugh bubbles from my throat and I’m shocked by how bitter and angry the sound is. “I haven’t been home since that day. I couldn’t cope with the idea of seeing her or my mom again and having to lie to them both, so I stayed away.”
“You haven’t been home at all in ten years?”
I shake my head. “No. I spoke to my dad yesterday for the first time since I left.”
She reaches across the table and entwines her fingers with mine. “Oh, Park, I’m so sorry you’ve been alone.”
I don’t release her fingers, but I shake my head and smile ruefully. “Not alone, little one. I found the club, a new family.”
“Are you sure that Taylor knew before you found out?”
Gripping her fingers a little tighter, I try not to remember the conversation I had with Taylor in her hotel. “She admitted it to me. When I went to her hotel the other day, she tried to kiss me again and I just had
to tell her. The words wouldn’t stay down. I never thought I’d ever have to tell her and then when I did, she told me she already knew. Apparently, her mom took her to every meeting with my dad from the age of ten. Over the years she’s done twelve DNA tests to try to convince him that she actually was his daughter. She’s known most of her life. She knew when we were best friends, she knew when she was flirting and kissing me as a teenager, and she knew two days ago when she flung herself into my arms and tried to shove her tongue into my mouth.”
Rosebud slaps her hand across her mouth and gasps. “Why would she do that? Why wouldn’t she just tell you the truth?”
Scoffing, I release her hand and scrub at my forehead. “I have no fucking clue. I’ve wracked my brain trying to understand her, but I just can’t come up with any logical explanation, apart from the fact she’s batshit crazy.”
She flinches and I inhale slowly, trying to calm myself down. “Look, I’m sorry. I know she’s your friend, and I know that most of this isn’t her fault. But I’m pissed off and skeeved out and betrayed.”
Rosebud pulls her hand from mine and stands. My heart booms erratically. Is she going to leave? Rationally, I know she can’t walk away. We’re miles from Archer’s Creek and she doesn’t have a car, but the panic is still there. Instead she walks around the bench and slides in beside me. She lifts her arms and wraps them around my neck, hugging me tightly. For a second, I don’t respond. I’m numb, the fear from only seconds before still consuming me. All my blood rushes to the surface of my skin and I feel her soft, warm body pressed against mine. On instinct I react, curving my arms around her waist and holding her to me.
“I’m so sorry,” she coos into my neck.
“Me too.”
Too soon, she pulls away and stares up at me. “You love her.”
I sigh. “I thought I did, as much as any stupid eighteen-year-old can.” Another bitter laugh escapes and I reach over and capture her fingers with mine. “I allowed that day to affect the last ten years of my life, and the fucked-up thing is that when I saw her again I felt nothing. A little revulsion, a lot of anger, but no love.”
“But she’s still your sister,” Rosebud says, her eyes deep wells of the emotions she’s feeling.
“Biologically yes, but that’s it. We’re never going to have a normal sibling relationship. She tried to kiss me for fuck’s sake.”
A flash of guilt appears in Rosebud’s eyes and she looks away.
“Why do you look guilty right now?” I ask.
“I don’t,” she says, the lie so obvious it’s almost funny.
With my free hand, I gently grip her chin and turn her face to look at me again. “You’re a terrible liar, Rosebud.”
A ghost of a smile flickers across her lips before it disappears. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this. I feel like I’m betraying her.”
As I don’t know what to say in response, I stay silent. I’ll respect her decision to keep whatever she knows to herself if she decides not to tell me, but I’m not going to give her an out.
I watch as she closes her eyes and grimaces. “She planned to sleep with you,” she blurts. The words coming out in a rush.
I’m not as shocked as I think she expects me to be. “Yeah, I figured that might have been the case. I spoke to my dad last night. He’s going to get in touch with her parents and let them know what’s happening. She needs help; an intervention or something.”
We both fall silent for a moment. There’s really not much else to say. She knows everything now. Every sordid detail of my fucked-up life.
I have no idea what to say. How do you apologize for your best friend behaving like a crazy person? Taylor is one of the most indulged people I’ve ever met, but this, tracking down her half-brother to have sex with him, that’s beyond messed up.
I can’t help but think this is all Taylor’s mom and Park’s dad’s fault. If they had just sorted all of their crap out, then Taylor and Park could have been raised as siblings and it would have saved everyone from so much unnecessary pain and suffering.
My heart hurts when I think about a young Taylor being dragged to DNA test after DNA test, only to have Park’s dad reject her over and over again. Then poor Park; falling in love with his best friend only to find out that she’s actually his half-sister. He lost the girl he loved, his best friend, his home, and his family all on the same day.
“I don’t know what else to say. I’m just so sorry for both of you,” I say, hoping he can hear the sincerity in my voice.
Park drops my hand and instead wraps one long arm around me, pulling me into his side. Turning, I wrap both of my arms around his waist and bury my face into his shoulder. Somehow, he’s ended up comforting me, when my intention had been to offer him support. His spicy pine scent surrounds me and I inhale deeply, committing the smell to memory.
Somehow in the last couple of days, Park really has become my friend. The only thing we have in common is Taylor. We’re from different worlds, different states, different lives, but despite that it feels like I’ve known him forever.
For the first time I realize that tomorrow I’m leaving and I’m going to miss him. Given that he doesn’t want a relationship with Taylor, I doubt we’ll ever see each other again, and the thought makes me sad.
I should pull away from his touch, but I don’t. Instead, I bask in his comfort, stealing enough memories of him to last me a lifetime. Because somehow, these few days in this town with him have become important to me.
“I’m going to miss you.” The words are out, and I close my eyes, wishing I could hang my head in shame. He’s going to think I’m a psycho too. I mean who says they’re going to miss someone they’ve only known for three days?
“I’m gonna miss you too, Rosebud.”
We sit there, our arms around each other for a while longer, but neither of us speaks again. I’m not sure if it’s embarrassment that keeps me silent or that there’s just nothing else to say. I’m leaving in the morning and it’s unlikely that I’ll ever come back. I’m not sure how it’s possible to meet someone and just click in such a short space of time. I’d thought he wanted to be around me because of Taylor, that I was just a link to his sister, but really he’s been telling me all along that it wasn’t about her and today just confirmed that.
Despite our lives and personalities being so different, I enjoy his company. I don’t remember the last time I made a friend. I think it’s harder as an adult and there are less opportunities. I mean it’s not like you can just walk up to a stranger on the street and say “Hi, my name’s Rosie and I’d like to be your friend.” But yet that’s basically what Park did to me. He forced me to go to dinner with him and told me we were going to be friends.
Eventually we reluctantly part and he lifts me back onto his monster motorcycle. The journey is exhilarating. The wind, the scenery, the man I’m pressed against. I enjoy it all and I’m saddened when it ends and we pull into the small courtyard behind his tattoo shop.
He lifts me from the bike and places me on the floor with a smirk. “So tiny,” he says with his musical accent.
“I’m not tiny, I’m petite,” I chide him.
“You’re just a wee rosebud, so tiny and cute.”
I scowl at him, making him laugh in response. “Do you have clients for the rest of the day?”
“Yeah, I’m booked up ‘til ten. Do you want to hang with me? Then we can go to the club once I’m done.”
“Are you sure I won’t distract you?”
Park reaches out and drops his arm over my shoulders. “You won’t distract me. If I could cancel the appointments I would, but some of these clients have waited six months, so I can’t.”
“God, no, you can’t cancel.”
Park laughs. “Don’t worry, Rosebud, I won’t. But how about you let me get my hands on your beautiful virgin skin later? I know exactly what I’d ink on you.”
I feel my mouth fall open. He’s only talking about tattooing me, but something
about his words and the way he says them almost feels a little sexual. I must wait a little too long to reply because Park’s smile dims a little.
“It’s okay, Rosie. I’m not gonna force you to get a tattoo.”
“Oh, I know that,” I say quickly. “What did you have in mind?”
His smile brightens again “You’d just have to trust me.”
“Is that right?” I say. “Well, I’ll see how the rest of today’s clients look and then I’ll decide at the end of the night if I trust you.”
Park bursts out laughing, then drops a kiss to the top of my head as he leads me into the shop.
It’s 10:30pm and Park’s last client just left. The last few hours have flown by, and I’ve had an absolute blast with Park and all of the people who have waited months to get an appointment for him to tattoo them. When he told me the waiting time to see him, I’d been shocked, but now when I’ve witnessed firsthand the stunning pieces of art each client has left with, I can completely understand why they would wait so many months.
“So where do you want me?”
He turns and looks at me, something flashing through his eyes before he blinks and it’s gone. “Err, what?”
“I trust you. So where do you want me so you can pop my tattoo cherry?”
A broad smile stretches across his face and he rushes forward scooping me into the air and twirling me around as though I weigh nothing. “Are you serious, Rosebud? Don’t fucking tease me.”
“I’m serious. But if you don’t stop spinning me and put me down, I’m going to end up throwing up all over your chair.”
With a chuckle he lowers me to the ground, holding my arms as I find my balance after all the spinning.
“Are you one hundred percent sure, because it hurts like a bitch to have a tattoo removed?”
“I’m sure. I trust you.”
“Hell yes,” he whoops loudly, and the words sound strange with his accent. “I need you lying down on your back. Get comfortable while I get everything ready.”
Nodding, I turn and take the couple of steps to the huge leather bed. It’s high, so I turn around and boost my butt up onto it, then lie back, wriggling to get comfortable. I watch as Park moves quickly around the room, collecting needles and pots for ink and lining them up on the small rolling table he uses. He pulls a pair of latex gloves from a box and puts them on, then opens a sterile package and takes out the needle, inserting it into the tattoo gun.