The Entitled Read online

  Brad Pitt grabs a remote from a table and turns down the music, making it much easier to think.

  “Did you paint these too?”

  He looks over at me while he sits down on a swivel chair. I notice his eyes are a dark brown not blue like Brad Pitt’s. He looks like he belongs in LA not Manhattan.

  “Yeah, they’re mine,” he says gruffly, sounding defensive. “I started off as an artist, then discovered I could make much more money putting my art on people.”

  “These are amazing.” I motion to the landscapes.

  “Thanks. Someday I’ll be able to just paint,” he mumbles as he snaps on the rubber gloves.

  Nodding, I sit on the velvet couch and reach for a book on the table. Reed is quiet, looking at the flower painting.

  Placing his gloved hands on his knees, Brad Pitt asks, “Who’s first?”

  “Me. I’m the only one who’s getting one.” Reed pulls off his T-shirt, handing it to me. Unable able to stop, I let my eyes travel his chest. He loves to exercise—his body is lean and muscled.

  Besides me, working out is probably Reed’s second favorite thing. Which is why he is sporting a six-pack already. Licking my lips, I visualize what it would be like to lick those muscles.

  His husky voice brings me back to him and where we are. “I want an arrow piercing my heart and I want the name Tess on it.”

  I gasp. Literally I might have even said his name because he turns and flashes me his incredible smile. I think I might die. There goes my heart again.

  Brad Pitt is silent for a moment. “I like it. I can make it almost 3-D. It’ll look like the arrow is almost injected into your heart.” Grabbing his sketch pad, he starts to draw it.

  Reed watches then shakes his head. “That’s not right. I need the arrow in my heart. She pierced it when I was eight.” His eyes never leave mine as he sits on the tattoo table, his long legs hanging. He’s so gorgeous, my mind starts to twist things. I’m scared and jealous. It’s like a poisonous pill that I don’t want to take but do anyway.

  Reed sits like a prince. What am I going to do when he’s a full-grown man like Jay and Brad Pitt? What if I can’t keep him? Or some girl tries to steal him from me? I hate when I torture myself with these morbid thoughts. He’s mine. And I will do anything to keep him.

  Suddenly the room is filled with a buzzing sound as Brad turns on the machine. He starts to outline the tattoo.

  I’m mesmerized. Reed is branding me to him forever. We are truly soul mates. The buzzing of the machine calms me. With every drop of ink that enters Reed, he becomes mine more. I have to get one. His eyes narrow. He knows. Of course he does. I smile at him. He arches a dark brow at me, but he’s smirking.

  His tattoo takes a little over two hours. Brad is a perfectionist, adding details and shading until it looks exactly like an arrow has been shot into Reed’s heart with my name on it. Reed sits still, acting like he is getting a haircut rather than a needle constantly piercing his beautiful body. No longer leafing through magazines, I sit quietly, staring at him, shifting every so often on the velvet couch. I have this feeling inside me that I can’t explain. It’s almost like we’ve shared something so intimate that I don’t know how to process it.

  Brad Pitt wraps it up. Not being able to contain my energy anymore I say, “I want one!”

  All eyes turn toward me.

  Jay frowns, Brad Pitt looks thrilled, and Reed looks… well, intense.

  “What do you want, Kitten?”

  I almost blurt out “you,” but instead I walk up to him and hand him his shirt.

  “It’s a surprise. I need it. You need it.”

  He’s silent; then he looks at Brad. “Whatever the birthday girl wants.”

  “Fuck yeah.” Brad is excited, snapping on some fresh gloves. Reed shakes his head, pulls his shirt over his head. “Where do you want it, Tess?”

  “Well I only want you to see it. So—”

  “No.”

  “But… you don’t even know what I was going to say.” Adrenaline percolates through my veins.

  “You are not piercing your heart, Tess.” He walks up to me and wraps his hand in my thick hair and brings me close to his lips. “You would have to take off your shirt, and again, no one is ever going to see you naked but me.” I huff because that’s exactly what I wanted. But he’s right. I would have to take off my shirt and my bra.

  “Okay, I want the same arrow on my side aiming toward my heart with Reed’s name on it.” I stare at him.

  “Pull up your shirt, Kitten.”

  I pull it up. His warm hand traces the area with his fingers. “Start here, have it travel to here.” He motions right under my breast.

  Brad is in his chair again, sketch pad waiting. “Yeah… that will work.” His focus lands on me. “Do you want the arrow to be inserted like Reed’s?”

  “I want it making its way to my heart. Can you make it look like it’s traveling?”

  “Of course.” He swivels around, getting everything ready.

  Reed tucks my T-shirt into my bra and steps back. I move to the table and lie down on my side. Brad Pitt gets me a pillow. Reed stands toward my head giving Brad room to work.

  “You ready?” I nod and bite my lip as I feel the gun start to outline. Holy shit!

  “You okay, Kitten?” Reed caresses my cheek.

  “Um… this hurts.” But in a strange way, it’s kind of empowering. Brad Pitt looks up at me and then at Reed and nods his head. “She’s one of us now.” A big smile spreads across his face.

  Reed stares at him. “No, she’s only mine.”

  Brad looks at him for a moment then goes back to his work. It takes way over two hours. I’m almost begging him to not worry about another layer of shading and color. A sigh escapes me as the machine turns off at last. Brad peels off his gloves.

  “I want to get a picture of this for my book. This looks better than I imagined.”

  My eyes meet Reed’s. Today was more than a birthday present. It’s his promise to me, and mine to him.

  Brad comes back and happily snaps some photos, then wraps up my tattoo, explaining in detail how to take care of them. Reed’s face is peaceful, and the awful night has been purged from us. I watch as he hands him a bunch of hundreds.

  “Hey,” Brad Pitt calls out to us, but his eyes are fixed on me. “You know where I am if you ever need me to fix any of that.”

  A slow smile appears on Reed’s lips. “Good to know. Thanks, man.” He laces our fingers together as we leave.

  “Wow, I’m impressed. You must be relaxed—you didn’t even engage.”

  Somewhat breathless at how a simple smile can undo me, I snuggle into him as he helps me down the dark stairs.

  “I’m happy.”

  It’s so honest, I stop breathing “Reed…”

  Cocking his head at me, he says, “I don’t care about that guy. I care about you. When that needle was engraving your name into my heart, I thought about my actions and how I almost destroyed the only thing I need to live.” Cupping my cheeks, he keeps going. “It scared me.”

  Not even thinking about it, I launch myself into his arms, and thankfully, he catches me.

  “How do you always catch me.” I choke back a sob.

  “I’ll never drop you.” We rub our noses together and he gently places my hand across his tattoo. “Happy Birthday, Kitten. I love you.”

  I feel like I’m glowing.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “So are you.”

  As we open the door, the sun is blinding and I blink. Jay is waiting. A cigarette dangles from his mouth. He takes an inhale and tosses it to open our door.

  “I’m starving. What do you want for dinner, Kitten?”

  “How about pizza?” Resting my head on his shoulder, I nuzzle against him.

  “Pizza it is. Jay, you hungry?” We both look at the back of his head.

  “I could eat.”

  “Let’s go to Joe’s.” I can’t stop smiling as I boun
ce a little.

  Jay says nothing, but I can feel his disapproving eyes in the mirror looking at me.

  “What’s wrong, Jay? You’re so quiet,” I tease.

  “Just wondering what your parents are going to think when they find out their fourteen-year-old daughter tattooed Reed across her side.”

  Great, Jay.

  “My dad pays you a shitload of money. Your job is pretty clear,” Reed says calmly.

  “You two are only kids. A lot will change as you get older.” He stops at a red light and turns to face us. I want to stick my tongue out at him, but I’m turning fifteen in a week, so I don’t.

  “Jay, no one but I will ever see Tess’s tattoo no matter how old we get.” Reed’s voice is dismissive.

  “Really? Because when I was your age, I thought I was in love too. Until a year later, when I found someone else. Guess what? I’m still falling in love. Trust me—it doesn’t last.” He shakes his head in disgust.

  I reach over and lace my fingers with Reed’s because he looks like he wants to hurt Jay. Also, I was starting to feel better, and now Jay is bringing me down. I hate it. “Come on, Reed. Please focus on me. Tomorrow, I’m going to have to deal with all the crap at school. Tonight, I want to be with you. Don’t you feel like… I don’t know, like you and I have this big secret that no one else knows about?” I bat my eyelashes at him.

  He stops giving Jay the kill stare and turns his focus on me. His hand caresses mine… eyes lock with mine, and I launch myself at him again. He catches me. Reed always catches me.

  TESS

  The next week of school is exhausting. Everyone talks behind my back but pretends they want to be my best friend. I show up Monday morning with Reed and Jax walking me everywhere. Reed has decided that if he kisses me all the time, everyone will stop talking about us. Sure enough, it only makes it worse. I know everyone thinks Reed slept with the blonde at the party. And I’ve worked hard to ignore it since I know the truth. Still, it hurts when I hear Tiffany and her posse giggling about how I have no self-esteem because I’ve stayed with him.

  I’m over it today. My mother has risen from the dead. After three weeks of silence, she contacted me yesterday, informing me that she will pick me up tomorrow. This, along with all the other garbage in my life, makes me want to grab Reed and lock us in his room.

  Is that too much to ask? It must be. Because here I sit, like a pathetic girlfriend who can’t think for herself, waiting for her boyfriend. His football coach has called an emergency meeting after school. How annoying.

  “Explain to me again why I can’t go back to the penthouse?”

  Reed leans over and kisses me. “I need you close.”

  I almost laugh. “Reed, that is ridiculous.” My lips twitch. “Come on, I don’t want to wait around while you and the other players get lectured about having personal trainers over the summer. Or what you’re supposed to tell your chefs to prepare for you.” I know I sound whiny, but sometimes it works with him, so I give it a shot.

  He laughs and pulls me in for another kiss. This time, he tries to sneak in some tongue. I kiss him back for a moment because I can’t stop myself until we hear catcalls from his teammates.

  “Great. Exactly what I need—more people talking about me.” Crossing my arms, I close myself off.

  “Don’t do that.” He grabs my hands. “Fuck them.” He motions at the team. “This is not going to take long, and then we’ll go home together.” His tone signals this is the end of the discussion.

  Getting butterflies when he says ‘home,’ I know it’s silly, but I can’t wait until we’re old enough to get our own place.

  With a frustrated sigh, I say, “I hate this. I’m going to have to sit here with all of the football players’ girlfriends. Pretend like I’m on the phone, so they don’t talk to me, then watch them whisper behind my back about you.” At least I see a flash of regret in his eyes.

  “Tess, come on. I know this has been a shitty couple of weeks, but it’s getting better. School is almost out. What will make you happy? Whatever my kitten wants, I will give her.” He winks, damn him. “And we can’t forget it’s your birthday.” He rubs my lips with his thumb, his eyes starting to change as I lightly suck the tip.

  “Whatever.” When I bite his thumb, he grins and I roll my eyes at him. “Why can’t Jay take me home?”

  He stiffens and pulls back. “He is not allowed to be alone with you,” he says through his teeth.

  “What is your problem with him?”

  He glances in the direction of the guys filing into the locker room. “I have to go. I don’t have a problem with Jay. But I don’t trust him, especially with you.”

  “That is crazy—all he does is his job.”

  “Don’t make excuses for him. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  After I give him a dramatic sigh, I stomp up the bleachers, scooting into the corner.

  Reed grins. “Perfect. Now stay there where no one can see you.”

  “That’s the plan.” Smiling sweetly, I wave to him. He stops and stares at me, then climbs the bleachers after me. I squeal as he grabs for me.

  “Go, so we can get out of here.” I laugh.

  “One more kiss.”

  A loud whistle interrupts us. “Saddington, you plan on joining us, or are you going to keep groping your girlfriend?” Coach scowls and walks back into the locker room.

  “Don’t move, Kitten.” He points at me and runs down the bleachers.

  “You’re so weird.”

  He grins, making my stomach flutter. I wish I could control myself more. Staring at his incredible ass as he takes the bleachers two at a time, I tear my eyes away to my backpack and pull out my history notes. I need to focus, concentrate. Reed sucks. He always distracts me. This gym always smells like sweat and feet and I hate it, I think, wrinkling my nose.

  Leaning back, I try to keep my eyes from wandering. But I start to daydream about Reed. Somehow, I’m picturing if I want a train and a veil for my wedding or simply a veil. Groaning, I snap my notebook shut and it echoes in the almost-empty gym. I stretch and glance at the clock on top of the basketball hoops. “God, it’s only been fifteen minutes.”

  Why, do I listen to Reed?

  My attention is piqued when I see a guy come out of the coed bathroom. He is wearing a gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head covering his face. He puts his hands in his pockets and slinks out of the gym. Creepy. It’s hot and muggy out, so of course I start to visualize that the guy is a mass murderer or a terrorist. What the hell is wrong with me?

  Standing up, I walk down the bleachers, noticing that most of the girls are outside. Apparently the cheer and dance squad members are having their own meeting today as well. Moving at a slow pace, I make my way over to the bathroom. I have no idea why I’m being so silly. The guy was probably working out or he likes sweatshirts. Either way, it’s none of my business. Now that I’m almost at the bathroom, I might as well go pee. The gym bathrooms are coed for sporting events. The lights are off. Feeling around, I find the switch. And nearly trip over a body lying on the floor. I freeze. Blood is smeared all over the white tile, and a slim body is curled in a fetal position.

  Shit, shit, shit! Oh my God! This poor guy is dead, and the creepy guy with the sweatshirt is a murderer!

  Taking a breath, trying not to let my imagination take over, I yell, “Are you dead?” Frantically, I lean down to him and gently touch his cheek, thankful that he’s warm.

  “Don’t worry. You’re okay,” I say, my voice soft. He starts to move and moan. I check his pulse; it seems normal.

  Then, he opens his beautiful chocolate eyes and stares at me.

  At first, I’m stunned. How have I never realized how striking this guy is? Blinking, I reach for my phone. “Don’t worry. I’m calling 911 right now.” I smile and stroke his cheek reassuringly.

  He pushes up on his arms and sits up.

  “Here let me help you.” I help him scoot back, so he can use the
wall to help him sit up.

  “Don’t call 911. Trust me, I’ll be okay.” His voice, which has a slight accent, sounds steady.

  Shocked, I shake my head. “Don’t be crazy. You need medical attention. You’re bleeding… and you have a black eye.”

  “Fuck, I hit my head on the sink when that dick hit me in the eye.”

  God, what do I do? He’s speaking clearly, and the bleeding seems to have stopped on his head wound.

  “I’m so sorry you’re stuck with me finding you.” I give him a smile.

  “I don’t think I could have dreamt a better person to rescue me. Do you believe in fate, Pretty Girl?”

  “Yes… I do.”

  “So do I.” His pained eyes lock with mine, and it’s like looking in a mirror. His loneliness and insecurities are all right before me.

  Swallowing, I say, “You’re sure you don’t need an ambulance? I’m a terrible nurse.”

  He grunts. “I have been beaten way worse. I only hit my head. Anytime you hit your head it bleeds. Trust me, it looks worse than it is.”

  “If you say so.” I take a shallow breath. The bathroom is clean, thank goodness, minus the blood. God, it’s all over the white floor. What do I do?

  As if he can read my mind, he interrupts my manic thoughts. “Here, Pretty. Help me to my feet.”

  Jumping at the chance to be useful, I let him grab hold of my hand. “Go slow and hold on to me.” Puffing out some air, he seems steady. More than steady, he is stiff and angry.

  “Can you walk?”

  “I’ll be fine. Give me a second.” He’s taller than me but almost as skinny. He’s the most delicate boy I’ve ever seen. I mean Reed and Jax are beautiful, but they are big, tall, and masculine-looking. This boy is just plain pretty, with his black hair and dark eyes.

  He smiles, and I see straight white teeth.

  “Well, at least he didn’t hit your mouth and mess up those pretty teeth.” Can’t help myself—he is that handsome.