111 - The chapter with the ugly truth

Rose

And Joshua kept his word. After a quick shower, he took me to a coffee shop on the other block and bought me a full breakfast.

" I hope you like Cinnamon Rolls, the ones here are the best " he commented opening the menu.

" Sounds great," I smiled, feeling a bit out of place in the situation.

I usually didn't go out with guys who took me to breakfast the next day. In fact, I just said goodbye and went home, often I didn't even spend the night. The only person who cared about my well being like that was Christian!

" The cinnamon cappuccino is great too," he commented, snapping me out of my reverie.

I shouldn't be thinking about Christian right now!

" Wow, you really like cinnamon, don't you? " I teased him.

" Guilty," he laughed in response, "If it were up to me, I'd put cinnamon on everything.”

I went back to looking at the menu deciding what to eat.

" I'll take the Cinnamon Roll, but I'd rather have a vanilla cappuccino,' I warned.

He nodded to the waitress, taking our orders as I watched him.

What's wrong with me? I'm here with a super nice guy, who treats me better than everyone else and yet, I can't stop thinking about the asshole who cheated on me!

" So... are you going to tell me? " he turned his attention to me.

" Tell you what?”

" What happened between you and Davis. You two always seemed like the perfect couple, in your own weird and slightly disturbing way, but still, perfect," he explained.

I took a deep breath, looking away. Looks like no one's gonna let me forget Davis.

" Are you really asking me about my ex after spending the night with me? " I raised both eyebrows.

" Rose, don't get me wrong, you were amazing last night and as long as you're single and want to do it again you know the doors of my house will always be open to you. But I'm not the kind of guy who gets into relationships " he reached for my hand on the table.

" If you're trying to be nice about blowing me off, save your energy. I don't want a relationship. So we're on the same page here," I challenged him.

A small smile appeared on his face at my phrase, looking satisfied with that answer.

" So are you going to tell me?”

" Why are you insisting so much on this subject? " I returned the question.

" 'Because you seem quite upset about everything that has happened, and I think you need an outsider's view. You know, someone who hasn't chosen a side in this situation yet " he explained, letting go of my hand when the waitress returned with our orders.

I watched him for a second, digesting what he had just proposed to me. Could I trust him?

" So what, we're friends now? You want to hear me whine about my ex for nothing? " I sipped my cappuccino without looking away from him.

" I didn't say that " he winked at me.

I put my cup back on the table, suspicious of the intentions of the man in front of me.

" 'I think you need to tell me what exactly you want before I decide to accept or decline,' I returned.

" 'I want you,' a small smile appeared on his lips, making my heart race.

I was paralyzed for a few seconds not knowing how to react to that proposal. He just told me he's not dating and I've already had sex with him. What more could he want?

" Don't look at me like that, I'm not a perverted maniac " he seemed to find my reaction funny.

" Are you sure? Because that's exactly what you look like to me right now," I returned, "I don't trade sex for favors.”

" That's not what I'm asking for." He took a sip of his cappuccino as he watched me.

" What do you want then?”

" 'Your tattoos,” Josh shrugged.

I crossed my arms, assuming a defensive position, once again not knowing how to react.

" What are you? That psycho who steals skins from "the silence of the lambs?"

That answer made the man literally laugh, giving me an amused look.

" 'Have you ever been told you have a unique sense of humor? " he smiled, taking another sip of cappuccino as he managed to control himself.

" Hey, I'm not laughing, I'm ready to run,” I challenged him.

" You already know that I'm setting up my studio, I invested everything I had in that place, including my old apartment in grayfox mills", he narrated.

I took the opportunity to try the Cinnamon Roll, chewing well while waiting for him to finish telling his story.

" I won't be staying that long where I am today, and when I leave I won't be able to take the tattoo portfolio, it belongs to the studio " He signaled to the waitress before continuing " a friend of mine graduated last year in photography, she offered to make four photographs for that rustic wall. I just need a model.

That's when I finally understood what he wanted from me. And it was definitely something I could do, but one detail caught my eye.

" 'I only have three tattoos,' I pointed out.

" I can fix that," Josh winked at me.

I widened my eyes, surprised by his final proposal. A smile threatened to come to my lips, but I decided to confirm it first.

" Are you serious?”

" If you accept, yes " he handed the card to the waitress to charge " and then? Are you going to start talking?”

" It's a long story…”

" In that case, you better call your friend and let him know you're alive and spending the day with me," Joshua instructed me.

We went back to the studio, and after a brief call to reassure Liam, I spent almost an hour telling my story with Christian in detail.

" Everyone kept telling me that I should have at least heard his side of the story. But I was so angry that I couldn't even consider it " I vented to my newest friend while I was looking for some art for my new tattoo sitting cross-legged on one of the stretchers in his studio.

" I think your friends were right, you should have listened to Davis before the situation got to such extreme levels," Josh stated, not taking his eyes off the screen of the cell phone sitting on the stool in front of me.

I raised my face, looking at him with a perplexed expression.

" Hey, you were supposed to be on my side in this!”

Joshua stood up, coming over to me, bringing his hand to the back of my neck, pulling me into a demanding kiss, bewildering me for a moment.

" I told you I'd advise you and that's what I'm doing,” he declared as he pulled away minimally while I still kept my eyes closed and my breathing labored.

" You know, you have a strange way of advising me,” I opened my eyes, giving him a petulant look.

" I found the perfect tattoo," he smiled, moving my hair out of the way and running his fingertips along a line behind my left ear, "I'm going to do it right here, little delicate blood-colored roses. Beautiful and with sharp thorns, just like you.”

I took a deep breath, biting my lips, trying in vain to keep my body from reacting to him, then giving up. Bringing my hands to the back of his neck, I pulled him back to me, lying down on the gurney as I kissed him. Joshua brought both hands to the hem of the long t-shirt I had borrowed as soon as we got back from the cafeteria, lifting it without any hesitation.

" You seem to have given up on your advice,” I teased him as Joshua abandoned my mouth, focusing on my neck.

" No way, you should talk to him," his hand began to trail down my stomach, making me yearn for his touch, "after all, you were just as wrong as he was.”

I widened my eyes, pushing him away, sitting up in a jump.

" Did I was wrong? Have you gone mad?

He took a deep breath, sitting down on the bench he was on before, crossing his arms as he faced me.

" You're not used to being contradicted, are you?”

" I could, but that only happens when I really make a mistake, and that wasn't the case,' I muttered disgruntledly.

" No? I can make a list. And guess what, cutie, that angry face of yours doesn't scare me,' he winked at me.

" Tell me one mistake I made. He cheated on me, I was the victim! " I pointed emphatically at my chest.

"You didn't even listen to his explanation, being that you yourself said that girl hates you and would do anything to get to you," he enumerated, "so you decided not to be in the same environment as him, splitting your group of friends which is one of the tightest I've ever seen, ignored everyone who told you he had a good explanation....”

" If he had nothing with her, why did he kiss her like that yesterday? " I retorted.

" 'Why did you tell him that you approached him out of pity? " Joshua retorted " Why did you decide to come with me?”

I looked away, hating him at that moment. I didn't want to hear any of that, no matter how right he was in the end.

" 'You're the same. Or do you think only you can do something stupid and painful in the heat of the moment? " He tilted his head slightly to the side, maintaining eye contact.

I pulled my shirt over me, feeling all the desire from before completely disappear in the face of his speech.

" I thought you were so much sexier when you just wanted to fuck me and give me free tattoos, you know? " I mumbled, making him laugh.

" I'm sorry, I'll do the whole job," he called out with his hand, "I'm not here to tell you what will please you, I'm here to tell you what you need to hear. “

I jumped to the floor, approaching him with my arms crossed and my expression closed. He grabbed my wrists, forcing me to uncross my arms before pulling me, fitting me with my legs open in his lap, facing him.

" I know you're crazy about him…”

" I don't know…” Before I could finish, he silenced me with a quick kiss.

"If you weren't crazy about him, it wouldn't have hit you so hard." He ran his hands down my thighs to my hips, moving me lightly over his erection.

At that moment I felt confused, my body threatened to react to his caresses, but my mind was stuck on Christian and the conversation we were having.

" You know, I can't concentrate right now," I complained as he kissed my neck again, "you picked a bad topic for this particular moment.”

Joshua let out a small laugh against my skin, before pulling away to look me in the eye.

" I think we can leave that for later,” he winked at me, seeming to have better plans for the rest of the afternoon.