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"I wonder how otten into bed," Reeve muttered
"Bronx? Did you say Bronx? Because I could have sworn you toldsomeone else," Kat quipped
Reeve pursed her lips
I took a breath--held it Exhaled, slowly Mist formed in front of my face My first real post-breakup encounter with Cole was now history I’d survived with the tiniest shred of dignity, and that wasto be okay
A twentyso us We drew to a halt as he said, "Hey, pretty girl," with a wide, toothy grin aiuy pressed into his side He eyed Reeve up and down as if she were a stick of cotton candy and he was dying from a sweet tooth
"No, thanks," she said, and tried to inch around hi to block her "Wait You don’t want to go until we’ve exchanged nuuy leaned down to sniff Kat’s neck "My own personal brand of crack, right there"
"Quoting ro, she leaned back, out of reach "Lesson of the day--you don’t sives you permission Ever It makes you a creeper"
He pouted
I doubted the tere dangerous I actually thought they were going for sexy and char And maybe I could have tried to reach a verbal resolution with theer still pulled at an already thin tether
Nope Wrong The tether snapped
I jabbed e shattered Blood spurted Cursing, his friend grabbed hold of --unnecessary--or to stop me from another attack, I wasn’t sure I only knew he’d made a mistake I clath, forcing his body to turn with the
Before he could lurch free, I kicked the back of his knee, sending hiround An elbow to the temple finished him off, and he collapsed the rest of the way He sprawled on the concrete, uilt
"Coed the lapels of my coat closer as I walked away
"That was both cool and frightening," Kat said with a shudder, keeping pace with me "I don’t knohether to pat you on the back or run and hide"
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Reeve asked, her gaze darting back to the boys
"Col-- Around" My gaze landed on the tattoo shop across the street Bright red letters--TATTIE’S INK--flashed on and off
I stopped
The girls backtracked
"I want one," I found
"One what?" Kat asked
"A tattoo" The slayers marked themselves with the naainst the zombies, or symbols to represent therandfather
Bad Ali
"I want one," I said again, irls followed afterhappily "A skull and crossbones? Snake fangs dripping with blood? A unicorn?"
"This is a led over the door as I entered The walls were covered with art, pictures of lions and tigers, dragons and aliens Hearts Stars The sun, the
A heavily tattooed s all over his face stood behind the counter, cleaning equipuys even close to eighteen?"
"No," Reeve and I said in unison
"Yes," Kat said, and elbowed"You’ll need a permission slip from your parents, and you’ll need at least one parent present"
Kat offered her sweetest grin and wound her arm around my waist "We knew that That’s why I’ot"
A gleam of amusement in his eyes "She must take after her father"
"All of aze landed on uess You want a flower Or a butterfly"
Not quite "I want a white rabbit," I said
He thought it over, shrugged and slid a pad and pen in Kat’s direction "Fill this out all properlike for your daughter, since I’ your IDs will tell me you have different last names, and you," he said to "
"Ali," Reeve said, latching onto my wrist "A tattoo is per in my life Nana wouldn’t live forever And, as I’d been told tiain by Mr Ankh, the moment Reeve learned about the zombies she would be ripped out of uaranteed a torip to trail Artist Guy behind a crimson curtain There were several rooms, each blocked by one of those curtains He led me to the one in back, swept the fabric aside and h an art book When he found what he was searching for, he showed e "What do you think?"