Tattooed Dots (The Halo Series Book 1) Read online

  “Okay,” she finally agreed.

  “I need to talk to Easton real quick,” Avery said before Brooke and I could walk away.

  We stepped a few feet down the bar from the girls. “I’m going to wait ten minutes and then take Nicole back to her room, so make this fast and then hang with Brooke for at least an hour, okay?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. I would do anything if it meant more time with Brooke.

  I was getting tired from the long day of traveling from the East Coast, but I didn’t want this night to end.

  I was becoming extremely sick and tired of my shoulder hurting. It had been over two months since I’d injured it. I’d never been one to pop pain pills, but the pain was so immensely intense that I needed the slight relief from it—any relief I could get for that matter. The medication I was taking only made the pain bearable, and I still felt the aching, dull pain in my shoulder blade. It felt like it just needed to be adjusted or cracked somehow.

  I tried stretching it over and over and over, but that wasn’t helping. I was hoping that the massage therapist would be able to rub the knot out or give it more than three hours of relief like the medication did. I just wanted the pain to go away.

  Stupid bowling!

  “You know you didn’t need to walk me to my room. I was coming right back,” I said to Easton as we maneuvered through people.

  I was actually happy that he insisted on coming. Jared would have just let me wander off like he did one time when we went to New York City for the weekend. Jared only wanted to sleep in the hotel room, but I wanted to go sightseeing. I begged and begged him to come. Finally, I got fed up and left, walking around Times Square by myself for a few hours. He never called my cell, didn’t text—nothing. When I got back to the hotel room, he had the nerve to ask where I’d been. I was beyond livid.

  We took the stairs down to my cabin instead of the elevator. People were making out as they waited instead of just taking the stairs. This was definitely a singles cruise. “I wanted to.” Easton smiled and my stomach clenched as I looked at his dimples.

  “Well, thank you. It’s sweet of you.”

  “Let me guess, your boyfriend would have let you come back alone?” he asked.

  I paused for a beat before answering. “Yeah,” I sighed. “He would have figured nothing would happen to me since we’re on a ship and there’s no place to go.”

  “No place to go but overboard and in the middle of the Pacific with sharks,” he joked.

  I laughed. “Part of me wishes he were here so I could throw him over.”

  “Trouble in paradise?” Easton asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “No … yes … I don’t know. It’s a long story that consists of four years of the good and the bad.”

  “Like any relationship.” He nodded.

  “True. When was your last relationship?” I asked, slipping my ID badge that doubled as our room key into the door.

  Laughing slightly, he asked, “Are we talking serious relationship?”

  I eyed him curiously. “Um … yeah?”

  “Then about seven years ago.”

  “You haven’t dated in seven years?”

  We both stepped into my room, and I went into the bathroom to grab my medication, returning to the mini fridge to grab a bottle of water to swallow it down. Easton was looking around the room, so I tried to grab some of my clothes before he turned back around. Nicole and I both had bras and panties scattered throughout, and the clothes we’d worn that day were still on the floor. We were in a rush to get ready for the mixer after dinner, plus I hadn’t realized I’d have a man in my room—at least not one whose opinion of me I cared about.

  “To clarify, I’ve dated. Just not in serious relationships.”

  “So, you’re like a player,” I asked, then swallowed the pill.

  Of course, Brooke. You’re on a singles cruise. Don’t worry about it, you have a boyfriend anyway.

  He laughed softly. “You’ll need to define ‘player’.”

  “Someone who sleeps around.” I shrugged, returning the water to the fridge.

  “Define ‘sleeping around’.” He laughed again.

  “Um …” I held open the door, “you know, someone who goes around fucking a bunch of different chicks.”

  “Then no, I wouldn’t consider myself a player.” He shut the door behind him, and we started walking toward the elevators. The stairs were good to go down, but not up. Especially while talking.

  “But you’ve slept with chicks in the last seven years, right?”

  Why was I so curious about him? This was more than just casual talking. It was like I wanted to know everything about him. Get to know him and his dark secrets. But why? After seven nights, I’d never see him again.

  “Of course I have, but I don’t sleep around. Usually they just suck my dick.”

  I felt my face blush at his bluntness. I was starting to wonder if he wanted me to suck his dick. It didn’t make any sense in my mind that he was hanging around a girl with a boyfriend when he had a whole ship full of single women. If he wanted somebody to suck his dick, he would have a better chance going elsewhere.

  “You don’t say?” I laughed. “Why do you stop at them giving you head?” The questions were just pouring out of me.

  “In high school, the chicks were more likely to give you head than sleep with you. Now, they would rather sleep with you than suck your dick, so I like it better.”

  “I suppose that’s good logic.” I laughed. “What happened to end your relationship seven years ago?”

  I noticed as we exited the elevator that we weren’t going in the direction of the mixer. I didn’t mind at all. I figured Nicole and Avery were probably scoping out our floor, waiting for us to leave so they could use our cabin. While we were getting ready, Nicole had made sure to shave—everywhere, and basically told me that I needed to find something else to do until at least midnight if I didn’t want to walk in on them.

  Easton paused for a moment before replying, and I wondered if I had crossed a line talking about his past. “So do you want the long and real version, or what I normally tell chicks who ask me?”

  “Well, I think you should tell me the long and real version since we have a long time until we can go to sleep.” The wind blew through my long, chestnut colored hair as we walked the side deck towards the rear of the boat.

  “I got married right out of high school,” he began. “I was young and stupid, but I got the best daughter out of the deal.”

  “Oh wow, you have a daughter?” Even though I was thirty, I couldn’t imagine having a child, but when you got married right out of high school, I guess you start early.

  “I do, and she’s my world.”

  “That’s so sweet. How old is she?”

  “Ten going on thirty.” He laughed. “She thinks she knows it all. She gives me a run for my money sometimes, and I’m not looking forward to raising her alone when she’s a teenager and going through her woman things.”

  Hearing Easton talk about his daughter was warming my heart. The way his sky blue eyes lit up and his smile reached the crease—it was priceless. I hoped that the man I married and had kids with would love our child as much as Easton loved his daughter. “I bet. I’ve heard that kids can be a handful.”

  “Especially when you’re a single father and have no idea what you’re doing.”

  Easton leaned on the railing of the back of the ship when we approached. The wind was still blowing, causing my hair to wisp across my face from the left side. I held it down with my hand and turned to face him to prevent it from becoming tangled.

  “Her mother isn’t in the picture?”

  He gave a tight smile before responding. “She passed away a little over five years ago.”

  “Oh my!” I gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you. We were going through a divorce at the time. It’s been hard on Cheyenne.”

  “Cheyenne is your daughter?”

  “Yep, that�
��s my peanut. Here … I have pictures on my phone.” He reached into his pocket. “I don’t know why I have my phone on me since we don’t get service out here.” He laughed.

  He showed me a series of pictures of a beautiful girl with long, dirty blonde hair that matched his hair color. Her eyes looked lighter than his—like a light blue, almost grey, and her smile had dimples just like his.

  “She’s beautiful,” I said, handing him back his phone. “I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through since she passed away.”

  “It’s been tough. Her death was sudden. It happened on the last day of our divorce trial. She was hit by a fucker who ran a red light and plowed into her. She passed away before she reached the hospital.”

  I hadn’t known this man for more than seven hours, but as he told me about his wife—or ex-wife—dying and having to raise his daughter on his own, I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go. I wanted to make everything better. Do whatever needed to be done to make sure he and Cheyenne didn’t experience any more heartache in their lifetimes.

  But that wasn’t reality.

  People experience heartaches every day. Some are minor and some are major. We learn from them. No matter what the heartache is, we grow, we become better people—fighters—survivors. I’m not big on going to church, but I believe in God, and I know he would never make someone face any situation that they couldn’t overcome—except death, of course.

  “I bet that was tough on Cheyenne. I’ve practically lived without my mom since I was thirteen.”

  “Practically?” he asked, changing the subject to me.

  “When I was thirteen, I came home to a note and one hundred dollars. The note said that she had to go out of town on business for a week. She had business trips at least once a month after that. Some lasted more than a week, some lasted only the weekend. The trips occurred like that until I was sixteen, and then she decided to make the trips longer. Oh and did I mention that I have a younger sister? I had to take care of her.”

  “How much younger is she than you?”

  “Seven years.”

  “Wow, seven? That’s a big gap.”

  “Well, we don’t have the same father, not that either of us knows who our father is.”

  “Sounds like an episode of Maury or something.” Easton laughed, lightening the conversation.

  “I know, right?” I couldn’t believe that I was telling this guy who I’d just met my life story, but I was completely comfortable with him. Part of me felt as though the more we talked, the more I’d share no matter what it was. Maybe it was because we only had a few days and then I’d never see him again. I didn’t know, but it felt good … right.

  We both laughed and stood at the back of the ship, looking out into the endless black night until it faded. The water around the boat rippled as it went through. The night air had turned cold, and I shivered in my strapless pleated chiffon dress and strappy heels.

  “I’m not trying to put the moves on you,” he said, holding up his hands in defense, “but do you want to go back to my room? We can talk where it’s warmer. Or we can go back to the mixer if you want to do that.”

  “Um … yeah, sure, we can go back to your room. I’m done drinking for the night, and it’s freezing out here.”

  As we walked to his room, I started to get nervous. I had no intention of doing anything with him besides talking, but part of me wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss him. To see if I got those butterflies in my belly. To see if there was a spark like I’d read about in my romance novels.

  When we arrived at his room and walked in, I awkwardly sat on the uncomfortable love seat. Easton propped himself up on one of the beds, kicked off his shoes and got comfortable, so I decided to take my heels off. I might be here a while.

  We started off talking about where we lived, what he did for work and the reason he and Avery named the bar Halo. We talked about how I met Nicole, how he met Avery, and then we went deeper; we had no secrets to hide from each other … like we had been best friends our whole lives.

  The more he talked, the more I stared into his eyes from across the tiny room. I tried not to look anywhere but his face, but it was hard. The way his button-down, long-sleeved, navy blue shirt fit his toned chest, especially when he leaned against the wall, was distracting. There was no doubt in my mind that he had a rock hard body under his dress shirt. My mouth watered at the thought and I tried to shake it, trying to think of Jared—think of him at home playing “Call of Duty.” But then Easton smiled as he said something about Cheyenne and my heart melted.

  Jared had no plans for a family that I knew of and that was what I wanted, so I let my mind wander and drink in Easton because I knew I wouldn’t touch—I would look, but not touch.

  “Do you want to tell me about your four year problem with your boyfriend?” he asked, sounding as though he wanted to give me advice.

  I sighed. “He’s a lazy asshole.”

  “So why are you with him? Does he make you happy?”

  “Sometimes. I think I’m just with him because it’s what I know. We’ve been together for so long, and we live together … I just don’t know if the grass is greener.”

  “The grass is definitely greener in this case. You should never doubt your relationship. If you do, you search for answers. And if you’re still unhappy, then it’s time to move on.”

  “I know, you’re right. Is that why you got divorced?”

  “Um—no.” He chuckled. “Honestly, I got married because we were stupid. We had Cheyenne early on because we were stupid. And we were getting divorced because I was stupid.” He sighed. “I used to model when we were married and lived in Long Beach. I would go to New York a lot to do gigs, and the girls would throw themselves at me. I was young, stupid and didn’t think about my wife or my kid at home waiting for me. Since Dana died, I’ve had to raise Cheyenne on my own, and I like to think I’ve grown up a lot. All the women that I mess around with now know that I’m not looking for a relationship and just want to hook-up.”

  So he is a player.

  “Don’t you think Cheyenne needs a mother figure in her life?”

  “She has my mom. She only lives down the street from us.”

  I gave a sarcastic laugh. “A grandma is not a mom. They play different roles. I know from personal experience that I missed having a mother in the picture full-time, and I know Bailee did, too. I just think that if you have the choice to have a family again, you should. My mother chose not to have a family, and that’s what shaped me as a person.”

  He grinned and his gaze went from my feet all the way back up to my eyes before he spoke, “You seem like you turned out well, though.”

  My cheeks warmed and I swallowed hard before speaking, “I did, but there’s a place in my heart that’s missing the mother figure—hell, parents in general. But I’m thirty now, and I need to start thinking about starting my family. I don’t want my kids growing up and seeing mistakes like my mom made. I want to have children with someone that is going to be there to help me raise them.” I paused regretting what I’d said because of Cheyenne’s mother not being able to be there to help Easton raise her. “Sorry.” He gave a tight smile and I continued. “But, you need to grow up and shape Cheyenne’s future. She’s going to look up to you someday. All girls with dads do. Don’t let her see you treating women as toys because she’ll think that’s how she should be treated by the guys in her life.”

  “I’m going to call you Oprah, and Avery is Dr. Phil. Between the two of you, I will never need to go to a therapist.”

  I threw the pillow at him and we laughed. It was good to lighten the mood, but the words that he said were ringing in my ear. I needed to leave Jared and find someone who would treat me like a princess.

  “Well, since Avery’s not back yet, and it’s getting late, you might just be sleeping here,” Easton said, getting up to rummage in his suitcase. He handed me a pair of his boxers and a Halo T-shirt from his bar. I took them and
stepped into the bathroom to change. I stared at the logo on the T-shirt; it was black with a gold halo above white angel wings with the name “Halo” across them. As I pulled the shirt over my head, I took a deep breath. It smelled like cedar and citrus. Easton’s scent.

  I crawled into Avery’s untouched bed, and Easton turned off the light and crawled into his bed. We continued to talk for a long time. He told me how he had to tell a five-year-old that her mother died and how she took it. I cried in the dark as he told me how Cheyenne always visits her mother’s grave and talks to her whenever she’s in California. We also talked about me raising Bailee some more and how my mother almost forgot my birthday. Before long our conversation started to fade, and I closed my eyes.

  I drifted off, not waking until Avery walked into the room.

  “So, you and Brooke, too?” Avery asked as soon as Brooke shut the door behind her. His hair was a mess, and he had a huge grin on his face like he’d just had sex all night long.

  I groaned, rolling over to try to go back to sleep. “No.”

  “Easton Crawford couldn’t seal the deal, but I did?” The fucking bastard chuckled.

  “I wasn’t trying to seal any deal. She has a boyfriend, remember?”

  “You’re still acting like that has ever stopped you before,” he said, rummaging through his luggage.

  “It’s too early to get the third degree from you. Why aren’t you still shacked up with Nicole instead of bothering me?”

  “It’s not that early. And if we want breakfast, we have to get ready now.”

  I had never been on a cruise before, so I didn’t realize that they dictated when you could and could not eat. I thought that you could eat twenty-four/seven, which was true, but you wouldn’t get the sit-down meal that they served on a set schedule. Plus, I knew that I would have breakfast, dinner and hopefully lunch with Brooke since we were at the same table.

  After Avery had washed the smell of pussy from his body, I took my turn in the shower, and we headed to meet the girls for breakfast. The ship was on its way to Puerto Vallarta, and we were at sea for the next two days. Originally, Avery had wanted to go to the pool and scope out all the broads in bikinis, but now that he was already getting laid, I wasn’t sure what the plan would be.