Page 94 of Rome
“I’m worried about STI testing. I never asked, because I figured I knew the answer, but…you didn’t use a condom with her, did you?” Her voice was soft and filled with pain.
I swallowed hard. I’d known this subject would eventually bite me in the ass, and I should have brought it up sooner.
“No, I didn’t. I thought it was you, and I sure as hell don’t carry those things around anymore. I did get tested, right after. I couldn’t figure out how to bring it up then, without hurting you and upsetting you even more. I got tested again three months later to be sure, and I’m negative for everything, baby girl. I’ll send you the results so you can see them.”
“You don’t need to do that, Caleb. I believe you. I used one with that bartender, but I got tested right after anyway. It was fine.” She paused, and looked like she was on the verge of tears as she quietly confessed, “I didn’t use one with Grant, though. I didn’t…I used my hand to finish him off, but it would still be possible to transmit something. He’d been tested a month before, and showed me the results, but I need to get tested myself just in case. I don’t feel comfortable doing anything until then unless we use protection.”
She tried to pull away, but I wrapped my arms around her and held on tightly, not willing to let her go for even a minute. I kissed the top of her head as I told her it was OK.
“It really is, I just wish to God that I’d never driven you to it.”
She shifted a little so she could peer up at me.
“You took responsibility for your actions that night. Now, you need to let me take responsibility for mine. You didn’t drive me to do anything. I made the choice to go into that room at the bar, no matter how shitty and reckless the choice was. I made the choice to date Grant, no matter how thoughtless and selfish the choice was.” She sniffed and wiped away a stray tear before she continued.
“No, I would never have done those things if you hadn’t betrayed me. I would have happily spent the rest of my life without ever touching another man. But you did, and then I compounded the pain of that betrayal. I will always regret hurting you, Caleb. Always.”
“I know, but you’re making it all better by giving us another chance. We’ll get through this shit, Abby. We’ll keep working through the pain, and working through our feelings, and we’ll come out on the other side stronger and better than ever, I promise you that. Kintsugi, remember? We’ll fill every one of those fuckin’ cracks with gold, and we’re gonna have a beautiful life together.”
“Itwillbe beautiful,” she agreed softly.
“Now, tomorrow, you go to the clinic and get tested. I’m sure it’s fine, but I know you’ll worry if you don’t. Then, when we get the all-clear, I’m going to take you upstairs to our bedroom, and I’m going to love on you until we’re both too exhausted to move. And I’m telling you right now, baby girl, once you let me back into this house, and into your bed, and into your body, I’m never, ever leaving again, and neither are you.” I cupped her face in my hands and kissed the tip of her nose.
“We’re gonna get married again, and it’s ‘til death do we fuckin’ part this time. If one of us fucks up, we work it out. Nobody packs a bag. Nobody leaves. Ever.”
She pinned me with a fierce look. “If you fuck up and drink again, I’ll help you through it, but if you ever fuck up and touch another woman again, it’s over.”
“It will never happen, baby girl,” I assured her. “If you ever touch another man, I won’t stop with just beating his ass the next time. I’ll fuckin’ kill him.”
She jerked in my arms and her mouth dropped open as she stared at me in shock.
“That motherfuckin’ bartender preyed on you, Abs. He knew you were emotionally fragile, and he took advantage of your vulnerability. Then he fuckin’ left you in that room with me, knowing goddamned well I was in a rage. He saw my size, and he saw my cut, and he saw how fuckin’ livid I was, and he still left a defenseless woman in a room alone with a man like me while he ran like a chickenshit little pussy to save his own ass.”
“You would never have hurt me, Caleb,” she chided as she shook her head in disbelief.
“Hell no, I’d cut my own arm off first, but he didn’t know that Abs. He ran to save his own sorry skin and left you behind to face me on your own. So, yeah, I found him smoking behind the bar when I left that day. I beat his ass, left him lying by the dumpster like the trash he was, and told him to get the fuck out of town because I’d kill him if I ever saw him again.”
She gasped and her eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God! What if he calls the police? I can’t let you be arrested over – “
I placed my finger over her mouth to stop her from going off the rails. “He’s not gonna do fuck-all about it, Abs. He’s scared shitless of the MC, and he took my advice and hauled ass to Florida. He’s working at some dive bar on a beach down there. Bull keeps an eye on him for me.”
She finally calmed down and I kissed her again. I made damned sure her mind wasn’t on any man but me before I left her to drive back to my dark, lonely duplex for the night.
The next day, I met with Lacey, Diego, Dax, and Saint and explained to them my new policy on accepting female clients. The other three men grinned as they assured me they had absolutely no problem inking any woman who came into the shop. I arranged with Saint to give me my new tat tomorrow morning before the shop opened, and then we all got on with our day.
I took a little time to look over the bookings I had for the next few months. Most were long-standing male clients anyway, along with a couple of badass biker chicks who were always accompanied by their men, so I knew they were safe to work on.
I did make a few changes, shifting a few women to Saint’s schedule. One was booked for a small piece high up on her inner thigh, another one wanted ink over her pubic mound, and a couple wanted tats on their asses.
The only woman I kept on my books who wanted anything in an intimate area was a breast cancer survivor who wanted to cover some of the scars left behind after her reconstructive surgery. I knew Abby wouldn’t have a problem with that one. I did those kinds of tattoos for free, something which Abby had always fully approved of and encouraged.
I left at four to meet Abby at Kim’s office. I knew she’d gone to get tested on her lunch hour, visiting her doctor’s office for it instead of the clinic since she was due for another birth control shot anyway. We’d spoken briefly on her way back to the school, and she seemed to be doing OK.
We spent the first fifteen minutes of our session discussing how to help Ethan through yet another transition, since I was planning on moving back home over the weekend.
“I just feel terrible that we’re turning his world upside down again. I know this time it’s a good thing, but it’s still a big change for him, and he was just starting to get used to our divorce.”
“Are you having second thoughts, Abs?” I held my breath as I waited for her answer, fully prepared to change her mind if she was reconsidering things. My ass was going to be back home where it belonged – with my clothes in the closet, and my toothbrush next to hers – by Saturday night at the goddamned latest.
