Chapter Six
Calli
What a prick.
What an actual giant fucking prick this guy is! I can’t believe how he spoke to me, and everyone else. The buzz died as soon as he opened his mouth. Now everyone is acting like they’ve been chastised by the strictest teacher in the school.
How dare he say I’m distracting. If I’d known he is the guy I am giving my money to, I would never have set foot in this damn shop.
Sin’s warm hand wraps around my wrist because she can see how worked up I am. I’m seconds from ripping this guy a new one for embarrassing me like that.
At first, I was stunned to see the delivery guy from my apartment. It’s so odd he’s a tattoo artist as well. He is next level hot.
Until he opens his mouth. The sexy little wink and smirk he gave me last week are nowhere in sight. Now he’s pissed and blaming me for it. I half rise and Sin pulls me down.
“I wouldn’t,” Shane mutters without looking at me.
“Does he speak to you like that all the time?” I hiss.
“No, he’s…” he searches for a word. “Intense.”
“He’s an asshat,” I mumble.
“At times,” Shane laughs. “But he’s a good guy. Like I said, intense.”
“That’s no excuse to treat people the way he does,” I huff, folding my arms over my chest then immediately regret it, hissing at the shock of pain from my nipples.
Oh, and the way he looked at my nipples. Absolute sleazebag. Seeing him checking me out again did things to me. Not anymore. No man gets to speak to me the way he did and get any further attention. Unless it’s giving him shit back.
“On a scale of one to ten, how bad was it?”
It takes a few seconds to recalibrate and realize Sin is asking about the piercings, not how angry I am at Garrett. As surreptitiously as I can, I glance at him, but his back is to me, and he’s hunched over the man he is tattooing.
“Seven,” I focus back on Sin. “Until I bash them, then it’s a hundred and seven.”
Shane chuckles again. He’s a nice kid, far too nice to be working for that dickhead. He won’t get any more of my time or attention. I focus on the tattoo on my best friend’s collarbone. It’s pretty, with swirling calligraphy that looks as if some renaissance age master designed it. He’s added in some blue flowers, Sin’s favorite color, weaving in and out of the word ‘Jericho’.
“What do you think he will say about this?” I lean back in my chair, trying not to grimace too much at the burning sensation on my boobs.
“The same as these guys,” she snorts. “I shouldn’t be getting his name.”
“Why is it so superstitious?”
“Most of the cover up work we do in here is ex partners names.”
I glance at the man with the Irish accent. He’s leaned over Ruby’s upper thighs, but his eyes are on me now and he winks.
“Case and point.” He gives Ruby a stern look.
“I already told you, Jericho and I are endgame.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I felt the same way about Jared, but I hate even thinking about him, never mind speaking his name. Sin’s eyes are burning into the side of my head, like she is reading every erratic thought running through it.
“Besides, it's for me, not him.”
“That makes no sense,” I shake my head at her.
“It’s pretty though,” she responds.
It is, on that we can agree. For the next hour, I watch Shane finish the tattoo. The light, friendly banter started up not too long after I first came back into the room.
Luckily, Garrett the Grump didn’t tell everyone to pipe down. He didn’t get involved, and spent most of his time focused on his tattoo. He chats with the guy, but not loud enough for anyone to hear over the buzzing, music, and chatter.
Not that I am watching him or anything.
Sin pokes me on the knee, startling me. Her eyes move to Garrett and back again. I scowl and make a point of staring straight at her. Shane looks between us, a bemused expression on his face. He doesn’t know my friend and I are having a silent argument. I can read her mind. She thinks Garrett is hot, she thinks we should have angry, passionate sex.
My eyes narrow and Sin laughs.
“I have no clue what is going on right now, but my sister is right,” Shane mutters.
“About what?” Sin asks.
“Girls are psychic.”
“Psycho, you mean,” Phoenix laughs. He’s walking past us as Shane spoke. Suddenly, he ducks and grabs the back of his head, looking down at the floor. “Did you just throw a candy at me?” he asks. Lucky is behind him with her arms crossed.
“Did you call women psychos?”
He gives her a cocky grin, then leans one arm against the reception counter as Lucky circles it. She busies herself with a huge black book, writing in it, ignoring Phoenix, who is staring at her as if he isn’t sure what to say or do.
Sin chuckles beside me.
“You’re all done,” Shane announces. “Wanna go check it out in the mirror?”
My best friend grins and I shift the chair back so she can hop off the bed. She hurries over to the wall that has a row of three tall mirrors, each with their own unique frame. Shane is clearing up and swapping his gloves while Sin admires the tattoo. I’ll wait until she comes back to check it out.
My eyes move beyond Shane to see Garrett. He stands, arching his back and rolling his shoulder, loosening up after being hunched over his guy for so long. I try not to notice how his muscles move under the T-shirt. He’s not overly muscular, but he is built, and his shirt clings in some places. As I move my eyes up over his pecs and neck, I’m startled to see him staring at me.
My cheeks flush and I turn away. Fuck, the guy is mean, and I’m ogling him. And he caught me.
“I love it,” Sin declares and gives Shane a hug. He grins, pleased as punch.
“Let me get it wrapped up for you,” he says.
I lean over to get a closer look and give Sin a thumbs up. I don’t know if Jericho will be irritated. I’m pretty sure he’s going to love it.
We admire Lucky’s tattoo while Ruby gets finished up, then all stand and look at hers. She’s pleased too and part of me wonders if I shouldn’t have got one. Maybe Garrett could have…
Nope, stop right there. The surly tattoo/delivery guy is not going anywhere near me.
Once everyone is cleaned up, we all settle our bills and head for the door. Phoenix and Sumner are talking by the counter. Lucky has followed us to see us out. I’m not sure where Shane has gone, but Garrett is standing over his client, taking off his gloves, his eyes locked on me.
I glare right back. Like I’m trying to get the last word in on a non-existent argument. He needs to know I’m not intimidated by him and don’t appreciate the shit he said. My ire rises when his lip kicks up on one side in an amused smirk. Then he turns away.
And I feel stupid. Sin links my arm, drawing me back to reality. The four of us head back to the pub down the street.
I try to push thoughts of the hot, arrogant, annoying tattooist out of my head, but he’s wormed his way inside. Every time I let myself think about his face, I get annoyed all over again.
And hot and bothered.
My mind flashes on things I shouldn’t be thinking about with someone like him, but I have no control over it. He’s gorgeous. Even angry, acting like a miserable old man, he’s fucking hot.
No one ever said there was anything wrong with fantasizing about someone you can’t have. And I can’t have him. I don’t even want him. I’m never going to see the irritating asshole again.
Over the next few weeks, I grow more comfortable in the life I’m making here. Working at Swirl and Grinds is a long way from what I thought my life would be like, but I’m enjoying it. Ruby is fun and we get along so well, she makes the long days easier to bear.
I’ve taken the step of exploring the neighborhood, and I’ve chatted with a few of my neighbors. They’re not what I would call friends, enough to say hello when we cross paths.
One guy has been more friendly than the others. He is a professor at the local university. Slightly older than me, he’s handsome in a stiff, nerdy kind of way. Totally not my type. He’s interested, but it will not happen, so I keep things light if I run into him.
Jericho convinced me to loan a bike from him, something I haven’t done since I was a kid. It is all great. Everyone has welcomed me.
Sometimes, when I slow down and am alone in my small apartment, part of me pines for what I lost. Not my ex-husband, not even my family, but the job I loved, the company I created and nurtured, and the clients I became friends with.
None of them would speak to me after. It didn’t matter whose fault it was. They didn’t care I was as much in the dark as everyone else about what Jared did. I’m tainted by association.
I guess people I thought were my friends really weren’t. They couldn’t see past the scandal. Or how badly my heart and soul broke.
My free time is spent sketching. I’ve always been a talented artist, but my interest took me into engineering and building design, which meant my skill set changed, adapting to modern techniques and using computer software to design.
Here, I don’t have any software or tech, so I sketch. One thing I enjoy on my days off is riding my bike around the city. Finding interesting buildings where I set up camp and draw them.
We meet Lucky regularly at the pub. Sometimes she has Shane with her, and I’ve seen Phoenix and Sumner around too, but never Garrett.
Why doesn’t he come out with the guys who work at Blackhawk Ink? They’ll get the wrong idea if I ask. The times I’ve thought about him are when I accidentally catch my nipple piercings on something.
Katja and Lucky aren’t wrong. The sensitivity in these things is like a shot of pure ecstasy. I can only imagine how much better it will be with someone else playing with them. Which is when my mind turns to him .
I shut the door on those thoughts. Most of the time. It’s been weeks since I saw him, and I shouldn’t be letting him into my brain, given how rude he is.
“You ready?” A knock on the bathroom door startles me out of my thoughts of Garrett.
“Yep.” I check my lipstick and return to the empty coffee shop where Ruby is waiting. She looks cute in a little black leather skirt and electric blue T-shirt with a slashed neck. She’s tied her hair up and has white framed sunglasses pushed up on her head.
We closed twenty minutes ago and have been getting ready for happy hour. It’s become something of a standing date for Ruby, Sin and me. Lucky joins when she can and sometimes Jericho has come along, but he loses interest in our topics of conversation.
The pub is busy as usual. Sin is already at our table, the drinks lined up. Lucky is standing behind Shane’s chair with her forearms resting on his shoulders and her chin on the top of his head. She’s so short, she doesn’t need to bend over.
We greet everyone, and I pick up my pint of Guinness. What can I say? I’ve grown a taste for it
“Hey, you two, I was telling Sin and Jer it’s Shane’s birthday at the weekend. He’s finally allowed to drink in here without getting the place shut down,” she whispers comically loud. Shane tilts his head and scowls at her. She ignores him.
“Wow, that’s a big deal,” Sin says. “You’re going to be a real man.”
“Finally,” he deadpans, making me laugh. I get the impression he gets teased about this a lot.
“We’re throwing him a party and you’re all coming.”
“Are you going to tell us when?” Ruby asks.
“Saturday. It’s at the shop.”
“You’re having a party in the shop?” Jericho is sitting on the edge of his seat with his elbows resting on the table.
“Yep, we’re shutting down for the night. It’s gonna be a blast.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask if the moody owner is allowing that.
“Garrett is letting you have a party?” Jericho asks. “Are you high?”
“Nope,” Lucky beams. “He might have hit his head or something, but when I floated the idea, he said it was fine.”
There is a lot more talk about what a rarity that is and whether they should have a back-up plan in case he changes his mind. Lucky is convinced all is well.
“Everyone is coming, right?”
There are a lot of agreements and nods. Lucky turns to me. Sin lifts a brow. She’s brought up Garrett a couple of times since getting my piercings. I shut her down fast. I don’t need men right now. I think back to a couple of weeks ago when we met up for lunch.
“I’m talking about sex, not men,” Sin says.
“I think you’ll find that a man is involved, therefore your argument is bullshit.”
“Don’t lie to me, Calliope. You’d jump his bones in a heartbeat if you got the chance. Any self-respecting woman would take up that offer.”
“Sinclair,” I give back her full name. “I do not need a man. I do not need sex. I am perfectly happy with how my life is right now, thank you. I’m focusing on me.”
“And there is nothing wrong with a little self-love, but sometimes you need the real thing.”
“Ugh, stop it. I’m not ready.”
“Babe, I know what you went through was shit, and I know you find it hard to trust, but I’m not talking about a relationship. I’m talking about sex. Just sex.”
“Stop saying sex.”
“You gotta admit, he’s hot.”
After a moment, I agree. “Yeah, he’s hot. But he’s also a raging dick.”
“Bet he has a raging dick too.”
If I agree, I’ll see him again. Doesn’t mean I have to spend any time around him. There will be tons of other people there too. I’m not getting involved, whether it's sex or anything else. I face Sin dead on knowing what she is thinking.
He might be hot, but I can’t stand the man. Not even a little.
“I’d love to,” I tell Lucky.