Chapter 46
Declan
“Whoa, whoa, whoa – at least buy a guy some dinner first, will you?”
I toss the shirt I just took off at Sean’s head, but he ducks before it makes contact. “Fucker,” I mutter.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Frankie says from her spot perched on a stool near the front desk. “He’s enjoying the view, too.”
“Too?” Sean demands. “What’s this too? You’re not enjoying anything.”
Frankie grins wickedly at her husband. She knows exactly which buttons to push to rile him up, and she takes every opportunity she gets. “Sure, honey.”
“Sit down,” Sean barks at me, glaring like it’s my fault his wife is joking about checking me out.
I can’t help needling him, too. “Maybe if you served something better for dinner, she wouldn’t be checking out the menu.”
“Fuck you. You’re really going to provoke the guy who’s about to be poking a needle into your chest?”
He’s got a point. I’ll save the rest of my shit talking for when he’s done.
I settle on his chair and get comfortable.
It’s long after closing time and the sun has finally set, though people still bustle past on the sidewalk outside the shop.
It might be a Tuesday, but it’s also summertime and at least half the people in town are on vacation.
The restaurants and bars all stay open late to accommodate them, and it reminds me of all the cities I’ve lived in over the years, just on a much smaller scale.
Though none of them ever felt like home, I do miss some of the hustle and bustle.
I can only imagine how this place is going to feel over the winter. Like a ghost town, probably.
I watch as Sean sets up his station and sanitizes the spot on my chest he’s about to ink. “I can’t believe you’re finally getting some color,” he says, shaking his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“You and me both.”
“Why now?” he asks, almost offhandedly.
His feigned nonchalance doesn’t fool me.
He’s heard me swear up and down at least a dozen times over the years that I’ll never get a color tattoo.
When he inked the phoenix on my back, he begged and pleaded to let him add some color, as is typical for American traditional tattoos.
I told him there wouldn’t be a drop of color on my body, not then and not ever. And I’d meant it at the time.
But things change. People change. Life happens – a new job, a new town, a future that hadn’t seemed like a possibility before.
People fall in love. They also fight. Things fall apart, then come back together – I hope.
“Felt like the right time,” I tell him. I can tell he wants to push further, but he doesn’t. He was confused when I told him about the tattoo I wanted, but downright stunned when I told him it needed to be full color. He was so stuck on the color, he never thought to question the design.
The hum of the machine and the sting of the needle jabbing in and out of my skin is a welcome distraction to help drown out my thoughts that haven’t quieted down in days. At least until Frankie wanders over and plops down onto my chair a few feet away.
“I’m going to have to sanitize that all over again in the morning,” I complain.
Frankie shrugs. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to cut into your pining after Elsie time.”
Sean grins and holds out his fist for his wife to bump. “She clocked your pathetic ass.”
“Shut up.”
“Not until you tell us what’s going on.”
Beside me, Frankie kicks her feet up and leans back, trying to get comfortable.
Her belly seems to grow by the day, though she still has a few months to go.
It’s hard to believe there’s a little human in there, a miniature mix of two of my favorite people.
I’ve never cared for kids much, but I can’t wait to meet this one.
Uncle Deck has a good ring to it, I think.
“Elsie and I are taking a break,” I tell them, not for the first – or even the second or third – time. “Just have to work through some shit.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Sean says, shaking his head. He keeps working on my ink, raising his voice to be heard over the machine. “I’d bet every dollar I own that you’re in love with that woman. So what the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m not doing anything,” I bite out. “I’m giving her the space that she needs right now. You think I’m having a good fucking time?”
“No,” they say in unison.
“Which is why we’re wondering why you’re letting her get away,” Frankie adds.
“I’m not letting her get away,” I argue. “I made my feelings known and now the ball is in her court. She needs to figure out if she’s ready to be in a relationship with me or not.”
Sean gives me a skeptical look. “So, what – you’re just going to sit around and wait for her to come to some conclusion on her own?”
“No. Sitting around this town and waiting is exactly what I’m not going to do.”
I can’t help but think of New York and the job that’s waiting for me there, if I want it. What would it be like, to just pack up and go? To lose myself in another city where few people know me, and nobody cares about what I’m doing or who I’m dating.
A fresh start. Something I didn’t think I’d get to have again when I moved to this town.
“Speaking of not waiting around…” I glance at Sean, whose disappointment is already etched into every line of his face. “Can I talk to you about something?”