Chapter 13
Thirteen
DARCIE
I walked into the tattoo parlor and immediately loved it. The atmosphere had a fun and hip vibe, making me trust their work. I was already in love with all the designs I’d seen on LiveIt.
A guy sat at the front counter reading, so I walked up to him with confidence, smiling big as I braced my arms against the counter. “Hi, I’m here for an appointment.”
“Name?” he asked in a bored tone, not looking up.
“Darcie.”
“Right. You’re with one of our new artists, LJ. Can you sign this waiver?” He handed me a clipboard, still more focused on his book.
“Why do I have to sign a waiver? Are they not good?” He rolled his eyes, and I wanted to throat punch the jerk.
Leaning forward more, I pressed my boobs together. He instantly dropped his eyes, gulping. Stroking the arm holding out the form, I finally managed to get his attention.
“Um, what did you say?” he asked, swallowing.
“Why do I have to sign a waiver? It won’t hurt, will it?” I purred.
“It’s for liability, not the artist. She’s actually one of our best. And um, it might hurt. Is that a problem?”
I stroked my finger up and down, looking up through my eyelashes. “A little pain can be good,” I said, using my best bedroom voice. He gulped again, nodding so fast he looked like a bobble-head. He eventually got enough courage to lean closer.
“So, hey, I get off in a few if you want to grab a drink after.”
I pouted. “I don’t know. I’m not really interested in a threesome with your phone. Good luck with that.”
A girl had walked up while I’d been talking and stood back watching. She laughed when she heard what I said, and I looked over, smiling at her.
“Please tell me that you're my client?” she asked, grinning.
“Um, she is LJ,” the guy said, blushing. “She needs to sign the waiver.”
I grabbed it, signed it quickly, and handed it back. Walking over to her, I grabbed her arm, and she led me to a room. “So, I wanted a tattoo, but your piercings are fabulous. So, now, I’m not sure.”
“Why choose?” she said, smiling.
“I like how you think. Yes! Let’s do it.” She giggled, showing me where to sit.
“I’m LJ. What did you have in mind today?” She sat on a stool, scooting closer.
“I want a rose, but like a badass rose.”
“Okay, and where would you like this badass rose.”
“See, I like you. You don’t question it. Hmm?” I tapped my chin. “I’ve been debating, actually. Shoulder blade or my pelvic bone.”
LJ pulled out a pad of paper, beginning to draw as she asked questions. “How big do you want it? Do you want thorns or just the bloom?”
“Just the bloom, and I’m open to suggestions. This is my first. Where did you get yours?”
She paused, looking up. “Oh, well, I don’t have a tattoo yet.”
“What! Okay, there has to be a story there. I’ve got all the time in the world, so how about you tell me.”
“You’re kind of pushy, you know.” She bit her lip, and I braced my head on my hand, giving her my best puppy dog eyes, hoping they worked on girls too. “Fine,” she sighed, smiling. “Last question before I tell you my sordid tale.”
“Oh, now this sounds juicy. And hit me with it, girl.”
“Are you wanting your tattoo for yourself or to show it off to others?”
“Hmm, that’s a good point. I think for myself.”
“Then smaller on your pelvic bone is my suggestion.”
I nodded, agreeing. “I like it. Okay, spill.”
She started to sketch more but started to talk. “It happens to involve a guy.”
“Of course,” I said, nodding. “The best stories always do.”
She smiled, the pen a soothing sound as it brushed against the paper. She flipped it over, showing me. “Okay, that’s perfect. Are you in my mind or something?” LJ shrugged, blushing a little. “So, this boy?”
She giggled, the sound light, and I liked it. “We met as pen pals. He wanted to be a tattoo artist and said he’d give me my first one. He even drew one he designed for me. It was beautiful.”
“I don’t understand. Why don’t you have it then?”
She pulled out her equipment, motioning for me to lay down and unzip my jeans. “He lived on the west coast, and I lived north of here. I was, um, getting serious with someone and told him I couldn’t be his pen pal anymore.”
“Wait, how long did you guys write?”
“Around eight years.”
“Holy shit! Did you have feelings for him?”
“I mean, yeah. I was fifteen when I started writing to him, and I fell in love with him over the years from writing to each other. But in the end, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t who he said he was, and then I lost the only guy I cared about.”
“Whoa, that went dark fast.”
Her shoulder tensed. “That’s just the past few years; that’s not even the past few months,” she mumbled.
“My ears are ready to listen,” I said, hoping she’d take it as an invitation. Her eyes held shadows like mine, and I recognized the heartbreak in them. This girl and I were kindred spirits.
“You sure you want to hear this?” she asked, looking up.
I nodded, smiling softly at her. “Yep. You and me, I can tell we’re gonna be friends. Might as well use this time to get to know all the baggage.”
She laughed, smiling. “Okay, you asked for it.”
Over the next hour as she tattooed me, she told me the story of Simon and Slade, and how she’d ended up in Nashville.
“That settles it,” I said. “You’re coming out with me dancing. It’s the best cure for heartbreak.”
“Hmm, I don’t know.”
“Come on, bestie. I promise you will enjoy it. I just so happen to know the perfect place.”
“Fine,” she rolled her eyes but smiled. “And you’re done.”
I looked down in awe at the rose she’d drawn. “I love it. Thank you.”
“Of course. Still wanting that piercing?”
“Yes, but I think I'll hold off on it for today. That way, I have another excuse to come and visit you, LJ.”
“It’s Lennox, actually. I just use LJ here, but I prefer Lennox.”
“You got it. It suits you better. So, where do you live?” I asked.
“Here.”
“Ha, ha. Don’t we all live at work? But really.” I lifted an eyebrow, telling her to spill.
“No, really. I live upstairs. I’ll have Ethan finish your care, and I’ll go change. Thankfully, you’re my last client, so I’m free. Just come up the back stairs if I’m not done.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She walked out, giving instructions to the guy who’d ignored me earlier. He was all red as he put ointment on me and wrapped it. I didn’t care; I was more excited about making a friend on my own.
Lennox came down a few minutes later, and we headed over to the Wild Horse Saloon. When we walked in, I saw Damon was at the bar, and I rolled my eyes. We’d gotten into it the other day over me being a manager. It was my job to make the schedule now, and he didn’t like one of the days I’d given him, stating it was an agreement with the last manager he had that day off. He refused to tell me why, so I said he’d have to work it.
He called in sick, pissing me off even more. We were now in a brutal battle for dominance. He pushed my buttons, and I refused to give in. It was only a matter of time now before one of us folded. I was holding out that it would be him.
“Who’s that?” Lennox asked, noticing the hate-filled eye war we had going on.
“Damon. The bane of my existence.”
“Hmm, sounds like there’s more to this story.”
“Nope. Come on, we can go to a different bartender.” I pulled her along, ignoring the hot guy at the other end. Tonight was about new friendships, and I was here to dance. Bad boys and their attitudes could stay far away.
“Okay, this has been a blast. We must do it again,” Lennox said as she downed a bottle of water a few hours later.
“Yay! I feel like we’re going to be best friends. Give me your number, and we can hang out more.”
“Sure.” She handed me her phone, and I put in my number, texting myself.
“Come on, I’ll walk you home. You’re on my way. We actually live pretty close to one another.”
“Really? That’s awesome. Thanks for talking me into this. I didn’t realize how much I needed to get out of my comfort zone. Oh, hey, look, there’s Thane. Come and say hello.”
We walked over to a tall guy with blonde hair. He was model attractive, but something about him didn’t do it for me. He hugged Lennox with a possessive glint in his eye, and I wondered if she knew he harbored feelings for her. Interesting new development.
“Thane, this is my new bestie, Darcie.”
“Howdy.” I waved, smiling friendly.
“Nice to meet you,” he said quickly, dropping his eyes back to Lennox. “Can I walk you home?”
“Oh,” she looked at me, and I waved her off.
“It’s fine. I can make it to my place. I do this trek almost every night. But text me, and we’ll grab lunch.”
She pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me tight. Lennox was a great hugger. “Don’t forget to take care of your tattoo.” She pulled back, winking.
“Right. Laters.”
They walked off toward the tattoo parlor. I didn’t want it to seem like I was following them since I had to go in the same direction, so I stood in line to grab some food to take back. Once I had it with me, I started on my journey home, realizing how lonely it felt now. I’d done this a million times, but for some reason, it felt different tonight.
Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through messages. Candi had never showed up, and I wondered what had happened. When I saw the missed messages, my stomach dropped.
Candi: Shit. Darcie. Something terrible is going down. You haven’t had any personal relationships, right?
Candi: That bitch Lucinda busted me, and now they’re going through the whole server.
Candi: I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that my new sugar daddy was from the site. I thought it would keep you safe.
Candi: I’m locked out. What am I going to do? They’ve disabled my account and are holding my funds for this month. I have rent to pay. John’s not going to be happy about this. I’m spiraling.
Candi: Darcie! Call me back asap. I might have a solution.
I hit call on her contact, but it went to voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Call me back.”
I clicked on my email and saw I had new messages from the server. Shit! Looked like they’d locked me out, too. But I thought I’d been careful? I’d never met anyone outside of the chat rooms. Yes, things had gotten personal, but I didn’t know that was wrong.
Fuck. Cowboy would think I’d left. I didn’t know how to get a hold of him, and with Candi locked out too, there wasn’t anyone for me to have reach out to him.
Maybe I could make a fake account? No, that wouldn’t work. I had to provide all of my information to get paid. Shit. Shit. Shit.
My apartment building came into view, and I hurriedly rushed up the stairs. My food was in one hand, my keys in the other as I beelined for my door. If I could check online, then I’d know. I could try to get some answers before it was too late.
My phone started ringing, and I went to reach for it, my food creating a barrier to grab it. Pulling it out, I raised it to my ear to answer. “Hello?”
“Darcie. Shit. Have you gotten on? Did they get you too?”
“I don’t know. I’m just getting home. How did this happen?” I asked, juggling my stuff to open the door. Once inside, I tossed everything onto the counter and opened my computer. I set the phone down, pushing the speaker button.
“Candi, I can’t get in either. Shit. What do we do now?”
“I don’t know. I’m so sorry, Darcie.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, trying not to panic.
“It kind of feels like it. I violated the rule. I fell in love with a client.” She started sobbing, and I soothed her with nonsensical words, but all I could think was I’d never get to talk to Cowboy again.