Chapter 8 #2
“Wow, that looks awesome. I told you he wouldn’t screw it up.” She raises her voice to yell across the shop to me. “Kass, your friend is here.”
“Be right there.” Again, I don’t want to seem too eager.
Usually, I don’t have this hard of a time playing it cool around women I’m interested in.
But something about this one has me tripping over air.
It’s a strange experience, but not the first time I’ve felt this way.
It reminds me of when I first met Daisy, way back in high school.
I’ve always chalked up those unique feelings to me being a high school boy, but here they are again.
The guy whose calf I’m tattooing has been grunting and moaning this whole time, so I’m sure he won’t mind a little break.
“I’ll be back in five, okay? You need some water or anything.”
“No, I’m good. I’m just gonna lie here.”
I glance down at his face that’s resting on the chair and see that his forehead is covered in beads of sweat.
“Alright. Just relax for a bit.”
“Mhmmm.” The noise that comes out of him almost sounds like a whimper. I’ve found that it’s always the big tough guys who struggle the most with the needles.
I take my gloves off and walk over to the lobby area where B and Raina are chatting.
“Hey.”
“Hello.”
Raina fills the awkward silence that follows. “B showed me the piece you did. It’s healing up nicely.”
I hesitate before asking, but in the end I do. “Mind if I take a look?”
“Sure.” She lifts her shirt for me.
Again, she’s not wearing a bra. I know this because the height at which she’s holding her shirt flashes a sliver of her breasts. It makes my mouth water, and I find myself licking my lips. Fuck, I hope she didn’t see that.
I duck down to examine the healing skin. “Yeah, it looks great.”
She lowers her shirt and smiles at me as I stand up straight again.
“So…my jacket?”
“Right. It’s in my office. I’ll go grab it for you.”
“I'll come with you."
Something gets caught in my throat, and I can't reply. The thought of having B alone in my office again makes me nervous, in a good way.
Luckily, Raina butts in to save me from my speechless episode. "I was actually just heading out. It was so nice to see you again, B. Hope to see you back soon." She pats B on the shoulder and turns to walk out the front door. She didn't grab her purse, her jacket, or her keys. Weird.
B clears her throat to get my attention. Right. The jacket.
I walk back toward my office, and B follows. As we pass by my client, I check to make sure he's still there and didn't bolt out the back door while he had the chance.
Nope, still there.
I open my office door and step aside to let B in first. She crosses my path, leaving behind a trail of her perfume that has my mind flashing back to when I had her bent over my desk.
My dick starts to swell in my pants, and I have to take a moment to clear my thoughts before I follow her in.
She doesn't notice, though, she's too distracted by the items hanging on my wall.
"Didn't get a good enough look last time?"
She doesn't bother turning around. "I was a little preoccupied."
She runs her finger across a black frame that hangs amongst many others on my gallery wall.
"Those are from an old movie theater my great-grandpa used to run in the 1930s."
"They're really cool." She walks further down the wall, looking at the other two posters in frames. "Your parents must really treasure these if they're in this good of condition."
"I got them from an uncle when my grandparents died." Not wanting to get into my complicated, non-existent relationship with my parents, I leave it at that.
I don't want her to leave, but I do need to get back to my client at some point, so I go behind my desk and grab her jacket off my chair.
As I round the desk again, I glance down at a framed picture of Clover and me.
I never hide the fact that I have a kid, but it can sometimes be an awkward conversation, so I tend to save it for the second or third date.
I want them to get to know me first, before they judge me and run off.
Maybe that's wrong of me, but after several first dates gone wrong, that's just how I handle it.
"Here you go."
She turns away from the gallery wall to face me. I'm not sure if I startled her by how close I'm standing, but I notice her breathing start to pick up. She takes the jacket from my outstretched hand, opens it, and starts sliding one arm in.
"Here," I grab the collar of the jacket, "let me." She lets it go, and I wrap the jacket around her, holding it while she slides the other arm in.
"I am capable of putting my own jacket on, you know."
I'm still standing close to her, holding the front zipper of her jacket in both hands. "I know. But sometimes it's nice to let people do things for you."
"That's not really a concept I'm accustomed to."
"I can tell."
We're so close that all I'd have to do is lean down a bit, and her lips would be on mine. God, I want to kiss her so fucking bad. My skin is literally tingling, begging me to lean into her.
But I don't.
Instead, I let her go, stepping back to a safe distance. "I should get back to my client."
"I have to go too."
"Hot date later today?"
A smirk tugs at her lips as she saunters past me. "Maybe."
I clench my fists at my sides and grind my teeth together. Why does that bother me so much? I've literally been on one "not a date" with her.
"Sounds fun."
She continues walking toward the door, with a little more pep in her step now. "Yeah, it should be."
I follow her, not bothering to shut my office door behind me. I know I'll need to go back in there to collect myself before I return to my client. This girl has me all riled up for no reason.
When we get to the front door, she finally slows to a stop and looks over her shoulder. "Bye, Kassinova."
Hearing her call me by Raina's stupid nickname for me grinds my gears. "Bye, Briella." I looked closer at her paperwork after our date and found out what the B stands for.
Her smile suddenly fades, her face hardening into a scowl. "Don't you ever fucking call me that again."
"If I ever see you again."
That scowl turns into a devilish grin. "Right...if you can keep away from me."
With that, she leaves me standing there alone, watching as she leaves. As soon as she's out of my sight, I run both my hands down my face and groan. Fuck, this girl is going to drive me insane with her little cat-and-mouse games.
When I get back to my office, I'm startled by the sight of Raina in my chair. "Fuck! What are you doing here? I thought you left."
"Without my coat, my keys, or my purse?"
"I did notice that."
"But let me guess, you were too distracted by your lover girl that it just went right over your head."
"Something like that." I run my hand through my hair. "Wait. No, she's not my lover girl, whatever the hell that means."
"I heard you two flirting it up in here."
I shake my head. There's too much confusing information all at once. "You heard us?"
"Yeah. When I walked out the front, I watched through the window and waited for you guys to get in your office, then I ran back in and eavesdropped outside your door."
"Raina, that's messed up."
"What? If it's as innocent as you say it is, then what's the problem?"
"You know that's messed up. Plus, we didn't even say anything suggestive. We were literally talking about my posters."
"Oh, honey, it wasn't what you said. It was how you said it. I could hear the lust in your voices, even through that solid wood door."
"You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"I know. But you love me."
"I do, but that doesn't mean I'm not about to kick you out of my office." I shove my thumb in the direction of the door behind me.
"Alright, I'll actually leave this time." She gets up out of my chair and walks over to me. "Just don't let her scare you, okay. She may seem tough, but it's just a front."
"Like you?"
"Exactly like me."
"Well, now I'm even more scared."
She chuckles and pats my cheek, like I'm her child. "I'll see you later." She walks past me and out my door.
"Are you still good to pick up Clover from school today? I have that late appointment scheduled."
"Of course! Come by for dinner when you're done, okay? We'll have a drink and talk about your complicated love life."
"Goodbye, Raina," I deadpan with enough force to tell her I'm done with this conversation.