Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Atlas
Feeling better about where Cora and I are at, I head to my station and greet my next client. He found us online and is older than the people we normally see. If I had to guess, I’d say somewhere in his fifties, but he’s a client.
Cora said he specifically requested me because he wanted a stacked heart mandala. No color swirls: he just wanted to see if I would do it in blue lines instead of black. Different, but should still look cool.
Cora is back at reception now and is busy working on our social media page while sipping her coffee.
It fills my chest with a warm, possessive feeling, knowing that not only did she accept my apology, but she seemed happy with what I brought her.
She didn’t throw it out or in my face, so I’m taking it.
I love being the cause of her happiness.
I hope she gets used to it. Providing something for her makes me want to puff my chest out.
“Hey, man,” Aidan greets. “Thanks for fitting me in. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Where are you thinking of for placement?” Looking over his skin, I notice his other tattoos.
Most of them are bright and colorful, but I can tell they weren’t done well.
The color is spotty and faded in some areas, and I’d be willing to bet my stake in the shop that he went to a ‘friend of a friend’s tattoo party’ and got some of these.
There are skulls, snakes, and a blade, so the heart mandala he requested almost seems out of place.
“I’m thinking here.” Aidan points to the inside of his forearm. “I want it to be visible to me at all times. It’s to remember a family member who passed away a few years ago. I’ve been away and recently got back in the area to discover they’re gone.”
Nodding, I prep the area. After removing a few stray hairs and cleaning the skin, I place the stencil to get confirmation before I start.
“Yeah, man. That works for me.”
“Should only take a couple of hours. Just let me know if you need any breaks. Ready?”
After he nods, I get to work. He doesn’t talk, which is fine with me. It gives me time to think. The buzz is just background noise at this point.
Wiping away blood as I work, my mind drifts to Cora.
She sits across the room from me, but I wonder if I’m capable of a relationship.
There’s no doubt I want Cora with every molecule of my being, but I don’t want to frighten her.
I never knew my parents, and Emma never really dated.
Her ex-husband was quite the asshole. I lack guidance, and I’m already on thin ice as it is. I can’t afford to mess this up.
She’s currently laughing at something Kash said, which makes me want to punch him, but I see the way she pats his hand and shakes her head, and I know that she’s entertaining him.
“That his girl?” Aidan interrupts my thoughts.
“Nope.” I don’t offer anything else.
“That your girl?”
“Nope.” I’m not telling this fucker anything.
He laughs. “Not a man of many words, are you?”
“Just focusing, that’s all. Don’t want to give you any bad work, ya know?”
Getting back to it, the silence washes over me.
There’s rock music playing out of the shop speakers, and Rhett is working on a client, but other than that, it’s quiet.
It’s how I prefer to work. It’s not a hair salon, and a lot of my clients do most of the talking, which works for me.
I’m better with silence. When you’re silent, you can’t say the wrong thing.
An hour passes, and then two more. Aidan hasn’t asked for a break, and as I work, I realize he’s just about done.
“So, is she single then?” My hand freezes and my blood heats as I lift my head to look at him.
Why is he so stuck on Cora?
Noticing the change in my demeanor, he shrugs and shifts nervously. “I meant no offense. I just figured if she wasn’t his girl, maybe you were interested. She seems nice enough and about your age.”
Sitting back on my stool, I level him with a look. “She’s nice, but she works with us, so we look after her. We don’t get into each other’s business.”
“Like I said, I meant no offense. Just trying to have a conversation is all.”
“She’s an off-limits topic. We’re about done here, anyway.” Usually, I don’t rush my work, but judging by his other tattoos, this guy probably won’t notice the difference. I want him out of the shop. He’ll be blacklisted too.
Fortunately, Kash has found his way back toward the reception area where Cora sits. He’s pulled up a chair to look at something she’s pointing at on the computer screen. The fucker is sitting too close to her.
Focusing back on the mandala, I ignore the urge to break them apart.
“What the fuck are you doing, Kash?” a shrill voice cuts through the air.
Everyone in the shop turns to the source.
Kash is still seated next to Cora and standing in front of them is Bri, the girl who used to work here.
She slept with Kash and got pissed when he wouldn’t commit to her.
That girl caused so much drama in the shop anytime he had a female client. I was grateful that she finally quit.
Standing, Kash snaps, “What the hell are you doing here?”
The entire shop is completely invested in the unfolding scene.
“I came in to see you. I missed you, Kash.” She pouts, flipping her dark hair to hide her glare at Cora. “But I see you’ve already replaced me with this plain little whore.”
Bri should be thanking every god and deity in existence that she doesn’t have a dick right now because she’d be picking up her teeth if she did.
Cora remains quiet as Kash tugs her behind him in her chair.
“Um, Kash? You good, man?” Seth asks from his station. We share a brief look, an unspoken agreement passing between us. If we have to toss her out on her ass, I have no issues with that.
“Bri, I don’t know what to tell you, but if you’re not here for an appointment, then you need to leave.” Kash points at the door.
Leveling him with a glare, Bri snaps, “So it’s like that? After all I did for you?”
“Bri. Enough. Leave.”
“Should I call the police?” Cora asks, unsure.
“Go ahead, bitch. Watch what happens. You’re just trying to sneak your way into his pants, unless you have already.”
Cora freezes, then we watch as she slowly stands. “Okay, well, this has been fun, but you need to leave.” Moving out from behind the desk, she shrugs Kash’s arm off her shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“Oh, it’s like that, is it? Fine, let’s go, whore.”
Bri steps into Cora’s space as Kash rounds the reception desk, but Cora holds her hand up to stop him.
What the fuck is she doing?
Seeing Cora stand toe to toe with Bri is equal parts frightening and hot as fuck. Cora is maybe 5’5, and Bri stands a full head taller than her.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, coming in here and acting like this. Especially over a man.”
“Hey!” Kash cuts in, shocked.
“If you want to fight, whatever, but we’ll do it outside.” Cora walks past Bri and heads for the door. Seth and I immediately get up to follow her.
What the hell is Cora thinking?
“Oh, it is on, bitch.” Bri takes out her earrings as she walks past Cora, who is holding the door open.
“Cora…” I start. “What are you doing?”
She smiles at me, then swings the door shut as Bri walks through, twisting the lock in place. “Not a damn thing.” With a satisfied sigh, she walks back to her seat at the desk.
Bri bangs on the door and screams, “Come out and fight me, you scared little bitch! You’ll regret this!”
After looking at Kash, Cora sits down and gestures toward the screen. “Okay, so what if we move this around? Does it work?”
The rest of us are frozen in varying stages of disbelief. She just tossed Bri out of the shop without breaking into a sweat. Fuck, that turns me on.
I discreetly adjust myself and ignore Seth’s snicker. Such a clever little thing. Seth returns to his station, and Kash stands by the desk, frozen in his place.
“Will you marry me?” Kash blurts.
Cora laughs at him. “Shut up, dummy, and come help me with this, or I’ll do it how I want.”
“Seriously, Cora. I think you might just have to be my wife.”
“The fuck she will,” I snap at him.
Seth rolls his eyes as he gets back to work on his client.
“Don’t worry about the show.” Seth shakes his head. “We won’t charge extra for it. Consider it a bonus,” he jokes to the room of people.
Bri is still banging on the door, and Kash is finally sitting with Cora behind the desk, still with a look of awe in his eyes.
I go back to finishing Aidan’s tattoo, more so I can get him out than to give Kash and Cora privacy.
“I called the cops for you guys. You seemed preoccupied,” Aidan says, smiling.
“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
“No problem.” We all watch in amusement when, a few minutes later, blue and red lights flash in front of the building. Bri goes from banging on the door to running off.
Cora glances in my direction and smiles, and it tells me everything I need to know.
Kash can’t make her his wife. No other fucker will because there’s no universe where Cora isn’t mine. Sorry, not sorry, brother.