25. Ian #3
Our attention swings to Miles, who for the first time since he started working here is silent. There’s hurt in his eyes. “Um, what are you doing here?” He’s not meeting his eyes as he sits at his station.
“I’m here for a tattoo.” Elijah steps toward him.
Then Miles’s head snaps up. “The . . . rabbit?”
“Uh, yeah.” Elijah runs a hand through his thick hair. “Let me guess. You’re the artist.”
“Uh, how do you two know each other?” Julian asks.
“We’re friends—”
“We’re not friends.” Miles glares. Okay, this is really fucking weird. What the hell is going on?
Elijah sighs. “Miles—”
“You can come over and sit.” Miles doesn’t look at us. “I’ll print the stencil.”
Elijah looks back at us with sad smile then goes to Miles’s station. “What the hell is that about?” I whisper.
Julian shakes his head, watching them. “I have no idea.”
“I’ll leave you to set up.” I kiss his head then stand, walking over to Anna. “Do you know what the hell that’s about?”
Anna swings her chair around to look at Miles and shakes her head. “Why would I know?”
“Don’t you eat secrets for sustenance.”
Our bell rings again and I see Nico walk through.
He’s a tall man in his mid-twenties. He nods to me as he walks by and slips his hat off his shaved head.
His eyes are this bright pale green that really stand out against his tawny skin.
When he slips out of his coat I don’t even need to look to know he’s wearing a button-up shirt, unbuttoned down to mid-chest, and suspenders.
His dress pants are ironed. “Hey.”
He smiles slightly, nodding as he heads over to the back.
I look over at Phe who shrugs. She tells me he doesn’t even really talk to her, he just sits there quietly watching her tattoo. “I’m going to be upstairs for a bit, okay?” I say to Anna.
I walk toward the back and look over at Miles and Elijah.
Miles isn’t looking at him, but he seems tense.
Which is weird. Nothing seems to bother Miles.
Well okay, no, that’s not true. A lot bothers Miles, but nothing like this.
He looks angry. I didn’t even know he could get angry.
What the hell is happening there? I go back and pop my head in to check on Nico.
“Going upstairs. You need anything. A drink? I got water and those sodas you like.”
Nico looks up and he shakes his head.
I want to give him space, but I don’t want him to feel unwelcome either. He’s a hard man to read. “Are you happy here?”
His dark brows knit then he nods.
“I just want to make sure that you’re happy. That you like being here. We love having you here.”
He offers a tiny smile. I guess that’s it, then.
I go to walk away. “Ian?” His deep voice shocks me a bit. I pop my head back in. “This is the best job I’ve ever had. Thank you.”
“Yeah?” Wow, okay. I think this is the most he’s ever said to me. “Of course. We love having you here.” He dismisses me, turning back to his counter to prep for his appointments, the sleeves on his shirt rolled up his muscled forearms.
I head upstairs to my old apartment. It’s weird remembering I don’t live here anymore.
Julian and I moved in together last month, into Julian’s place.
It’s bigger, and it’s kind of nice leaving the shop at the end of the day.
We’ve turned the upstairs into our employee lounge, and we’ve turned my old bedroom into a private station for when clients want tattoos in sensitive areas and they’re not comfortable getting tattooed downstairs.
I find the lock box I have hidden in the floorboards. I’ve kept it here so I can easily put my tips in it without Julian knowing. I forgot to do it yesterday. We’re going to North Carolina in a couple of months. Xia can’t wait to show us some of the things they’ve done to the house.
I’m going to ask Julian to marry me there, and I nearly have enough to pay off the ring I’ve picked out. I take out my tips and slide them into the envelope, then I tuck it back under some photos. One peeks out and I grab it, smiling when I see Maddox with his arm around me.
I give it a quick kiss before locking the box and sliding it back under the floor.
So much has happened it sometimes makes my head spin.
I’ve been through the best and worst moments in this shop.
I’m not sure what the future holds for me, none of us ever do.
All you can do is make every day count. Live it to the fullest because you never know when your time’s up.
I have so much to be happy for. With our new artists our waitlist is manageable.
We started Saturday walk-ins only, which has been amazing for business, and our new artists have fit in like family.
Everything is looking up. There are days when breathing feels too heavy and managing feels impossible to do. The thing is, I know I don’t have to go through any of it alone. I know that I have the best support in the world, and I am so grateful for that.
And then, at the end of the day when we lock up the shop and put our workday behind us, it only gets better. No matter the day we’ve had or the challenges we face, I get to leave it behind.
I get to go home to him.