Bad Boy Ink (Get Ink'd #5) - Ali Lyda Page 0,21

out of the mud could be a helluva messy business, and that everyone needed some grace in the process.

“No worries, boss. I'm rocking this shit. But I promise to let you know if it gets to be too much.”

A deep, sweet laughter came from another station. Erykah had been situated between Mateo’s station and my own. I had basically been in love with her as a coworker from day one. It wasn't just that her art was out of this world. Erykah had a low-key personality but was passionate and protective of her coworkers. She was funny, smart, and an all-around fucking awesome person.

“Got something to say, Erykah?” I lifted my eyebrows at her.

“Oh, I just think you men have difficulty admitting when you've bitten off more than you can chew.” She shot me a purple-lipsticked grin that was so wide and full it instantly lifted my spirits. “Reagan, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him.”

“You're just keeping an eye on me because I'm so handsome.” I threw her a wink. She blew a kiss to me. Reagan grumbled at our over-the-top flirtations.

“You got me there,” she said with another chuckle. “This is basically any woman's wet panty dream job. A whole room full of handsome men.”

We all laughed at that because we also knew that while we might be a shop with a higher-than-average number of good-looking men, none of them would be on the table for Erykah. I'd heard some of her stories of working in the toxic masculinity-driven tattoo parlors across town and across the country, and I was pretty sure that she stayed with us in part because she would never be harassed by her coworkers.

A throat cleared behind me, and I sat up straighter. When I looked up, I was startled to find Aiden standing close and scowling. I mean, the scowl wasn't very surprising, but what was he doing there? Then, like a slap upside the head, it hit me that I had asked him to come to the shop this afternoon so that we could get dinner and work on the case. Right. I was going to need to gird my loins if I was going to spend time with the cute sourpuss.

“Hey, Aiden,” I said, smiling without thinking about it. “I'm going to need another minute to clean up this tattoo.”

I nodded to the exposed thigh. My client waved, her eyes glazed with post-ink euphoria.

Reagan held out his hand out to Aiden. “Hey, it's nice to meet you. I'm Reagan, the owner.”

“I know,” said Aiden who shook Reagan's hand but quickly released it. “I'm friends with Bryan and hear about the shop through him and Mateo all too often. Plus, there’s the whole being on TV thing.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. I doubted that all his intel was from Bryan and TV; I was fairly certain that he had done some digging on all of us. Aiden struck me as the kind of person who likes to know as much about the people in his extended circles as possible. Even if he wasn't actually participating in those circles.

Erykah moved behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Oh, does my pookie bear need to go do some schoolwork with his friend?”

I leaned into her touch. “Your pookie bear does indeed. We have a project to work on together, but it can wait until I finish this tattoo. I still have to clean it and cover it.”

“Don't worry, baby, I got you.” She patted my shoulder again and nodded to the thigh. The coloring and shading was finished; it just needed a good cleanse and the aftercare instructions. “Go have fun.”

My client gave me two thumbs-up. Well, as long as she didn’t mind, I didn’t. I stood up and stripped my gloves off, tossing them into the trash can close by. Then I gave Erykah a hug and a giant kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know it, and don't you forget it.”

Reagan gave me a thumbs-up, too, so cheesy that it made me laugh, and all the while Aiden watched us with a look I couldn't quite decipher.

“Give me a moment to grab my things?” I said to him.

He only nodded and moved toward the door, hugging his arms around his stomach awkwardly, like he was uncomfortable being left alone with strangers. My bag was already packed and set against the wall, so after making sure I didn't have any ink or Vaseline