Bad Boy Ink (Get Ink'd #5) - Ali Lyda Page 0,74

me on the back in support as I went inside and gathered the courage to get yelled at by Bryan. It wasn’t going to be pretty, but it had been good advice to see what was going on—and figure out how to fix it.

As I passed by Reagan’s office, he started to say something, but I held up my hand. “If it’s about Bryan, I’m taking care of it, Boss. And then I’ll take care of my shit. Cool?”

Reagan closed his mouth and nodded.

Fuck. The wonderful part of Get Ink’d was how everyone had your back. The bad part was everyone was up in your business, complete with opinions, whether you wanted them to be or not.

Bryan crossed his arms as I walked toward him.

“Wait,” I said, holding my hands out in submission. “I’m here to get advice.”

“Advice?” He huffed. “Here’s my advice: Get a bunch of cats, a bathrobe, and a gut, because you don’t deserve a relationship.”

“Ouch, dude.” I pressed a hand to my heart. He wasn’t just a little mad. Bryan was pissed. “But really...I didn't think Aiden was that hurt. I made a mistake, but—”

“Oh, no,” he said, cutting me off. “You didn’t just make a mistake. He let someone in, which he never does. He started to believe someone could love him as he is and not for what they wanted him to be. And then you shit all over him just because you weren’t the one being praised for once.”

“Okay, but—”

Bryan gave a curt shake of his head. “I’m not finished. Here’s what’s going to happen now, if you don’t fix this: Aiden will get that FBI job. He’ll throw himself into work, because he won’t want to risk the pain that comes from actual human interaction. He’ll be that rude computer genius they throw into a basement somewhere who lives at the bureau and shuts out the real world.”

I held onto my stomach, my lunch threatening to make a reappearance. “It was a small fight! People have fights.” But my defensiveness rang hollow.

“Normal people have fights, Bryce. But people like Aiden need extra care. I thought you understood that. He said you had a lot of hurt in common.” Bryan sighed and his shoulders sagged. “He needed someone to believe in him, to support his hard work, and to be proud of him when he reached his goal, despite whether or not it fit into your own plans. But you couldn’t do that.”

Damn it, there wasn’t anything I could say. Bryan was right. I’d been totally unprepared for the recruiter ignoring me in favor of the incredible and entirely worthy man at my side—but that was not Aiden’s fault, and I’d been a complete dick to him when he’d needed the exact opposite.

“I am the worst,” I groaned. I felt like shit. “He was amazing, you know. Aiden deserved all the attention the recruiter gave him. I haven’t seen talent like his ever. It’s one of the things I love about him.”

There’d been an icy edge to Bryan that seemed to thaw. “You are the worst,” he agreed, but it was lacking the ire from before. “But I know how much you wanted that job, too. I bet it was hard to be in that meeting and see someone else getting all the recognition.”

I swallowed hard, my throat burning. “It was, but I could’ve been sad for me and still supportive and happy for Aiden. And instead, I shit all over his support, and his happiness. What if he can’t trust me again after this? I don’t suppose you have some tips? Some way I can show him how important he is to me?”

He laughed, then, and I did not like the sound of that laughter. “I can think of something.”

“I’m not going to like it, am I?”

“You might,” Bryan said, his eyes twinkling. “Aiden loves comic books. His collection is insane. There’s a convention downtown that he’s going to this weekend—he likes to see all the costumes. I think you should go. Dressed up as his favorite comic character.”

“It isn’t Black Widow, is it?” My balls already ached at the idea of being squished into a cat suit.

“You’re thick as a brick, dude,” Mateo said, stepping up to drape an arm over Bryan’s shoulders. “Clearly you need a lot of help and hand holding. Here’s where you can get a costume…”

By the time they were done giving me advice, I was filled with doubt and trepidation, like the world was playing a