my mind before I managed to smother it down. “N-no, thanks.”
Reagan popped out at that moment, though, and took one look at Gordo and me. “He likes vegetarian pizza, extra green olives, and artichoke hearts if you get it from someplace fancy.”
“Ohhhh,” Gordo teased. “Such bourgie tastes in pizza! That’s okay, I like a man who knows what he wants.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and my blush spread its prickly fingers up my scalp. “I shall return, dearest artist, with sustenance. Go and mark the people with your fine craftsmanship. Thank you, Benevolent Overlord, for the pizza tips.”
He bowed to Reagan, who said, “Name’s Reagan. I’ve heard about you, Gordo—all good things. You should run before Javi here goes apoplectic.”
Ever a good listener, Gordo was gone before I could protest. I shot a quick middle finger at a too amused-looking Reagan.
“Uh, so you seem to have really hit it off with Gordo,” Mike said, a question in his tone.
“Just g-good friends,” I said. “Oh, look at that, I have another tattoo.”
Trinity led me to the customer, and I was all too happy to lose myself in listening to what they wanted, making it work with some of the flash tattoos we had ready, and getting them prepped. The hum of the machine kicked into gear, and I sank into the headspace I always did when starting a fresh tattoo.
“Your boyfriend is so cute,” Trinity teased as she leaned nearby and watched me work.
Her hair was currently a vibrant blue and green, curled in loose ringlets to her waist. My art might bring people into the studio, but Trinity had her own kind of appeal. If only people knew she also had a black belt in Judo and liked to read astrophysics articles for fun.
“Not my boyfriend,” I growled.
Dane barked a laugh. “Only because you’re a world class idiot, my boy. World. Class.”
“He sure looked at you like a boyfriend is all I’m saying,” Trinity added. Sometimes she and Dane fought, but other times they egged each other on.
“Well, s...s-say a little less.”
Perhaps it was the stutter that told Trinity that I wasn’t up for teasing, or maybe she just felt like going easy on me today. Whatever the reason, she walked away and began to set her own station up for a fresh customer, leaving me to dive into my tattoo. As I started outlining, I had to work to keep my breathing level and my hand steady. Their ribbing shouldn’t bother me. They’d been giving me a hard time about Gordo for weeks now.
So why was it setting me off this time?
Probably because some small slice of me wished it was true. I kept trying to ignore it, and most days I managed to be thrilled with what I had. But since we’d found a good space in our friendship, Gordo hadn’t seemed interested in me at all the way he used to. Hell, the only time I’d been completely certain he had more in mind was when he’d been too drunk to know better.
My coworkers liked to tease, but they couldn’t understand. Gordo knew me better now, and he’d made it clear where our relationship lay.
I was just about to start the finer details of the tattoo’s outline when Reagan sat next to me.
“Looks good,” he said gruffly.
“Thanks for the g-gold star,” I huffed back, trying to stay focused. I hadn’t forgiven him quite yet for telling Gordo my preferences, though I didn’t know why it bothered me so much. I guess it felt a little like he was conspiring against me, even though I knew that was stupid.
Reagan crossed his arms in front of his barrel of a chest. “Tell me about Gordo.” It was a demand, not a request.
“He’s my friend. And neighbor.”
“He came today to see you, to get you lunch, and to stare at you like you were made of gold and stardust.”
My heart skipped in my chest. “That’s b-bullshit. Just. Friends.” I was clipping my words, a sign Reagan usually understood to mean I was feeling upset. A cue for him to back off. But apparently not today.
“So you’re just friends. Why not more?”
My chest felt tight, like a belt kept cinching around it, knot by knot until it was a struggle to breathe. I had to put my tattoo gun down for a moment and roll my shoulders. Get a grip.
“L-let me finish this,” I managed.
“Nope. Dane! You just finished, yeah? Come finish this up.” Reagan looked at my now