more.” He kissed my shoulder. “Trust me on this.”
I wanted to ask my question but I didn’t know how. Wouldn’t it seem out of context to do it now? I tried to think of a way to bring it up. “So, do you sleep with your clients?”
“My clients?” he asked as he drank the beer.
“Yeah, the girls you ink.”
“Oh…sometimes.”
My heart sank. “Like, recently?”
“Uh…” He pressed his lips together as he tried to think. “The last time was about…four months ago. Yeah, her name was Layla or Lillian…something like that.”
My heart picked up again. “Where do you meet other girls? At bars?”
He snapped his fingers. “Laura. It was Laura.”
“Oh.” Like I gave a damn what her name was. “So, you pick up girls at bars?”
“Yeah, I guess. Or the gym. Wherever.”
“When was the last time you slept with someone?” I tried to keep my voice casual.
“You—last night.”
“Someone besides me.”
He searched his brain again. “Uh…” He rubbed his temple. “I can’t remember.”
That wasn’t good enough.
“Like, a month ago?”
“No…I honestly can’t remember.”
“Have you slept with anyone since you met me?” I hoped I wasn’t making it too obvious.
He drank his beer and continued thinking. “No, actually.”
My heart exploded into a thousand fireworks. Happiness rushed through me. I wanted to jump on the table and start dancing. That had to mean something. I wasn’t just making assumptions, right? That wasn’t normal for Ash.
“Hmm…interesting.”
Isn’t it? Okay, I think I should tell him how I feel. There was a good chance he felt the same way. Why would he ask me to brunch and spend all this time with me if I didn’t mean something more? I knew I wasn’t searching for something that wasn’t there. “Ash, lately I’ve been feeling—”
His phone rang in his pocket. “Sorry.” He fished it out and looked at the screen. “It’s the shop…that’s weird.”
I wanted to continue my conversation but it could wait a minute. “Take it.”
“Sorry, hold on.” He answered the call. “Yo.” He listened to the person on the other line. “I’m kind of busy right now.” Then he listened again before he released an irritated sigh. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Damn.”
“What is it?”
“I have to head to work. My appointment showed up. She thought she said eight in the evening, not eight in the morning.” He rolled his eyes. “So stupid.” He leaned toward me and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later, cream queen.”
I was disappointed but I tried to hide it. “Yeah. Have fun.”
He sighed. “Working the night shift is not fun.” He walked out and shut the door behind him.
I didn’t want him to leave but I didn’t want to rush through the conversation either. There wasn’t a deadline to the conversation. Ash already told me what I needed to know. I could wait until I saw him next.
CHAPTER TEN
Ash
I walked inside the bar then searched for Sawyer.
“Over here.” Sawyer whistled then waved at me from the booth.
I headed in his direction, and once I got closer to his table, I realized he wasn’t alone. Two cute brunettes were with him. “Just got off work.” I slid into the booth and sat beside one of the girls. “What’s up?” Sawyer texted me earlier and asked me to meet him there.
The girl twirled a strand of hair in her fingers. “I’m Lacy.”
“Hi.” I extended my hand. “Ash.”
She didn’t take it. “Ash…I like it.”
Anyway… I turned back to Sawyer. “Guess what happened to me today. I inked this really sick dragon on this eighteen-year-old girl. It looked sick, but she’ll regret it one day.” I pulled out my phone and showed him the picture.
“That does look cool.” He handed it back.
“I did the design myself. Pretty neat.” I shoved my phone back into my pocket.
“I have ink.” Lacy stared at me like no one else was there.
“Yeah?” I asked. “Where?” I didn’t see anything on her arms.
“It’s in a place where you can’t see…it’s of two dolphins.”
Lame. “Cool.” I turned back to Sawyer. “Did you catch the game?”
The girl beside him suddenly grabbed his face and started kissing him. Sawyer returned her embrace and completely forgot about me. Why did he ask me to meet him there if he was hooking up with someone?
“Hannah is my sister,” Lacy explained. “She agreed to go out with Sawyer because he said he had a friend…a hot one. And I’m glad he didn’t exaggerate at all.” Her hand moved to my arm.
I