Liz did not want my pessimism, so I held my tongue.
“I’ll let you go,” Liz continued. “If you need anything, call me.”
“Thanks.”
And as I dropped my cell phone onto my desk, I realized I didn’t feel any better after our conversation.
Chapter Two
Presley
“Hey, bitch!” Blaze’s cheerful tone echoed from somewhere behind me. “You fuckin’ sleepin’ over there or what?”
I didn’t bother to look up from the shoulder I was tattooing. “I was,” I mumbled. “But then your big mouth showed up.”
Blaze chuckled, then propped herself on the counter beside my station. She leaned over, checking out what I was working on, then sat back up. “You seen Gil?”
I paused long enough to look at her and swipe more ointment on the guy’s shoulder. I put the needle to his skin again.
“Some little giggly chick came by and he lit outta here like his ass was on fire.” When Blaze didn’t come back with a smartass retort, I paused again and looked up at her. “Girl, you do not wanna get involved in that,” I warned.
Blaze Vinsant was one of my closest friends, had been for years. In fact, she was now working at Different by Design—the tattoo shop I owned with another friend of mine, Charlotte Davenport, a.k.a. Charlie—because I’d practically dragged her over here kicking and screaming a few months ago. One of the best damned decisions I’d made in a long time, although I definitely wasn’t about to tell her that. Blaze’s ego was big enough as it was.
“What?” Blaze finally said, sounding offended. “You think I want some of Gil?”
I smiled, putting the needle back to the guy’s shoulder. “I know you, Blaze.”
“No, you think you know me,” she countered.
I knew her. Well.
“Now, if we were talkin’ about Gavin … that’d be a different story.”
Of course it would. Because that—my two best friends hooking up—wouldn’t be weird at all. Although secretly, I thought it would be kind of cool. Again, not mentioning that to Blaze.
I grabbed the paper towel and wiped the guy’s skin, cleaning the droplets of blood that had formed as I studied the design, touching up one last part before tapping his arm. “You’re all set.”
“Really?” The guy tried to awkwardly look behind him to see the tattoo.
“Here,” Blaze said, thrusting a handheld mirror at him. “Use this.”
I pushed back out of his way and let him get to his feet to check out the ink in the mirror, then looked at my friend. Blaze’s fiery red hair—hence the name—was piled in a crazy heap on top of her head. Her smile was painted with cherry-red lipstick, her green eyes perfectly ringed with thick black liner. The woman stopped traffic, not only because of her natural beauty but also because she chose to wear minimal clothes that highlighted the ink that covered nearly seventy percent of her body.
Not that I was anything to scoff at. I’d been hit on three times tonight as it was—not that I was counting. Unlike Blaze, I didn’t eat that shit up; instead, I tended to brush it off, choosing to act as though it’d never happened. I had purposely left dating off my to-do list and had no intention of adding it anytime soon.
“You headin’ home after this?” Blaze asked me, nodding toward the guy who had moved over to the mirror on the wall.
“Yeah.” I was exhausted and hadn’t intended to be here this late, but when the guy had walked in and Charlie had been otherwise occupied with another walk-in, I’d offered to stay. Now that it was a little after ten, I was eager to go home and crash.
“Lemme bandage that up and you’re good to go,” I told the guy, motioning him back over.
“Cool,” he said, his eyes slowly moving over me as he eased back onto the chair. I knew what he was going to say before he said it, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “So … I was wondering…”
I didn’t meet his gaze, ripping the saran wrap from the roll and grabbing the tape.
“Would it be possible to get your number?”
I smiled to myself, keeping my head down.
“Dude, she’s taken,” Blaze blurted, like it was so obvious.
It was a lie, I definitely wasn’t taken, but I didn’t mind. More than once, Blaze had stepped in to warn away the young guys who thought that hitting on me was the best way to end their night.
“Like, married?” His eyes widened and his interest briefly shifted to Blaze.