by Ranae Rose
“What do you do for a living?” Jed asked.
James glanced down at his hands – raw knuckles and calloused palms. “Construction.”
“You like it?”
“No, but it keeps a roof over my head.” Since turning eighteen three years ago, he’d spent enough nights without one of those to appreciate having shelter, having work of any sort.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Jed said. “I’m looking for an established artist who can help meet the growing demand Hot Ink has seen over the past few months, not someone to teach. And even if I taught you, an apprenticeship takes a long time. How long would depend on how hard you applied yourself, but you could expect it to take at least a year before you’d be ready to actually tattoo anyone.”
James didn’t know what to say to that. A year didn’t seem like that long, when it came to learning how to apply something permanent to somebody’s body.
“You’d be expected to stick around here for a while after that, of course,” Jed said. “Were you thinking of putting down roots like that when you walked in here?”
Putting down roots. Jed’s words cut straight through James, putting down roots of their own somewhere deep in his consciousness. He looked around the tattoo shop and tried to imagine what it would be like to have a place to return to day after day – a place where he belonged. People who knew him, who counted on him being there. Who’d give enough of a damn to get pissed at him if he wasn’t.
He glanced at the woman behind the counter, and she smiled at him again. Jed, on the other hand, wore his serious expression like a mask, but he seemed like an all right guy. He was treating James like he deserved to be taken seriously, anyway, when in reality he probably didn’t. “I was hoping for a place to put down roots when I walked in here,” James said.
Now that he thought about it, he realized that was true. If Jed would teach him to tattoo, he’d have work that mattered – something he could take pride in – as well as a place to anchor him in the world. The thought was strangely appealing – almost intoxicating. “If you took me on, I think you’d have a hell of a hard time getting rid of me.”
Jed stood up and walked away.
James sat frozen on the couch. Had he said something wrong? He played the conversation over in his head and realized that Jed probably wanted to get rid of him already. James glanced toward the door, at the deluge pouring down outside, slickening the sidewalks and soaking those who dared to brave the streets without an umbrella. A part of him wanted to run, not walk, out the door. Another part of him didn’t want to leave at all, didn’t want to give up the fantasy of a life with meaning.
Jed was leaning on the counter, talking to the woman behind it. She nodded, said something James couldn’t hear and leaned forward, rocking up onto the tips of her toes to press a kiss against Jed’s jaw.
Jed returned to the couch. “It takes a lot more work than just tattooing to run a place like this,” he said, “and my wife has really had her hands full with it lately. If you want, I’ll take you on part-time to help her with administrative work, cleaning and errands – stuff like that. We can work around your construction job schedule, and you can put together a portfolio of your artwork for me. If I think you have enough potential, I’ll take you on as an apprentice.”
All the doubts tumbling through James’ mind stopped, evaporating and leaving him feeling strangely hopeful. “Yeah?”
“I’m not making any promises,” Jed said. “For all I know, you can’t even draw a stick figure.”
“When can I start?”
“You have anywhere else you need to be today?”
“No.”
“Then stay. Alice has a whole list of things that need to be done. We won’t be closing up shop ‘till around midnight tonight, and you can work until then. Whether or not you come back tomorrow – well, that’s up to you.”
“I will.” He would. Already, he knew in his bones that whatever had possessed Jed to give him a chance was the start of something good – something he’d never had before, and wouldn’t want to give up.
* * * * *
“Coming,” Arianna called, striding across the living room and to the front door. The short trip had her breathing a little harder than usual – she blamed that on the fact that she’d just spent the past five minutes chasing Maya around the apartment.
The kid could really move. Babysitting a one year old was exhausting, especially compared to watching a newborn. Maya was into anything and everything, running and climbing on deceptively short and chubby little legs. Less than five minutes after her arrival, Arianna had had to give her apartment an emergency childproofing treatment.
That had mostly involved fastening her cabinet doors shut with hair elastics and unplugging her small appliances so that Maya couldn’t pull them down by their cords. At some point before Maya came over again, she’d have to buy some plastic plugs for the wall outlets.
“Hey Selena,” Arianna said as she pulled open the door, automatically sticking one leg out at an awkward angle so that Maya couldn’t rush through the gap and out into the hall.
Maya wrapped herself around Arianna’s leg, hugging her kneecap and giggling.
Arianna, on the other hand, was shocked into silence. It wasn’t Selena at the door – it was James. He held a small bunch of roses, and other than that, his hands were empty. No diaper bag, no Emily.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as her heart picked up pace.
“I’m here to take you out,” he said. “To thank you for everything you’ve done to help me and Emily out.” He pressed the flowers into her hand.
Arianna accepted them, torn between wild happiness and a creeping sense of disappointment. Did he just want to thank her for her help, or was this another date?
“They’re gorgeous,” she said, stroking the silky petal of a peach-colored rose. “Thanks. I’ll put them in the vase with the others – they haven’t wilted yet.”
James shrugged. “Got them from work and thought of you.”
She melted a little inside, despite her doubt. “Where’s Emily?”
“Jed and his fiancée Karen are babysitting her for me this evening. Karen’s a photographer – loves to take pictures of babies, apparently.”
“You finally got an evening all to yourself and you chose to come here?” She melted a little more.
“What the hell would I want with an evening to myself? The first thing I thought of when Jed said they’d watch Emily was that I could finally get some time alone with you.” He glanced down at Maya. “If you’re not busy.”
Arianna felt like skipping. Unfortunately, Maya weighed down her leg like a cement block. “This is my niece, Maya. I’m babysitting her for my sister, but she should be here to pick her up in a few minutes. I’d love to go out with you.” She wouldn’t have minded staying in with him, either, but hopefully that went without saying.
“It’s a date, then.”
She raised a brow, her pulse speeding as he met her eyes. “Is it?” She needed to know – needed to make sure. Because if their evening together wasn’t going to end in bed – or on the kitchen table; she wasn’t picky – she needed to start steeling herself now for what could otherwise prove to be an unbearable dose of disappointment.
“Flowers. A dinner invitation…” James shook his head. “I thought I was doing everything right now, even if we did start out backwards.”
“What do you mean ‘everything right’?” Everything they’d done so far had sure as hell felt right.
“I mean a guy gives a woman he likes flowers and takes her out to dinner… That’s Dating 101, right?”
“You said you were taking me out to show your appreciation. I was just making sure that that wasn’t the only reason we’re going out.” A little pang of guilt sailed through her as she spoke. Obviously, it was a date. The realization buoyed her now, making it impossible not to smile. She’d doubted only moments ago though, her confidence dampened by the fact that James had chos
en to entrust Emily to a day care instead of to her.
If only she could press some kind of button to dial back her insecurity. Coming out of her shell was tough – sometimes the temptation to slink back inside was strong, a self-protective instinct. How could she bravely face the possibility of being rejected by James after what they’d done? He’d given her a taste of the sort of sex she’d only heard or read about before – the best of her life. She couldn’t lose that so soon. More importantly, she couldn’t lose him.
CHAPTER 9
“I definitely have ulterior motives,” he said, “but you deserve a night out, especially after all the hours you’ve spent shut up in here with my niece.”
She bit her tongue before she could blurt out that she normally spent her days shut up inside anyway – it was her job, after all – and that caring for Emily had been a nice change from the norm, especially since it had meant looking forward to seeing him every day.
“How was Emily’s first time at day care?” she asked as James stepped inside, closing the door behind himself.
James’ expression hardened a little, and he shrugged. “One of the caretakers said she was ‘fussy’. I think that means she cried a lot. They said that’s normal, especially for a kid’s first time at day care, but I don’t know… Now I keep asking myself, did she cry a lot when she first started staying with me? What if it’s not normal and she’s crying more there because the day care sucks?”
“Did the day care seem sucky to you?”
He shrugged again. “No, not really, but if they were going to act sucky, they wouldn’t do it in front of people dropping off their kids and taking tours of the place, would they?”
“I bet you can look up the place online and find reviews from parents.”
“Yeah, I thought of that. There weren’t any horrible reviews. So maybe the place doesn’t suck. But what if she just doesn’t like it anyway?”
Maya tightened her hold on Arianna’s leg, stepping on top of her foot and nearly causing her to stumble.
Arianna bent and pried her niece off of her leg, lifting her and holding her instead. “She might get used to it. But I get what you’re saying – she’s just a newborn. Way too young to ask whether she likes it there or not. You know…” She took a deep breath as she untangled one of Maya’s fists from her hair, stopping her from pulling on it. “You don’t have to leave her at a day care if you don’t feel comfortable with that. You can always bring her here.”
A knock came at the door, just as James looked about to reply.
“That must be my sister,” Arianna said, stepping around him and opening the door after looking through the peep hole to confirm.
Selena’s eyes widened when she saw James. Arianna didn’t waste much time wondering what her sister thought of him being there. Moments later, after Arianna gave Maya a hug goodbye, both mother and daughter were gone.
“You ready to get out of here?” James asked.
“Sure. Just let me change into something date-worthy.”
James looked her up and down, and she could feel his gaze lingering on her jeans and t-shirt, heating the skin beneath as if by magic. “I don’t see anything wrong with what you’re wearing.”
“Well, my niece spit up mashed sweet potatoes on my sleeve, for one.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure I’ve got baby puke somewhere on my clothes. If you do too, I won’t feel like such a douche.”
She laughed but ultimately retreated to her room to change, pulling on a v-neck blouse that was more flattering than her t-shirt had been, even without the spit-up vegetables.
When she returned to the living room, James was waiting.
“We’d better get going,” he said as she grabbed her purse.
“Hungry?” she asked.
“Haven’t given it much thought. It’s just that it took all my willpower not to follow you back there to your bedroom. If we don’t leave now…” His gaze sank to the deep V of cleavage her top exposed before he met her eyes.
For half a second, she considered sprinting back to her bedroom in faith that he’d follow.
In the end, willpower won out. A date would be fun, and it’d probably do James good to go out on the town sans-baby. For that matter, she needed to get out of her apartment, too.
They left in his car, and he offered to let her choose the restaurant. She opted to let him make the selection, since he’d chosen so well last time.
He drove them to a little corner place with brick pillars and large windows. Inside, the lighting cast a cozy-looking interior in warm shades of amber. The hostess was friendly and the scents drifting from the kitchen were just as appealing as the simple décor.
“This is really nice,” she said, her memory drifting back to their first date, when they’d shared dinner and an incredible river view. “How do you find these places?” She was doubly glad she’d let him pick; his taste was impeccable.
He snorted. “Begging my co-workers for suggestions, mostly. If I was left to my own devices, we’d be ordering a couple of greasy cheesesteaks right about now. If you like the places we’ve gone to so far, you have Tyler and Jed to thank.”
She wouldn’t have minded greasy cheesesteaks, as long as it meant dinner in James’ company. She kept that to herself though, picking up a menu and dragging her gaze away from him long enough to read it.
“So do you like to cook at home,” she asked as she deliberated between chicken and pork tenderloin, “or do you just eat a lot of cheesesteaks?”
“I don’t know if you can call it cooking, but I’ve figured out how to operate the stove in my apartment. Let’s just say that most of the meals I come up with make the cold coffee and instant oatmeal you whipped up the other day look gourmet.”
“About that.” She laid down her menu. “I’m actually a decent cook, for the record. My mom taught me. And now I feel like I have to defend my own honor by making you dinner sometime.”
“Well, you don’t have to twist my arm. Just tell me when. And since I can count the number of real home-cooked meals I’ve eaten on one hand, I’m sure I’ll be impressed no matter what.”
“You’d better be, because I plan to pull out all the stops. And what do you mean you can count them on one hand? Didn’t your parents cook?”
Some people just weren’t into anything besides defrosting. Selena was like that, despite their mother’s penchant for the culinary arts. Spending time in the kitchen had always been the one thing Arianna and her mother had really enjoyed doing together. Even after things had gotten rough between them, they’d made the occasional meal together. In silence, mostly, but still.
James shook his head. “My parents were always too stoned out of their minds to worry about things like food. My sister and I grew up in foster care. Most of the foster parents I was placed with had a bunch of kids and were more concerned with quantity than quality when it came to dinner.”
Arianna’s stomach knotted, taking the edge off her hunger as she absorbed what James had just said. Addict parents, and foster care? Looking into his eyes, she got the feeling that lackluster dinners hadn’t been the worst of it. Suddenly, the way he’d gotten mad when she’d suggested he turn Emily over to the state made sense. Regret filled her as she realized she’d put a damper on their date by dredging up bad memories.
“Well then,” she said, smiling and doing her best to gloss over her mistake, “I’m even more determined to cook for you now. Are there any foods you don’t like? I don’t want to spoil it with something you won’t eat.”
“I’ll eat just about anything, but yeah – I’m not a big fan of chili.”
“Really?” It was sort of a shame, because she had a great chili recipe. Still, there were plenty of other things she could make – some authentic Mexican cuisine, for instance. Her grandmother had passed down her method for making amazing homemade tortillas, plus dozens of her favorite recipes.
“Yeah. Years ago when Jed’s wife died, he went through this phase where he taught h
imself to cook. Chili was the first thing he tried to master, and it was fucking awful. Like acidic meat juice that just about burnt a hole through your tongue. He made enough to feed an army every time, and since there were no armies around, he forced it on me and Tyler.”
“Jed’s wife died?” Arianna had met the owner of Hot Ink once, during her first visit to the studio, and had glimpsed him a couple times since then during her sessions with James. She’d never heard anything about him having a wife.
James nodded. “Years ago. He opened Hot Ink together with her, actually. He’s engaged again now – getting married next month.”
“Oh.” Relief settled over Arianna, dispelling some of the sadness that had come with learning what Jed had gone through. “I’m glad to hear it.” She could only imagine what it would be like to lose the person you’d sworn to spend forever with.
“Yeah. They’re happy together, and he’s a good guy – he deserves someone. I think everyone at Hot Ink is glad they’re getting married.”
The thought of the studio staff getting excited about Jed’s new start made her smile. “It must be nice to have co-workers you’re so close to, even if it means eating acid chili sometimes.” Imagining James throwing his taste buds under the bus for the sake of his boss was funny and sort of sweet.
“Yeah, well, Tyler and I didn’t have the heart to tell him how bad it was. Guess I was afraid that if we told him it was the shittiest thing to ever come off a stove burner, he’d give up and turn into a bachelor who survived off of TV dinners. After what he’d been through, that just seemed cruel.”
Arianna nodded. “You did the right thing.”
A server appeared and took their orders.
When he was gone, James shrugged. “Jed took me in for no good reason. I owed him. Eating his god-awful cooking was the least I could do.”
“I’m sure he had a reason – you’re amazingly talented. He had to see that.”
“Talent doesn’t mean much without training and practice. He taught me to tattoo and I’m sure there were times when I was a bigger pain in the ass than he’d bargained for.”