by Tracey Ward
“No,” I answered roughly.
“I would hope not.” He sat forward in his chair, catching my eye pointedly and lowering his voice. “Right now Jenna is listening. If you want her to keep listening, you had better start talking.”
Chapter Five
Jenna
The roar of motorcycles stirred something old and familiar inside of me. I watched through the front window of the shop as they cruised down the street, turned around, and parked in front of my store. There were two of them, both dressed in jeans and long sleeved shirts, the only leather protecting their bodies were the cuts on their backs with a logo for a motorcycle club I’d never heard of and ‘NEVADA CH’ sewn in underneath.
They took off their helmets and turned, revealing long shaggy hair, laughing faces, and a beard on one that reminded me of Callum. Both were about his age, late twenties, and good looking guys if not a little rough.
When they made their way toward the front door of my shop I felt anxious. The store was closing in two hours, Sam was gone for the day, and I was alone. If they wanted a tat it’d be the last of my night and it’d keep them here until it was nearly dark outside and all of the other stores in the area were shutting down.
I could tell them I was closed. I could draw something up for them and tell them to come back tomorrow to have it inked, but I’d done work for MC boys before, both here and at Bryce’s when I was first starting out, and they’d always been cool. A little loud, cocky as hell, but they paid cash and they’d never given me any problems. So when the bell over the door dinged and they sauntered inside, I smiled to greet them.
“Welcome to North Star.”
The clean shaven one with slicked back, dark hair smiled at me, his eyes surveying what he could see of me from the other side of the counter. I was careful about the way I dressed in the store. I wore tank tops a lot to show off my own ink because it was like a business card to people. If they liked the work I had on myself they’d probably like the work I could do for them, but my tats were all I was showing off. I kept necklines away from my cleavage and my shirts long, my stomach always hidden. I never wore skirts and on the hottest of days when I wore shorts, they were practically to my knees.
This guy finished his inventory of my skin and obviously liked what he saw because his smile broadened. “I heard you’re the girl to see about ink in this area.”
“Depends on what you’re looking for.”
“Something small. Something I can get done tonight.”
“Any design you had in mind?”
He shrugged off his cut and draped it heavily over the counter in front of me. His shirt came off next revealing a tan, cut chest and stomach covered in tattoos. Some were basic - words that I didn’t read scrawled in thick, blocked print. Others were more elaborate, like the colorful dragon that started at his right pec and wove its way down his arm, ending in a breath of fire that wrapped around his wrist and down the back of his hand out onto the tip of his middle finger. It was detailed and massive, probably took months to do, and the work was incredible.
“You like it?”
His eyes were watching me, studying me as I studied his arm, a small smile on his lips. It was different from the one he’d worn when he came in. It was cooler, calmer. I couldn’t say I liked it.
“It’s good,” I commented, keeping my tone light. “Where’d you get it done?”
“Oregon.”
“You get around.”
His bearded buddy chuckled. “You got no idea.”
“This here is what I want you to work on,” the guy explained, stepping closer until his hips hit the counter and he was only half a foot away from me. He pointed to his left shoulder where a tattoo of a nautical star had been started but wasn’t even halfway finished. “I need it done.”
I leaned in and examined it. It was new, the ink fresh and un-faded. It was black which was good because it would take less time to work on and I wouldn’t have to try to match someone else’s colors.
“Why didn’t they finish it?” I asked.
“We had a disagreement in the middle of it. He didn’t wanna finish the work and I didn’t want that fucker anywhere near me with needles.”
I nodded, deciding it was better not to ask any more questions. “So you just need it finished? Only the one star?”
“Unless you got a better idea.”
I eyed the artwork, my brain bouncing back and forth between what was smart, what was right, and what was in my veins. I wanted to finish it. It bothered me sitting there on his skin incomplete and while I knew I could get it done, get paid, and have them on their way in an hour if that was all I did, it wasn’t my way. If he wanted it to be something more, I could give him something more.
I picked up the charcoal pencil I’d been doodling with and flipped to a new page in my notebook. I drew the star as it was, feeling the guy’s eyes on me as I worked, and I finished it off. Made it symmetrical and my heart was happy, but it wanted more. I added additional stars, smaller but identical, until the larger one was amid a constellation that was faded and varied, blown out over his shoulder in a pattern that dragged your eye to his chest and tied in with the tail of the dragon that dove down the other side of his body.
His buddy whistled when he saw it. “That’s the shit, right there. Get it, man.”
I fluttered the pencil between my fingers, looking up at him. “What do you think?”
He nodded, dragging his eyes back to mine with that small smile again. “I think I came to the right place.”
I asked for his driver’s license, slapped forms in front of him to fill out, and pulled out my cell as I waited. I texted Kellen, telling him I was doing one more piece and that it might take a while.
I didn’t get a reply.
When we were squared up front I took the guy to the closest chair and got him settled as I ran through my routine. His buddy wandered in and out, staying up front for most of the time but occasionally popping in to check our progress. It was forty minutes later when I was nearly finished with the majority of the stars that I realized the guy hadn’t come in for a while. I glanced at the door, leaning back in my seat to try and see him.
“He’s probably asleep,” the guy told me. “We’ve been on the road all day.”
I settled back in, kicking the gun on. “Where are you coming from?”
“Washington.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t stop in Oregon and have your friend finish this for you.”
He grinned. “Like I said, we had a falling out.”
“Same guy who did the dragon started the star?”
“Yeah. He was my go to.”
“Long ride from Nevada for a tattoo.”
“I’m on the road a lot.”
I nodded, not asking any more questions.
I could feel his eyes on me as I worked, but I tried to ignore it. I didn’t want to rush but ever since his buddy stopped coming into the room the air felt different. It felt tight, like the oxygen was being burned away by a fire I couldn’t see, I couldn’t feel, but I knew where it was. It was on the arm of this guy. In the mouth of the dragon.
In the smallness of his smile.
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I was itching to answer it. It was probably my mom or Kellen, and for once I’d welcome either of them. But I’d have to stop and take my gloves off to answer it and it would only make this take longer. I was getting in toward the end of it, my hands over his chest and my face leaning in closer than I would have liked.
“Are your eyes gray?” he asked quietly. Intimately.
I didn’t look up. “I don’t know. I can’t see them.”
His stomach pulsed with a silent laugh that I felt under my hands. “They are. They’re beautiful.”
“So I’m told.”
“You got a guy?”
“No. I’ve got a man.”
“He keepin’ you happy?”
I didn’t answer him. I kept on working and I ignored his qu
estion because here’s where it was going – nowhere good. No matter how I answered it we were going to be talking about sex. Me and this half-naked guy under my hands in the back of my store where no one could see us. Where only his friend could hear us, assuming he was still even out there.
“What’s your name, darlin’?”
“Jenna.”
“Jenna,” he purred, “you are a fucking slice, do you know that?”
“No.”
“Your man not tellin’ you that?”
“Not in so many words, no.”
“He should be.”
“I’ll tell him you said so.”
The guy smiled and I ignored it, focusing on the ink I was putting into his skin and the distance I’d like to put between us soon.
I finished the tattoo twenty minutes later. I was quick to show it to him and then cover it with Vaseline and a bandage. I asked him if he needed a pamphlet to remind him how to take care of it, but he only smirked at me, gesturing to the rest of his body covered in dyes.
“Right,” I muttered, snapping off my gloves.
I went to the front to wait for him while he got dressed and I found his buddy snoring softly on the couch I kept out there. Even with him unconscious I was relieved to not be alone with the other guy. I breathed easier just being in a different room from him.
He sauntered out as he pulled his cut back on his body, laying it down gingerly on his newly inked shoulder. “What do I owe you?”
“Hundred,” I told him, rounding down.
He smiled as he pulled a money clip from his pocket. It was bulging with twenties. “Only a hundred? Is that all our time together was worth to you?”
I didn’t reply and I didn’t smile.
He laughed as he pulled five twenties out of the clip. The he pulled out five more and slid them across the counter slowly. “I threw in a tip, sweetheart.”
I pulled the money out from under his hand, careful not to touch him or the fire on his finger. I broke the stack in half, setting the extra hundred down in front of him.
“Thanks, but no. I don’t accept tips.”
For the first time his smile faltered, his face unamused. “That’s not very friendly.”
“That’s my policy.”
“That’s too bad because I’ve got another tip for you. When a man offers you a compliment and some kindness, you should take it.”
“And when a woman tells you she doesn’t want what you’re offering,” Kellen said from behind me, “you should take it like a man and fuck off.”
I jerked around to find him standing in the doorway to my office, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes hard on the guy across the counter.
“I didn’t know we had company,” the guy told me slowly. “You should have told me.”
Kellen took a step forward, his body seeming bigger the closer it came to us. “It doesn’t make a difference if she’s alone or not. If she doesn’t want what you’re selling, pack that shit up and hustle it elsewhere.”
The guy grinned salaciously. “I was only trying to be nice, brother. Just wanted to give her the tip.”
“You try and give her the tip again and I’ll break it off in your ass.”
The biker stopped smiling.
“Now go wake up Sleeping Beauty over there and get the hell out,” Kellen continued. “Store’s closed.”
The guy swiped his hand under his nose, his stare cold on Kellen.
Kellen looked back impassively.
Finally the guy smiled again. It was empty but he backed away from the counter as he did it and I breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“Yo, brotha!” he shouted, never taking his eyes off Kellen. “We’re out, man. Wake up.”
The beard stirred on the couch. He sat up and groaned, rubbing at his face. He paused when he spotted Kellen. “Who the hell is this now?”
“Nobody. Let’s go.”
He glanced between his friend and Kellen, reading the room. His shoulders slumping in annoyance. “What’d you do?”
“Nothin’.”
“Bullshit, nothin’,” the beard swore angrily, standing up tall and closing on his friend. “That’s her man, isn’t it? You tried to fuck with his girl.”
“We’re leaving.”
“Damn right we’re leaving. I can’t fuckin’ take you anywhere, you walking hard-on. Jesus.”
The biker pushed out the door, an angry jerk to his steps as he left the beard behind. He threw his leg over his bike as he grabbed his helmet and yanked it down hard on his head.
The beard was close behind him. He paused at the door, looking at me apologetically. “He pay you?”
“Yeah. Too much.” I picked up the extra hundred still sitting on the counter and held it out to him. “Here.”
He waved it away. “Nah, keep it. Sorry for the trouble.”
“She’s never inking him again,” Kellen warned him.
“Trust me, nobody should.” He grinned faintly, nodded his head to me, and pushed out the door.
Their bikes roared to life and they tore down the street into the growing darkness. Kellen stood silently behind me until we couldn’t hear them anymore, then he put his hand to my back.
“You okay?” he asked gently.
I grinned at him. “I think you scared me more than he did coming out of nowhere like that.”
“Sorry.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I texted you asking if you needed any help closing and you didn’t answer. It’s Tuesday. I know you’ve got dinner with your family tonight. I figured you could use the help getting out of here on time.”
I groaned, letting my head fall back. “I forgot it’s fucking Tuesday.”
“It sneaks up on you.”
“A lot like you. How long have you been here?”
“Last half hour. I saw the one guy asleep and heard you working on the other guy in the room. I didn’t want to scare you while you were working, make you jerk the needle, so I parked in the office to wait for you. I watched you on the surveillance monitor to make sure you were okay.” He stepped up, putting his hands on my hips and hugging me to him loosely. “I don’t want you working alone at night like this. It’s dangerous. This neighborhood isn’t great.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
I sighed, nodding my head. “You’re right. I know.” I wove my arms around his neck and grinned at him affectionately. “I’m glad you were here.”
“Me too.”
“What time is it?”
He looked over my head to the clock on the far wall. “Ten to seven.”
“Seriously?” I shrieked. I dropped my arms and looked around frantically for my keys. “I’ve gotta go. I’m gonna be late.”
“Keys are in the office.”
“Crap,” I cried, hurrying in to grab them and my purse. When I came back out I glanced around the store in dismay. “I haven’t done shit to close up yet.”
Kellen opened the front door for me. “I got it, don’t worry.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. I offered.” He motioned for me to go out the door. “Go. Be with your family.”
I took two hesitant steps forward, guilt building in my belly. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. I got this. Go.”
I hurried forward to kiss him firmly on the lips. When I pulled back I was stopped by his dark eyes. By his handsome face and his helping hands. By his strength and power that made me feel safe.
He smiled at my scrutiny. “What?”
“Nothing. I just—I’m grateful for you. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, Jen, I know that,” he answered earnestly. “I’m grateful for you too.”
He walked me to my car. Made sure I was safely inside and driving away before turning to go back to the store to close for me.
I loved him so desperately right then, his big body shrinking in my rearview as he to
ok care of me, took on part of my load and generally made my world a little easier. A little lighter.
This was Kellen at his best, at his core, the deepest part of him that lived and breathed below the ugly awful that lay just below the surface, just below the careless mask he showed the world. It was the part of him that once you saw you could never forget. That I could never walk away from, no matter what came. No matter how my heart hurt when the mask went up. When the fear pulled him under. I breathed for him as the waters took him too deep. As they turned dark and threatened to drown him forever. I breathed for him and I remembered him. I loved him and I lived him.
***
Ever since I moved out of my parent’s house I’d kept a standing dinner date with them every Tuesday night. No one was allowed to bail, no excuses, and even though I cut it close that night, Laney and I were good at keeping to that promise.
Kellen had been great at it too.
He’d broken off his engagement to Laney at one of these dinners. It was the last one he’d been to almost a year ago and his chair sat conspicuously vacant at the table every week. We all knew why he couldn’t be there – she sat blond and bitter across from me – but we all missed his presence in one way or another. Dad missed the man he’d mentored, Mom missed the kid she’d taken into her home and her heart, I missed the friend who made being myself feel like a good thing for once, and Laney… actually I didn’t know if Laney honestly missed him. Her anger over the breakup gave the illusion of missing the man she’d loved, but she hadn’t loved him. Not really. Not ever. Even she admitted that. I think what Laney missed was the security. The knowledge that she was marrying a man my parents adored, one that made a lot of money and other women dropped their panties for just seeing him walk down the street. Without that she felt lost. Adrift.
It explained why she was still living with my parents and eating dinner at 6:30pm in her PJs.