Page 20 of Glad You're Here

She pulled open the front door of Dark Horse, and we stepped inside a small but edgy reception area. The walls were painted black and adorned with artistic framed photos of tattoos. One, in particular, caught my eye— a woman’s back from shoulder to tailbone, transformed into dragon wings.

Well, shit. If all of these photographs depicted Blane’s work, he had more artistic talent in his pinky than I had in my entire body. So did Thea.

A back door opened, and a man walked out. He immediately became my least favorite person on the planet.

Thea’s ex-boyfriend looked like he ate dudes like me for breakfast.

How does one get biceps that large? I almost asked that out loud but luckily spared myself the humiliation.

“Blane, my favorite asshole.” Thea smirked and folded her arms.

Blane walked around the counter, wrapped his massive tattooed biceps around her slender waist, and lifted her with his embrace.

Thea gasped, and he set her down, saying, “Baby, when can I come home?” Blane winked at her and played with the end of her braid.

Thea patted his smooth cheek and smiled. “Baby. Never.”

Blane groaned and pressed his hands together in mock prayer, staring into her eyes with a playful, flirty look.

Was he wearing eyeliner? What a tool.

I cleared my throat, ready to stop watching Thea flirt with her ex. Maybe I was prepared to walk out of there completely. Did I even want a tattoo? And if I did, did I want this guy to do it? Did I honestly want Thea’s ex-boyfriend to ink me up with his art?

Thea glanced at me and backed away from Blane. “Hey, this is Levi, and he needs his first tattoo.”

“‘Sup, Levi.” Blane reached out to shake my hand and crushed my fingers. What was that? Some alpha show of power? And Thea found this attractive? Anger burned deep in the pit of my stomach.

I gave Blane a nod, too pissed off to speak without my voice betraying my anger.

“So, what sort of ink are you looking for, man?” Blane headed back behind the counter and leaned forward with his elbows resting on the shiny black surface.

Thea studied me for a moment and then answered for me, “We talked about a compass on his shoulder or maybe a broken chain.”

We did talk about that when we were high in my hotel room a few nights ago. We also managed to unlock all of life’s mysteries with those edibles. I couldn’t tell you what they are now, though.

“Sure,” Blane nodded, addressing Thea as if I weren’t even in the room. “A shoulder compass is classic.” He tore his eyes away from Thea’s chest and slid a black binder toward me. “Why don’t you check out some of these designs and tell me what you’re into.” Blane flipped through a few pages until he located a spread of compasses. Then, he immediately turned his attention back to Thea.

“Baby, you’re looking so damn hot. I like you with long hair.”

Thea threw her head back and laughed. This laugh didn’t sound right, though. It wasn’t that free, genuine sound I’d grown to love. “Baby, you know I love it when you call me baby, but you need to stop.”

I stared at the page of compasses without seeing a single thing.

Blane stepped closer to Thea, close enough to touch her. “Why can’t I call you baby?” He glanced over at me, and we made eye contact. Blane’s dark, angry eyes told me to back down. I squared my jaw and stared back at him, refusing to look away first. Finally, Blane turned to Thea and hissed, “That dude? Are you dating him?”

All eyes were on Thea as we waited for her response. What did she honestly think about the idea of dating me?

Thea laughed.

She laughed.

My stomach sank, and my brain could hardly process her words as she answered her ex-boyfriend. “No, Blane. I’m not seeing anyone. I don’t want you to call me baby because I never liked it, and you have a listening problem.”

I slammed Blane’s book of designs shut. Thea found the idea of dating me laughable. Of course, she did. Why would someone like her be interested in someone like me? I was a pathetic project to her, nothing more.

I found my voice and cut Blane off as he tried to convince Thea that she did, in fact, enjoy being called baby. “I think I’m good on the tattoo, man. Thanks for your time.” I pushed open the door and strode into the autumn rain without waiting for a response from anyone.

A few seconds into my walk of shame and fury, Thea yelled after me, “Levi! What the hell?”

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