Page 10 of Haze's Jewel

“You went on walks in the courtyard,” I say.

“Yeah, but it’s nowhere near as exciting as riding with the top down.”

I’m tickled this beautiful woman is excited about my ride. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into restoring it, and if she likes convertibles, she is going to love my seventy-four Stingray Corvette.

I’m pleased to see her happy and excited about getting discharged. Truth be told her injuries were horrific and watching her suffer these last few weeks has been eating away at me.

***

Once she’s safely inside my car and buckled up, we head to my tattoo parlor in town. She’s quiet on the way to my place. I can tell she’s enjoying the ride because she finger-combs her hair with her good hand as it blows in the wind. Anna sure is a beautiful woman. I like her long red hair and how she lifts up her arm at one point and closes her eyes like riding in my convertible is the best experience in the whole world.

A tightness builds in my chest, it’s a strange feeling of fondness that doubles and triples as my tires eat up the road. I’m used to spending time with club girls who are easy to figure out and always angling for my property cut. This woman only accepted my offer of a place to stay out of need. Inviting her was supposed to be an altruistic move on my part. That should mean hitting on her is out of the question, but I know myself all too well. If she seems open to fooling around, I’m not gonna say no. We’ve been getting along well while she’s been in rehab, but maybe once she’s back in the big wide world, she’ll not want to hang around with a rough ass biker.

When we pull into the parking lot, I park as close to the door as possible and help her out of the car. She was hyped-up at the start of the journey, but I can tell she’s tired, it seems like the excitement of finally getting discharged has worn her out.

As we walk through the door, I see customers sitting on the sofas in the waiting area and my brother, Vapor, hard at work. I glance around, trying to see my tattoo shop through her eyes. It’s a neat little eclectic space with three chairs. It has a retro barber shop vibe, though when Vapor and I did the refit last year we got some cool lights to hang over the sofas to give it a relaxed, calm feel. The club brother we bought the shop from, still occasionally drops ink here. Tank has got a small but dedicated following who would be really disappointed if he dropped them after years of faithful service. I’m pretty sure he’d miss tattooing as well, since it has always been one of his favorite pastimes.

My brother jerks his chin at me and gives Anna the once over before getting on with his tatt.

Before I can even get our new guest to the apartment in the back, the bell on the door jingles and someone comes stomping into the shop. I glance over my shoulder to find Brittany frowning at me.

“You were banned from club property by Siege weeks ago, Britt. What are you doing here?”

She smirks at me. “This isn’t club property. It’s a private business.”

I try to shove down my irritation as I don’t want Anna to think I’m an asshole. “I’m really busy today. What do you want?”

“I want a tattoo, of course,” she states matter-of-factly.

I gesture to the sofas at the far side of the shop where two customers are waiting, one, a barely legal teen, is eyeing up Brittany with interest. “As you can see, we’re fully booked so no time for a walk-in. But you’re welcome to take a seat and see if Vapor can fit you in.”

She literally stamps her foot and flings her long blonde hair back over her shoulder, “I didn’t come for your brother. I came for you.”

Since she’s causing such a spectacle, Vapor interjects, “I put her on your schedule. We’re a business and her money’s green, just like everyone else’s.”

“Great, thanks for that, bro.” This is vintage Vapor thinking. He prides himself on being able to tattoo literally anyone with money. He knows Brittany has been a chronic pain in my backside for months. Standing there staring him in the face, an understanding passes between us that he should have asked before booking her in.

Finally, Anna speaks, “Just point me in the direction to the apartment. I really need to get off my feet for a few minutes.”

“What the fuck, Haze? You have an apartment here?” Brittany says, her voice was shrill and angry, like she was my keeper or something. Gesturing to Anna, she asks angrily, “And who the hell is this?”

“It’s none of your fucking business who she is. Need I remind you that we are not, nor have we ever been dating. That means you don’t get to pry into my personal life. This is your last warning about whatever possessive shit you have running through your head.”

“I wasn’t trying to be rude. You’re always blowing hot and cold when it comes to me.”

“It’s because you like aggravating the hell out of me. Why can’t you just be normal?”

Brittany opens her mouth to say something and then clearly thinks better of it. She turns on her heel, stalking over to the waiting area and flings herself back onto one of the sofas, then picks up the book of flash designs on the coffee table.

I hurried to get Anna settled in before Brittany could pop off again. She at least has the good sense not to ask a bunch of questions. Poor Anna looked exhausted, once I hauled her belongings in and put them in her room, I asked her if she needed anything, but she said all she wanted to do was rest her eyes. So, I left her with instructions to just yell if she needed anything and I headed out to catch up on the work my brother lined up for me.

“She can take my slot, I don’t mind waiting,” the teen says with a leer, clearly wanting a chance to ogle Brittany getting inked.

I was about to tell him no, that she could wait, when I realize I could get rid of her quicker.

The last thing I need is the stress of her sitting there glaring at me or worse, starting another unpleasant conflict. I can tell by the way her face lights up, that she thinks me taking her first means I like her. Yeah, that was a big mistake.

She shows me the little heart tattoo she wants and begins telling me how she wants in on her mound, right above her slit. I shoot my brother another irritated look, before telling her that tatts on private areas are scheduled after hours for privacy reasons because all our seats are out in the open.

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