Page 15 of Ink & Desire

I grin. “I saw you dancing up on that gorgeous blonde. I’m guessing things with Damon didn’t work out?”

“I tried to land both of them,” she says, turning to look at me with a devilish grin. “But he wasn’t into sharing, I guess. He left.”

I shake my head. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Cass try to score a threesome. And I know she’s been successful more than once. I envy the way she embraces life and goes after what she wants. Even if I don’t think I could ever follow in her footsteps.

“What about the blonde?” I ask as the toast pops up.

She sighs. “She was something.”

There’s a wistful tone in her words that has me pausing, butter knife in hand. I narrow my eyes at her.

“Something, huh? What’s that mean?”

She shrugs. “Nothing. Just that she was gorgeous and fun. And a hell of a kisser.”

I shake my head. “Of course, you come here to help me forget my misery and you’re the one who ends up hooking up.”

“We didn’t hook up,” she says. “We just made out a little. I take being your best friend seriously. I wasn’t going to leave you alone in your time of need.”

“I don’t know,” I say, going back to spreading butter on the toast. “She was hot. I’d have forgiven you if you left me for that.”

Cass just shakes her head. “It was just a few dances and some hot kisses. Besides, I’m going back to New York tomorrow and I’ve made a vow to stop having casual sex with strangers. I think hooking up with a random stranger in a club four hours from home counts as casual sex.”

I set the plate of toast down in front of her.

“You’re right, I guess,” I concede. “But one of these days you’re going to find someone you don’t want casual with.”

She rolls her eyes as she bites into a piece of buttered toast. “Eventually. Maybe,” she says around a mouthful of food. “But in the meantime, I’m having fun.”

I reach for a piece of toast. “At least one of us is.”

“What happened with you last night?” Cass asks. “You disappeared for a while.”

I shrug, my mind replaying those few minutes with Corbin. “I found a table in the corner to chill. I think the drinks hit me too hard, too fast. That’s why I switched to water kind of early.”

She nods, focused on her toast rather than on me. I tell myself that’s a good thing. I’m not sure I want to rehash everything that happened last night. Not that anything had happened. Not really. So, why am I feeling flushed right now?

“What are you going to do about your apprenticeship?” Cass asks, pulling me back to the present.

I make a face. “Try the next shop on my list, I guess.”

She nods. “So, who’s next? Do you need to make an appointment?”

I think about my options. It’s clear that the way I went about things with Corbin wasn’t a great idea. At least Matt at Custom Skin doesn’t have a reputation for working exclusively alone. Which means maybe I can just call and ask if he’s looking for an apprentice.

“Custom Skin,” I say. “The owner is Matt Young. He’s good.”

She eyes me for a moment. “Why do I sense a ‘but’ in there?”

I shake my head. “There isn’t. He’s good. Right up there with ‘he who shall not be named’.”

“Right up there? But not quite as good?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I think I just had my sights set on one thing and it’s going to take me a minute to shift to a new direction. But it’s fine. He’s good. He’s got a solid reputation. And, unlike you-know-who, he actually takes on apprentices.”

Cass nods. “Good. Then it’s decided. You’ll meet this Matt guy, dazzle him with your amazing portfolio and your sparkling personality, and he’ll hire you on the spot.”

I let her words and her reassuring tone wash over me, trying my hardest to believe them. Cass is right, though. There’s no reason to believe that Matt will be as unreasonable as Corbin had been. Once he sees my portfolio, he’ll see that I have the talent. I just need someone to teach me how to translate that talent into tattooing. All at once, something hits me, and I feel a pit open in my stomach.

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