Page 29 of Blue

Blue glared down at the phone.

“I know. I know. I shouldn’t, but I’m really comfortable with you,” Dylan prattled on in her ear.

“Does he want you to tattoo him somewhere out of the shop?” Stella pressed.

“How did you figure that out?” Releasing the mute button, Blue needed to say something to Dylan. “I have another call. Can you hold?”

She didn’t give him time to answer. This tattoo was already lost. What did it matter if he hung up?

“You can’t do that.” Stella folded her arms over her chest. “Sure, people do it all the time. It’s really shady. I don’t like it. Besides, the shop has insurance and the liability waiver. You don’t get that when you do kitchen tattoos.”

Blue inhaled audibly and nodded her head. “I’m not comfortable with the idea. I only want to tattoo in a shop.”

She was careful to say “a” shop rather than “this” shop. She wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be there. There was far too much uncertainty.

The other tattoo artist narrowed her eyes at the phone. “He’s probably trying to get a discount. Don’t devalue your work. Either he does it here or he doesn’t get tattooed.”

Trying to siphon all of Stella’s confidence, Blue tapped the button to take Dylan off hold.

“Hey, I’m not really comfortable tattooing outside the shop. We can either figure it out together to find a date that works, or maybe you can consider a different artist?” She hated saying it, but she needed to be firm. “Mammoth and Stella have openings relatively soon. Mooky is the only one who is booked solid.”

Biting her lips together, she waited for him to lash out. In her experience, men didn’t take kindly to affirmative women. Stella placed her hand on her shoulder as though to reassure her. Blue covered the other tattoo artist’s fingers with her own in solidarity.

“I’m sorry.”

Wait. What? That was unexpected.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”

What just happened? Blue blinked, shocked at how quickly he had backed down.

“Let me make it up to you.”

Her hackles rose again.

“You said you were off this Friday. Let’s get dinner.”

Her mouth fell open. Now him wanting her to ink him all felt tainted. He had no plans to get tattooed by her. This was all just his slimy attempt to get a date.

Stella crouched beside her. “What did he say? Is he cursing at you?”

The other tattoo artist reached for the phone.

“Hold, please.” Blue clicked the button. “He asked me on a date.”

Stella wrinkled her face. “He seems super sketchy.”

Sighing, Blue couldn’t help but agree. He kept popping up everywhere. He got her hopes up about a tattoo, and now this. Glancing at the phone, she licked her bottom lip.

“Thank you for waiting. I am going to have to decline that offer. However, if you still want to get a tattoo—”

Click.

CHAPTER 9

Mooky

After setting the land speed record for showering, serving his kids a cereal breakfast, putting them in the car for his mother to take them to school, and ignoring five text messages and two voicemails from Angela, Mooky got to the walk-through on the rental home fifteen minutes late. He probably should have done a better inspection of the property. Had the owner been a random fuckhead, he would have. Since this was a brother’s connection, he knew he wouldn’t be fucked over.

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