Page 16 of Connected By Love
“Shit, that looks fucking amazing.” He grins back at me before looking in the mirror again at all the tiny details. “Thanks, Trav,” he says, handing me back the mirror.
“You’re welcome.” I wrap him up before taking his payment. Today is a long day at work. I have back-to-back appointments from the moment I take Max to school until it’s time to pick him up. I’ve been trying to keep my clients on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to give me the other two days to work on my art at home, leaving the weekends free for Max. It’s not easy to get out of here by 2:30 to pick him up by three, but leaving him with someone I don’t trust is a hard no for me. My family is the only one who I’ve ever let watch him.
I finish cleaning up my station as my phone rings. I smile at Miles’s cheesy grin on my phone.
“How’s my big brother doing?” His cheerful voice fills my ear. I don’t think Miles has it in him to have a bad day. He may look like a badass with his tattoos and a couple of piercings, but under all that, he’s a giddy child.
“I’m doing good,” I laugh into the phone. “I have a few minutes until my next appointment arrives, so you caught me at a good time. What’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know that I got a gig to play at the restaurant we loved a while back, Rusty’s. I’ll be down there next weekend to play with the band.”
“Really? That’s great. I’ll be there.” Miles got a drum set at age four and drove us all insane when we were growing up, but he took to it like a natural. He started a band in high schoolwhen he begged my parents to let him use the garage. His whole band worked odd jobs to pay for soundproofing it so we could sleep at night and not have the neighbors disown us. All their hard work is paying off as more and more people show up to their gigs, drawing bigger crowds at each one.
“We’ll be down there Thursday. Do you think the band could stay at your place?”
I knew that was coming. I grin into the phone. I’ve known the other two guys for years, and I’m like an older brother to all of them. “On one condition. No girls, no parties, and everyone has to be quiet when they get home so Max doesn’t wake up.” He’s going to be thrilled to see Seth and Link.
“Geez, you sound like Dad.”
“I am a dad,” I laugh.
“I was going to tell the guys that anyway because of Max. You have to take him with you on the night you go. You know how he loves our shows, and this place is kid-friendly.”
“I will. He’s going to be so excited.”
“So, Jake tells me there’s a girl down there that has your eye.”
I groan into the phone. Thanks, Jake, for keeping your mouth shut. “No, girl. Trust me.” It’s been two weeks since that night, and I’ve managed to push her to the back of my mind as much as possible and focus on work and Max. It’s the nights when I’m alone in bed that’s been difficult. I’ve cum with images of her in my head more times than I would like to admit over the past two weeks as I stroked myself with my memories.
I’ve even gone as far as to make sure her black Mustang isn’t in the parking lot of the gym before I workout. I don’t trust myself around her, and the only way I’m going to be able to get her out of my head one day is not to see her at all and pray the memory of her fades.
“That’s not what Jake says.” He laughs.
“Well, Jake’s a dumbass and doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” I say, feeling irritated that he’s bringing her up and making me think about her again.
“If you say so,” he chuckles.
“I say so.”
“Okay then. No girl whatsoever is in Travis Montgomery’s life. Feel better?”
I can tell he doesn’t believe me by the way his voice sounds. I don’t even believe myself when I say it, but I’m hoping the more I do, the more I’ll start to force myself into believing it was nothing more than a night.
“Is that all you need to tell me?” I ask, changing the subject. “I need to get ready for my next appointment.”
“No, that was about it.” He laughs. “Tell Max Uncle Miles loves him and that I’ll need his help warming up for the gig when he comes.”
“Will do.” He absolutely loves it when Miles lets him sit on his lap and bang on the drums for a bit.
I hang up the phone and glance at my watch. I still have fifteen minutes until my client gets here. I go in the back to get more supplies when Van pops his head in the supply room.
“There’s someone out front asking for the owner.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.” I get what I need and make my way up front. I stop when I see Maverick standing there. His surprised look tells me he didn’t know it was going to be me. Shit, this could go really bad if Sophia told him I slept with her and then left without another word. I brace myself for what’s about to come down on me. If I was in his shoes and somebody did that to Sav, I would do the same.
“Travis, right? I didn’t know you owned Inked.” His grin relaxes me to the point that I can smile back. I guess Sophia didn’t tell him.
“It’s good to see you again, Maverick. Yeah, I moved herethis summer and bought the place. My brother still owns the one up north we have.”
