Page 46 of Fox
janie
This migraine is never going to leave.Rubbing my throbbing temples, I continue to glare at the newartworkon the front of the shop.Jai the Sluthas been crudely painted across the front window in bright red spray paint.
“They could’ve at least worked on the calligraphy,” Atlas mutters as he and Fox stand on either side of me.
“Or paint it in print. I mean, shit.” Fox sighs dramatically. “I mean, print or cursive, pick one.”
“I’ll give them points for proper spelling.” Atlas jokes, and I can feel his eyes on me. “And I do know how important spelling is.” Turning around, I place my fists on my hips and glare at the two men.
“I amsohappy that you two find this so amusing,” I snap, completely at the end of my rope here. I don’t know how much more I have in me. I’m officially canceled on social media. I’ve lost all my sponsors; people are connecting the shop with me and sending me death threats or vandalizing the place. Fox is hot and cold with our friendship. I’m exhausted, scared, alone, and sexually frustrated. And these two idiots are joking about this.
Fox shrugs as he puts his hands in his pockets. “Torch, it’s alright. It’ll take us ten minutes to scrape it off the window. Derek is looking at the security camera, so we will find out who did it.” He goes to touch my arm, but I move away, not wanting to feel him after last night. I know he didn’t know I drew that picture for his client, and I warned her about my disorder before I started, but his comments broke me. I haven’t picked up a pencil in years for that very reason. I can’t even blame him. I’m in an industry where you need to have an artistic ability. I don’t have that anymore. I have the know-how, but no way to take what I see in my head and put it on paper anymore.
Feeling the familiar burn in my nose, I glare at the men. “You just don’t get it.” I snap before shoving past them and storming into the shop, slamming the door behind me.
“Hey Janie,” Derek’s deep, gruff voice surprises me.
“Oh hey, what’s up, Derek?” He motions for me to come over to his station. Peering over his shoulder, I scan the screen he has pulled up on his laptop.
“Is this your ex?” I feel my entire body deflate as I watch the security camera feed of Brody spray-painting the shop's window.
“Yeah.” My voice sounds small and dry as I stand up. “That’s Brody.”
“Please don’t freak out, it’ll be alright.” I look at the absolute panic on the man’s face as he stares at me like I’m a bomb. It’s honestly adorable. Derek comes off as a cold person, an absolute grump. But it’s pretty cute when he gets all uncomfortable like this. It’s sad that he chooses not to get close to people because he doesn't know how to handle people like this. At least, that is the conclusion I’ve come to in the months I’ve been in contact with him daily.
I give him a reassuring smile and pat his firm shoulder, knowing I need to hold my emotions back until I’m alone. The poor guy might have a heart attack if I cry in front of him. “Don’tworry,” I laugh. “I won’t cry in front of you.” I laugh harder as he visibly relaxes. “Derek Rowe! You need some serious therapy if the threat of me crying has you this tense.”
He gives me a light laugh, but something in his eyes looks almost pained. “Yeah, did that. Doesn’t help. Find it best just to steer clear of people, emotions, and whatnot.” His words seem to hold several layers, but I fear if I try to peel them back, Derek may bite me. Instead, I let him go as I head to the front counter and sit on my stool.
What am I supposed to do now? I’ve spent my life turning myself into a brand, and now, because of Brody, I’m tainted goods. Unmarketable. No one will endorse me now. Even as I think it, I know it’s not entirely Brody’s fault. I’ve always kept myself in some weird in-between, partly in the real world and partly in the influencer world. Never really committing to either. I hide my pain and my disorder behind my smiles, bouncy hair and boobs. I never allowed anyone close. And when my house of cards collapsed, no one was there to help me.Well, there has been one person.Fox has been there, good or bad. He’s held onto me in my most unsteady of times, and even right now, I know if I gave him one look or told him I feel alone, he would drop it all for me. But only for that moment.
Fox can only give me himself for a moment, and then he runs. I don’t know what it really is. I’ve gone through all the possibilities—he’s not attracted to me, my disorder, we work together, my dad. But then, what he said in Dad’s office yesterday keeps playing over in my mind.
“You have no idea how wrong you are, Janie. You mean more than just about anything.”
What did he mean by that? Did he mean anything? Or am I reading too much into it? Running my hands through my hair, I glance up at the window in time to see Fox removing his shirt so it doesn’t get stained before climbing the ladder with a bucket and sponge. I try not to stare; really, I do. But his tanned, tattooed body moves and twists as he washes the red paint off, the muscles in his arms flexing with each-
“Hey there, good looking!” The unfamiliar feminine voice outside grabs my attention. Before it registers, I’m standing up to head outside, and once I open the door, I see the tall, thin brunette with a couple of girls flanking her. She’s stunning in her black lace skirt that stops mid-thigh, and her white crochet top, which I’m guessing is supposed to mimic a bikini top.
Fox finishes washing the window before climbing down the ladder, jumping off a couple of steps up; my guess is to show off.I hope it hurt both his knees. He smiles at the women, and I feel my blood heat instantly.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he says, still with that smile. Why is he smiling at them? Fox doesn’t smile at strangers, friends, me, or anyone. “Watch your step on the sidewalk. Don’t want to get those nice shoes dirty.”
The brunette giggles.Giggles?He saidnothingfunny. I watch as she puts her long, slender arms behind her back to press out her chest and…That’s it.
Walking out the front of the shop and directly in between the brunette and Fox. The woman flinches when our eyes meet.
“You ladies looking for a tattoo?” The amount of hostility in my voice isn't lost on them. While it’s not lost, it's ignored as the brunette shifts her weight from one foot to the other.
“Nope.” She crosses her arms over her chest, annoyed. Same girl, same. “Though I might be in the market for an evening with a tattooed man.” She winks at Fox while biting her bottom lip.Glancing at Fox, I watch him shift uncomfortably while glancing between Atlas and me.
Glaring back at her, I cross my arms to hide my tremors. “Well, there’s a biker bar two streets over; they open at four.” She eyes me up and down before huffing out a dismissive laugh. I know what she’s doing, she’s sized me up, and decided I’m not a threat.
“Why go to a biker bar when I found this gorgeous one right here? I’m Lily.” The way she emphasizes the “L’s” in her name grates at me. Opening my mouth to tell her where I’m about to shove my foot, I’m cut off by Fox.
“Lily,” Oh, I don’t like her name coming out of his mouth. Not. One. Bit. “While I’m very flattered—”
“He’s not interested,” I growl, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the shop’s door. Fox obviously agrees with me. I mean, he must because there’s no way I could pull him, yet he's following me.
