Page 28 of Turning Tides
“Kieran cares about you. If he’s harsh sometimes, remember it comes from a good place.”
“I know.” I let out a sigh and my phone buzzed again. I itched to see who it was. Truthfully, I hoped it was Archer. I’d agreed to be irresponsible with him, to not say no to things happening again if they were meant to happen again. And the more I tried not to want him, the harder it was to stop thinking about him. I felt like a kid with his nose pressed against the window of a toy store. All I had to do was go inside and I could have whatever I wanted, but something kept my feet from moving.
When my phone buzzed a third time, I gave Mom an apologetic smile. “Sorry, the stupid thing has been going insane.”
I yanked my phone out of my pocket and was greeted with pictures Archer had sent me of the upstairs. He’d been holed up there for the past few days, only venturing out to eat and harass Cyrus. By the looks of the pictures, he’d finished unpacking and setting his space up for business. He’d hung art after being given permission to put holes in the walls.
I hadn’t had a chance to see much of his work up close, but that was easy to rectify. But I knew what would happen if I went upstairs to have a look. If I were to get another tattoo, and I went to Archer for the work, it would give us an excuse to spend time together. And I wouldn’t mind letting him get his hands on me. I’d have to see his work before I committed to anything, but the idea was hard to shake.
I shot him a text asking him to bring some examples of his work to the bar tonight so I could see them. I had other ideason ways to help Archer get his business off the ground and get back on his feet, but I didn’t want to have the conversation on the phone.
“Shane Taggart, are you texting at my table?” Mom chided.
“Just a business thing, Mom. Sorry.” I tucked my phone away without waiting for a reply from Archer. I’d have to get going soon anyway to meet the liquor delivery.
Mom eyed me like she knew all my secrets, but wasn’t going to spill them, even to me. A quick glance at the time had her getting to her feet.
“I hate to rush you out the door, but Maggie is due to arrive.”
Maggie was a social worker who frequently stopped by to talk to the women about their options and the programs available to them.
I stood and gave Mom a quick hug. “Text me if you need anything.”
“You know I will.”
“You know that’s a lie.”
Mom walked me out and, after another brief hug, she went back inside. The locks clicked into place behind me and I made a mad dash for my truck. It didn’t matter how fast I ran, the rain soaked me through again in seconds. It had been years since I’d seen rain come down this heavy.
I got equally soaked running from my truck to the bar. I threw the door open and ducked inside just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was another text from Archer. This time it was a gif of a wet dog shaking the water out of its fur. Another quickly followed. This time it was a drowned rat.
Need a hand drying off?Archer sent.
Arousal thrummed through me. I could feel his presence like he was in the room with me. I blushed, even though there was no reason to. Archer had this uncanny ability to turn me into a whimperingpuddle of a person and I was quickly discovering that this talent wasn’t reserved for in-person encounters only.
I have a delivery to get ready for. Raincheck?
Have it your way, funny man. Still want me to bring those samples by tonight?
Eight sound good? I’ll buy dinner.
It’s a date.
Archer sent a winky face and I tucked my phone away. Before I gave into the urge to run upstairs and let him have his way with me, I took my wet jacket off and got to work getting ready for the liquor delivery.
Chapter 14
Archer
It turned out thatI was dying to get my hands on Shane. I wanted him in my chair. Leaving my ink on his body would feel like marking him as mine. It would be like claiming him, even though I didn’t have the right. He didn’t belong to me. That was a pipe dream. One day soon, Shane was going to wake up and go back to being his responsible self, but until then I intended to enjoy his attention.
I was dangerously close to becoming attached to Shane. It was an unenviable position to be in. Friends with benefits with an expiration date of whenever Shane grew tired of risking his friendship with Cyrus. That was one of the reasons I itched to get him in my chair. I wanted Shane to have some part of me to take with him. That way I could pretend that once upon a time I’d been important to him. Even if it had only been for a few minutes.
The Anchor was packed when I made my way inside. There was an empty seat at the bar and I made my way over to it before anyone got any bright ideas. I slid onto the stool and caught Shane’s eye. He smiled at me and finished serving the other customers first before making his way over to me.
“It’s busy tonight.” I said when he appeared in front of me. God, he was fucking hot. Tight jeans, button down with the sleeves rolled up revealing his forearms. Fucking suspenders. They should be illegal.Apparently my dick liked suspenders. I raked my gaze over him, committing him to memory.
“It’s insane. I probably won’t have a chance to look at your work tonight.” Shane looked genuinely sad about that. “Can I get you anything? It’s on the house.”
