Page 19 of Paint Eater
Jay sighed. “True.”
“What was it about?”
“I was just doing shitty linework.”
Hana’s eyebrows rose. “You? Doing shitty linework?” She stepped into the tattoo room. “Is everything okay?”
As if called by the concern in Hana’s voice, T-cup was suddenly filling the doorway. “Is everything okay?”
Hana looked back at them. “Jay got his ass kicked by Sunja for sloppy linework.”
T-cup looked just as surprised as Hana had. “Really? You? Why? What’s wrong? Have you been doing those wrist exercises I gave you?”
Jay would have facepalmed if he wasn’t covered in disinfectant. “Doesn’t anybody have any tattoos to do?”
“Just finished mine,” T-cup said.
“Same.” Hana shrugged. “And don’t change the subject. What’s up? Are your wrists hurting?”
“No! My wrists are fine, seriously guys. And yeah, I’ve been doing the exercises.”
“Okay. Then what is it?” Hana prompted.
Jay sighed, giving up. “I was just distracted! I’ve been kind of…notseeingthis guy, but sort of? I mean not really, we’re, like, fooling around I guess, but he’s really nice. Under-the-surface nice, like he seems really serious, but I think he’s just vulnerable? If that makes sense? Like he’s very defensive, I guess, is what I’m trying to say. But, yeah. We’ve started…hanging out. And I was just a little distracted! I got my shit together! It wasn’t that big of a deal…”
There was a pause before T-cup lifted their ridiculously big hands to their cheeks. “Our boy has a boyfriend,” they whispered.
“He’s not my boyfriend! Hespecificallysaid that he didn’t want to be my boyfriend. Well, he said he didn’t want a relationship. So it’s like…casual.”
“Which is why it’s distracting you at work,” Hana teased. “You should bring him here. I want to meet him.”
“No way,” Jay protested. They’d eat Logan alive and embarrass Jay the way only family could—found family or not.
“Come on! We’ll be good.”
“No way.”
“Ahem.” A pointed cough cut through their squabbling, and T-cup moved to the side to reveal Sunja. “Why are you all loitering in my parlour?”
“Jay has a paramour,” Hana teased.
Jay rolled his eyes.
Sunja raised her eyebrows. “Has your mother met him?”
“Oh my God, you are obsessed with my mother,” Jay whispered under his breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing!” Jay said, straightening. “She has. Kind of. Years ago. Not since…not recently.”
Sunja hummed judgmentally before waving her hand. “Get back to work, everybody. The next batch of clients is coming soon.”
T-cup and Hana dispersed with a last, meaningful glace in Jay’s direction. Jay stuck out his tongue at them until they disappeared from sight, slumping in his chair and groaning once he was alone.
Knowing Sunja, she was going to call his mom so they could gossip together about him and Logan.
“Fuck,” he realised. “I’m going to have to invite Logan over.”
