Page 18 of Paint Eater
Jay laughed as they struggled, the noise ringing out into the night, cutting off eventually as fighting dissolved once more into kissing.
CHAPTER SIX
JAY
“Oi. You. come here.”
Jay looked up from the tattoo he was just starting, blinking at Sunja, who was looming over him.
“Er, okay.” He turned to the client. “Sorry, I’ll be right back.”
The lady nodded as Jay set down the ink gun and took off his gloves, stepping out with Sunja.
“Um, is everything okay?” Jay asked tentatively once they were in the stock room.
“You tell me, brat. What the hell is with the wonky-ass shit linework? Like, really?”
Jay flushed. “Shit. Fuck, I’m sorry.”
“Kid, what’s going on? You haven’t done linework that uneven in more than a year. I know at first glance it’s better than most, but, shit, youknowthat doesn’t fly here.”
“I know! Fuck, sorry.”
“What’s going on? Sofia okay?”
Jay fought against rolling his eyes. “Yeah, she’s fine.”
“Then, what?”
“Sorry. I’ve just been…distracted, I guess.”
Sunja looked at him sternly.
“Is this bad distracted, or good distracted?”
“Um…” He thought about Logan, and how they had stayed up late the previous night just making out. “Good distracted?”
“Then get your head in the game, or I’ll put you on mandala duty for a month.”
“Nooo! I hate mandalas!”
“I know, but they’ll teach you to keep a steady hand. Now go and concentrate on your tattoo. Take breaks if you need them, but don’t you let me see any sloppy linework.”
“Okay! Yeah, fuck, sorry.”
Truth was, hehadbeen distracted that day. That wasn’t unusual for him, being distracted, but tattooing seemed to be one of the exceptions. The combination of creativity and physicality allowed him to focus for far longer than he could on practically anything else…except maybe kissing Logan.
Fuck! No!Jay shook his head. He had toconcentrate.
By the time he was finished with the tattoo, he had managed to drain his mind of all things Logan, actually completing a piece that he was proud of. Which was good—leaving someone with a permanent tattoo he hadn’t given his best at would kill him.
Jay started cleaning his tools and disinfecting everything once he’d wiped and wrapped the tattoo, sending the happy client to the desk to pay, when Hana popped up in the doorway.
“Heard the boss kicked your ass,” she teased.
Jay groaned. “Is she mad?”
“You know she isn’t. We all need a good ass-kicking once in a while.”
