Page 21 of Joyride
Her eyes light up. “They would consider me?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
She mulls over her next words carefully. “When would I be able to start?”
“Whenever you wanted. I can give you his number and you can call him tomorrow,” I tell her.
“That would be awesome, Sketch. Thank you.” She leans forward an inch, then stops as if she’s reevaluating her next move. She finishes off her drink. Sliding her legs off me, she stands on wobbly feet, nearly falling. I grab her hips to help steady her, and she freezes.
“You okay,” I ask.
“Mhmm, I stood too fast.” She walks away to get another drink before Aria pulls her into dancing again.Something Just Like Thisby the Chainsmokers is playing now. I watch, hypnotized by her movements.
The next morning, we head back to the soon-to-be Savage Menaces clubhouse. Gator and the guys are already awake and ready to leave. Clutch and Diesel get their bags and toss them in the trunk. Kicks takes longer because of Raven. I’ve never seen him whipped like he is. I didn’t expect him to ever want to settle down with one chick.
When we leave, Clutch, Diesel, and Kicks are in Clutch’s car. Me and Gator are in his car and Chaos, Vegas, Kamikaze and Mac are riding their bikes. Something I wish I was fucking doing. We should get back to the clubhouse close to ten tonight. We’ve barely been on the road for an hour, and all I want to do is turn around and go back to Wren.
14
Wren
Sketchand the guys left yesterday to go back to Texas. I was half tempted to go with them, but thought better of it. It’s too soon to go back. I reached out to Luke about working at the Mad Tatter. I’m supposed to meet with him this afternoon. They open at noon, and he told me to come anytime after that. I’ve been awake since eight this morning, but I have yet to drag myself out of bed. It’s eleven-thirty now. Time to get up.
I take a quick shower and throw some clothes on. I choose an army green cropped t-shirt with high waisted shorts, pairing the outfit with a pair of white Adidas with black stripes. I stick with a light smokey eye and my favorite Kylie Cosmetics creme lipstick, Crush. Once I’m finished getting ready, I leave. I text Aria to let her know where I’m going in case anything happens.
Twenty minutes later, my GPS brings me to where the Mad Tatter is supposed to be. The street level of the building is occupied by a metaphysical supply store, Spiritual Academy. There’s a stairway off to the left with a sign that saysDown the Rabbit Holewith The Mad Tatter in a smaller font underneath. I walk down the stairs while making a mental note to check out Spiritual Academy sometime.
When I walk into the Mad Tatter, it’s as if I’m walking into a real-life Wonderland, straight out of Tim Burton’s mind. The front desk is the first thing I see. It’s tall with metal wall art that readsWe’re all mad here. The floors are black and white checkered. Framed playing card suits and chess pieces decorate the walls. Faux white roses with red splatters are placed throughout the shop, too.
“Hey! Did you have any trouble finding the place?” Luke walks to the front desk.
“My GPS was very helpful.” I giggle. “This place is awesome. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Thanks. We’ve worked really hard on it.” His face is beaming. “You want a tour? Then we can head back to the office and talk.”
“Sure, that sounds great,” I reply. I follow him past the front desk. There are six workstations, all divided by half walls.
“There are four artists that work here full time,” Luke tells me. “With Sketch being our fifth artist part-time. Each of us has our own workstation, and each station has curtains in case a client would like some privacy.”
We get to the fifth station and I can instantly tell this one belongs to Sketch. He has some of his drawings up on the walls. Including one of a Carolina Wren. I can’t help but wonder if he drew that with me in mind. Either way, it’s beautiful. Before the tattoo convention, I had seen some of Sketch’s drawings. After seeing his portfolio at the convention, I know, without a doubt, I want him to do my lotus tattoo.
“There’s a bathroom here.” Luke gestures to his left as we walk through a short hallway. “To the right is a supply room. We all keep plenty of supplies at our stations, but when we need to refill or replace something, it’ll be in that room.”
We walk straight ahead and come to what I would consider is a break room. There’s a couch, a kitchen table, tv, refrigerator, the works. On the counter, there’s a Keurig with a K-pod stand next to it that has a small sign that saysDrink Me. At the other end of the counter is a basket of snacks with a sign that saysEat Me. There are two doors back here. One looks like it leads outside. The other is open and I can tell it’s Luke’s office.
“Y’all have such an awesome setup here,” I say.
“Thank you. We try to make it comfortable for everyone. We can talk in here.” He motions to his office. “Austin and Cooper both have appointments soon. If we try to talk anywhere else, they’ll butt in.” He chuckles.
I walk into his office and it’s as cozy as the break room. He has his desk and chair with another chair sitting in front of it and a small couch off to the side. It's similar to Bull's office at the clubhouse. He walks around his desk to sit while I sit in a chair in front of him. I take the chance to really look at him. He’s wearing a black hat with a white bill. He’s as into piercings as he is tattoos. He has his eyebrow, nose, and septum pierced, with a few different ones on his ears and gauges. His eyes are a blue-green that reminds me of seafoam green and his beard is cut short. He’s no Sketch, but he’s handsome.
“So, let’s discuss some things you will be doing if you decide to take the job,” Luke starts. I nod my head, eager to get started. “You’ll be in charge of the front desk. That involves some administrative work - which we can talk about next, greeting guests, answering the phone, scheduling appointments, and showing flash art or portfolios.”
“Sounds easy enough.” I shrug.
Luke flashes me a grin. “You think so?”
“Oh yeah. Also sounds like something that could keep me busy and that’s something I need right now,” I tell him.
