Page 6 of Stay With Me
“Early release for some shitty reason or another,” he says, focusing his attention back on his artwork.
“Jax, watch your mouth,” Willow says, rolling her eyes. I laugh at her attempt to keep him wholesome, knowing the things he hears every day in this place could make a sailor blush. I hear him mumble a sheepish sorry as I turn into my station and start setting up for my first client.
The night flies by for the first few hours. Friday nights are usually slammed with kids from the local community college. By 9pm, I’ve already done matching Greek letters for a group of sorority girls, a beer can on a guy’s ass after his buddies dared him, and the always boring and cliche ‘carpe diem’ quote for some kid who just turned 18. My hands and mind are both itching for a challenging design, but I doubt I’ll see it tonight. Around 10:30 I hear the bell above the door ring, followed by my sister’s cheerful voice shouting above the buzz of tattoo guns.
“Time for a break, guys! Dinner’s here!” She waddles her way down the hall, and I do mean waddles. I figured she would be huge if she ever had a kid with Eli because he’s a fucking giant. But twins? I’m surprised she can even walk at this point.
I drop my sketch pad, beaming with pride at the finished mandala design I’ve been working on all day. I took Kelsea’s advice, of course, and turned it into a flower. Honestly, it looks beautiful. Feminine, but still intricate and bold, a perfect contrast of colors and lines. “Hey Sparky, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble just for me,” I say, rubbing my hands together excitedly as I dig through the bag of tacos and burritos she dropped on the counter.
“I didn’t,” she scoffs, and I fake a knife to the heart.
“You wound me! You mean to tell me you did all ofthis just to get some dick?!” I say, faking shock and watching the blush of embarrassment creep up her neck.
“Everett Wayne! Knock it off or I’m taking away your tacos,” she says, not denying my suggestion, but ignoring it completely.
“Yeah,Everett Wayne. If all she wanted was dick, she wouldn’t have to bring me dinner. I’ll give it up for free, Sunshine,” Eli says, coming into the room behind her and wrapping his arms around her swollen belly.
“You’re both ridiculous. This is why we can never have anything nice.” She rolls her eyes but leans into Elijah’s touch, kissing his cheek as he whispers something in her ear that makes her blush even redder than she already was.
“Excuse me, I’m trying to eat here,” I tell them, faking disgust. In the beginning of their relationship, it bothered me to see them all lovey dovey, but I’m used to it by now. I’m happy they’re both so happy together.
“Yeah, me too. If you left, I could get to eating my dinner much faster,” Eli says with a smirk and I gag.
“Dude, ew. Thats my sister.” I drop my food to the plate in front of me, suddenly not as hungry as I was a few moments ago.
“Bro, that’s mywife,”hereplies,emphasizing the last part. When Ember told me they were planning on eloping a few weeks ago, I was a little disappointed. I figured she would want a big white wedding. But she was adamant that all she wanted was to be marriedbefore my niece and nephew are born. She beams back at him at the mention of her new title, and I feel like I’m drowning in love just being near them.
Ember’s phone rings, interrupting our conversation. She picks it up, and even from a few feet away, I can hear Kelsea’s raised voice coming through the speaker.
“Woah, woah, woah, slow down, Kels! Whats the issue?” She asks, and I listen intently for any scraps of their conversation I can hear. “Uh huh, uh huh. Well, I told you he was an asshole! You should have let Eli beat his ass,” she says, rolling her eyes. I give her a confused look, prodding for more info, but she shakes me off. “Just come to the shop. I brought dinner and we can just hang here tonight until the guys are done. Then they can go track maggot Malcolm down and kick his ass,” she smirks, but my blood boils at the mention of Kelsea’s boss. I thought I did a good job of deterring him from fucking with her, but apparently not. “Ok, see you in a sec.” With that, she hangs up and shoves her phone back into her pocket.
“What happened?” I ask, my tone darker and more intense than I mean for it to be.
“Oh, nothing new, just her asshole boss being himself. Did she tell you he tried to grab her boob the other day? Totally tried to play it off like he was just brushing past her, but that definitely wasn’t the case. Apparently, today he tried something new. She didn’t give me any specifics, but she sounds really upset.”Ember makes her way to the dining table in the small break room and props her feet up in the chair beside her.
“What the fuck?! Why wouldn’t she tell me that dick tried to feel her up?? I already tried to give him the impression she was taken, so he would back off.” Fire is burning through my veins already. I’ve always had a problem keeping my anger in check, but I try to rein it in.
“I don’t know, Ev. Probably because she's worried you or Eli would put him in a coma and she likes her job too much to jeopardize it.” Ember suddenly sounds exhausted and Eli instantly comes to her side, rubbing her shoulders reassuringly.
“It’ll be fine, babe. Ev and I will take care of it. Please don’t stress. You know what the doctor said about watching your blood pressure.” I see Ember roll her eyes, but she doesn’t argue.
“I’ll talk to her when she gets here and get the rundown,” I try to be reassuring too, but I’m pissed. Pissed at Kelsea for not coming to me about this and livid that her boss can’t take a fucking hint.
Willow comes into the room with her purse already slung over her shoulder. “Hey guys, do you mind if I head out? I just checked in your last client, Eli. Ev, your 10:45 said they aren’t gonna make it, so you’re free for the rest of the night.”
“Yeah, that’s fine, Will. We can shut things down, no problem,” Ember answers her before either Eli or I canget a word in. “Tell Jax good luck on his math test tomorrow,” she says with a smile.
“I will! Make sure you keep your feet up and make Elijah give you a massage later,” Willow says, pointing a scolding finger at Eli. “It’s good for the circulation, Elijah. You got me?” Eli gives her a mock salute, and she gives us a wave as she heads for the door.
seven
I passWillow on the sidewalk as I pull up in front of the shop. She gives me her concerned mama look, but I wave her off. “Don’t ask. It’s just been a day,” I tell her, not giving her any room to argue. She gives me a sympathetic look and steers her son towards her SUV.
The bell over the door announces my arrival, and I punctuate it with an annoyed huff. The middle-aged man sitting in the waiting room shoots me a curious look, but I don’t respond. I’ve had enough of men today. Marching straight back into the break room, I see my best friend sitting at the table, her gorgeous wet-dream of a husband standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders. For just a moment, I feel a pang of jealously. I want what they have. I want somebody I can count on to always be there to catch me when I’m falling apart. My gaze flicks over to Everett at thatthought, and I find him staring at me intently, almost angrily.
“Hey guys, how’s the night going?” I plop down into the chair across from Ember, and she gives me a small smile.
“Hey babe, we’re fine. Now spill. What the hell happened with Malcolm the maggot, and how far down are we gonna have to bury him?” She asks, her face looking completely serious. I laugh at her attempt at looking threatening. Don’t get me wrong, Ember can hold her own. But she's always been the calmer one out of the two of us.
