Page 4 of Molly

It surprised me a little, honestly. I’ve never been in a relationship, never even asked a woman on a date. Being a relatively big guy, covered in ink, that likes to draw, has made getting women easy, too easy. I’m thirty-two, and the bachelor lifestyle has suited me just fine up until this point. But for some reason, she’s caught my attention.

I stop and look up at her. Going by her expression, I’ve caught hers too.

I prod a little further, and she keeps going, explaining how hard it is to get certain plants in at this time of the year. I nod along, pretending I know what she’s talking about, but honestly, I’m just listening to her voice.

“So, how’d you get into tattooing?” she asks. “I saw the sketches you’ve framed out front. You’re insanely talented.” The awe lining her tone makes me smile.

“Started drawing when I was old enough to hold a pencil, loved it ever since. Grew up wanting to be an artist, but tattooing seemed like a more solid career choice. Once I started apprenticing, the other guys in the shop would ink me for free during my lunch breaks. That’s how I ended up covered from head to toe.” I laugh.

“I think your tattoos are incredible,” she whispers, and I feel my chest puff out a little.

“Thanks, gorgeous. Designed them all myself.” I specialise in Old School American and realism. My body is covered in both.

“That’s really cool,” she says, looking down at her wrist.

“How’s it feeling? You still good?” I ask. I move the hand holding her in place higher, rub the inside of her arm with my thumb, and her breath hitches. Her eyes meet mine, and I can see the desire swirling in them.Perfect.

“Molly?” I ask again.

She blinks and clears her throat, pulling herself out of the daze she was in. “Mhmm, yeah. Feels fine. It actually feels kind of good, in a weird way. Is that normal?” she says, struggling to get the words out in order.

I grin and keep rubbing up and down slowly. “It does, doesn’t it? It’s almost soothing, the sound of the gun, the feel of the needle penetrating your skin...” Her chest starts rising and falling a little faster. Her cheeks redden from my words, and I know I’ve got her exactly where I want her. “Look, maybe tonight I could take you-”

“Hey, Ry.” A high-pitched voice snaps my attention from Molly to the doorway. The blonde I took home from the pub last night is standing there, dressed like she’s about to go clubbing. She’s wearing a tight, hot pink strapless dress that barely hits her upper thighs and the highest pair of heels I’ve ever fucking seen. How did she even walk down here without me hearing her?

“Thought I’d stop by, see if you wanted to grab some lunch orsomething. I didn’t even have time to get your number last night. You left so quickly after...” She’s running her hand up and down the door frame. I assume she’s trying to look sexy, but all it’s doing is pissing me off. I just painted those walls, and now she’s got her grubby hands all over them.

“I’m with a client, babe.”I use that one when I don’t remember their name. “Can I give you a call later on?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, no worries, I’ll, um, talk to you later,” she replies, hesitating for a minute before turning to leave. She obviously didn’t think about the fact that I don’t have her number. Don’t want it either. She knew the score when she came home with me.

I turn back to Molly to apologise, but she’s staring off at the wall, looking disinterested in the conversation I just had with blondie. Her expression is blank, with no sign of the arousal she was sporting two minutes ago.

Fuck me, I’ve screwed this up already. Last night was one of those nights I just didn’t want to go home alone... I love my life, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it’s nice to feel a warm body next to me while I sleep.

I clear my throat and tilt my head, trying to meet her gaze, but she doesn’t move. “Sorry about that, Molly...”

“No worries. Let’s just finish up, yeah?” There’s a slight waver in her voice, but I decide to ignore it and keep going.

When I’m done, I place my tattoo gun on the tray and grab the soap bottle. I pump some foam onto her wrist, gently clean the area, wipe it off with some paper towel and cover the tattoo with clear film.

“All done,” I say, standing up. “Let’s get you some aftercare instructions.”

I lead her to the front and pass her a card, explaining how to take care of her fresh ink. I talk her through it, basically explaining what’s written down. She nods along, listening intently. “Okay, yep, sure. I’ll call the shop if I have any issues,” she says.

As she goes to grab her purse, and I put my hand to stop her. “First client in the new shop, it’s on me.”

“Oh, no. That’s okay, I’m happy to-”

“I insist,” I say, cutting her off.

She nods. “Okay, well, thank you. It’s perfect, exactly what I wanted.” She smiles with her mouth, but the rest of her face doesn’t move.

“You want to go out with me, Molly?” I blurt out much more quickly and a hell of a lot louder than I intended to.

Her eyes widen in surprise, and then she looks me up and down, grinning mischievously. “I think you’ve got enough on your plate, but thanks.”

I lean down a little so that our faces are closer together. “It’s cute you’re jealous, babe, but she wasn’t anyone special. I only met her last night.” Her lip rolls up in disgust, and I realise I’ve said the wrong thing.I’m not doing well here.

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