Page 37 of Christmas with Four Tattoo Artists

Her eyes widened as she leaned in. “But…?”

“I’ve kinda… sorta… been hooking up with a few different guys."

She pumped her fist, as if the idea of me finally getting some action was the best news she could’ve hoped for.

“Atta girl! Hooking up with different men isn’t weird. I mean, I’m usually juggling a few different guys at a time. Why commit, you know? It’s 2023, ethical non-monogamy and all that!”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m hooking up with a few different guys who are all, uh, friends.”

That got her interest. “Ooohhh, so you’re worried about them finding out. Now it’s getting juicy.”

“Still wrong. They’re all friends and everything’s out in the open, you know? They’re sort of sharing me.” I kept my voice nice and low. No one was near enough to listen in, but all the same, gossip was the last thing I wanted circulating around the shop, for obvious reasons.

Maddie's jaw dropped, her eyes widening with shock. Then, she burst into laughter, her face turning a delightful shade of red. "You’rewhat? Jules, that's insane! But also kind of… hot? So it’s like, a poly thing?”

“You don’t know the half it. These guys, they’reamazing. They’re all insanely sexy, and each of them has their own little kink that they’ve been introducing me to. One’s into light bondage, one’s into teasing and denial…” I trailed off, the memories of the night with the guys at the club coming back, my pussy clenching.

“So fucking hot.” She shook her head. “Guys can be so boring when it comes to spicing things up. And here you’ve more than one who is into trying different stuff. Lucky girl…”

"I know, right? But here's the thing…”

“Oh no, there’s a thing?”

“Kind of. I think I'm catching feelings for them. All of them. They're just so good to me, and each one has something special that I like."

Maddie nodded, as if trying to wrap her head around my situation. "Yeah, that could get tricky.”

She leaned forward as she spoke, catching sight of what was on my computer screen. It was a Word file, one I quickly closed.

Maddie grinned. “That doesn’t look like Blackjack’s schedule.”

My face turned a deep shade of red. There was something about the subject of what I had been writing that made me feel tense, embarrassed, even.

“That’s because it’s not.”

She cocked her head to the side, sensing right away my change in mood.

“What is that? I mean, I don’t want to pry, but I’m totally prying.” Her eyes flashed. “Unless it’s something super private.”

Part of me wanted to play it off, but I liked Maddie, felt like I could tell her things. “Just some story that I’ve been writing.”

Another flash of excitement. “Writing? Are you serious?”

“Shh! I don’t need everyone to know. People find out you’re a writer, an amateur one in my case, and next thing you know they want to read your stuff. I definitely don’t want that happening.”

“OK, fair enough. But that’s so cool! I had no idea you were into writing. I mean, I know you do your freelance stuff, but stories are a whole other thing.”

Maddie’s charm was working its magic on me, and by that point in the conversation I felt comfortable enough to tell her more.

“I'm working on a story to submit toThe Green Harbor. You know that super famous literary magazine?"

Maddie's eyes lit up. "The Green Harbor! Shit, they’re almost as big asThe New Yorker. Jules, that's huge! I hear they pay a lot for their stories.”

I nodded, excitement bubbling within me in spite of the shyness I usually felt when it came to the subject of my writing. "Exactly. It's a crazy-big opportunity.”

“And you’ve got the perfect material!” she exclaimed. “Bet the Harbor readers would go crazy over a tawdry love story about a girl and multiple handsome men.”

I laughed. “No way. It’s not that kind of story.”

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