Page 1 of Sam (Eye Candy Ink)

1

Sam

Why are guys such idiots?

No, seriously, it’s a legitimate question. I’ve been trying to get Nico’s last client to leave for about ten minutes now but he’s still leaning on the front counter, blabbering on about lord only knows what. I tuned him out as soon as he said I was pretty. He’s already paid so there’s no reason for him to still be here and if he bothered to pay attention to anyone but himself, then he would have noticed that I am clearly not interested.

“So, then I was like, ‘Liam, bro, you can’t have a green rover because I already called it.’

He rolls his eyes at me like I should find his buddy Liam just as ridiculous as he does and I just stare blankly back at him.Get the hell out,I mentally scream at him. He ignores my obviously disinterested face and goes on.

I’ve seen this type of guy before and I can already see what would happen if I went home with him. His place would be small, his bedroom littered with dirty socks and underwear and smelling like stale beer. There are probably at least two posters of half-naked women draped over cars tacked up in his room and his bed is unmade with sheets that have probably never been washed. He’ll get off in under twenty minutes, leaving me dissatisfied and then I’ll pretend like I had a great time and get the hell out of there. In a day or two, I’ll get a text at midnight with a picture of his dick and an invite to come over and sit on it. I’ll ignore him and pray that we never run into each other again.

My last few dates might have left me a little disillusioned and bitter.

I’m just so sick of men- no, not men. Boys. I’m so sick of going out with boys pretending to be men. Boys who have no idea what they want or who they are, let alone how to treat a woman. This guy yammering on about who the hell cares? He is most definitely a boy.

I sigh, loudly, and the guy waiting in the chair by the door laughs. He came in a couple of minutes ago but I haven’t been able to find out who he’s here to see because I can’t get rid of Chad here.

That guy? Oh, he’s all man. He’s hot and I’d guess he’s in his mid-thirties with pitch black hair and bright green eyes. He’s fit and I glance quickly at where he’s sprawled out in the chair. He’s got one big booted foot resting on his knee and a white button-down shirt tucked into dark blue jeans. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up and I think I see a tattoo on his forearm but I force my eyes away before I stare too long.

Don’t want him to get the wrong idea. My brothers taught me the best way to get rid of boys when I was younger. Just ignore them and if that doesn’t work, then tell them to get lost. Most guys think you’re a bitch if you tell them point blank that you’re not interested but those are also the guys who can’t take cues from body language so they obviously need it spelled out for them.

I grew up in Buffalo, New York with my dad and two older brothers. My mom passed away when I was five. Cancer. It sucked but at least I got to spend some time with her. My dad and brothers did their best to fill the hole she left in our family and I’ll always love them for that. My dad was a boxer before he had kids. Once we came along, he stopped and started training other guys instead. He has a gym in downtown Buffalo and I remember spending most of my time helping out there.

I thought one of my brothers would grow up and become a boxer or fighter too but they chose different paths. Miles, the oldest of us, became a police officer, and Abe became a firefighter.

Being raised by three guys was interesting and I know that they were definitely overprotective. They were supportive when I told them that I wanted to become a body piercer, probably because I would have a lot of needles to use as weapons if I needed to. I had originally wanted to be a tattoo artist but I’m not the best drawer. When I went to the local tattoo parlor and saw the piercing charts, I fell in love.

They were decidedly less happy when I told them that I was moving to Pittsburgh. You would have thought it was the end of the world. I had to promise that I would call every week and come visit at least once a month. They’ve gotten more relaxed on that after they met the guys at Eye Candy Ink and saw that I had found a group of guys who were going to love and protect me like family.

Atlas and I met when we were interviewed by Zeke and we grew closer as friends as we explored the city together. He’s such a sweetheart that it was hard not to love him. Mischa would join us half of the time and it’s impossible not to like that guy. He might drive you crazy sometimes with his antics but inside, he’s a puppy dog. Nico and Zeke are both older and have been tattooing for over a decade. They’re both masters at it and I love watching them work, although Zeke rarely does it these days. Nico lets me sit in on some of his sessions though and he never minds if I flip through some of his drawing pads. The guy is such a talented dude. He could have been a painter or something and made it big but he loves tattoos.

I look back to the guy in the chair and see he’s still watching me, a slight smile on his lips. I wonder if Nico has one last client tonight.I wouldn’t mind sitting in on his session, I think as my eyes run over the guy once again. I catch myself when my eyes start to linger and jerk my gaze away and back to Chad. It’s time to get this loser the hell out of here.

I sigh again and straighten my shoulders, pushing some of my freshly dyed hair away from my face. I dye it a different color every few weeks. This time it’s a bright fire engine red that you can see from a mile away. I found this pair of Converse that were the same color and fell in love. I wiggle my toes in my shoes as my eyes meet Chad’s.

“Well, thanks for coming in,” I say, cutting him off.

I’m at work after all so I can’t be too rude.

Chad breaks off mid-sentence and seems genuinely surprised that someone would dare to interrupt him. I want to roll my eyes at that but instead I just paste my most professional, bland smile on my face.

“Yeah, so anyway,” Chad starts, his eyes trailing down to my tight black Eye Candy Ink shirt. I roll my eyes at that but he’s not looking at my face so he misses it.

“Hey, asshole, my eyes are up here.”

I hear a laugh behind me and turn to see Zeke standing there watching me. He should be pissed that I just talked to a customer like that but instead he just seems amused and I know that he has my back. Best boss ever.

“I was thinking that we should grab some drinks sometime,” Chad says, not deterred by me calling him an asshole or calling him out for staring at my tits.

I stare at him like he’s an idiot but he just looks at me expectantly. I’m pretty sure he expected me to fall all over myself to take him up on his offer and I bite back another eye roll. This is why I’ve sworn off dating. Who wants to spend time with a dumb little boy who is only interested in one thing? I promised myself no more dating boys after my last date ended in disaster. I left early but that didn’t stop the guy from sending me a dick pic the next night and then texting me at midnight to see if I wanted to hook up.

My lip curls in disgust and I force myself to smile back politely at Chad.

“No thanks.”

“Aw, come on, baby.”

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