him.
“I know.” And yet, he still leans forward and I do too. Our lips are close, so so close, that I smell him and feel him and almost taste him when—“Oh my God! Told you they’re open! I knew I saw someone inside.”
My body jerks away from Maddox as two girls laugh while they’re stepping inside. Neither of them are looking at us, so I don’t think we were caught.
“Hey! You’re open, right? The sign says closed, but we saw you in here and the door is unlocked,” the perky blonde says.
The girl standing next to her is dark-skinned with hundreds of long, black braids in her hair.
“Are we interrupting?” she asks.
“Nope.” I head toward them. “Yeah, we’re open. I forgot to change the sign.” Total lie, but it’ll keep Maddox and I away from each other, something we need.
“What are you looking for?” I ask the girl with the braids.
“Not me. Her.” She points to her friend.
The blonde shows me a little sun design she brought in and I give her a quote. When she agrees, I tell her, “Cool. I’m Bee. This is Maddox. He’s learning the biz.”
Braids eyes him. “Hi. I’m Christine and this is Aimee.”
“Hey.” Maddox nods at them and then turns to me. “I’ll get the equipment set up.”
We go through our usual routine and it’s not long before I’m sitting down and tattooing a sun on the swell of Aimee’s breast. Maddox sits close like he always does, studying what I’m doing and asking questions. I can still feel the heat rolling off him.
“So you’re looking to get into tattooing?” Christine asks him.
Obviously.
“Yeah.”
“That’s cool. You’ve had some nice work done.”
“Thanks,” he tells her. And on and on and on. She wants him. That much I can tell and she has every right to want him. I’m not one of those girls who’s going to hate her because she has eyes in her head and knows a good-looking guy when she sees one. Plus, Maddox isn’t mine.
Even though he’s giving short answers, he’s not being a dick to her. He’s into watching Aimee get tattooed. That’s what he’s here for. Every once in a while, I glance his way and honestly, I can’t even tell if he realizes this woman wants him. I don’t mean that I think he’s oblivious to things, it’s… I don’t think Maddox works that way. He doesn’t run off emotions unless it’s for his family. He keeps his distance, which means he’s not paying attention.
Whoa
. Why do I suddenly think I know him so well?
I pull the tattoo gun away from the client’s skin to wipe away some of the excess ink.
“It looks good,” Maddox tells me. “The white around the sun makes it stick out more. I was iffy about it at first.”
“You don’t trust me?” I try to tease him, hoping it will get my thoughts away from things that are real.
But when he replies, “More than I trust others,” my heart stumbles. I put my needle back to work on Aimee’s tattoo as his reply rolls over and over in my mind. In the same vein, I almost feel like I trust him more than I do others too. The way he still stays here watching me tattoo and the easy set of his body tells me he didn’t mean anything by his comment. It wasn’t some big declaration, but still, it feels like
something
. I’ve had too many of those moments with him.
When I’m finished with the tattoo, Christine says to Maddox, “I’ll have to come back when you’re tattooing. You can give me my first one.”
Hello, flirty.
Again, she’s not doing anything wrong. More power to her for going after what she wants but I still find myself feeling pissy when I grit out, “He won’t be here when he’s on his own. Masquerade is mine.”
Maddox’s face flashes a different kind of fire than the look he gave me by the desk. This one is hard and I know it’s my fault. I have no idea what’s gotten into me; I only know I don’t like it. I’d turned the atmosphere in the room to awkward as hell.
Without a reply to me, or Christine, Maddox
“I know.” And yet, he still leans forward and I do too. Our lips are close, so so close, that I smell him and feel him and almost taste him when—“Oh my God! Told you they’re open! I knew I saw someone inside.”
My body jerks away from Maddox as two girls laugh while they’re stepping inside. Neither of them are looking at us, so I don’t think we were caught.
“Hey! You’re open, right? The sign says closed, but we saw you in here and the door is unlocked,” the perky blonde says.
The girl standing next to her is dark-skinned with hundreds of long, black braids in her hair.
“Are we interrupting?” she asks.
“Nope.” I head toward them. “Yeah, we’re open. I forgot to change the sign.” Total lie, but it’ll keep Maddox and I away from each other, something we need.
“What are you looking for?” I ask the girl with the braids.
“Not me. Her.” She points to her friend.
The blonde shows me a little sun design she brought in and I give her a quote. When she agrees, I tell her, “Cool. I’m Bee. This is Maddox. He’s learning the biz.”
Braids eyes him. “Hi. I’m Christine and this is Aimee.”
“Hey.” Maddox nods at them and then turns to me. “I’ll get the equipment set up.”
We go through our usual routine and it’s not long before I’m sitting down and tattooing a sun on the swell of Aimee’s breast. Maddox sits close like he always does, studying what I’m doing and asking questions. I can still feel the heat rolling off him.
“So you’re looking to get into tattooing?” Christine asks him.
Obviously.
“Yeah.”
“That’s cool. You’ve had some nice work done.”
“Thanks,” he tells her. And on and on and on. She wants him. That much I can tell and she has every right to want him. I’m not one of those girls who’s going to hate her because she has eyes in her head and knows a good-looking guy when she sees one. Plus, Maddox isn’t mine.
Even though he’s giving short answers, he’s not being a dick to her. He’s into watching Aimee get tattooed. That’s what he’s here for. Every once in a while, I glance his way and honestly, I can’t even tell if he realizes this woman wants him. I don’t mean that I think he’s oblivious to things, it’s… I don’t think Maddox works that way. He doesn’t run off emotions unless it’s for his family. He keeps his distance, which means he’s not paying attention.
Whoa
. Why do I suddenly think I know him so well?
I pull the tattoo gun away from the client’s skin to wipe away some of the excess ink.
“It looks good,” Maddox tells me. “The white around the sun makes it stick out more. I was iffy about it at first.”
“You don’t trust me?” I try to tease him, hoping it will get my thoughts away from things that are real.
But when he replies, “More than I trust others,” my heart stumbles. I put my needle back to work on Aimee’s tattoo as his reply rolls over and over in my mind. In the same vein, I almost feel like I trust him more than I do others too. The way he still stays here watching me tattoo and the easy set of his body tells me he didn’t mean anything by his comment. It wasn’t some big declaration, but still, it feels like
something
. I’ve had too many of those moments with him.
When I’m finished with the tattoo, Christine says to Maddox, “I’ll have to come back when you’re tattooing. You can give me my first one.”
Hello, flirty.
Again, she’s not doing anything wrong. More power to her for going after what she wants but I still find myself feeling pissy when I grit out, “He won’t be here when he’s on his own. Masquerade is mine.”
Maddox’s face flashes a different kind of fire than the look he gave me by the desk. This one is hard and I know it’s my fault. I have no idea what’s gotten into me; I only know I don’t like it. I’d turned the atmosphere in the room to awkward as hell.
Without a reply to me, or Christine, Maddox
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