Draw Me In (12 page)

It was a testament to Karl’s teaching that I didn’t jump and drag a jagged ink line over Drake’s arm. My hand was rock-steady as I answered. “Nope.”

“She’s hot.”

I rubbed the tiger down again, giving it a critical eye before dipping my machine. “Yeah, she is.”

Drake crossed his legs at the ankles. “She seems kind of interested. Keeps looking in here.”

A wave of jealousy crashed through me. I looked toward my ink cups while responding. “Thought you said you were married.”

“I am. She’s looking at you.”

Hardly daring to hope, I glanced over my shoulder. Hailey quickly looked back down at her sketchbook, but not soon enough to prevent me from seeing that Drake was right. She’d been staring at me.

I felt a half-smile cross my face as I turned back to my task. “So she is.”

A few minutes later, Drake’s tiger was done. I applied a thin layer of ointment, taping a temporary covering of cling film over it. “Keep it clean, no pools or baths till it heals, and put ointment on it twice a day.”

Drake slid from the chair, admiring it. “It looks even better than it did before. I can’t thank you enough, man. How much do I owe you?”

I glanced up from cleaning my station. “No charge, man. Thanks for your service. Just do me a favor and tell your friends to come here, yeah?”

Drake grinned. “You got it. Since this turned out so well, I’m definitely wanting more. I’ll be back myself.” He pulled his wallet free and pulled a bill out, passing it over to me. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem.” I slid the tip into my pocket without looking at it. “Let me walk you out.”

I followed Drake from the studio, laughing as the customer cracked a joke. I glanced over at Hailey as we came nearer.

“Listen, man, thanks. This is great.” Drake shook my hand.

“No problem. See you soon.” I leaned against the counter as Drake left, the electronic beep echoing behind him.

I was intensely aware of her even though I wasn’t looking at her, wasn’t even that close to her. There had to be at least three feet between us. But I could swear I felt the heat from her body, smelled the clean, beautiful scent of her. I shook my head inwardly. Man, I had to do something about this. Nothing could happen between us, despite how good that kiss had felt.

Damn, I wanted to kiss her again so bad it hurt.

“Can I show you what I did?” Her voice broke my reverie.

“Sure.” Rounding the corner of the desk, I leaned down next to her. Close. Too close. What I’d imagined feeling a moment ago was too real now. I breathed in deep, drawing her into my lungs before looking at the drawing.

“Wow. This is nice.”

I tilted the sketch slightly to get a better look. It was a cat, almost smiling, but incredibly realistic. A beautiful scrollwork banner unfurled below his paws, and the lettering inside, though traditional, had a flair that was incredibly appealing. “Amigo,” it read.

Hailey’s feet shifted under the desk, a nervous tapping sound. “I hope it’s okay. A lady came in yesterday and she told me about her cat, showed me the picture. Roger did the tattoo. I’m not sure what that one looked like, but I thought it’d be a cool thing to try.”

I smiled. The offer might have been impromptu, some would say completely idiotic, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it while looking at this piece. She had talent, and more than that, she had empathy. The combination would take her incredibly far in this business, if she could get the right training.

“Come on, girl. Let’s go clean up my station, and we can talk about hygiene.”

Hailey shook her head, a confused expression on her face. “But what about the sketch? Was it okay?”

Without thinking about what I was doing, I grabbed her hand. “It’ll do for now. But there’s a lot more to learn than drawing, so let’s get to it.”

As I led her into the studio, I realized something odd. My heart felt light. The lightest it’d been in a very long time.

Chapter Ten

Hailey

I staggered into my room at midnight, dropping my bag by the foot of my bed and falling face-first into the comforter.

“Hey, you okay?” Jackie’s voice seemed to come from a million miles away.

“Fine,” I tried to say, but the wad of comforter against my mouth made it come out more like
“Fffmfmf.”
I lifted my head slightly. “I’m fine. Just exhausted.”

Jackie laughed. “This new job working you hard? I thought your shift ended at nine.”

I rolled to my side, facing my roommate in the dimness of the lamplit room. “It did. But I spent some time there afterward.”

“With that yummy new boss, I hope?” Jackie tossed the bag of chips she’d been munching from onto her desk.

“Yeah, but not like that.” Despite the butterflies that had been banging against my ribs for the rest of the night, it had been completely innocent. I smiled. “He asked me to be his apprentice.”

“Apprentice? Like, to learn tattooing?” Jackie’s gleeful squeal was much too loud this late at night. I shushed her.

“Yeah.”

“Holy crap, that’s exciting! You can practice on me, if you want.” Jackie dumped her laptop on her pillow and shoved up the sleeve of her hoodie. “I’ve got a spot right here for you to doodle on. Seriously.”

“It’s going to take a while before I’m able to do any tattooing on anybody, Jackie.” I sat up, swinging my legs off the edge of the bed. “Like, a year or more, probably.”

“Oh, bullshit.” Jackie snorted. “You’re such a great artist, I’m sure you’ll be doing it much faster than that.”

I pulled the elastic from my hair, sighing with relief as the tension on my scalp eased. “There’s a lot more to it than drawing, you know. Tonight I started learning about hygiene and stuff. Blood-borne pathogens, cleaning, that kind of thing.”

“That’s kind of uninteresting and disappointing,” Jackie said, wrinkling her nose. “Well, anyway, I’m here whenever you want to practice.”

“Thanks.” I shoved to my feet and padded to the bathroom, cracking my jaw on a yawn. “I’m going to grab a shower and head to bed. I’ve got an eight o’clock class in the morning.”

Jackie grabbed her bag. “I’m heading over to Anthony’s. See you tomorrow, okay?”

I waved. “’Night.”

As the water squeaked on and I removed my clothes, I thought back to Neill’s completely bemusing offer. It was so exciting, but my nerves were kind of thin with tension at the same time.

I stepped into the white porcelain tub, drawing the flower-speckled plastic curtain shut behind me. Tilting my head up to the spray, I dragged in a steamy breath.

Water pinged off my face, trickling downward, the wet heat lining my lips. With a finger, I rubbed them.

I had kissed him. And he’d kissed me back.

Water ran down my shoulders, over my breasts, and lower, and try as I might, I couldn’t stop pretending that it was Neill’s hands, Neill’s mouth, Neill everywhere.

“Shut up,” I hissed to myself. My voice echoed off the small blue tiles of the shower, and I winced. My suitemates didn’t deserve to be woken up late because I was preoccupied. .Finishing my shower quickly, I toweled off and slipped into my pajamas.

As I climbed into bed, I reached over to switch off the lamp. The whole room was plunged into darkness, only the bright numbers on my clock casting a glow on the edge of my bed. My gaze wandered over the inky blackness, settling finally on the window. Jackie had left the blinds open again, and the soft glow from the lamps along the walkway spilled soft fingers of light on my roommate’s rumpled covers.

I drew the comforter close up under my chin, squishing it down with a huge yawn.

When I closed my eyes, Neill was there. Laughing at me, teasing me, getting that serious look when he talked about cross-contamination and autoclave settings. Tomorrow I’d bring a spare notebook and write down what I needed to know.

A tattoo artist. I was really doing this. But could I keep my heart safe from Neill? I really shouldn’t think of him that way. I couldn’t think about a relationship, not with him or anyone . . .

Sleep claimed me within moments of that thought.

My brain stuttered, fighting against wakefulness. I rolled over onto my stomach without opening my eyes, burrowing under my pillow. Ugh. I was definitely the kind of girl who needed a solid eight hours to function normally. With the extra hours at the shop plus the late-night shower, I’d gone to bed well past the time I should have. Any minute now the alarm would go off, and I’d have just enough time to swing past the vending machine and grab a granola bar on my way to class.

“Dammit,” I mumbled into the sheets. “Donwannamove.”

Another breath, then two, and I reluctantly lifted my head, my pillow flopping to the floor like a dead fish. I blinked at the clock.

Then blinked again.

“Jesus Christ,” I squeaked in horror as the numbers made sense to my foggy brain. “Oh, crap, are you kidding me?”

It was 9:52. I hadn’t set the alarm last night, and I’d completely missed my first class. Crap, crap, crap. I needed those notes. And since my only other class was for a project I’d already completed, I didn’t have anything else to show up to today.

Shoving the covers off, I padded to the bathroom, frowning tightly. Not good. I was struggling to make a B in that religion class, and the missed lessons sure wouldn’t help my average.

I fumed at myself as I brushed my teeth extra-hard in punishment. I had to do better. The whole reason I’d taken this job was to stay in school. I refused to let Dr. Fields be right about the job thing.

Staring at myself in the mirror with foam coating my lips, I paused. Dr. Fields. I was supposed to meet with him this afternoon. He’d suggested we do calculus tutoring twice a week, so I wouldn’t fall behind.

Bending over the sink, I spat. As I yanked the faucet on and rinsed my mouth, I made up my mind. Screw the meeting. My calculus average was fine. Even if I bombed the last test and the exam, I’d still pass the class—barely. Besides, I wouldn’t be missing any more classes. I’d just have to work extra hard to make sure nothing like this happened again.

After tossing on some clothes and grabbing a notebook, I jammed my feet into my sneakers and left for the dining hall. I’d grab an early lunch and head straight to the shop. I didn’t have to be there until three, but as Neill had explained, the more I was there and learning, the better.

I couldn’t agree more.

Neill

I finished rinsing the glass and propped it upside down in the drain board. Drying my hands with a blue plaid towel, I tossed it over the board and leaned up against the dark green counter. I glanced around the apartment.

Clean. Too clean for a single guy living alone, really. The pale sage walls of my kitchen were blank, no pictures, no cutesy quotes, no oversize cutlery to break up the grassy color. It was almost sterile. Empty. I frowned. I should know about empty.

Walking down the hall to the master bedroom, I sighed. The house was too big for me. Two bedrooms, two baths, decent-size backyard. But I got a great deal on the rent, since Karl owned it. So I stayed here, bouncing around the empty rooms.

Maybe I should get a dog. Or a cat.

Snorting to myself, I pulled on my socks.
Nope, no pets
. I’d stay alone, and I’d be fine.

I glanced at the clock as I sat on the edge of my king-size bed to pull on my black boots. The shop was supposed to open at noon, and we took turns coming in early. It wasn’t my day, but I was there more often than not at opening time. What else did I have to do? Stare at my blank walls? Work, eat, come home, watch TV, and crash. The cycle was never-ending. The only joy I had was in my art, my work.

And Hailey,
my traitorous mind hissed. Despite myself, I smiled as I rose, the soft beige carpet giving under my weight.

She’d been wonderful last night, volunteering to stay and help me out. She’d watched as I finished up my last tattoo, her bright eyes rapt as she watched me work. Afterward, she’d helped me clean down the station, and I’d showed her some of the basics. We’d talked shop for probably an hour. I couldn’t remember being half as excited to show anyone what I did as I had been then.

We’d stood close, probably too close for as little as we knew each other, but I hadn’t minded, and neither did she, it seemed. When she’d said goodbye, I’d wanted to kiss her again. Her chin had turned upward, her eyes heavy-lidded, but I’d stepped back and given her a wave instead.

I glanced at my reflection in the bureau mirror. Maybe today I could get to know her more. Maybe today I could start to forget the past, move on to something more positive. Something that would help me heal. Or, more to the point, someone.

My boots thunked on the polished wooden floor of the hallway. As I bent to pick up my helmet from the black wicker basket by the back door, my cellphone chimed.

Wrinkling my brow, I pulled the vibrating phone from my pocket. An unfamiliar number lit up the screen. As my finger hovered over the “answer” button, a funny feeling tightened in my gut. Hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and a shiver marched up my spine.

Shaking off the oddness, I walked into the kitchen as I punched the button. “Hello?”

“Hi, sugar.”

The voice that purred out of the phone floored me, and I gripped the back of the nearest chair to keep from punching the wall. “Gretchen.”

She laughed, a rough sound that used to delight me. Now it just hurt. “Of course it’s me.”

“Why the hell are you calling me? I thought you were in prison.” I jerked the chair around, sinking into it slowly. My fingers dug into my knee, white knuckles gleaming against the dark denim of my jeans. My heart thumped hard against my ribs, a squeezing pain surrounding it.

“I was. On parole now. Have to check in with my babysitter every week, but other than that, I’m a free woman. I’ve missed you, sugar.”

I fought the urge to chuck the phone across the room. “Bullshit. You missed stealing money from me to get your goddamn fix. Forget this number, we’re done.” I started to jerk the phone away from my ear and end the call, but her cajoling voice interrupted.

“Shit, you really know how to make a girl feel special, don’t you? No, I missed you, Neill. A lot. I’d love to see you later. We could go out, grab some dinner, maybe something more . . . I don’t know . . . fun afterward?”