Sketch (10 page)

“I truly get it, Sketch.” She leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. “My only question is, when will I see you again?”

Going over my schedule mentally in my head, I’m trying to figure out when the best time will be. “I work the later shift tomorrow, so I’ll be at the shop until ten. If you want to swing by when you get off work, you can. Other than that, I have the early shift on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday I’m booked solid all day with Reaper, but I’m taking off Saturday and Sunday because I know Friday will do me in.”

“The whole weekend?”

I can see the excitement in her eyes. It’s been years since I took an entire weekend off. I can’t help the grin that spreads over my face. I’m feeling lighter, and I’m feeling good that she’s so excited about it. “I kinda thought it’d be a good idea. Maybe we can go to my parents’ cabin.”

My parents have a cabin up in the mountains. It’s in this small town straight outta
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
. Nina and I have been there a few times over the years, but it’s been a very long while. The last time we were there, we got into a huge fight about me working too much. I don’t bring that up, because I don’t want this time to be colored by those statements. We’ve grown up and moved past that.

“I would love too!”

I’m kind of surprised she does. It’s a small town, and there’s hardly anything to do. It’s not anything special, but I love it there. It’s a good place to go to get your head on straight or to spend time alone with someone you love. Her excitement feeds into mine. “Good.” I nod. “I’ll pick you up here on Friday night when I get done with Reaper. This week is a little crazy.”

We need to test this out and discover if absence makes the heart grow fonder instead of returning to our lives like they were.

“I’ll stop by tomorrow,” she promises as I lean in and give her another kiss. “It’ll probably be later; I don’t want to get there too early and distract you while you’re in the midst of doing your job. Expect me closer to the end of your night.”

“I can’t lie.” I lean over and kiss her on the neck. “You are a distraction, but it’s a welcome one. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

And I am, already. That’s what tells me maybe we will work this time. Maybe we aren’t insane, and maybe we didn’t do irreparable damage to our relationship. As I walk out of her apartment and down the stairs, I’ve already got my phone out, calling my dad to make sure I can have the cabin for the weekend.

He answers on the first ring.

“Hey, Dad,” I start off. It’s been a few days since I talked to him, but I had texted him earlier in the day to see if it would be okay for us to use the cabin.

“Devin,” he answers. “How’s it going?”

“Better than it has been in a long time,” I admit. “I know I told you earlier that we might need to use the cabin.”

He interrupts me. “I’m hoping that you want it?”

I laugh. My dad has always loved Nina and always said that no matter what, she’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. “I do want it. This weekend okay?”

He has friends and we have family that likes to use the cabin. I should have probably made sure that was okay before I asked her.

“It’s yours. There’s already food up there,” he tells me. “Your mom and I were up there this weekend.”

We shoot the shit a few more minutes before I hang up and practically skip to my fucking truck. I’m excited for the next few days to hurry up and be over.

SKETCH

T
he shop has
been amazingly busy today. I didn’t expect it, but we’ve had to turn people away with appointments for later times. Not too long ago, I had to put a sign on the front door that said we were no longer taking walk-ins. I’m finishing up on a customer when I hear the door ring, signaling someone has come in.

I glance up, ready to ask the fucker if they know how to read, when I see it’s Nina.

“Hey, babe,” I greet her.

“Hey.” She waves back at me, taking a look around the shop.

It’s wrecked, and I see it through her eyes. We’re open for fifteen more minutes, and I went ahead and let River cut out. As soon as I’m done with this dude under my needle, I’m locking that fucking door. I turn my attention back to what I’m doing. I only have two more lines to make.

“Have a seat, I’ll be done in a second,” I tell her over my shoulder.

I tell myself to slow it down, not rush this. Rushing sometimes causes mistakes, and with a tattoo, mistakes are bad. I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, and go in for the last part. Two minutes later and I’m done. I give the guy my spiel, ask him to tag me, and take the cash he offers to me.

“You want a receipt, my man?” I ask as we’re walking towards the counter.

“Nah, anybody who looks at my arm will know I got sketched.” He grins.

I laugh and walk him out. “Have a good night.”

As soon as he’s out the door, I turn off the “open” sign, lock the door, and lean back against it, breathing out a huge breath. “Jesus, it was busy tonight.” I take off my hat and run my hands through my hair.

Nina gets up from where she’s sitting. “How come you’re here by yourself?” she asks, putting her arms around my neck, using her fingers to dig into the tight muscles there.

I close my eyes and let my head bang against the glass of the door. Her fingers are doing amazing things to the muscles that have pulled tight from being bent over. “It was River and me after Jackie left. I’d already put that sign on the door, and River’s piece was a five-hour one. He was done for. I told him to go ahead and get outta here, that I’d take care of clean-up.” I open my eyes and survey the shop again. “I didn’t realize it was this messy,” I admit.

“C’mon.” She grabs my hands and leads me to the hallway that houses the office, storage room, and break room. She turns me so that I’m facing the wall. “Lean against it, stretch your back out,” she tells me, pushing my head down with her hands.

I do what she tells me, moaning as my shoulders stretch and pop. My lower back pops, and it feels fucking good. The tension that’s built is slowly releasing, and I don’t feel so irritated anymore.

She moves her hands up to my shoulders and presses down hard on the muscles there. It hurts for a few seconds, and then the rest of the tension releases, and I let my head hang there. She continues down to my lower back, leaving me in a puddle of jelly when she’s done.

“Better?” she asks, moving so that she stands between me and the wall.

I move back to allow her room there, leaning in to rest my forehead on her shoulder. “Much. I’m tired, but that gave me enough motivation to clean this place up.”

She runs her hands through my hair, pulling my lips down to hers. It’s a soft kiss, but one that lets me know she’s here. “I’ll help you. C’mon.”

I stand there like an idiot as she grabs a trash bag from the storage room and starts moving around the room, throwing away the things people have left lying around—customers and workers alike. There’s a lump in my throat, and it’s hard to swallow against it.

“I asked you!” I scream at her. “All those times I would ask you to come to the shop with me, it wasn’t just because I wanted you around—I did—but I needed your help.”

She heard and she got it, and now she’s doing it without me asking. It means something—fuck it, it means everything.

“Jesus.” She giggles. She’s behind the counter. “How many bags of mini chocolate bars does Jackie go through a day?”

“Countless, and she can’t get her fucking wrappers in the trash. I told her last week I’m going to start docking her five cents a wrapper if I find it out of the trash can.”

“Poor girl isn’t going to have a paycheck.” Nina smiles at me over the counter. “You have money back here too.” She holds up what looks like fifty bucks.

“She was distracted when she left,” I explain. “Her little brother was in a fender bender. Is there a receipt back there?” I vaguely remember her telling me something about it.

“Yeah, it’s right here.”

“Can you ring it up for me? Put fifty dollars and press walk-in and then do cash. It’ll cash it out.”

She does as I ask. “Do you leave all this money in the register?”

“No, look under the counter, there’s a bank bag. Put everything in it and then lock it in the safe. River will do a deposit in the morning. I’ll text him; I’m too tired to do it tonight.”

With her help it takes me less than an hour to get the place clean, and I go around the area turning off all the unnecessary lights. “Thanks for helping me,” I tell her as I check the lock on the front door and then walk towards the back.

“No problem.”

“No, you’ve got to be at work in the morning, and you took time out of your night to help me when you didn’t have to. I appreciate it.” I grab her hand as I set the alarm and we go out the back door. My truck is sitting there, but her car isn’t. “Where did you park?”

“Out front.” She points around the building, hugging her arms to herself. “I’ll see you.” She reaches up and kisses me along my jawline.

“What? Fuck no; you aren’t walking up there by yourself.” I pull her back with my hand on her arm and tuck her in next to me, sharing my warmth as we walk around the front of the building. “This may not be the worst neighborhood in town, but it’s not the best,” I remind her.

The street is desolate this time of night. It’s minutes to midnight, and most people are at home, some poor souls are headed to work, or like me, getting off work. I walk her over to her car, where she leans against the driver’s side door. Nina’s a small girl and I’m a tall guy. Her leaning against the car causes me to tower higher over her. Using my hands, I push her hair back from her face and cup her cheeks. “Thanks for coming to see me. Sorry I put you to work.”

Her arms go around my waist, her fingers tangle in the thermal material of the shirt I’m wearing. “It was nice. Being with you is nice.”

I lean down, intending to give her a chaste kiss before she leaves. It does start out like that, but within seconds, I have my tongue shoved down her throat, she’s wrapped her arms around my neck and I’ve lifted her so that her legs are around my waist. Her pussy is grinding on me through our clothes, and my dick is pressed against the zipper of my jeans.

A car drives past, honking, reminding me that we aren’t alone, no matter how much it feels like we are. Regretfully, I let her legs slip down and set her on unsteady feet. Both of us are breathing rapidly.

“Guess I better go.” She licks her lips and puts her arms around her body again, shivering in the cold.

“Text me and let me know you got home okay.”

She nods, leaning in for one more hug. Shivering, she gets into her car, and I watch as her taillights disappear. I am so fucking ready for the weekend at the cabin, and it’s only Monday.

SKETCH

“I
miss you.”

I love the sleepiness of her voice. Glancing over at the clock on my bedside table, I see that it’s almost midnight. I yawn loudly. “I miss you too. Who knew that this week would be so busy?”

She laughs, and the huskiness of it makes my dick stand at attention. I put my hand over myself and mentally tell my body that now isn’t the time. I have a whole weekend of debauchery in front of me and half-ass jacking it while I’m on the phone with her won’t be satisfying.

“I know,” she groans. “This stupid committee they put me on is meeting almost every night. I’m not sure where or how I ever agreed to be on it,” she grumbles good-naturedly. “I think it’s a racket.”

We’re quiet for a few minutes, but it’s not the awkward kind of quietness we’ve had for the past few months. We’re enjoying talking to one another, something we haven’t been able to do in months. “Did you get my flowers?” I ask her softly.

“Sketch, I did!”

I can hear the smile in her voice, and my heart expands in my chest. “I wanted to bring them to you myself, but I’ve been so busy trying to finish up Reaper’s piece, and I’m not sure of your schedule…” I trail off.

“No, no. They were perfect! Everybody at work talked about how lucky I am to have a husband who sends me flowers after so many years together.”

That makes me feel good. I know both of us have messed up a time or two, but I’m trying to make this right, I’m trying to move us to a new path. “I’m glad you like them.”

“I love them.” She giggles. “I asked the delivery guy if he had the right Nina Solomon, and he just laughed at me and said he knew you, and he knew who I was. You’ve tattooed him before?”

I run my hand through my hair. “I feel like I’ve tattooed everybody before,” I admit. “It’s weird though; I can keep them all straight in my head. I figured after this long it’d be hard, but you put someone in front of me who had a custom piece, and I can tell you who they are, the piece, and what it’s about.”

The conversation is getting a little heavier than I want it to. Everything doesn’t have to revolve around me, the shop, or the tattoos. “Are you excited about going to the cabin?” I ask, kicking my legs out from under the covers; I’m fucking hot.

“Very excited. It’s been so long since we’ve been there,” she says as I hear her rustling around.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice dropping to a lower octave. I told myself I wasn’t going to do this, but I’m intrigued when I hear the covers still rustling.

“Taking off my pajama pants. It’s hot,” she tells me.

“I know,” I agree. “The temps are cooler, but when you turn on your heat you’re dying because it’s so hot at night.”

“Right, so I’m strippin’.” She giggles again.

“Strippin’ down to what?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

She breathes heavily. “A pair of boy shorts.”

My dick is back to being hard again. “Is that all?” I ask, my voice darker than I ever remember it being.

“Yeah,” she whispers.

A fantasy pops into my head, one I’ve wanted for a very long time, but I’m not sure if she’ll go for it. I’m not sure if she’s comfortable enough in our newfound freakdom to take it to this level. “Why don’t you FaceTime me as you get yourself off?”