Untamed (150 page)

My phone rattles against the glass coffee table, and both Rose and I look down at it. I’m curled up on the sofa trying my best not to think about how disastrous my first day apprenticing was.

“Who even has your number?” she asks.

I shrug. “I gave it to Tina.”

“Why would she be texting you at half-twelve?”

My eyes flick to the clock on the wall above the television, and she’s right. It is way too late, and I somewhat doubt it’s an emergency. Playing on the television is a nature documentary about jellyfishes…

I squirm out from under the blanket and reach for the phone, unlocking it.

“Unknown number,” I say, and then I read the text. My eyes go wide.

“What is it?” Rose asks, concerned.

“You won’t believe this,” I say, shaking my head. “How the hell did he get my number?”

“What is it?” Rose asks again, reaching over and grabbing the phone from me. She reads the text.

Drinks and dinner, tomorrow after my tattoo.

“Who is this?”

I look at Rose. “Guess.”

She shakes her head. “I have no idea. Someone from the tattoo shop?”

“Yeah. Someone you know.”

“Someone
I
know?” she says, pondering with a finger to her lip. “I can’t think of anybody.”

“It’s Pierce.”

She balks. “Pierce
Fletcher?
He gets his tattoos from your boss?”

I nod, and I rub my forehead. I’m trying to hide it as best as I can, this heady concoction of mixed emotions I feel. On the one hand, there’s annoyance, irritation, even anger. How could he just be asking me out like this?