by Ranae Rose
“Poppies,” he said.
“Poppies?”
“It was a memorial piece. My client lost a brother to war, and she wanted it to remember him by.” He pulled out his phone and brought up a picture.
For the second time, she was left in awe of his work. He’d tattooed a cluster of red poppies that covered most of the woman’s upper arm, from her shoulder to her elbow. Each petal looked delicate, but the color was bold and brilliant. The flowers looked like they were rippling in a breeze. They bent but didn’t bow, and turned their centers upward, petals spread before the sky in what – supplication? Acceptance? Denial?
She didn’t know, but the tattoo’s beauty went beyond Dylan’s skill in realism. Maybe the fact that Crystal knew the design’s meaning had something to do with it, but she thought there was something wistful about it. Something that wove beauty and grief together.
“How do you do it?” she asked, raising her gaze to meet his eyes. “Your tattoos all have such a strong feel to them. Like paintings. When you really look at them you sense a meaning, and it sticks with you even after you look away.”
“All tattoos have meaning,” he said. “That’s the point.”
“Really? What about really terrible tattoos people get when they’re drunk? The kind that wind up on the internet because they’re so bad?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes the meaning is something shallow or stupid, but it’s still there. A person has to go through some sort of thought process to decide what to get, no matter how regrettable.”
“I guess. But your tattoos certainly aren’t shallow or stupid. They’re some of the best I’ve ever seen.” She needed to go online and check out his portfolio. After the last two tattoos he’d shown her, she was sure the rest of his work had to be worth seeing.
And despite the fact that he apparently hadn’t enjoyed being on TV, she was really curious about Ultimate Ink Challenge now too.
“I put a lot into my tattoos – everything I can. I won’t put it on someone’s body unless I’m completely happy with it. And if my clients are half as impressed as you are, I feel like I’ve done my job.”
She smiled, wondering what it would feel like to have Dylan design a work of art and then ink it permanently into her skin.
The tattoo James had done for her was perfect, but he was her brother, so it made sense that he’d had the insight and the heart to design something like that for her. Dylan managed to pull it off for perfect strangers. How did he do it?
She was still wondering when the waitress appeared with her fries and tea.
“Do you want to share?” Crystal asked Dylan, pushing the fries so that the basket was between them.
He accepted, and Crystal’s heart skipped a beat when they reached for the same fry and his fingers brushed hers.
It was so pathetic that for a second, she was tempted to crawl under the table and disappear.
“Does Emily really call her uncle Wames?” Dylan asked.
Crystal froze with a fry halfway to her mouth. Dylan remembered Emily’s name?
“Yes,” she said, breaking out into a grin.
“That’s hilarious.”
“I’m not so sure James thinks so, but I certainly do.”
A sudden clanking noise came from one end of the table – Tyler hitting an empty beer pitcher with a spoon.
“Shut up everyone,” he said. “James has an announcement.”
James sat next to Tyler, a beer in hand. Even with everyone at the table waiting in a dead hush, he had to raise his voice above the dull roar that filled the restaurant. “Arianna and I want you all to know that we’re going to have a baby. The due date is Valentine’s Day.”
The uproar that swept over the table was deafening. Crystal grinned and barely resisted the urge to clap her hands over her ears.
“Oh my God!” Karen was loudest of all. “How long have you known? When’s the wedding?”
“A month,” James called out, “and soon.”
Crystal found herself rising out of her seat without really deciding to. “You’re getting married?”
“I didn’t tell you because we haven’t picked a date yet. But we want it to happen before the baby arrives.”
Karen was out of her seat too. “Are we all invited?”
“Yeah, but it’s going to be really low key. Not like we have much time to plan or anything.”
“I’ll do the photos!” Karen, a professional photographer and amateur matchmaker, appeared to be in ecstasy at the very thought.
“Thanks,” James said, and then people started crowding around him, congratulating him.
“So you’re going to be an aunt,” Dylan said to Crystal. “Nice.”
She nodded. “I didn’t know until this morning. It’s still sinking in. I’m excited, though. Emily will have a cousin. I know it’s not the same as a sibling, but I’m hoping it’ll be close.”
“Are you and your brother close?”
“Me and Wames?” She grinned. “Yes. I want Emily to have a chance to experience a bond like that, and I’m probably not going to ever give her a brother or sister, so a cousin seems like the best bet.”
“Is having one enough of a handful?”
“She can be a handful all right, but it’s not that, really. I just can’t imagine myself finding and settling down with someone I’d actually like to have a family with anytime soon. I mean, maybe someday, but then there’d be a huge age gap if I had another child.”
She couldn’t believe she was talking to him about whether or not she wanted any more kids. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel that awkward.
She was still shocked that he gave enough of a damn to even ask, though.
“I’ve got a brother, but we’re not as close as you and James seem to be. Maybe the age gap is part of it – we’re six years apart.”
She nodded, her gaze flickering to James. He was only two years older than her, but when they’d been young he’d always been her protector. Her rock in the center of their tumultuous lives, until they’d been separated.
Being placed in a different foster home than him for the first time had been the most agonizing experience of her life. Worse than addiction, rehab, or childbirth, or realizing the father of her baby didn’t give a shit about her or their child.
“Is your family in New Jersey?”
What had Dylan’s childhood been like?
“Yeah. Hey, are you still hungry?” He nodded toward the empty fry basket. “We could order something else to share. You like quesadillas?”
“Sure.”
She wasn’t sure if he’d changed the subject deliberately, or was just hungry. She kept her expression neutral and didn’t ask. She was good at that – good at avoiding potentially embarrassing or painful questions. As someone who’d made a lot of mistakes, she understood that small talk could be a minefield.
They ordered steak quesadillas, and when the waitress brought them, she also brought a tray full of drinks the other guys had bought to congratulate James. There were so many of them that Crystal was doubly glad she wasn’t a drinker – James would definitely need a designated driver.
It was almost midnight when James rose from his seat. The quesadillas were long gone, but Crystal and Dylan hadn’t stopped talking. In fact, Crystal had hardly spoken to anyone else. As she reluctantly pushed back her chair, she caught Karen giving her a look.
A very suspicious look. Her gaze kept drifting between Crystal and Dylan, and it looked like the wheels in her head were turning, lubricated by cocktails.
Crystal looked away, trying to seem casual. The last thing she needed was Karen deciding it was time to play Cupid, which she’d been known to attempt.
“I have to get going,” she said, turning to Dylan after James caught her eye. “I need to pick up Emily and get her home.”
“I’ll walk outside with you.”
The air was still warm and muggy outside the restaurant, but it was much quieter than it had been indoors. After hours of noise
, the near silence of the sidewalk seemed pronounced.
Dylan looked hotter than ever in streetlight. Was there any type of light that didn’t flatter him?
“About lunch,” he said. “Are you still up for getting together again?”
“Yes.” She met his eyes and held his gaze for a while, until hers dipped traitorously to his mouth.
God, she wanted to feel it pressed against hers. All her fantasies from the night before came rushing back to her, dizzying – intoxicating.
But the frustration rushed back too. A kiss with Dylan, even a touch, would only be a small taste of what she couldn’t have. She was torn between relief and disappointment when James came outside.
“Ready to get out of here?” he asked, seeming much more sober than she’d figured he’d be. He must not have had all of the congratulatory drinks, or even half.
Then again, he was probably too smart to go home smelling like booze when his pregnant fiancée couldn’t even stomach the smell of certain foods.
“Yeah. Bye, Dylan.” She forced herself to turn away, not mentioning lunch because she feared what James would think. She’d call Dylan tomorrow so they could compare schedules.
“Bye Crystal. James.” Dylan left too, walking in the opposite direction Crystal and James were going. He’d probably arrived in time to park in the lot beside Ruby’s – it’d been full by the time she and James had gotten there, so they’d parked in a garage around the corner.
“You talked to him all night,” James pointed out when they were out of hearing distance.
“Yeah.” She resisted the urge to bow her shoulders. What did James think, that she was fooling around with Dylan as a way to entertain herself for the next couple weeks? That her old self was showing through?
“You know he’s going back to Jersey in a couple weeks.”
“I know.”
* * * * *
“I’m so sorry,” Crystal said, “but I won’t be able to make it to lunch today. It’s the last day of our free perfume sample promotion, and the woman I told you about the other day has really upped her game. She kept coming through in different hats, and when one of my co-workers called her out as politely as she could, she went ballistic.”
“What’d she do?”
“Ranted and raved. I feel so sorry for Dawn – that’s my coworker. The woman was so nasty to her that she broke down and cried.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. I can’t repeat the things she said – not while I’m at work, anyway. I snuck away into the break room to let you know I won’t be able to make it. I’m taking a later break so that I can work the counter alone while Dawn pulls herself back together.”
“Will you be safe? You never know what someone might do, especially if they’re unhinged enough to lose their mind over free samples.”
“My manager requested a security guard to man our department for the rest of the day. He should be here any minute. And if the woman comes back, we’re going to call the police.”
“Good.”
“Yeah. Anyway… I really am sorry about not being able to meet you for lunch. I was looking forward to it.”
That was the understatement of the century. She’d been thinking about it almost non-stop for three whole days, ever since she’d last seen Dylan at Ruby’s. It didn’t help that she’d been watching the second season of Ultimate Ink Challenge, too. So far, she was four episodes in, and Dylan was kicking ass and taking names.
Why hadn’t he enjoyed being on the show, when he’d done so well?
“Me too.”
He sounded sincere, and that made her heart beat a little faster.
“We’ll have to reschedule.” She said it with a heavy heart, knowing that the next day their schedules would allow them to meet for lunch was a week away.
“If that’s what you want. If you’d like to meet up at a different time of day, we don’t have to wait.”
She gripped her phone a little more tightly at the thought of having more than half an hour to spend with Dylan. Time flew so fast when she was with him…
“I’d do dinner, except I’d have to bring Emily, and trust me, taking a toddler to a restaurant is always a circus.” If she did that, she’d probably end up spending all her time cleaning up after and trying to entertain Emily. Dylan would be lucky to get a word in edgewise.
“I can bring dinner to you, if you’d like that.”
Her mouth went dry. Like that? Hell, she’d love it. Which was exactly why she balked instead of replying.
“You mean at my apartment?” she asked, just to clarify.
“Yeah. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about taking Emily out. No pressure if you’d rather me not come over, though.”
She thought of her half-hearted attempts at making dinner for herself, and the loneliness that accompanied the freedom of having her own place. She really, really wanted to say yes. After all, he was only offering to stop by her place and eat dinner with her and her daughter. It wasn’t like he was asking her to meet him at a hotel room.
“Okay,” she said, sucking in a shaky breath she feared would betray her excitement.
“Yeah?” He sounded pleased. “What kind of food do you want me to bring?”
“I’m not picky.”
“Neither am I.”
“There’s a really good Korean place a few blocks from my apartment.”
“I’ll stop there. Text me with your order, and give me a recommendation too. I’m not too familiar with Korean food.”
“Okay. And I’ll text you my address. I’m not that far of a drive from Hot Ink.”
“I probably won’t be getting out of work until around seven. I should be able to make it to your place before eight. Not too late for you, is it?”
“No, it’s perfect. I don’t get off work until seven, and then I have to pick up Emily from daycare.”
A familiar voice drifted from the hall outside the break room, and then Crystal’s manager stepped inside, giving her a meaningful look.
“I have to go,” she said. “See you tonight.”
She returned to the counter in a ridiculously good mood, despite the debacle with the greedy perfume sampler.
CHAPTER 7
Dylan arrived at Crystal’s house with the food she’d recommended – something called japchae for both of them. He wasn’t completely sure what it was, but it smelled good. Not that he really cared.
He would’ve gladly eaten cardboard for dinner if it meant getting to spend time with Crystal. He’d been going out on a limb when he’d suggested he bring dinner to her place, but he was glad he’d risked it.
“Hi,” she said when she answered the door of her second-story apartment. “Thank you so much.”
She took the food from his hands and carried it across the modest living area and into the open kitchen, where she sat the bags on the table and began getting out plates and glasses.
Her apartment was clean and sparsely furnished. Most of the stuff he could see was baby stuff – a plush rocking horse by the window, and a play yard in the middle of the living room. There was a baby standing in it, gripping one edge with tiny hands and staring over it at Dylan.
“Hey Emily,” he said, walking over and crouching down, hoping she wouldn’t cry. He had about as much experience with babies as he did with rocket science.
She didn’t cry, just blinked at him and started babbling.
“Oh yeah?” He grinned as she met his eyes and delivered a spirited monologue. Not only was she not crying, she didn’t seem afraid at all. “I was just thinking the same thing…”
She paused when he responded, then continued babbling, just like she was having a conversation. The serious look on her little face was hilarious.
“She’s a talker,” Crystal said as she filled two glasses at the sink.
“She looks like you.”
“Really? My brother’s fiancée is always telling me that, but I don’t see it.”
“It’s in the eyes.” Emil
y had dark hair that contrasted with her mother’s, but her eyes were a murky green he guessed might lighten in time, becoming just like Crystal’s.
“I guess.” Crystal scooped Emily out of the play yard. “Sometimes I try to imagine what she’ll look like when she’s older, but it’s hard. I just can’t see past her chubby little cheeks to picture it.”
“She’ll look like you, if she’s lucky.”
Crystal just laughed as she put Emily in her highchair. She always seemed to do that when he complimented her. Did it mean she wanted him to stop?
He didn’t think so. He was in her apartment, after all.
She took the food out of the takeout containers and arranged it on plates. He had to admit the japchae stuff was good. According to Crystal, who cut up little pieces of noodles and vegetables for Emily, the noodles were made out of sweet potato starch.
Emily alternated between picking at the noodles and catching Dylan’s eye, yelling short, wordless phrases she obviously expected him to understand.
“Don’t feel bad,” Crystal said to him. “I don’t know what she’s saying most of the time, either. I think she just likes to feel like she’s part of the conversation.”
“It’s cute,” he said.
When Emily became seriously interested in her noodles, he took advantage of the chance to ask Crystal how the rest of her work day had gone.
“Okay, I guess.”
“You guess? What, did the perfume hoarder come back?”
“No. The rest of the day was uneventful. It’s just that Dawn went home for the day, and it was just me and the security guard until my shift ended.”
“You didn’t like the guard?”
“He kept talking to me, and not about cosmetics. And staring at me when he didn’t think I’d notice. It distracted me from my job. Plus, I don’t think he was paying much attention to any potential threats in the store.”
A wave of jealousy swept through Dylan, though he had to admit, he couldn’t imagine being in Crystal’s presence and not being tempted to talk or stare. Hell, he couldn’t shut up when he was around her.
