by Hadley Quinn
“Well, hey, no, sshh, let me talk, okay?” he finally said. “Jesus, slow down so I can understand what exactly you mean. Start over, please.”
He listened for another minute, and as soon as Kellie heard him say that he was busy right now but he’d take care of it as soon as he got a chance to, she got up to get a box for leftovers. He looked super anxious sitting there, like it took everything inside him not to jump up from the table and run out the door. The phone call didn’t sound like an emergency, but it was obviously something upsetting.
When she returned to the table, Tate was off the phone but silently questioned why she started packing up the food.
“It seems like there’s somewhere you need to be, so I was just trying to be considerate of your time.”
“Well I appreciate it but—”
“Is there somewhere you need to be?” she interrupted.
He paused for a moment as he pushed his plate away from him. Kellie even packed up the half piece he hadn’t finished and shut the box, waiting for an answer. He still looked uneasy, but finally stood from the table and grabbed the box in one hand and Kellie’s with the other.
He was holding her hand. Why did that make her heart race and why did if feel so significant?
When they got to the car, Kellie tossed the box into the backseat and asked, “Where to?”
He shook his head instantly as they both slid into a seat. “No, just take me back to the parlor and I’ll grab my truck.”
Her heart fell just a little. Whatever he needed to go do, he didn’t want her to come with him.
“It has nothing to do with you,” he sighed, reading into her disappointment. “It’s just… My grandma is in this nursing home. They are a shit hole, bottom of the line facility, and they barely take care of her there. Apparently she fell and was down for a few hours in her room before anyone noticed. I swear to God, this Bonny Park place is gonna—”
“Bonny Park?” Kellie cut in as she pulled onto the street. “That’s just a couple miles from here. It’d be faster if I just took you.”
“It’s fine, Kellie. Just take me back and I’ll grab my truck. I don’t want to ruin your evening.”
She was already headed the direction of the nursing home and smiled. “You don’t really know what ruining my evening would consist of, do you?” she joked.
“Well I’m sure I could find a way to do it,” he grumbled, looking out his window.
She decided to ignore the comment. She’d dealt with her brother’s arrogance and temper over the years enough times to recognize that Tate was really worried and pissed off but trying not to show it. He especially didn’t want her to see him deal with whatever he needed to deal with, and just like Jay, Tate was probably thinking that he was saving her the hassle.
She pulled in front of the nursing home and parked. She told him she would wait in the car and didn’t speak a single word more. He looked grateful but didn’t reply with a verbal answer as he got out of the car and briefly rubbed at his left hip. She’d notice him do that every now and then, and she’d attributed it to whatever injury had changed his life.
Kellie watched him stalk up to the entry pretty quickly and she cringed at just the thought of seeing that coming in demanding answers.
Like an angry fucking gorilla.
After almost forty minutes passed, she started to get restless. She’d kept herself humored with her phone checking emails and returning texts, but after getting out of the car to stretch for a bit, she became way too curious. It was also starting to get dark out, and sitting in her car all by herself was giving her the creeps.
Coming through the entry, the smell hit her right away. She wrinkled her nose, not even able to keep herself from doing so. It smelled like…cafeteria food and death. Yeah, it literally smelled like gross food and old people, and she felt horrible for even thinking that. It also reminded her of a dingy motel, especially when she walked by the front desk and the woman was spaced out, watching something on a television. It was the only person she even saw as she made her way down the hall without being noticed.
Holy shit, she just walked right in without a single person to care!
She passed room after room, each one with an occupant, usually two. She also passed a larger room with a few chairs and a ratty couch that looked like what was supposed to be a social lounge or something. There were a few bodies in there as well, and she finally saw an actual employee trying to keep an elderly man in his wheelchair. He insisted that he needed to get up and walk, but the nurse told him he needed to stay down and wait.
After going down the first hall and turning right at the end, Kellie finally heard a familiar deep voice. She paused at an open door and closed her eyes just to listen. His voice was so gentle and soothing, it gave her butterflies in her stomach. But once she realized what they were actually talking about, Kellie’s heart cracked just a little.
“I wish I could do better for you, Gram,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I hate having you in here.”
“Oh, baby boy,” a raspy voice answered. “You are so hard on yourself. Stop thinking you need to fix the world around you.”
“I can’t fix everything, but this…” He paused. “This makes me sick, Gram. I don’t think I can let you be here anymore. I don’t know what else to do. Please just come stay with me and I’ll find a way to look after you better.”
“Tate,” she sighed. There was a long pause. “You and sissy do everything you can for me and I couldn’t ask for anything more than that. Sometimes life just isn’t a vacation all the time. You know this.” She paused again. “I’m so proud of you. But you don’t need to carry the world on your big shoulders all the time. Just let go now and then.”
“I can’t.”
“I know it’s hard for you, but you need to. If you don’t, everything around you is going to swallow you up. Learn to let go of the things you can’t change. We can only do our best.”
“I want better for you.”
“I have your best, sweet boy. That is all I need and that makes me so very happy. And I want you to find happiness. I want you to enjoy life and find your future… Now tell me about the car again,” she said, her voice seeming to take on a little more sunshine. “It sounds like it’s gonna be a sexy car again,” she added with a vivacious growl.
Kellie couldn’t help but smile, but when she heard Tate’s light laughter, it was like the heat in her chest could melt her frozen heart entirely now. She knew the type very well: strong and tough on the outside, but sensitive and caring on the inside.
Like a cookie. Rough around the edges, but soft in the middle.
When it sounded like Tate was getting ready to leave, Kellie left her post by the open door and made her way to the exit. She was just about out the door for the car when she heard Tate’s voice behind her ask, “Are you okay?”
But when Kellie turned around, he wasn’t talking to her. He was standing in the doorway of the social lounge and she heard him say, “Hank, let me help, okay?” and he disappeared into the room.
Kellie wandered back in a few steps, passing the front desk again. The woman barely glanced at her and continued to watch TV. It was completely unbelievable.
“I haven’t had a chance to get to him,” a female voice spoke defensively from the social lounge.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Tate responded sarcastically. “He needs to stand when he asks to, otherwise his hip locks up on him and it hurts like a bitch.”
“Oh, Tate, when you use foul language it raises my blood pressure,” an elderly voice crooned. But it sounded like she was teasing, and it made Kellie smile.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Palmer,” was his sincere reply. “Come on, Hank. Let me help you up.”
Kellie could only shake her head, and when the nurse came out of the lounge muttering, “Asshole,” she looked up and caught Kellie’s hard stare. The woman breezed past her but didn’t say a word. She disappeared down another hallway and out of sight.
“Unb
elievable,” Kellie shook her head. The other chick with her face in the television screen looked up. “Do you do a goddamn thing around here?” Kellie asked her. She couldn’t hold her tongue anymore and would probably regret it, but she just had to say something.
The woman stood and narrowed her eyes with vehemence. “Overworked and underpaid. Ever heard of it, sweetheart?”
Her tone made Kellie want to go ninja on her ass. “Compassion and being grateful for having a fucking job. Ever heard of it, sweetheart?”
Her eyes narrowed even further and her lip curled up with disgust. “You wouldn’t last a day babysitting these overgrown infants. Cleaning up shit and bathing and feeding them? It’s like coddling a corpse.”
“And when was the last time you actually coddled anything in this place, Carol?” she asked, reading her nametag. “Do you realize that these are human beings in here? The people in here belong to someone, do you care about that? Someone’s parent, someone’s grandparent! Do you even give a fuck?”
“I suggest you march your pretty ass out of here so you don’t get your nails dirty,” the woman retorted as she glanced down at Kellie’s hands.
Yep, she wouldn’t deny that her nails always looked nice. Working in a salon was the only reason why. But this bitch was making Kellie’s blood boil and she was about to seriously go nuts on her. She wondered if that’s why Tate wanted to come in alone. It was easy to see why he’d lose his temper in a place like this.
“So you don’t like your job, huh,” Kellie stated casually on her way to the exit. “I’m sure I could help you fix that problem.”
All she got from Carol was a defiant smirk, like Kellie had no reach whatsoever.
You never poke a hornet’s nest, that’s for damn sure.
***
Tate finally sat down in the car ten minutes after Kellie did. He sighed and said, “I am so sorry for making you wait. I didn’t realize I was in there for so long. I’m sorry, I just lost track of time and—”
“It’s okay,” Kellie smiled as she turned the key. “Is everything okay?”
She had decided upon sitting down that she wasn’t going to say a word about going inside unless he specifically asked her for some reason. It felt dishonest, but she really didn’t want to make him worry about anything else but his grandma’s well being right now.
“She’s fine,” he answered. “A little bruised up from falling in her room, but she’s in good spirits. She always is. Not much keeps her down.”
“That’s good,” Kellie nodded with a smile. She felt in the wrong asking anything further knowing there was more to it, so they drove in silence for a few minutes. It was dark out, almost nine o’clock, and when Kellie got to the tattoo parlor, she pulled to the back next to his truck.
“Aww, making sure I’m safe?” he asked.
She loved the tease in his voice. “Something like that,” she shrugged, trying to sound coy.
With the headlights on against the brick wall she could see the tiny smirk on his face. “Hmm,” he slowly nodded. “Well come walk me to the door, then.”
She paused as he stepped out of the car, but her smile was huge when she turned off the lights and killed the engine. There was a dim streetlamp at the end of the ally with enough light to see their surroundings. As a last thought, she grabbed the pizza from the backseat, prepared to hand it over when he got to his truck.
He didn’t go to his truck and was unlocking the back door to the business instead.
“Do you have work to do?” she asked, joining him with the leftover food in her hand. He glanced down at it and raised an eyebrow so she added, “You keep it. It’s way too much for me.”
The lock clicked and Tate held the door for her to walk inside. “Just need to go over hours for this week, see what I’ve got going on.”
“Um, okay, well…”
They’d made it to his office, so she set the pizza on the desk. He was about to flip on the lamp but Kellie wrapped her arms around his waist and made him turn around before any light filled the room.
“Maybe you can humor me for a few minutes,” she smiled, reaching up with her mouth so he could lean down to kiss her.
She liked this. It was like being with someone she’d known for a while even though they hadn’t. She felt really comfortable around Tate and it was a good feeling.
“For just a few minutes, huh?” he joked against her lips.
He continued to kiss her, using his tongue to press into hers. It was really easy to get turned on when she was with him, and Kellie could feel her panties dampen when his hands slid against her waist, just under her shirt to touch her skin. The way he handled her was gentle right now, but she had no doubt this man could probably take her for a ride she wouldn’t forget. Just from the way he kissed, she assumed he knew his way around a bedroom.
Or a desk.
They were making out pretty hardcore right now—his hand had moved up to her breasts after she started rubbing against his dick, and it was all she could do to keep herself from mounting him right there where he stood. Reading her well, Tate practically shoved everything off the left side of his desk and sat her ass on top of it. He stripped off her top and laid her back as he kissed from her collarbone to the top of her breasts, pressing his rock hard erection between her legs. Her body reacted to him naturally as he rubbed against her, and she could feel the wetness increase almost instantly.
She pulled his shirt off, feeling disappointed that she’d deterred him from turning a light on. She seriously wanted to see his body right now, but the darkness added a bit of mystery and excitement to the room. Instead, she let her fingers collaborate with her mind as she ran her hands over his body. The firm contours were in all the right places and she loved the feel of his skin under her fingertips.
Tate was doing the same to her while sliding her pants down. Then he seemed to have forgotten she was wearing boots and stopped when they formed a blockade at her shin. Of all the cockblocking moments…
But he somehow yanked them off her feet, and she was glad she hadn’t tied them all the way up for that very reason. Everything came off at that point within a matter of three seconds, and Tate slammed his wallet on the desk beside her as he continued to kiss her and slide out a condom at the same time.
She was so glad that she didn’t have to wait long. She was practically writhing on the desk, waiting for his entry. He was definitely a man of few words, but once his hard heat was inside of her, there was nothing to say except an occasional exclamation of pleasure, his name, and a few other choice words that revealed her enjoyment.
Good. Lord.
She reached climax pretty quickly. With the way he had her legs wrapped around him and the angle he was driving into her, it didn’t take long. He could obviously tell because it took him a few more thrusts and he was finished too.
But Kellie wasn’t expecting what happened next, when he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth again. It wasn’t foreplay and it wasn’t a ‘still in the moment’ kind of thing. He just kissed her sweetly and sensually, like he had every right to do such a thing.
And he was still inside her. This was…this just wasn’t right. She never allowed any sort of…lingering. Especially with kissing.
Kellie gave him one firm kiss to end it and made an effort to sit, naturally removing him from her. He moved back a step, and it seemed like he was trying to read her somehow, but it was still pretty dark in the room and she was glad he couldn’t.
“I’d say your desk definitely needs a good cleaning now,” she said lightly as she grabbed for whatever clothing she could find. She wasn’t sure what he was doing because her focus was on herself so she could get the hell out of there.
“Maybe I’d rather keep the memory,” he replied.
She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not by the tone of his voice, but he had to be. Who the fuck would want a sex stain on their desk???
The thought of it made her smile, but Kellie pulled on her last boot and made
sure her keys were still in her pocket. “Hm, no need for a framed photo, I guess,” she joked back.
“Are you leaving?”
She paused with her keys in her hand but she could barely see him come across the room. He stopped in front of her and she literally felt their body heat mingle between them.
“I have to get up pretty early for work tomorrow,” she answered. “Mondays. I start at six in the morning.”
She was about to offer a casual goodbye and walk herself out, but Tate’s hands almost startled her when he placed them against the sides of her neck. “So no spooning on the desk?”
She couldn’t help but laugh, especially because she was picturing it. “Um, no,” she smiled. “And I’m not the type.” She placed her hands on his chest and her heart thumped a bit harder. His shirt was still off and she regretted the fact that she hadn’t been able to enjoy the view while she could. Kellie kissed his cheek and said, “Take care, Tate.”
“Well am I gonna see you again?” he asked, and she could sense the agitation in his voice plain as day this time.
“Maybe,” she answered with a shrug.
And she left the office for her car.
Chapter Eight
He could barely keep his eyes open right now, but the idea of sleep left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was such a fucking joke that he couldn’t even enjoy the one thing that used to come so easy to him.
Tate shook his head and trekked across the garage to toss tools back into their respective drawers. It was almost eight o’clock at night, and even though he’d spent a long day at the tattoo parlor, he still wanted to put a couple of hours in for Jay. It had only consisted of changing out headlights and taillights and tweaking a few other small things, but at least it was something.
