Fractures in Ink

by Helena Hunting

  She passed over the jacket and helmet. “That’s nice of you to offer, but I’d have to take the bus, and they don’t run very often after the bars close. I can bike here in twenty minutes. They give me lots of shifts, and my manager is pretty nice about letting me take home food on the house.”

  I couldn’t imagine them serving anything healthy, but I kept my mouth shut. “If you change your mind, let me know. You could get away with fewer shifts and still make more money.”

  “I can think about it.” Her tone told me she’d already dismissed the idea.

  “I’ll get that prescription filled at the pharmacy a couple of blocks back so you can pick it up after work, okay? In the meantime, see if you can’t rustle up that cell phone bill for me.”

  “I will. Thanks for everything, Chris.” She put on her ancient backpack and went inside.

  I stayed there for a minute, watching as a few early patrons filed in through the grungy, black door. It was a dive, and the clientele reflected as much. The current crowd seemed to consist of a bunch of men in their fifties who worked at the dilapidated factory across the street. Next time I’d check out the inside.

  Before I headed to work, I stopped at the pharmacy, as promised. No wonder my mom had tossed the prescription in the trash; it cost nearly a hundred bucks to fill. I sent Ivy a message to let her know she could pick it up later in the day.

  I took the highway for my return trip, admiring the view of the buildings rising along the lake as I skirted downtown Chicago on the way to Lincoln Park and Inked Armor.

  Lisa was sitting at the jewelry counter when I arrived. A takeout coffee from Serendipity sat next to her, along with a brown bag. She looked up as I approached. “How’re you doing this morning?”

  “Pretty good.” I glanced at the schedule. I’d already prepped for my first client last night, so it was just a matter of setting up the ink.

  She pointed to the bag. “I picked up some bagels if you want something quick before your first appointment arrives.”

  I patted my stomach. “I just took Ivy out for breakfast, but thanks.”

  The door tinkled with the arrival of my client, so I didn’t have a chance to get into it with Lisa.

  After minimal chatting, I got started on my client, but she had questions from time to time, and it was hard to stay focused on the conversation. I kept thinking about my family and Sarah. My mom had made a lot of bad choices, her first one being getting pregnant in high school by my asshole of a father. It sucked all the potential out of her life.

  Being a teenager with a kid made a hard life harder. All the challenges, all the money worries were magnified by so much responsibility. That was the main reason I still insisted on bagging it with Sarah. She’d told me plenty of times she was on the pill, but that wasn’t a foolproof guarantee against baby making.

  ’Doming up meant added protection against fucking up Sarah’s life. When she graduated from that MBA program, she was going to have more opportunities than I’d ever dreamed of. I wasn’t going to be the one to take that away from her with an accident, like I’d done to my mom.

  I stopped shading the yellow flower on my client’s ribs, aware it was a sensitive place to get inked.. “We’re almost there, you need a short break so you can power through the rest?”

  She smiled and exhaled a breath. “That might be good.”

  Want me to grab you a water while I’m at it?”

  “That’d be awesome, Chris.”

  I rolled off my gloves and dropped them in the trash. “I’ll be right back, you just lay back and breathe.”

  The short break was enough to get us through to the end.

  After six, I finally had a gap between clients. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to anyone all day, having had back-to-back sessions in the private room. If I’d had more time, I would’ve run across the street for a quick visit with Sarah. Although I wasn’t likely to be quick the next time I clocked some serious alone time with her.

  I came out of the room in time to see Tenley walk into the shop.

  “What’s going on, Tee?”

  “I brought treats!” She set a white box on the glass-topped jewelry counter as I swallowed her up in a bear hug. Where Sarah was tall, willowy, and fair, Tee was petite and dark.

  Hayden came out of the storage room as I set her down. A wide grin broke out across his typically serious face. “Hey, kitten. I thought I heard your voice.”

  A coy smile turned up the corner of her mouth as she stroked the box on the counter. “I brought something to share.”

  “As long as it’s not you, I’m good.” He cupped her face, dipping down to kiss her.

  “Take it to the private room,” Lisa said, but she was smiling.

  I reached around them and flipped the lid open, inside were Hayden’s favorite treat: vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. Made from scratch. Tenley liked to bake in her spare time. Like Sarah, she was a master's student at Northwestern. Unlike Sarah, she didn’t have a job to manage as well. She used to work for Cassie in the bookstore, but she and Hayden had decided a while back that she should focus on her studies—and she also had the financial backing to make it work after her settlement from the plane crash.

  I nabbed one of the cupcakes and stuffed the entire thing in my mouth.

  Hayden took a break from sucking off Tee’s face to give me a dirty look. “Don’t even think about taking another one.”

  Dude had a cupcake fetish. It was pretty unreasonable the way he got worked up over them. Cupcakes—mainly the ones made by Tenley—had the same effect on him as, say, complete female nudity might’ve on another guy.

  “There are plenty at home. I even made mini ones,” Tee assured him.

  Hayden’s eyes lit up. “Yeah?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  His grin was lecherous. “Eat as many as you want. I’m going on a treasure hunt later.”

  “You two are disgusting.” Lisa grabbed her bag and ducked out from behind the counter.

  The tinkle of the door drew everyone’s attention again as Sarah walked into the shop. No one said anything at first, eyes darting from her to me. Seemed neither one of us had had an opportunity to fill anyone in on what had happened last night, or early this morning.

  “Hey.” Sarah lifted her hand in a tentative wave and looked to me, like she was waiting for me to say or do something.

  I hid a half-smirk behind my hand as I pretended to scratch an itch on my chin.

  “I guess we should go?” Lisa asked, her gaze shifting uncomfortably between us.

  Sarah gave her a bright smile. “Sure.” She turned to me. “Are you coming by Hayden’s later?”

  “I can.” Yesterday the plan had been to go there so I could finally talk to her. Now I had a different reason.

  She dangled a key from her finger. “Want to drive my car over instead of your bike? It might rain later.”

  I held out my hand, and she dropped it into my palm. “Does this mean I’m staying at your place tonight?”

  Her shy smile widened. “If you want.”

  “Oh, I want.”

  “Um, does someone want to tell me what’s going on here?” Lisa asked, hands on her hips.

  “Sarah and I had a chat last night. We figured a few things out,” I said.

  Lisa pointed at me. “And you didn’t think to say anything about it?”

  “I’ve been holed up in the private room all day.”

  “It’s a one-sentence conversation that goes something like, ‘Sarah and I got back together.’”

  “There’s no such thing as a one-sentence conversation with you.”

  Lisa swung around to Sarah. “Let’s go. You need to fill us in on the details.”

  “I’m going to suggest censoring out the ones that ended in moans,” I called as Lisa and Tenley pulled Sarah out the door.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Chris

  I followed Jamie and Hayden to his place in Sarah’s car. When we arrived, empty m
artini glasses littered the counter, along with a mostly empty bottle of vanilla-flavored vodka. There was a good chance the girls were drunk.

  Hayden called out our arrival. He didn’t get a response right away, so panic tilted his voice on the second shout out.

  A door slammed somewhere upstairs, followed by girly giggles.

  “If you’re having a naked pillow fight, you best be taking pictures,” I called up.

  Hayden punched me in the shoulder.

  I rubbed the spot. “I was kidding, H. Don’t get your balls tied in a knot.”

  Tenley came into view, her long hair sweeping the banister as she started down the stairs. “Hey! Sorry. We didn’t hear you.”

  Sarah and Lisa followed her. They all held the railing and watched their feet. They were definitely feeling the drinks.

  Hayden took one look at Tenley and sighed. “Did you eat anything while you polished off that bottle of vodka in there?”

  Her eyes widened, and her palm came over her mouth. “Oh! I forgot to clean up. We were just—um, I... we—”

  Sarah cut in, her grin devious. “Tenley was showing us your birthday present. It’s a surprise.”

  “Is that right, kitten?” He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close. “You know how I feel about surprises.”

  “I think you’re going to like this one,” Tee said.

  “A lot,” Sarah added, giving Lisa a sly look.

  Now I really wanted to know what those girls had been up to this evening. I might get it out of Sarah later—when no one else was around and I could bribe her with favors.

  I headed for the kitchen. “I’m grabbing beers. Anyone else need anything?”

  “I’ll make another round of drinks for us,” Sarah said to the girls. Her cheeks were flushed pink, her lips the same shade, a sure sign she’d had more than a couple of drinks. Most of the time Sarah limited her alcohol consumption. Hard liquor made her loopy, and it seemed the three of them had been at it for a while, without a food buffer.

  Once in the kitchen, she grabbed the belt loop on my jeans to keep me from getting away. Her arm came around my waist, and I felt her forehead on the back of my neck.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She ducked under my arm, coming around in front of me.

  I absorbed the hug as she snuggled into my chest. When Sarah got sauced, she became super affectionate. Most of the time she was pretty reserved with the PDA, but not right now. I liked it when she got all touchy.

  I rested my chin on top of her head. “You girls get up to no good?”

  “We dressed Tenley in lingerie and took pictures.”

  “You what?”

  She pinched my earlobe. “Shh. Don’t ruin the surprise.”

  I dropped my voice. “Like sexy pictures?” I’d seen the photographs hanging in Hayden and Tenley’s bedroom—the ones of her half-naked with her back piece on display. I fought the accompanying visual.

  “Exactly. We’re making an album for his birthday.”

  “He’s gonna blow his load over that. You have her holding cupcakes, too?”

  Sarah’s eyes widened with excitement. “I should’ve thought of that! We’ll have to get her back in one of her outfits and snap a few extra shots.”

  “You know, I’ve got a birthday coming up in a few months. You could put together something like that for me.”

  She stiffened. “I don’t really have sexy stuff. Mostly it’s just slutty.”

  “I’m talking about your non-work stuff.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, right, because white cotton is so super sexy.”

  “I think you underestimate the impact of white cotton on me.” Just thinking about all that pale, simple softness made me super hard for some reason. I liked that Sarah didn’t feel the need to cover her body in things that distracted from her natural beauty.

  She didn’t do provocative outside of the club, but she had lots of pretty outfits hanging in her closet and filling up her dresser. Today was no exception. She wore a pale green tank, gauzy and sheer, over a thin-strapped white one, paired with gray leggings that ended below her knee.

  “Well, I have an underwear drawer full of boring cotton, so you’re totally in luck.”

  I cupped her face, lips hovering close to hers. Her breath was sweet with vanilla and alcohol. “You should model some of that for me when we get back to your place.”

  “The bikini briefs or the boy shorts?”

  “Mmm. Tough decision. I have so many favorites.”

  “I’ll just model them all, then.” She tilted her chin up, waiting for me to kiss her.

  Which was exactly why I didn’t.

  “If you can stay awake that long. I put money on you passing out in the car on the way home. Your eyes are drooping. Or are you practicing your sexy face on me?”

  She pinched my neck. “They are not. I’m just a little buzzed.”

  “You need me to take you home? Put you to bed?” I was definitely getting to her.

  “You can put me to bed later, like you did last night. Right now I want a kiss.” She pushed up on her toes.

  I dropped one on the tip of her nose.

  “Chris.”

  “Sarah.”

  She dug her nails into my scalp. “Keep it up and no sleepover for you.”

  Her eyes lit up with satisfaction when my smile dropped.

  “How’re you gonna get home if I don’t drive you?” I asked.

  Her satisfaction fizzled when she realized I had a point.

  I angled her head and pressed my lips to hers. She wasn’t having the slow and easy tonight, though. Her tongue stroked along the seam of my mouth, looking to get inside.

  When I parted my lips, she took full advantage, as if she wanted to make up for our time apart. Which would have been perfectly fine with me if we hadn’t been in someone else’s kitchen with our friends in the next room.

  “Whoa. Maybe I should come back in a few minutes.” Jamie backed out of the kitchen with his hands in the air.

  “What’s going on in there?” Lisa asked, somewhere close behind him.

  Sarah sucked on my bottom lip, nails digging in harder, little punishments for making her wait before she broke free.

  “We were saying hi.” She ran her hands down my chest as she stepped back. “You know I was joking about not sleeping over, right?”

  “You’re sure you want me hogging your bed?”

  “I want.”

  “Then I’m all yours.”

  * * *

  As much as I would’ve liked to take Sarah back to her place right then and enjoy some naked snuggles, she was tipsy, and we hadn’t spent much time with the Inked Armor crew outside of work lately, especially not all together. So we stayed.

  It was hard not to compare what Lisa and Jamie had, or Tenley and Hayden, to the uncertainty of me and Sarah. We were together for now, and I’d have to be content with what it was, for as long as I got to have it.

  The girls, who didn’t seem all that interested in slowing their drinking roll—despite it being the middle of the week—decided the deck wasn’t the place they wanted to hang out. Instead, they all ran up to Tenley’s room to get bathing suits so we could make use of Hayden’s hot tub.

  He’d had it installed for Tenley, because the hot water was good for her hip, especially in the winter when the cold made it ache. She had all kinds of pins holding her together, although I never heard her complain about it.

  I’d been smart about keeping a pair of swim shorts here for such impromptu occasions. I’d only had to borrow a pair from Hayden once. He was a wiry guy, tall and lanky compared to me, so his shorts hadn’t fit all that well.

  Sarah came down the stairs in one of Tenley’s little bikinis. She was perfectly curvy and long limbed, so the scraps of fabric didn’t leave much of her smooth, pale skin to the imagination. Good thing I was already in the tub, otherwise I might’ve embarrassed myself.

  Hayden set his beer down and stood up. Wrapping his arms
around Tenley, he lifted her over the edge and into the tub.

  “I can get in on my own, you know,” she said, but she was grinning.

  “Any reason to get his hands on you,” I replied.

  “I was being helpful.” Hayden adjusted the strap on her top, getting close to her boob.

  “I’m going to sit between you two if you can’t knock it off.” Lisa slipped in beside Jamie, her lavender hair pulled up in a loose ponytail, covered by a bandana.

  “Like hell you are. You’ve had her for the last three hours. You don’t get to monopolize her now that I’m here.”

  “She was kidding, Hayden.” Tenley patted his cheek as he pulled her down into the water on his lap. She made no move to find her own space, more than happy to be wrapped up in him.

  Sarah settled in the tub, sidling up to me. I moved her legs so they were in my lap and put an arm around her.

  “So what exactly were you girls up to tonight, apart from getting all sauced and not eating dinner?” Hayden asked.

  “Yeah, no one’s telling you anything,” Lisa said.

  “I’m pretty sure I can get this one to talk if we keep feeding her drinks.” Hayden nuzzled Tenley’s neck.

  “Not likely,” Sarah snorted.

  “I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy about it,” I chimed in.

  Sarah elbowed me in the side. “You’re not supposed to say anything!” she whispered in my ear. At least she attempted to whisper, but her level of drunkness made her louder than she meant to be.

  “Sarah! You were supposed to keep it a secret!” Lisa scolded.

  “You’re going to tell me later, right?” Jamie asked her.

  “Seriously?” Hayden’s expression went dark. “You all fucking suck with this shit.”

  Tenley whispered something in his ear, and his eyebrows furrowed more, then lifted high.

  “Okay, you two, break it up. No one wants to watch you get it on in the hot tub,” Lisa said.

  Hayden flipped her the bird, but Tenley moved off his lap, her cheeks pink and her wide smile matching his.

  A couple hours later, by the time we were ready to call it a night, Sarah was sleepy drunk and using me as a crutch on the way to her car. I’d passed on more than one beer, aware that we’d be spending the night in a spare room instead of her bed, otherwise. Sarah got self-conscious about sex when there was a chance someone could hear her, even though that was unlikely under any circumstances, since she was so quiet. But I hadn’t wanted to chance it, not that it mattered much by the time I got her into the car.