by Xyla Turner
It seemed that I was already in too deep, so what was one night. Just one, so she’d be acclimated to the house and I could give her a ride if she needed anything else.
After making the couch in the living room into my bed for the night, I woke around eight and made breakfast while brewing coffee. A groggy Avery came into the kitchen, looked at me and growled.
“Whoa, babe,” I laughed. “Morning.”
She went for the coffee almost immediately before she looked back. Her cup was half full when she turned around and nodded at me.
That was progress.
I slid the food to her like the zookeepers do to the wild animals locked in their cages. She gave me a quick glare and finally rumbled, “Thanks.”
She sounded like Barry White in the morning with a voice deeper than mine.
I joined her as she ate, finished off her coffee and went for cup number two.
“Are you alive in there?” I asked with a small laugh. “Are you always like the Walking Dead in the morning?”
“Yup, ever since I was a little kid.” She didn’t smile. “Dad called me his little zombie.”
“Good to know,” I nodded.
“You stayed?” she asked but was stating a fact.
Holding my fork in mid-air, I turned to face her and said, “I stayed.”
“Thanks,” she said with a nod.
That was all.
Breakfast was done and apparently, he who cooks does not do the dishes. So, Avery did the dishes and put everything away. Then she looked around the entire kitchen and breathed. The inhale and exhale, were so deep, it felt as if it were more than a release of air, but also of stress or concern.
“Have I told you how much I appreciate you?” she asked, with her former grogginess no longer visible.
“Yes, and please stop.” I grabbed my car keys. “I figured you might need some shit from the store or whatever. So, I’m available today.”
No pressure was my way to approach why the hell I stayed and stick with that story including my availability for today only. She was my new tenant after all and I’m a Guardian. That’s what I kept telling myself.
“Oh my God, yes,” she exclaimed. “I need to get all sorts of things. A pretty shower curtain, rug to match the curtain, items for my friendship, curtains for the kitchen, a welcome mat and some canvas. Where are you going? Is there an art store nearby? Can we swing by quickly? Now that I have space, I can continue my work.”
I was looking at her mouth, to see if she was breathing after saying all of that but she was right on schedule. Not even a breath skipped.
“I’m sure we can find an art store,” I said with a smirk. “What things for what friendship are you talking about?”
If she said condoms, I’d probably lose all of my shit right then and there. My blood started simmering under the surface at the thought of a man having her, fucking her or being with her. She was a short, little cutie and needed protection. What she was not, was someone to be taken advantage of.
“Oh, my situation. You know, my p-dot.” Her head leaned in as she whispered.
“What situation?” I found myself leaning in to hear the secret.
“You know, Shiz. When women get their friendship. Their situation during that time?” she elaborated under her breath.
“You talking about a woman’s period?” I asked incredulously.
Avery scoffed and jerked her head back.
“That’s crass, Shiz,” she said before turning and walking away. “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready.”
For some reason, I knew that meant thirty minutes and I knew what should have been one hour or two tops, would take all damn day. I did not complain though. Even when she dragged me into the art stores for one and a half hours. The Home Depot for two hours when I had my shit in fifteen minutes. Avery wanted to walk down every aisle and see what the house needed. Then she dragged me into the grocery store for one hour. Then we ate Chipotle at the mall, because we were both starving. We also stopped at the general store to get items she needed for her p-dot. Even the RED box selection took over thirty minutes, so she could rent a few DVDs, with no cable.
We didn’t pull up until nine-thirty in the evening and wasn’t settled until ten o’clock. Once everything was put away, I stood, nabbed my water and said, “It’s been a productive day. Glad you got everything you needed. Do not put those curtains up by yourself. Just let me know the day and time, so I can put the shit up. Yeah?”
“Yeah, Shiz,” she was mocking me again.
I started walking towards the door and said, “You remember the alarm code, right? Put it on when I leave. Get some rest. Your three-day weekend is over tomorrow.”
“Don’t remind me.” She laughed. “Thanks again Shiz and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Seriously.”
This had me turning around and I didn’t advance on her because I had to get the fuck out of there. So, my parting greeting included, “Told you about that shit before. Stop. Yeah? No need for all that.”
Her head nodded but she was smiling, which meant the woman was in silly mode. Nothing good came from that.
“Mmkay.” Avery mumbled. “Won’t guarantee it though. Sorry.”
“Night, Avery,” I turned back around to twist the nob, since there was no reason to go back and forth with the woman when she was hell-bent on defying me. “By the way,” I stepped on the porch. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
This caused her to hum loudly with amusement, but I swear that was not the time to find out why. My cock was hard as steel and those pouty lips of hers were begging to be sucked on. My hands on those curves, moving her to my will. I had to get the fuck out of there as soon as possible. The shop was closed on Mondays, so I opened tomorrow and needed to take my ass home.
“Night, Guardian,” she said in that sexy ass voice.
The woman was fucking with me. She was really fucking with me.
The memory of her placing those lips on mine and running into that apartment came back. It was only two nights ago but I owed her for that shit. I was halfway down her front yard, when I turned on my boot and moved like lightning towards her. The knowing smirk quickly turned into uncertainty when she saw me coming back towards her.
“Shiz,” she murmured as I took her steps three at a time.
Then my lips crashed down on hers as I pushed her into the side panel of the door with my body tilted down to accommodate our height differences. Not giving one fuck anymore as the hit from her taste exploded all the fucks I had to give, I pressed my bottom half into her. She could feel just how much she made me ache. Just how much, she made me wild. Her murmurs, small hands in my hair, gripping and pulling at my scalp. All of that added to the fact that I had my tongue down her throat, searching, seeking and begging for every bit of her taste; that sweetness. I didn’t deserve it but it was here on a platter, waiting for me. I assumed. My teeth bit her bottom lip and the moan along with the slip of her leg sliding up my thigh. That shit had me pulling back but Avery West, lady of the Westonians, followed me, what had to be on her toes, until I halted her with my hands on her shoulders, so I could move back.
She was definitely fucking with me.
Those eyes were low and wanting but since she liked to play games, I leaned in, slapped her left ass cheek hard and said, “That’s for kissing me and running away.”
Then I turned back on my boot and left for real that time.
SH-INK: 11:00 AM
The shop was on Main street, down the street from the Diamond Base, Razor’s shop, where there was a lot of foot traffic. When I opened it three years ago, Razor shared that it was the best place to be with the changes that were happening in town and the new tourist that would come through. Lancaster had been doing a lot of investing and Manor had picked up a lot of attention with the crime rate reductions, making it a happening place to visit and possibly live. The other great part was that tattoos were now more mainstream and not exclusive to the rebels. Finding so
meone with no ink anywhere was rare. If they didn’t have one, they thought about getting it.
Despite my biker status, Sh-Ink was a family friendly place because we did piercings too. We did the hard stuff, but the flash or photos of the naked women were in the back cubicles and not on display in the front.
Meg was one of my best tattooists, because of her line work and shading which was exceptional. She had a steady clientele and the woman was friendly. Zero was my piercer and he had a steady chair. Addy was the admin assistant who booked appointments, kept my schedule and everybody else’s. Jake was another tattooist, who’s fairly new and has a lot of ideas but doesn’t follow through for shit. He’s got a long way to go but I’m not sure if it will be at Sh-Ink.
“Boss, don’t you look like a sight for sore eyes,” Addy greeted me when I walked in, right before opening at ten.
She was dressed in her normal attire of striped socks that led all the way up to her thighs, short skirt, some rocker shirt that was tied in the back and black Catholic girl saddle shoes. I didn’t understand it, but I also didn’t judge. She was the best admin assistant on this side of Lancaster.
“Ads, what’s up?” I nodded towards her as I went to my section in the back. “You been holding down the fort?”
“Of course, boss,” she said. “You missed out on some major dough though. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were like the tourist rave. A few wanted your designs but settled for flash from Meg. They liked it though. I think we need some more flash though. Something different.”
“Yeah,” I looked up at her as I logged on my computer behind the booth. “Like what?”
“Well, we got a bunch of biker shit, no offense though, because this is definitely biker town but the folks we got coming through here aren’t always bikers. So, we keep that shit, but we need something that’s appealing for everyone.” Her face was scrunched up, as she thought the situation through.
“Tell you what,” I interjected. “Get me an idea of what you mean, and I’ll get on it. You’re right. We got to market our brand to the masses. We have a piercer, that appeals to kids. We know our shit about piercings. No need for kids to go all the way to Lancaster to get pierced at the mall. A video or some shit like that?”
“Yes!” Addy perked up. “Yes. Okay. Okay. I’m on it, boss. I love this fucking job.”
I shook my head with a smirk and heard her typing away. After going over the surveillance of the shop, money deposited, rent payments and invoices sent out, I looked at my appointments for the day and sat back since I had about an hour left. Meg wasn’t on until the afternoon and Zero was due within the next hour.
Though, I had been bored of the same old shit, Razor’s words still ran through me like lightning, on top of the responsibility he was giving me with the Viper’s situation. The Pres was a man that played no games and he needed like-minded men at his side. The Vipers, well, there was nothing funny about what they were doing. Apollo actually killed one of their men. Bronx beat the hell out of four of them. Razor shot one in the leg. It was only a matter of time and now that I was about to run point on their operation, games had no room.
My touch up was pretty quick, since it was an old tat on pale skin. Touching up the colors and lining went well for my first client. The second client was a walk-in and wanted a tramp stamp that read, Spank Me Please. She had the money but it was two in the afternoon and she was drunk. I turned her away and Addy read the rules to her several times.
“We don’t do work on people that are inebriated, drunk, fucked up, incoherent, or turnt up,” she said loudly, since the woman was staggering.
“Fucked up,” she slurred. “I ain’t fucked up.”
“Lady, you’re tossed.” Addy waved her hand at her. “Go sleep it off and we’ll do you when you’re sober.”
“F-fuck y’all,” she stuttered and left out.
“No fuck you,” Addy added after she left out. Then she turned to me and said, “Boss, I got a guy with a camera coming in today to give us a rundown of what a mini-promo video would look like. He’s from the college, so he’s doing it for free.”
Damn, the woman worked fast.
“Okay, cool.” I nodded. “Way to be on top of shit, Addy. Yo, Zero, we’re going to do some promo. Think you can smile or some shit when you’re on camera?”
Zero stopped cleaning up his station and looked at me with one brow arched that had literally eight rings going through it.
“Sure, I’ll show a tooth,” he quipped, causing both Addy and I to burst out laughing.
The man looked and was built like the Undertaker on WWF. Tall, pasty and bulky. Piercings were every fucking where on his body but he knew his shit, in and out. At first, I wasn’t too keen on him, but since I could pierce too, I knew a bullshitter and Zero was not that. He did excellent work and folks always come back to him. Despite his Undertaker gloom and attire, he had good bedside manner. Plus, people knew that he knew what he was doing. That mattered more than his personality.
The rest of the day went by quickly, with the kid showing up and scheduling a time to catch us all in the act throughout the week. He had good ideas and I think it would help us rebrand a bit. By the time, my last client left, I was at the compound throwing a few back and studying the compound of the Vipers.
A presence loomed near me, causing my head to turn. It was Uno, looking at me with squinted eyes.
“You alright?” I asked.
“Not really, brother.” He answered. “I’ve been thinking, and I want to talk to you about what I was thinking. I don’t like unresolved things.”
This had my full attention because the only thing that was unresolved was my tax returns that he and I had to discuss.
“What things?” I asked as I turned on my stool to face him.
“Things like Avery,” the man answered and folded his arms over his chest.
I almost laughed but realized he was very serious. Uno was a Guardian, but his full-time job was that of an accountant. He came to the compound occasionally, partied with us sometimes, but for the most part, stayed to himself.
“Okay, Uno.” I flipped my wrist over at him. “Say your peace.”
“I like Avery. Like, a lot, and I was helping her out and then you just came in and took over. I did not like that and I wanted you to know, that I did not think it was fair. Our President asked me to take care of her and I did and before you start to insult me or my intelligence, I want to say, I know she only saw me as a friend. I don’t need to be reminded about that and especially by you. My point is, brother to brother. I didn’t like what you did and I’m telling you about it. I love the Guardians and I don’t want anything to jeopardize the comradery that I’ve found here.” He tipped his glasses up. “I, I know she’s out of my league, but I liked her. She was weird, funny and didn’t judge me. That was nice for a change.”
Damn.
This was the second time in a fucking month, where I was called to task about some shit that I fucked up. It did not feel nice and it was one thing when it was coming from your President and that shit hurt even worse when it was coming from a fellow brother who did nothing but have his brother’s back.
Again, I fucked up.
My chest hurt with the thought of what having Avery around did for him. It did the same for me and I was a selfish prick because I only wanted that for me.
“Man, Uno. You’re right,” I said and watched his eyes grow right before my eyes. “You’re fucking right. I didn’t ask, didn’t even touch base with you. I fucked up man and I apologize for that. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I wouldn’t do that shit on purpose. Hope you know that. I guess, I was being selfish and trying to make up for what I had fucked up with her. Pres asked me to do what he asked you and I said no, at first. Then after thinking about it, I changed my mind. Pres told me he handed it off and I guess I wanted to make it up to her,” I shared with him. “I know how you feel. It’s how I feel around her. She’s carefree and funny. A goofball.”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “She is, but she’s happy, so I’m happy. She likes you a lot.”
“She tell you that?” I asked a little too rapidly.
“No, no.” His head was shaking. “You can just tell. Even with our introductions at her new place. When she introduced you, there was a completely different tone. One of adoration.”
“That’s because of the house.” I waved that off. “She was excited...”
“No, that had nothing to do with the house. She’s done that before,” Uno explained. “I picked it up even before she rented your place.”
Then he eyed me and turned his head to the side. “You like her too. That’s also very clear, so I’m not trying to disrupt that. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
“What makes you think I like her?” I was the one now folding my arms over my chest.
“You do know I’m an accountant.” Uno glared at me. “More importantly, your accountant.”
Oh shit.
“You rented that house to her for four-hundred dollars,” he whispered. “That’s the amount of what the utilities and maintenance cost for a place like that. You could have quadrupled the rent and you have before.”
“She wouldn’t have taken it for free,” I shared in a quiet hush.
“That’s my point,” he said. “You practically gave her a house. You like her. Even Bear’s sister paid one grand for rent.”
The man had a point.
“Plus,” he decided to go on. “You get that look too when you talk about her. Like she’s a mythical creature.”
He smiled because he knew, like I knew.
She was.
I chuckled and said, “Uno, thanks for coming to talk to me about this. Takes a real man to do that and I appreciate it. Again, I’d never meant for everything to go down like it did. I will be more conscious the next time.”
“Well, Shiz. I appreciate that. Thank you for being a real man and hearing me.” He nodded and looked like he was about to leave.
“Can you come by the shop tomorrow, Uno? There’s somebody I want you to meet,” I tell him.
