Contents
1. Cillian
2. Midge
3. Cillian
4. Midge
5. Cillian
6. Midge
7. Cillian
8. Midge
9. Cillian
10. Midge
11. Cillian
12. Midge
13. Cillian
14. Midge
15. Cillian
16. Midge
17. Cillian
18. Midge
19. Cillian
20. Midge
21. Cillian
22. Midge
23. Cillian
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25. Cillian
26. Midge
27. Cillian
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29. Cillian
30. Midge
31. Cillian
32. Midge
33. Cillian
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35. Cillian
36. Midge
37. Cillian
38. Midge
39. Cillian
40. Midge
41. Cillian
42. Midge
43. Cillian
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45. Cillian
46. Midge
47. Cillian
48. Midge
49. Cillian
50. Midge
Epilogue
Preview of On the Rocks
Acknowledgments
Also by Isabel Lucero
About the Author
1
Cillian
Over the buzz of my gun and the rock music playing lightly in the background, comes the grating voice of a woman who accompanied her boyfriend for his tattoo appointment only to talk shit about his choice of tattoo.
“I mean, I just don’t get it. Why do you want to get a tattoo of a woman? I have to look at it all the time because it’s on your arm.”
“Well, Jan, let me blow your mind real quick. Maybe, just maybe, the tattoo isn’t for you.”
I press my lips together in an effort to keep from laughing. My client—Dasan, exhales just as his girlfriend huffs, and I keep working.
The tattoo is of a striking woman smoking a cigarette. The smoke and hair wisp and whirl around her, creating a pretty cool border around her face.
“Is this one of your ex-girlfriends?”
“Oh my God, no! He drew her up!” Dasan explains, gesturing to me with his other hand.
Jan looks at me with pursed lips. “Did you?”
I give a single nod. “Yep. She was born from my own imagination.”
She harrumphs and Dasan sighs. “Sorry, dude.”
I just smile and continue to do my job. It’s not the worst experience I’ve had in this shop.
“Are you apologizing for me?”
“Oh Lord. Jan, why don’t you go down the block. Have a drink. I’ll come find you.”
I tune them out as they continue to bicker back and forth. I’m almost done anyway, and luckily, he’s my last customer.
Earlier, I texted my girlfriend, Zoe, asking if she wanted to come hang out at my studio once I was done here, but as usual, she declined.
For the past several months things haven’t been going so well with us, and for a while, I assumed everything would end up okay, because while we always fight, we also always make up. We always had sex to fall back on. I think maybe that’s why we put up with each other. The sex is pretty good. We fight, then we fuck, and we’re happy. However, it’s only temporary. And lately, we haven’t been doin’ much fucking.
“All right, man. That’ll do it,” I say, wiping off a mixture of ink and blood from his arm. “Wanna take a look before I wrap it?”
“Yeah.”
Dasan climbs out of the chair and makes his way to the floor-length mirror between my chair and the next. He rotates his arm, getting a good look at all the detail, then smiles. “I love it. Thanks, Cill.”
“No problem.”
When he sits back down, I clean and rub ointment over the fresh ink before wrapping it up.
“Oh good. At least I won’t have to look at it when we go home,” Jan says.
I lift my eyes up to look at Dasan, and notice he’s rolling his.
“Just for a couple hours,” I tell him. “Then let it breathe.”
After Dasan pays and I clean up my station, I head to the back to find Wes.
“Hey, man. You done already?” he asks, looking up from his sketch.
“Yeah. How long you think that’s gonna take?” I ask, nodding to his drawing.
He tilts his head, inspecting the work. “I don’t know. Another hour at least. The guy came in earlier wanting to make some changes.”
“Okay, well, unless you have a walk-in, feel free to close up when you’re done.”
Wes stands up and stretches his arms above his head. “All right, dude. Thanks. Fuck, my back is killing me. Been hunched over too damn long.”
“I told you to take a break.”
“Breaks are for the weak,” he says with a laugh, scratching his inked up left bicep before
reaching into the mini fridge for a Coke. His tattoos cover his entire left side—from neck to ankle. I’d know because I did every single one of them for him.
“Looks like you’re taking a break now.”
“Fuck off. You’re distracting me.”
I laugh as I turn and leave. I pull out my phone and tell Zoe I’m heading to my brother’s bar if she wants to meet me there for a little while, but she doesn’t respond.
Since King’s Tavern is only a block and a half away, it doesn’t take long to get there. It’s Saturday, and close to eleven, so it’s fairly busy, but I spot an empty seat next to my brother’s girlfriend, London.
“Hey, Lo,” I say, dropping into the stool next to her.
“Oh, hey!” she responds cheerfully. “You just get off work?”
“Yep. Decided to grab a drink before heading to the studio.”
“Drinking and painting. Does that work well for you?” she asks with a giggle.
“Willing to try anything to get the creative juices flowing.”
She frowns, tucking her blond hair behind her ear. “Still struggling?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“What about juices?” Midge asks, spinning in her stool next to London.
I’ve known Midge since elementary school. This small town makes it to where you basically know everybody, or at least know of them.
“Creative juices,” London repeats. “Cill’s lost his mojo.”
Midge slides out of her seat, her black boots hitting the floor with a thud before waltzing around London. “I’m sure whatever you’ve been working on is great. Why don’t you show it to us?”
I make a face. “Not gonna happen. It’s definitely not ready.”
“Yeah, but you said that about the last piece and then you ruined it with black paint before anybody could see it. Maybe you’re just way too critical about your own work.”
“Nah, it was shit.”
Midge rolls her eyes. “Whatever, man. What if I want to procure your services?”
I furrow my brows, judging her choice of words. “Procure my services?”
She puts a hand on her hip. “You know, hire you for some work.”
I squint my eyes at her. “What would you need to hire me for?”
“My mom’s birthday is coming up, and I have an idea for this amazing painting. I think you’d do such a great job, and I don’t know any other artists, and it’s for my mom. Are you really going to say no to a painting for my mom?”
She keeps her tiny little hand on her hip, cocking it to the side and
looking at me with her wide, doe eyes. Midge knows I love her mom. She was there for me and my brothers when we lost our parents, always reaching out to ask if we needed anything. And then, of course, there were all those times I spent at their house. She treated me like one of her own, and honestly, I’d do anything for her.
“Fine. I’ll do whatever you want, but I don’t wanna talk about it now. All I want is a beer.”
Midge bounces on her toes with a wide smile stretching across her face. “I’ll go get that brother of yours.” I think she’s going to walk over to where he’s standing, but then she yells, “Hey, bartender! How about some service over here, huh?”
Royce’s head snaps in our direction, but when he sees the three of us, he cracks a grin. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”
“Where’s Zoe?” Midge asks.
“I’m not sure,” I reply, pulling my phone from my pocket to check if she responded to my text yet. “She didn’t want to hang out at my studio, so when I decided to come here, I texted her to let her know, but she hasn’t written back yet.”
I put the phone on the bar, and the girls share a look before focusing on me.
“What?”
“Nothing,” they answer simultaneously.
“Sorry, bro,” Royce says, popping up with a beer in his hand. “Busy night. What’s goin’ on?”
“Not much,” I reply, taking the beer and swallowing down a large gulp. “Just got off. Figured I’d come have a drink before heading to the studio.”
“I’m not even gonna ask how it’s going,” he replies with a small shake of his head and the tiniest of smirks.
He’s been asking how my painting has been going but I keep giving him the same answer. Absolute shit.
He talks to London for a little while, and Midge makes her way over to me.
“So, are you and Zoe currently together? I know y’all like to break up every few weeks. I can’t really keep up,” she says with a short laugh and small smile.
“We just got back together a couple weeks ago.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes. “You guys are crazy.”
I chuckle as I bring the beer to my lips. “Guess I’m used to it.”
“So, about this painting.” She holds up her hand when I open my mouth. “I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, but you have your beer, so shut up. I’m looking to be a little drunk soon, so if I don’t say it now, who knows that I’ll even remember this conversation.”
I shake my head. “Okay, go.”
“My mom spent many summers at her parents’ house at Lake Erie. She hasn’t been back in so long but she talks about her time there pretty often. My grandparents still own it, but I don’t think they make it up there too often. Usually it’s rented out. Anyway, I’d love to have you paint that house and general scenery. Cill, it’s so beautiful. It’s right on the water, and I know you can make it look spectacular. Mom would love it.”
Midge’s eyes lit up as she was talking about it, and now they’re staring at me, pleading. Like she really thinks I’ll say no.
“Lake Erie, huh?”
“I know it’s a few hours away, but I’ll check with my grandparents and see if it’s free, and you can stay there if you want. It would be the perfect place for you to maybe get your mojo back.”
I contemplate it. It’s not a bad idea actually. “Yeah, okay. Sounds good. Just let me know if it’s available, and then I’ll make sure to take some time off from the shop.”
Midge lets out a high-pitched squeal. “Eeee! Thank you so much, Cillian!” She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re choking me.”
She gives me another squeeze before placing her hand on the side of my head and pushing.
“Don’t be a baby.”
“What’s all the squealing about?” London asks.
“Cill’s gonna stay at my grandparents’ place on Lake Erie and paint a picture for my mom.”
“Wait,” London says, her face turning serious. “You mean to tell me we could’ve been staying at a house on Lake Erie this whole time and you’re just now telling me it exists?”
Midge cackles. “Sorry. I don’t think about going out there.”
“Oh my God, I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. Maybe we can head up there too. Just for, like, a day or so, cause Cill needs the alone time so he can—”
“Masturbate?” Royce chimes in.
I give him the finger.
“No,” Midge continues. “So he can create a masterpiece.”
I hear Royce mutter something to London, and I’m pretty sure it was “masturbate” again. Asshole.
“That’ll be so much fun!” London chirps. “We can have a nice weekend out there.”
I finish my beer and slide some money toward Royce. “I’m outta here. Gotta go try to be creative.”
“Try masturbating first,” Midge says. “Just kidding! I’ll let you know about the house.”
I shake my head. “All right. Bye, guys.”
I check my phone again once I’m outside, but there’s still nothing from Zoe. I walk to the studio I rent out a couple blocks from my tattoo shop and hope when I get there I’ll be able to create something I’m proud of. But I can’t stop wondering why Zoe hasn’t responded to me.
2
Midge
“I feel bad. I think we should tell him,” I tell London.
“I don’t know. I mean, I guess I get that, but I don’t want to be the person responsible for breaking his heart.”
“Fuck that. We’re not responsible. Zoe is!”
“Are you sure you saw what you think you saw? Maybe it was innocent?”
I scoff. “I saw her tongue literally in someone else’s mouth. Her literal arms around someone else’s neck. She was literally, basically humping this guy in public.”
“Okay, okay. Stop saying literally.”
“But for real. Literally. She’s cheating on him.”
“Maybe we can tell Royce and he can tell him.”
I shake my head and take a sip of my drink. “Nah. I’m his friend, and I’m the one who witnessed it. I should tell him.”
London frowns. “Well, good luck with that. I hope he doesn’t take it too hard.”
“Me either, but at least he can escape to Lake Erie for a while and get away. I need to call my grandparents tomorrow so I can make sure nobody’s already in it.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this house,” London pouts.
“I’m sorry,” I say, wrapping my arms around her and leaning my head against hers. “I promise we’ll go more than once this summer. You forgive me?”
“Mmm,” she leaves me hanging for several seconds. “I guess.”
I playfully smack her as I pull away, and we both start laughing. After we finish our drinks, London spends some time saying bye to Royce, so I grab my phone and scroll through Facebook. Ava, a friend from school, posted some pictures from a night out she had recently, and something in the background of a couple of them catch my eye. After I zoom in and study the two pictures some more, I realize I’m seeing an unmistakable couple of photos of Zoe and the guy she’s cheating on Cillian with.
In the first picture, Zoe is looking up at this guy and smiling. The tips of her fingers rest inside his upturned palm, like they were either beginning to hold hands or just letting go. In the second picture, she’s moved in closer and rested her head on his shoulder.
I get that it’s nothing concrete, and she could even try to talk her way out of these, but I know what I saw two days ago. I may not have pictures, but Cillian will have to believe me, because he knows I’d never make that up. And now, here she is being so brazen to be out in public with this guy, holding hands and cuddling up. Doesn’t she realize how small this town is? Someone is bound to see her, just like I did in front of that restaurant.
Just as I was getting out of my car to head inside for lunch, I spotted her and some tall guy in a su
it at the corner of the building having a quick goodbye make-out session. She disappeared around the corner as the guy went the opposite way, and I was left standing there wondering what the hell I just saw.
Now that these photos are online, someone else may see them, so I need to tell Cill as soon as possible. Especially now that I know they aren’t on one of their little breaks.
“You ready?” London asks.
I hand her my phone. “Look at this photo and the next.”
She takes it and slides her thumb back and forth as she studies the pictures. “Are they having a bachelorette party?”
“No, look in the background.”
Her thumb swipes across the screen several times, and then she brings the phone closer to her face before her eyes widen. Her jaw drops as she looks at me. “Is that Zoe?”
I nod once. “Yep.”
“And that’s obviously not Cill.”
“Hell no.”
“Oh, my God! You have to tell Cill now! What if he sees these or something?”
I take my phone back and drop it into my small, black purse. “You think I should tell him tonight? Wait till tomorrow? It’s almost twelve-thirty.”
“I don’t know.”
“I guess I’ll send him a text. Maybe he’s still at his studio.”
She nods her head and sits down in front of me, so I take my phone back out and type out a quick text.
Midge: Hey, you busy?
Surprisingly, he responds almost right away.
Truth or Dare (Kingston Brothers Book 2) Page 1
