by Amy Davies
“Don’t play coy with me, young lady. Are you going to go and see him? I know you need the last bit of your thigh tat finished. So, I ask again: are you going to talk to him? Maybe offer to get a drink.” He looks hopeful at me. There’s nothing stopping me from asking Jay out for a drink, but for some reason, a little voice in my head is telling me to be cautious with this man. The little incident with that woman in town that one time, only made my wariness of him that little bit more. He called out to the woman, but never chased after her. He just said a quick bye to me and walked away, leaving me standing there like a lemon. Then there was the hiking meeting. Damn, the images of the way his bare chest moved when he jogged… His tattooed arm… His skin covered in sweat… I clench my thighs, praying that Chris doesn’t see.
“We’ll see, okay. I think he’s seeing someone, anyway,” I say, as I park the car. I turn the engine off and climb out. Closing the door and walking around to the back of the car, I open the boot and help Stark out. I see Chris standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, smirking at me, like he knows I am lying about Jay possibly seeing someone. In all honesty, I have no clue if Jay has a girlfriend, it isn’t my business.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. Let’s get inside before Mrs. Fleur turns up with Miss Tootsie and gets her knickers in a bunch when she sees that we aren't ready. You know she likes everything done on time. That dog is her baby, and she must follow the daily schedule.” Chris and I laugh while we open up the salon and start turning things on. I walk Stark out to the garden area, where we keep the outdoor kennels. If the weather is nice, I place the dogs out here before and after their appointment.
“Okay, everything is on and we’re ready to roll. Bring on the pooches,” Chris shouts from inside. I turn and look at my business, and feel my heart swell with pride. This is all mine, and I work my backside off every day to keep it the way I like it.
jay
“Jay,” Dex bellows from the front of Castle Ink. I’m sitting in my room, chilling after doing two large tattoos today. They’re my thing. I love doing big and detailed tattoos, but they’re a bitch on my back and hips. I keep my eyes closed and blow out a big breath, dreading to think what my brother wants. I don’t move from my chair; he can come to me if it’s so important. “Jay!” he screams again.
“WHAT?” I yell back. Fuck him, he has working legs, he can fucking walk to me. I adjust myself on the chair, making sure to take the pressure off my neck. Maybe I can get a small IKEA couch in here. The door swings open and my brother, Dex, fills the doorway.
“I fucking called you.”
“And?” I reply.
“I need you up front with a client.” Huffing, I climb to my feet. I stretch up and click my back, every muscle aches right now. I need a soak in my bath when I get home. Dex doesn’t wait for a reply, he just storms back out of my room towards the reception area. I shake my head and follow him out, bending my neck back and forth, trying to loosen up the muscles. I lift my head up and stop dead in my tracks. Cassie stands there with Dex looking as beautiful as ever. She’s wearing a black dress with black-patterned tights, a brown leather jacket, and brown-heeled ankle boots. And she looks completely fuckable. Damn it, I’ve been trying to get her out of my head. It’s only been three weeks since Rachel took off. Should I be feeling like this? Fuck me, I need to man up. I need to decide if I should try and move on or just fuck around for a bit. But even as I think those last words I know I could never do that again. Yeah, I flirt like fuck, but that’s it.
I force my feet forward and make my way to where they’re standing. My eyes flicker between the three adults standing there, all with different smiles on their faces. Addy’s wearing a smile that’s screaming at me to make a move on Cassie, Dex’s face is telling me to get some action, and Cassie is the girl to do it with. Then there’s Cassie. Cassie Dawson. The girl who’s been running around my mind, wearing her running gear. All that tight lycra clinging to every curve of her body. I shake my head as I come to a stop next to them. I offer them a polite smile, but I see Addy’s face scrunch up. She knows I’m feeling uncomfortable.
“Hey, Ads,” I say, and lean in and kiss her cheek. I pull back and shake my head a little at her. My eyes land on Cassie, and a new smile forms without me giving my damn mouth muscles permission to smile at her. “Hey, Cassie.”
“Hello, Jay.” She smiles at me and fiddles with the zip of her leather jacket. Is she nervous? Why would she be nervous? I see a huge ugly-arse smile cross my brother’s face, like he knows a secret that I don’t. Addy pulls on his arm and he looks down at her.
“Come and make me a cup of tea.”
“Why?” Dex asks her.
“Because I want to talk to you about something.”
“Baby, what do you need to talk to me about?”
“Dex, please.” She nods her head towards the back room, still pulling on his arm slightly, but my brother is a brute, and he isn’t budging.
“Addy, baby. What…”
“Oh, for fucks sake, Dex. We need to leave these two to talk for a bit without you being an interfering twat. Now move.” She places her hands on her hips and waits for him.
“But I was going to have Jay help Cassie and me with her design.”
“Move it, Dexter Castle, or so help me God, I will withhold this from you.” She gestures down her body. Dex gasps.
“You wouldn’t?” Addy nods her head. “Oh, fuck that. You are on your own, bro.” He picks Addy up and throws her over his shoulder, her laughter fills the studio. I hear Cassie laugh behind me and I spin around to face her. Her smile drops a little when our eyes meet. She bites the corner of her bottom lip and my dick jerks to attention.
Down boy. Fucker’s got a mind of his own.
“So, what can I help you with?” I ask.
“Ummm…” She looks around the room, forcing her eyes not to meet mine anymore. She’s acting super nervous. When I saw her in town, and while hiking, she seemed confident in herself. But this Cassie looks like the shy girl who hides at the back of the classroom. I reach up and use my thumb and forefinger to grip her chin, making her look at me.
“Kitten?” Where the fuck did that come from?
I know she works as a dog groomer, Dex brought it up one time in conversation, but I couldn't really call her ‘dog’ or ‘puppy’. I drop my hand like her skin has burned me. Her gaze drops from my eyes to my hand, and she frowns at the sudden movement.
“Umm, it was nothing. Yeah, um, never mind. Tell Dex I’ll call him later in the week for our chat. Bye, Jay.” Before I can even respond, she bolts from the studio, leaving me gob-smacked. I turn around to see if anyone else saw her reaction. A young lad is sitting on the reception sofa, and he just shrugs at me and goes back to his phone. I walk back to the lounge room and find Addy straddling Dex on the sofa. They’re only kissing, but fuck, I like to rile my brother up.
“Room for one more?” I ask, as I start removing my shirt.
“Fuck off,” my brother growls at me.
“Where’s Cassie?” Addy asks.
“She left. Why was she here again?” I ask as I walk over to the fridge to get myself a can of 7UP. I close the fridge and open my drink, taking a big gulp. Addy climbs off Dex and marches over to me, the look of a pissed off woman clear on her face.
“What did you say to her? Did you upset her or something?”
“Whoa. I didn’t say or do anything. I asked her why she came here and she got really fidgety and bolted. She said she’ll call you later in the week.” I say that last part to my brother. I finish off my drink and drop the can into the bin. I’m in no hurry for the rest of the day. I’ve finished my appointments, so now I’ll deal with any walk-ins we get.
“I thought she was here to talk about finishing her tat,” I say to them.
“She was, but we got the vibe that she wanted to speak to you in private. That's why I dragged this big lug back here. I really thought she liked you, Jay,” Addy adds.
&nbs
p; “Maybe she does but got nervous. You know how some girls can be around him.”
“What, bitches? Time wasting slags?” Addy throws at us. Fuck, she’s talking about Rachel. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Her face flashes through my head and my chest aches, but not as much as it did. Does this mean I’m getting over her? I know we weren't a fully-fledged couple - her fault, not mine - but I did think that we could have a future together.
“Pussy,” I mutter under my breath.
“What was that?” Dex asks, smirking at me. Yeah, the fucker heard me.
“I get that you didn’t like Rachel, Ads, but fuck. Lay off the bitching about her, yeah. I’m trying my best to move on but fuck, give me a break.”
“Move on! Jay, that bitch has been gone long enough for you to move on. She didn’t deserve you, and that’s a fact. Now out there was a perfectly good girl. Sexy as hell in her nerdy kinda way, but fuck me does she suit you. Go get her.” Addy says her piece and starts cleaning up around the little kitchen we have back here.
“And I know just the way for you to see her.” Dex winks at me and takes out his phone. He leaves the room, talking to someone on the other end. I watch as Addy goes into mother mode. It’s amazing to see here this way. Her getting together with Dex and having Phoebe has made me so proud of her. She just needs to get Dex to set a date for the wedding, to make things extra solid now. I know Dex said he would never marry again, but being with Addy has changed him. Plus, Fiona would want him to move on. Dex walks back into the room, breaking my thoughts of my brother marrying again.
“Okay, it’s sorted. Deuce is booked in tomorrow at Cassie’s Cuts. You, my dear brother, are dropping him off. That will give you the chance to have a talk to Cass and get in her knickers.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.
“Dex!” Addy screeches from across the room.
“What?” He looks at her with an innocent expression on his face. I burst out laughing, because even when we were kids, Dex could never look or act innocent.
“You know well that Cassie isn’t that type of girl. Bloody hell. What are you going to do when boys are trying to get into Phoebe’s knickers when she’s older?” Addy smirks at my brother as his face turns from fake-innocent to pissed off daddy-style.
“Breaking some fucking kneecaps, that’s what I’ll be doing. No fuck-head is touching my baby girl, I can tell you that much right now.”
“And I’ll be right there with you, brother. But I agree with Ads: Cassie isn’t that type of girl. I’ll need to win her over before I try anything, but I think Cassie Dawson is a forever-girl. She isn’t a get in, get off and get out kinda girl,” I explain.
“Oh, shut up, Jay,” Addy scoffs. “We get it. Bloody hell. You need to woo her, Jay. She’s a sweet girl. She likes tattoos - obviously. She likes reading, she always has her Kindle in her bag, I’ve seen it twice now.”
“Plus, she fucking loves films, bro. She’s a huge action movie type of girl. You know, Transformers, and all that superhero shit. You speak nerd, so do her that way.”
“Do her that way?” Addy repeats his words.
“Yeah. Baby, I’m trying to get my brother laid. He needs it after...” He stops, but I know he was going to say Rachel’s name. He gives me a smile as if to say, ‘sorry bro’, and I nod my head.
“Jesus, you Castle boys only think with that head between your legs.”
“I ain’t complaining. Your head is always between my legs, and you do most of the thinking in our relationship.” He winks at her and she shakes her head.
Addy turns back to me and speaks, “Jay, Cassie needs sweet. She isn’t hard like us. Just be you tomorrow. She’ll like you as you are. You’re an amazing man; you dote on Phoebe, and that alone will make any woman swoon. Fuck, they’ll drop their knickers if you walk around carrying the baby. But Cassie doesn’t need that, you don’t need that with her. Take Deuce tomorrow and just go with the flow. Don’t force anything, okay?” I nod my head in agreement. Addy’s right: I just need to be me.
“Yeah, go shopping and get her some flowers, chocolates, and some condoms. Surely she’ll get the hint that you want in her little nerdy knickers.” My brother winks at me and Addy throws a tea towel at him. “What? I’m only saying what he should do. Damn, woman, worked with you, didn’t it?”
“Really? You went there?” Addy snipes back. I can see how pissed off she’s getting. The thing is, Dex loves to wind Addy up, get her all mad, and then he shags her senseless. He’s told me on many occasions that when she’s fired up, she is wild in bed. And yes, I told him it was way too much fucking information, but the bastard kept talking. No more Vodka for him.
“Yeah, I went there. And you know it worked, so don’t act all high and mighty around me. Baby, I know what you sound like when you come, because only I get to make you sound like that. Now, Jay knows his way around a woman, and he’ll have Cassie screaming his name in no time. I taught him everything he knows.”
“So, he had to watch a lot of porn, then? To make up all the details that you didn’t know.” Addy winks at me and Dex grunts.
“Whatever. You love how I make you feel. You love when I…” He prowls towards her. This is how Dexter Castle got his girls. He has this way about him that makes the ladies melt around him. But if he did it now… Addy would cut his dick off.
“Stop right there,” she says with a warning tone. Dex closes the distance between them and Addy melts against him, just like always. He grips her hips and slams his mouth down on hers. They kiss, and then the hands start getting touchy. And that’s me done.
“And that’s my cue to leave. I am not into watching you two devour each other. Shag at home, not here.” I turn and walk towards the door, when Dex calls my name.
“Jay. Pick Deuce up around ten-ish. His appointment is at eleven.”
“Got it. Later.” I walk out of the lounge and into my private room and think about the cute blonde I’ll be seeing tomorrow. Could Addy and Dex be right?
Could Cassie really like me? I do know they’re right about one thing: I need to move on from Rachel. Maybe Cassie is the one to help me do that.
cassie
I groan loudly as I look at the appointment list for today. I’m grateful for every appointment I get, but I know Dex or Addy will be bringing Deuce in this morning, and they’re going to question me about what happened with Jay yesterday at Castle Ink. I finish trimming the Bichon Frisé that’s on my table. Chris is currently cleaning out the bath ready for Deuce - now there is a dog that loves his bath. He just sits there and lets the water wash over him. I know that Addy or Dex are going to bring up why I ran yesterday, and I don’t really wanna tell them that I chickened out of asking Jay out for a drink one night. Addy had convinced me that he would say yes because he knows that he needs to get out more. I was going full steam ahead to ask him out, but then he walked from out the back room, and my mind went blank. It was like my brain had been taken over by someone or something, it refused to let me speak.
My body heated up from the inside out, my palms were clammy. Sweat started running down between my boobs - and it’s November, for crying out loud! I can feel myself getting warm just thinking about him. There is no way that any man can have this much of an effect on a woman, he must have some sort of superhero powers. That’s it, I am one hundred percent certain that Jay Castle is a superhero. I wipe my sweaty hands down the front of my jeans, dreading the moment Dex and Addy walk through the door. Chris calls me from the back room.
“Cass.” I walk through to the back to see what he wants. He’s just finishing up cleaning the bath. I walk in and enjoy the view that’s in front of me. Chris is bent over the bath, drying it with a towel. His arse is pretty damn perfect. It’s a damn shame that he bats for the other side. I swear the man that lands Chris is one lucky bugger.
“What’s up, sexy?” I ask, as I lean against the door frame. Chris slowly stands to his full height, making sure his head doesn’t spin.
“I know you’re
going to want to kill me but my sister just phoned and her car broke down. I need to go and pick her up.” He rushes out the words.
“Okay, and why would I want to kill you for helping Stephanie out?”
“Umm, I kinda forgot to write down that Mrs. Jones is bringing in Dougie for a wash and trim. You’re going to have to do it, and I know that Deuce is on his way. I’ll come back as soon as possible, I swear.” He gives me the puppy eyes because he knows they work on me every, single time.
“Oh shit,” I mutter, my heart rate picking up. I was banking on Chris running interference for when Dex or Addy dropped Deuce off. No chance now. Bugger.
“I know. I’m so sorry to leave like this, Cass, but I can’t leave here there on her own. She’s ready to pop that baby out soon.” His sister is nearly thirty-six weeks pregnant with her third child. I blow out a heavy breath and look at my friend. He loves sister, and he’s excited for the new baby to arrive.
“Tell me you love me.” Oh shit, the puppy-dog eyes again, and that bloody bottom lip. He sticks it out like he’s a pouting toddler.
“Fine. Go. I still love you but you owe me big time for this.” He bounds over to me and kisses my cheek, wrapping me up in his burly arms. I breath him in because Chris always smells nice. He’s my safe place. He calms me.
“I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He leaves the room and I walk over to finish preparing the bath for big Dougie. Dougie is a three-year-old Golden Doodle.
Ten minutes after Chris leaves, Mrs. Jones comes through the door with Dougie. Her hair is perfect. She looks like a trophy wife; all big blonde hair and big boobs, legs that go on forever. She never looks bad, always done up to the nines.
“Hi, Mrs. Jones.” I bend down and scratch Dougie behind his big, fluffy ears. “Hey, Dougie.” His tongue laps at my face, making me laugh out loud.
“Ewwww, Dougie. NO,” Mrs. Jones shouts at him. He doesn’t stop, he’s a big, old softy.
