Anticipation(35)

The Brothers Ink building loomed on her left, and she turned onto the  side street. It was impossible to see the building and not think of  Eddie. She'd hurt him tonight. She'd seen it in his face. But maybe this  way he'd accept what she'd said and she wouldn't have to come to work  every day scared of what he might say, what he might offer, how he might  tempt her.

Maybe this way was best. They could get the part where he was  disappointed and angry with her out of the way quickly, and forget about  Friday night. Things wouldn't be normal between them straight away, but  they'd get there eventually.

They had to.

She hadn't lied to Reid about having an early start - she had a doctor's  appointment first thing, the last check-up with her orthopedic surgeon  before she got the all clear - and she went straight to bed when she got  home.

Despite her early night, she felt like crap when the alarm went off and  she sucked down two cups of coffee before heading to the hospital.

Predictably, her doctor was running late, which meant she was running  late by the time she left the hospital. She rang Steffi to let her know  what was going on, then did her best to dodge her way through inner city  rush-hour traffic. By the time she parked behind Brothers Ink, she was  twenty minutes late, and counting.

She scrambled from her car and rushed into the building, hoping like  hell that Steffi or Hans had gotten her client a coffee while she was  waiting. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dimmer light inside  after the bright sunshine, and she almost plowed into Eddie as he exited  the staff room.

"Shit. Sorry," she said, braking hard.

Eddie gave her a hard look. "You're late."

"I had an appointment. The doctor was running late."

"You might want to arrange things so you don't keep paying customers  kicking their heels next time," he said, a cold snap in his voice.

Under any other circumstances, Blue would ask what was up his butt, but she knew exactly why he was pissy with her.

"You'll be pleased to know it was my last appointment," she said calmly.  "Now, if you could get out of the way, I can go deal with my paying  customer."

Eddie frowned, but he stepped aside. She dumped her stuff in the staff  room, then went to get her tattoo machine from the autoclave, more than a  little off balance after her run-in with Eddie.

Corey was in the supply room already, sorting through a box of inks.

"Hey," he said as she entered.

"Sorry, in a rush," she said, yanking open the autoclave and pulling out her machine.

"Can I help?" Corey offered.

"Hell, yeah. Can you grab my foot pedal and cord, and some Kuro Sumi  Greywash and Soft Cherry?" she asked, busy laying her equipment on her  tray.

"On it," Corey said, and she heard him foraging in boxes behind her, searching for the inks she'd specified.

"Here," Corey said, dropping the ink bottles onto her tray and draping  her foot pedal and cord over her shoulder. "Before you go, word to the  wise - Eddie's hungover and in a foul mood. Duck and run if you see him,  babe."

She paused, frowning. "Hungover?"

"Yep. He had eyes like roadmaps this morning. He was so bad Steffi had to give him some of those magic eye drops of hers."         

     



 

Blue stared at Corey, unsettled. Had Eddie tied one on because of her?

God. This situation was so messed up.

"Thanks for the heads-up," she said.

Worry and guilt eating at her, Blue went to set up her workroom. Her  client was a return customer, back to get the shading done on the cherry  blossom tree Blue had outlined on her shoulder during her first visit.  Blue apologized profusely for her tardiness, but Rhianna confessed she'd  spent the whole time flirting with Hans, so as far as she was  concerned, they were sweet.

The next two hours of Blue's life were devoted to a few square inches of  skin on Rhianna's left shoulder. Working quickly but carefully, she  shaded the cherry blossom tree until it had dimension and texture. Blue  made sure Rhianna got her full time and then some to make up for being  late and sent her on her way, sore but happy.

Rolling her neck, Blue headed for the staff room. She was still in the  corridor when she heard raised voices, and her steps slowed as she tried  to work out if it was prudent to intrude or not. The gang at Brothers  Ink were a pretty easy-going bunch, but occasionally tempers flared, as  they did in any tight-knit workplace.

"It's not much to ask, Steffi. You and Hans are the front line of this  operation, and if we can't rely on you, we've got nothing." Eddie's  voice echoed down the corridor, sharp with anger.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened," Steffi said, a pronounced  quaver in her voice. Eddie didn't lose his temper very often, but when  he did, it was scary - probably because it was such a rarity.

Blue didn't hesitate, plunging into the fray. After all, she was the one  Eddie was really angry at, not Steffi. Blue wasn't about to stand by  and let someone else cop flack intended for her.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked as she entered the staff room. She glanced at Steffi. "You okay?"

Steffi nodded, but Blue could see she was on the verge of tears.

Eddie made a rude noise. "Don't start, Blue."

"How about you stop?" she said.

"I'm okay, Blue. Seriously," Steffi said.

It was a blatant lie, and everyone in the room knew it.

"Go grab a coffee or something," Blue said, setting a hand on Steffi's  shoulder and turning her toward the door. "Hans can look after reception  on his own for a while."

"In case you'd forgotten, I'm the boss around here," Eddie said, his  voice dangerously calm. "And Steffi and I were having a conversation."

Blue caught Steffi's eye. "Go. I've got this."

Steffi didn't so much as glance in Eddie's direction as she rushed from the room.

Blue waited until she was gone before crossing her arms over her chest and eyeing the angry Brazilian in front of her.

"Proud of yourself?" she asked.

"Don't push me today." Eddie's nostrils flared as he glared at her, the tendons standing out in his neck.

"If you've got a problem with me, talk to me. Don't take it out on Steffi or Corey or anyone else, okay?"

Eddie said something in Portuguese before switching to English. "Trust me, you don't want to hear what I have to say."

"Give it your best shot, tough guy. I can handle it."

He took a step toward her, his eyes hard with anger. "Okay, fine. Here  it is: Reid Thompson is an asshole. Every time you fuck him you demean  yourself."

Even though she was prepared for his anger, Blue flinched. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you telling me you didn't go home with him last night and let him do you ten different ways?"

"I'm not telling you anything, because it's none of your goddamned business."

"So you admit it. You went home with him."

She was so furious she felt as though her whole body was vibrating.

"This is why us sleeping together was the worst idea in the history of  the world," she said, stabbing a finger at him. "This moment, right now.  You don't own me, Eddie."

Eddie's face was tight, his cheeks slashed with color. "So I'm not  supposed to give a shit that you'd rather be with a knuckle-dragging  asshole like Thompson instead of me? That you'd choose him over me?"

"Says the man who has a revolving door on his bedroom."

"That's right, I forgot - I'm the problem," Eddie said.

"How about you both take it down a notch?" Raf said from the doorway.

Blue started. She'd been so focused on Eddie, on their fight, she'd  forgotten everything else. Like the fact they were at work, with clients  and colleagues only a few rooms away. She certainly hadn't heard or  seen Raf arrive in the staff room.         

     



 

"Sorry. I guess that was pretty loud … ?" she said sheepishly, aware of hot color rushing into her face.

"You could say that," Raf said.

Eddie turned his back, walking to the sink. She could see how tense he was, how much he was holding himself in check.

"I'll go," she said.

"It's okay, Eddie's coming upstairs with me," Raf said.

"I don't mind. I'm on my lunch break, anyway." She moved toward the door, but Raf didn't get out of her way immediately.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, his eyes concerned.

"Absolutely."

"All right. You know where I am if you need me, okay?" he said, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder.

"I do. Thanks."

She ducked past him and into the hallway, making a beeline for the rear  exit. Once she was outside, she stood blinking in the bright sunlight,  unsure what to do.

She felt dazed. As though she'd just survived a cyclone. Barely.

Eddie had never spoken to her like that in all the years of their  friendship. Ever. And she'd never yelled at him like that, either.  They'd both been so out of control, so angry they hadn't cared who heard  or what they said. Their only intent had been to hurt each other - and  to win.