Comfortable silence surrounded us as we sat there eating our lunch. I thought I’d better break the silence, although I could look at him forever. “Thank you for bringing me lunch.” It came out almost breathy. I grabbed my sandwich taking a quick bite to try and stop the fact I was making an idiot of myself. “I don’t mean to be rude but my next customer will be here soon.” I said trying to regain my composure. “Not a problem Ink, I’ve gotta get back to work anyway.” Diesel gulped down the rest of his orange squash and placed the empty glass on the table. Had I heard him correctly, had he just called me Ink? My heart rate increased as I started to get excited. Stop being so stupid, you’re acting like a child with a crush. I mentally told myself off as I stood clearing the leftovers. Diesel helped me clear away our plates and I was amazed by how easy this all felt. “Oh, you do actually work then. I thought you just went around buying women lunch.” The humour in my voice was evident and I was trying to get a reaction out of him. “Only the lucky ones, Ink.” He said with a wink opening the door. There it was again ‘Ink’. It seemed to roll off of his tongue effortlessly and gave me butterflies in my tummy again.
“Ah shit! What’s she doing here?” Diesel asked as he walked over to my next customer. “Hello Ethan, nice to see you too. I thought this may be the place to get a tattoo, dumb arse!” She stood on her tip toes to give him a kiss on his cheek and he picked her up in return, swinging her around in a giant bear hug. “You know you can’t stand the pain, so why put yourself through it?” The concern on Diesel’s face intrigued me. He most certainly had a softer side and cared deeply for this lady. I observed their interaction closely and could see that they weren’t sexually attracted to each other by their body language. “It’s all in the name of beauty.” She said as she sat in the chair. This woman was a very attractive red head with a natural wave to her hair. She was slim and petite at around 5’3” and was wearing faded jeans and a vest top displaying a Harley. Very fitting, I thought to myself.
I walked further into the room when Diesel bent down and kissed me on the cheek taking me by surprise, “See you Saturday Ink.” He left the shop leaving me all hot and bothered and earned me another unreadable glance from Spike.
“Wow! How long have you been seeing my brother? Is it serious?” Amy was bouncing around in the chair like an excited child at Christmas. “One, we’re not dating and two, it’s not serious because we’re not dating!” I said defensively crossing my arms. I had had the wind knocked out of my sails. I sat in the chair next to Amy and sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead. “Oh baby girl, I know that look. I would say that you like Ethan, a lot. If he’s calling you anything but your real name and has invited you to the party on Saturday, then I would say that he’s into you too.”
I could tell that my skin was still flush. “Do you mind if I take a minute before I start your tattoo? I’ve just had lunch and need to pop to the bathroom quickly.” I stood not waiting for her to respond, walking swiftly towards the back room.
I locked the door behind me and walked over to the sink, looking into the mirror at my flushed face. Leaning on the counter I tried to compose myself, breathing slowly. I splashed a little water onto my cheeks, then reapplied my lip gloss. I needed a couple of minutes before I was bombarded with further questions from Amy.
Amy
“Not at all baby girl, you go and compose yourself.” I said to myself as I grabbed Harlow’s phone which was left on the side. “Jackpot!” Harlow’s phone wasn’t locked.
Diesel obviously liked Harlow so I was going to play cupid.
Hey Diesel, thank u for lunch. Can’t wait 4 party on Saturday but would like 2 C U B4 then. How about meeting Thursday? X
I sat there impatiently waiting for a response.
Thursday’s good, what do you want to do? D
Man of many words, no wonder he’s single!
Surprise me! X
That should get him going!
Pick you up from shop at 6.00 on Thursday. Wear something warm! D
“What are you doing?” Harlow shouted catching me red handed texting on her phone. “Playing Cupid. I’ve got you a date on Thursday evening.” I stated, proudly showing Harlow the messages on her phone.
Harlow lifted her hand covering her mouth whilst sitting down in the chair. “What, did I get this all wrong? Are you not interested in him?” I asked panic clearly evident. “No, it’s just that, oh I don’t know.” Harlow let out a loud sigh, “I like him but like all bikers and no offence I know he’s your brother but all bikers are players. I don’t think I have the energy to be cocked about.”