He looked at me for a second and then pulled the flap of his beanie back down over my eyes.
By the time I managed to roll it back up, the wet-dream-worthy men were walking toward one of the work areas behind the front desk. I settled back into my seat, prepared to watch some Netflix on my phone while I waited, when the tattoo artist made his way back to the desk.
“If Ritz isn’t back in ten minutes, give her a call,” he said to the redheaded guy.
“You got it, Dex. She sent me a text twenty minutes ago saying she was on her way, so I’m sure she’ll be back in no time.”
The dark-haired guy grunted and before he got a chance to reply, the door opened and a girl around my age came in carrying a car seat in one hand and a diaper bag in the other. The guy named Dex immediately came around the desk, scowling.
“What the hell are you doin’, babe? I told you to give me a fuckin’ call when you parked so I could help you out,” he snapped in a harsh voice, taking the car seat from her with a heavily tattooed arm. He held the seat up to face level and peered inside, what looked like dark blue eyes narrowing before a smile broke across his harsh face. “How’s my little man?” he whispered, dipping his head even closer into the cocoon of the seat and making an audible kissing sound.
Dear God. A man like that making kissing sounds at what I could only guess was his baby. My vagina, my vagina didn’t know what to do with itself.
The girl smiled, not even remotely fazed at the way the guy had been talking to her or by the way I sat there in awe looking at them. “I’m not going to call when I know you have an appointment, and I scored a spot on the street so it’s no big deal.” She was still looking at the man with the baby before adding “hey, Slim” with a glance at the redhead behind the desk.
The ginger blew her a kiss. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” she said.
Dex lowered the baby carrier back down and frowned at the girl. “Give me a fuckin’ kiss, will ya?”
She rolled her eyes and cut the distance between them, coming up to her toes to plant her lips against the dark-haired man’s. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her right into the broad frame of his body, deepening the kiss even though he was holding a baby carrier in his free hand.
I had to look away.
Maybe it was time I started looking for someone to let into my life. It’d been five years since the last time I’d had an honest real boyfriend, and I wasn’t traveling as much anymore.
I could make it work. Couldn’t I?
My stupid eyes moved over to Kulti’s direction for one split second before I forced them down to my lap. I slipped my headphones on, peeked up again to see Dex holding the baby carrier in a hand as he and the girl walked to the back, and then started up a movie on my phone to keep me busy until the German was done. Sometime later, a hand waving at me from the front desk caught my attention. It was the redheaded guy.
“Hey,” I said, taking my headphones off and pausing the movie.
The girl from earlier was sitting next to the desk with him, no baby seat in sight, but there was a baby monitor on the desk. “I don’t usually act like a fan-boy,” the man said, his voice a whisper. “But… is that Kulti?” His face was really hopeful.
I set my phone on my lap and watched as he leaned forward for my reply. “Yes.”
The guy pumped his fist in the air and turned back to the girl. “I told you so!” he whisper-hissed at her, which only made me smile.
“His hair is different,” she responded to him in a low voice, looking back to make sure she wasn’t being overheard.
“He does look different with his hair short,” I agreed, stretching my neck up but only able to catch a glimpse of the guy they’d called Dex hunched over.
“Do you think he’d give me an autograph?” the redhead asked.
I nodded.
The guy grinned all teeth at the girl, who smiled at me. “He’s the most famous person we’ve had in here, at least since I started. There was that boxer guy that was a friggin’ jerk but no one was impressed,” she explained shyly. She turned back around before adding, looking at the ginger, “I used to have a big crush on him. He was so cute.”
“Don’t let the boss hear you,” the redhead laughed.
Or he’d get jealous? How adorable was that?
So sweet it made me feel a little weird. With how busy I was, I didn’t spend much time around couples. Even when my friends had significant others, I still didn’t do a whole bunch of stuff with them.
Oh hell. I had almost exactly what I’d always wanted. I had nothing to complain about.