Promise Me This(69)

I braced myself against one of the chairs.

“I’m sorry,” he said, immediately. “Won’t happen again.”

I was still pissed at him for the way he’d acted. I wanted to tell him to stop partying so hard and to get himself completely straight on where we stood, but I was sure the guys would get on his case about it today. In fact I knew they would, because over Dex’s shoulder Cory had strode in the door and was already shaking his head in our direction.

“Okay, Dex,” I said. “We’re cool, for now.”

I couldn’t wait for Emmy to get her butt in here today so I could tell her what happened last night and get her advice. Maybe not the sex part, but definitely the car part.

Oliver strode to the front desk as I was pulling up the schedule. “We’ve got a full calendar today. But I also need you to print some things for the art festival.”

“Got it,” I said.

The guys dreaded the yearly art festival, which included works from local artists, the university, and businesses. My photos would be on display from my photography assignment and the tattoo shop had its own tent where the artists’ portfolios were spotlighted, and people could get some light tattooing and piercing. The hardest thing about it was keeping everything sanitized and since Oliver was such a stickler for it, most people who showed up were encouraged to make appointments to have work done.

Our tent was usually overcrowded because people in the community who wouldn’t normally walk into a tattoo shop are curious enough to watch it being done at festivals. The artists drew straws over who had to work the event and normally Oliver chose two or three of them on a rotating shift. He hadn’t decided this year’s lineup yet.

When Bennett came through the door he greeted me and said, “You good?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Thanks again. Do you . . .”

He narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“Do you know how much a tire costs?”

“You know what, Jessie? I wouldn’t sweat it,” he said. “Nate wouldn’t take your money anyway. Besides, it would be chump change to him, you know that. Just accept it and be done with it.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Did he . . .” Bennett trailed off as he considered me and I wondered just what in the hell he wanted to ask. “Never mind. None of my business.”

I let out the breath I was holding. I so didn’t want to go there with Bennett, even though he might be able to give me good advice. But it’d be too damn awkward.

When Emmy breezed through the door five minutes late, I smiled big. “Better get your ass over here before Oliver sees you.”

She clunked her way behind the desk. “Sorry, I helped get one of our new terrier mixes adopted today.”

Emmy and those damn animals.

She put away her coat and purse while looking over the waiting room, which was getting full from walk-ins. “Any dawn-breakers?”

Sometimes a group would come in to get tattoos on a dare, after a night of partying hard. Occasionally we’d fit them in, if they’d sobered up enough, or the guys would stay late, to earn extra cash. If it was a bunch of girls, it could get interesting, especially if their only goal was to get these guys to put their hands on them. It was up to us at the front desk to make that determination.

But we hadn’t had any DBs in yet. “Not today.”

“Heard your tire was flat last night,” she said, eyeing a girl who’d just strolled through the door. She was a regular of Dex’s. He specialized in shaded art and was finishing up a huge piece on her leg. “How did you make it here today?”

“Nate drove me home last night,” I said.

“And then?” Emmy arched her eyebrow.

“And then he came inside and . . . God, Emmy . . . it was amazing.”

Emmy never pushed me for closed-door details, and I never offered, but she would get the gist of what I was saying from my tone alone. Just talking about it made my entire body heat up.

Before she could respond, another customer walked in and she alerted Cory of his appointment while I got my emotions in check. Then she eagerly turned back to me.

“And when I woke up this morning,” I said, grabbing for my coffee to take a needed sip. “He was gone. But my car was back in the driveway, sporting a brand-new tire.”

She squealed. “Nate?”

“Right,” I said, lowering my voice since Emmy’s high-pitched tone alerted Cory across the room at his station. “Bennett told me that he and Nate got it done early this morning, while I was still sleeping. Can you believe that shit?”

“Told you,” she said. “That boy is going down hook, line, and sinker.”