Wood: Not tonight. I’m helping El with a customer he’s having trouble with
Trent: Yeah okay
Wood: Don’t be upset brat… I told you the late hours are temporary
Trent tossed his phone and pressed his palm against his neglected dick, frustrated that he was allowing the tiniest things to drive him lust crazy. Why was Wood doing this to him? Just because he was tired when he came in from work didn’t mean they couldn’t get off, have a goddamn quickie. He was getting some when Wood got home whether he liked it or not. Unless he had a chastity belt to lock around his ass, Trent was riding that dick tonight.
Trent fussed and bit Summer’s head off for any little screwup she made, and they were only an hour into the game when she got fed up.
“Dude. What the hell is wrong with you? You never take the missions this seriously. Even at work you’ve been a bitchy asshat. What is up, man?” Summer was talking, but she kept shooting down hostile enemies. It seemed easier to tell her what was irritating him if they weren’t face-to-face and he was speaking around heavy artillery gunfire.
“Wood’s been working a lot at the tattoo shop I told you about on the oceanfront,” he started vaguely.
“Mmhmm,” Summer hummed. “That’s a good thing. Didn’t you say that he’d been a tattoo artist before he went to prison and he’d been bummed before about being a custodian?”
“Yeah, he was miserable at that temp agency. It’s not fair what they pay ex-cons, y’know. Did you know Wood has a master’s degree in art and he’s taught classes in Norfolk community centers who couldn’t afford art programs.”
“Yes, yes. You told me many times already.” Summer’s dry tone droned though his headset. “Wood’s paintings are so beautiful, they’re so real and lifelike, Wood has won awards for his art, yada yada yada. Yay. Your boyfriend’s a rock star. I get it.”
Trent chuckled. “Don’t be jealous.”
“Trust me. I’m not.”
“Maybe you are just a little. My lover’s got something pretty big that yours doesn’t.”
Summer scoffed. “Sucks you’re not getting any of it.”
Trent’s breath got caught in his throat, causing him to choke. “What?” he sputtered.
“You’re my best friend—you think I don’t know when you’re sexually deprived?”
“That’s just great,” Trent mumbled, pointlessly shooting some characters on the screen that were standing around doing nothing.
“So what did you do to get thrown in the doghouse?” Summer asked.
“Nothing!” Trent barked. “That’s why I’m so pissed. I’m being denied for no damn reason.”
“There’s gotta be something,” Summer said curiously.
“He’s just saying he’s tired.”
Summer laughed. “That’s a pretty damn good reason. If he’s working long hours, shouldn’t you try to be more understanding?”
Trent growled. “Shut up.”
“Fine. I’ll help you out this one time since I’m such a nice person. But I know a surefire way to get you some if you really haven’t done anything wrong.”
Trent was quiet for a minute before he blurted, “Well, spit it out!”
Summer giggled. “You got any Speedos?”
Trent rolled his eyes. “Are you shitting me? A Speedo.”
“Yes! Or something equally as hot.” Summer sighed. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, dude. I mean, it’ll just be you and him there, no one’ll know… but me.”
“Shut up,” Trent muttered. “So should I just put on a pair of drawers that dig in my ass and strut around?”
“Like a motherfucking peacock,” Summer said, then yelled at him to get back in the game. “Hey, shoot those guys!”
Trent’s mind was spinning as he threw a couple of grenades at the enemies on the screen to appease his partner. Could he really do that? Act sexy. He supposed he could, but the real question was would it work? Shit. He didn’t have any sleazy stuff to put on. “What if I don’t have anything to strut in?”
“Easy. Buy something, order something,” she retorted. “With Prime it’ll be there in two days.”
“Two days!” Trent bellowed.
“Damn, man, how long has it been?” Summer asked, laughing so hard he got pissed and disconnected the game on her.
“There. Laugh at that,” he muttered, folding his hands over his chest.
He checked his watch and saw it was almost eight. If he hauled ass, he could get downtown in fifteen minutes. Trent snatched his keys and coat off the hook, not caring he was only in sweatpants and a faded hoodie. Hopefully, he wouldn’t run into anyone.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Wood
Damn, Wood was exhausted. It’d been a long time since he’d worked so hard and was able to reap the rewards for himself. El had done exactly what he said he was going to do. He’d already had a booth arranged for Wood and equipment he could lease-to-own when he arrived. He and Brad had been so excited Wood’s first day there that he’d got a little overwhelmed midway through the afternoon. While he was still confident in his ability to create beautiful images, Wood still had to adapt to a new era of tattooing in 2020. Catching up on the new trends and fads in the art world, then of course the dreaded tutorials he’d had on the importance of social media.