Emmett

I wiped the blood away with a cloth and placed a big smile on my face. “It’s done, bro.”

“Fuck yeah.” My client looked down. “It looks fuckin’ rad, man. Thanks.”

I lifted my cheek. “No prob.” Then, I stood up and took my gloves off, throwing them into the trashcan. I glanced at the clock and realized it had taken me three hours to tattoo that mother-fucking skull on the client’s chest. It looked amazing—if I did say so myself—but holy fuck, I didn’t realize how much time had passed.

I searched for my phone as Axe shot the shit with him, discussing tattoos and all that shit. As soon as I clicked my phone on, I felt defeated.

Fallon hadn’t texted me back, which was weird. It was too early for her to be asleep. Hell, we’d stayed up until three o’clock the other night. Surely she wasn’t asleep.

I placed my phone down and snagged the paper lying on the table. “Alright, man. I know you know the drill, but here are the instructions for aftercare.”

My client, Jett, took the paper out of my hand. “Thanks, man.”

“Axe will get you all covered up, and then I’ll be up here to cash you out when you’re good.”

“Sounds good, bro.”

I swiveled on my heel and stretched my arms along my chest. My neck popped a few times. Tattooing for that long was a pain in the ass, but it was so worth it. Creating the idea for a tattoo, sketching it, and then putting that art on someone’s body was the best high I could ever get.

I was able to watch my art come to life. Someone wanted my art on their body… forever. That part always blew my mind.

The bell on the door jingled, and as soon as I brought my head up, I was shocked. Fallon had stepped just inside the door, wearing skintight jeans and an off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved shirt that showed just the right amount of skin.

My eyes raked up her body until they rested on her face, and then I got concerned.

Her eyes were red.

And puffy.

Her nose looked red, too, like she’d been wiping it.

“Whoa, what’s wrong?” I asked, rushing over to stand in front of her. My heart felt like it had been split in two, but I ignored the odd sensation.

“I… I just needed an escape.”

Before I could stop myself, I wrapped my arms around her slender body, gripping her tight. “What’s going on?”

She shook her head against my chest, nuzzling in even further.

I shouldn’t have felt a spark inside my body from it, but I did. I can’t believe she put me in the friend zone.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing her hand to head to the back room. I looked at

Axe and gave him a side-glance. He casted his gaze from Fallon and then to me and nodded, letting me know he’d take care of cashing Jett out.

I pushed Fallon into the supply room and swung her body around, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Okay, Fallon,” I said. She brought her clear eyes up to mine, and it almost knocked the wind out of me. She looked defeated. That little spark in her eye was gone. The playful smile that I’d seen on her face the last few times we’d been together had vanished. “You’re gonna have to tell me something, babe. All this let’s-be-friends shit is all fun and games until you come in here looking like this. I need to know something. Anything. Friends are supposed to be there for each other, and it’s hard for me to be there for you when you don’t tell me things. What’s going on? Tell me something.” I was desperate. I needed to know before I lost my shit. “Please.”

She clenched her eyes shut, and just when I thought she was going to shut down and back away, she whispered, “Okay.”

I pulled away, my hands going back to her shoulders. “Okay? You’re going to tell me? You’re going to explain what’s really going on?”

She lifted a shoulder, barely. “It’s not really fair to not tell you. Friends don’t keep secrets, right?”

“Right.” I winked at her to lighten the mood, but she still looked upset, and I didn’t like that. I could feel a wedge splitting open my ribcage, and that bothered me.

Tags: S.J. Sylvis Oak Hill Romance
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