Chapter 23

 

Jayce

 

 

AFTER LEAVING work, I grabbed some Taco Bell, scarfed it down quickly at home, and then took a shower. By the time I was on my Hog and heading toward Devon’s, it was almost five. I had no idea if Candi was going to show up for our appointment, but had been thinking about her all day.

When I arrived in the parking lot, I noticed her car was parked there and sighed in relief.

She hadn’t ghosted me.

“Here he is,” Devon said as I walked into the shop. It was just her, Gigi, and Candi inside.

Candi, who was sitting in the waiting room and reading a magazine, looked up and smiled. Seeing her there, looking so gorgeous and sexy, made my stomach do a flip.

I grinned back at her like a kid walking into a candy store. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long for me.”

“No. I just arrived here myself about ten minutes ago,” she said.

“That’s cool. You know, I wasn’t sure if you were going to show or not,” I replied.

“Why not?”

“You gave me the wrong number. That’s why I wasn’t able to send you a message.”

She looked puzzled. “Really?”

“Yeah.” I pulled out my phone and read it off to her.

Her cheeks turned red. “Oh, crap. I must have been more buzzed than I thought. That’s my old phone number. I just had it changed a little while ago. I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “Honest mistake. I figured it was something like that,” I lied. “So, you ready?”

“Yeah.” She stood up and pulled at the lower hem of her short shorts. My eyes moved from her lean, tanned thighs to her crotch and my cock woke up.

“Ah, let’s go,” I said, looking away. Obviously, it had been too far and few between since I’d gotten laid. Even worse, I was going to have to remain professional when she removed the shorts.

Devon looked up from the magazine she was reading and winked at me. “Have fun,” she said with a smirk.

Ignoring her, I led Candi to my station and then draped a long curtain around us, for privacy.

“So, you’re still interested in my dragon?” I said, setting my phone down on the counter.

I heard a snicker from Devon.

“Does it shoot fire?” Gigi called out, laughing. “We might all be interested in seeing that.”

Smiling, I rolled my eyes. “Sorry. Their minds are always in the gutter.”

“Says the choir boy,” Gigi said loudly.

Devon laughed. “No shit.”

“I swear, they’re worse than the guys in the clubhouse. Hell, I’d put in a complaint to HR, but Devon’s in charge of that, too” I joked.

All three women laughed.

“Anyway,” I sat down on my stool and opened up the notepad. “I finished it up. I hope you like it.”

I’d added colors to the drawing, which really made it pop. I was excited to see how it looked on Candi after I was finished. It would take several hours to complete, but in the end, I thought we’d both be satisfied with it.

“Wow, it’s stunning,” she said, her eyes widening. “I was impressed yesterday, and now… I can’t even describe how cool this is.”

“Okay, I have to see it,” Devon said from outside the curtain. “Can I take a peek?”

“Me, too,” Gigi said.

“No. You’re gonna have to wait and see the finished product,” I replied, winking at Candi with a smile.

“But, you’ll be here all night,” pouted Gigi. “I have to leave at seven. I’m going to miss it.”

“We might not finish tonight,” I replied, knowing that the tat was going to take, at the very least, six hours and that was if Candi could handle the pain. Most first-time clients couldn’t go too much longer in the first sitting. Although, she was a woman and their threshold was usually pretty impressive.

“Really?” Candi said, frowning. “I was hoping to do this in one session.”

As I explained the process and my concerns, I had to admit I was disheartened that she wanted to get it over with. I wanted to take my time and do it right. Plus, I didn’t know if afterward, we’d see each other again. Especially if she was just passing through town.

“Okay. I guess we should get started and see what happens,” she replied. “What should I do?”

   “I’ll need you to fill out some paperwork,” I answered, opening up the file cabinet under the counter.

“Release forms so I don’t sue you if I get an infection?” she asked with a smirk.

“That, and we need your medical history. I should probably take a look at your ID, too. Make sure you’re over eighteen,” I joked.

Her face turned pale. “I’m twenty-seven. I would hope you wouldn’t need to card me.”

Her response was a little odd, considering that I’d meant it more as a compliment. Not that she needed one. Candi was all woman and definitely didn’t look like a teenager.

“Legally, I’m supposed to take a copy of it but… we’ll worry about that later,” I replied, grabbing a pen. I handed her a clipboard with the form she needed to fill out. “For the record, you look younger than twenty-seven.”

She relaxed. “How old?”

“Twenty-six,” I joked.

Candi swatted me playfully and I laughed.

“How old are you?” she asked me.

“Twenty-eight. Going on forty,” I replied.

She looked down at the form and began writing. “I hear you. I feel like I’ve already passed by my thirties,” she said dryly.

“We should do something about it.”

She looked up at me with a little smile. “Really? What do you suggest?”

“I don’t know. Hit up an amusement park one of these days together? You like rollercoasters?”

She tilted her head. “You asking me out?”

“I’m just asking if you want to go and have some fun together.”

“What if amusement parks aren’t my idea of fun?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“What about zoos? Or taking a ride on the back of a motorcycle?”

“Devon, I don’t know about you but his voice is dripping with desperation. Don’t you think?” Gigi said loudly.

“No shit. I also haven’t seen him smile so much. Hell, if I was Candi, I’d wait until after the tattoo to give him an answer. Guys are more attentive when they have to work for it,” she replied. “The harder it is for them, the better it is for us.”

“Quite literally,” quipped Gigi.

Both women laughed.

“Speaking of work, don’t the two of you have something better to do than listen in to our conversation?” I hollered.

“Actually, I was thinking about grabbing something from Panera. You want to join me, Gigi?” Devon asked.

“Yeah. Let’s do it,” she replied.

  “Looks like you two will have the place to yourselves,” Devon said loudly. “Behave, Hollywood.”

  “Only if she wants me to,” I replied.