TWENTY-NINE
Belle
Wade slides across the shop floor on his stool, huge grin on his face as he comes to a stop beside my station.
“Can I help you?” I tease.
He leans his elbows on the table between us, linking his fingers beneath his chin. “I have a favour to ask.”
“Yes?” I watch him from the corner of my eye as I clear away the used paint pots.
“I know you’re happy doing three days at the moment, but I wondered if you’d like more.”
“Of course I’d like more.” I stuff the used wipes in the bin. “Hold up. What about Teddy?” Me taking on more days means the old boy I share the chair with would miss out.
“He’s retiring.”
“Eh?” I mean I don’t talk to the guy, but you’d think somebody would have said something.
“Mm-hmm.” Wade’s eyes crinkle with his smile. “Either five or six days, up to you.”
“Five, at least.” I spin to face him. “Let me talk to Zeus, and maybe I’d do six.”
He nods to the sketches that peek out of my bag. “New work?”
“Yep.” I pull the book out and set it on the table between us.
He turns it, inspecting the mandala themed chest piece. “Simple, but detailed all the same. Nice.” He passes the sketchbook back. “And nowhere near as dark as your last print.” Wade flashes a wink as he wheels away.
I chuckle to myself and finish up cleaning down what is now going to be my full-time station. I shouldn’t get myself excited until it’s set in stone, but fuck yes! Finally, things are settling down to how I imagined them to be.
I pull my phone out to check for a message from Zeus. Sure enough, he sent one on his last break.
Z: Hey, dove. Looks like you have to walk home again sorry ☹
He picks me up on his way home when he can, but the new job has kept him busy this week. He said that it was the same hours for more pay, and so far, it’s not. But I don’t have the heart to bring it up when he gets in since he’s so damn tired.
B: See you at home, babe. Leaving now x
I plug my headphones in and crank up my music as I head down the street. To be honest, the walk is nice. Time to clear my head, exercise to get the blood pumping. Yet as I turn down our street my head swims, forcing me to stop until my balance comes right.
Must be hungry. More often than not I forget to eat when I’m immersed in a piece. Low blood sugar seems the most likely excuse, and great justification for a sneaky biscuit or two as soon as I walk in the door, which appears to ease the problem.
“Home, babe,” Zeus calls down the hallway when he gets in an hour after me.
I drop my sketchbook onto the sofa and bound up the hallway to greet him, frowning when the weak feeling returns. “Heya.”
He strips his work clothes off, grinning at me over his shoulder as I stand in the doorway, blatantly eye-fucking him.
He’s pushing forty, but in my opinion there’s no man like him. I don’t care about the lines that creep in around his eyes, the signs of ageing that are hard to deny. I look at Zeus and I see the man I fell in love with way before I knew what that love would become, the man who’d come and sit with me whenever Jodie and he came to visit, the man who would then be the voice of reason when Dad struggled through my teen years.
I see the selflessness, the care, and most of all the undying need to protect those he loves.
He thinks he’s this washed-up ex-criminal, that his history defines who he is, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
“What?” he asks, before squeezing past me as he places a chaste kiss to my lips.
I follow him up the hall to our room, flopping onto the side of the bed while Zeus finds clean clothes to throw on. “I have good news.”
He turns briefly to cock an eyebrow at me.
“Wade offered me extra days at the shop.”
“Yeah?” His smile is infectious. “That’s awesome.”
“I know, right? I’m hoping I’ll have enough to start the studio within a few months.”
He frowns, reaching out to pull me to my feet. “What else do you need to save for?”
“The sterilising equipment, most of all. That shit is expensive.”
“Hmm.” I’m pulled against his front. “You know, I could put the Barracuda on hold and help out.”
“No.” I slap a hand to his chest. “That’s your baby, Zeus. This is mine.” Speaking of babies. “I have bad news too.”
He frowns, and then places a kiss to my forehead. “How bad?”
“Coming home threw me out of whack and I forgot to get my injection.”
“Your injection.” His frown deepens.
“You know.” I lift my eyebrows. “Contraceptive injection.”
“Oh.” The look on his face is priceless. “Right.”
“Yeah, so we need to use extra protection for a while.” I turn my mouth down, rubbing my palms over his chest. “Sorry.”
Zeus laughs, his arms banding tighter around me as he says, “Oh, dove.”
“What?”
“Think about it, baby girl.” He steps away, heading for the kitchen.
I follow behind, frowning at his back as I try to work out why he’s not as worried as I was when I realised. Oh. Oh, yeah.
How could I forget? “I’m such an idiot.”
He cracks up as I flop dramatically over the back of the sofa, twisting the top off the beer he grabbed. “Dove, we could fuck bare all day, every day, and you’d have nothing to worry about.” He leans over the back of the sofa, slapping me on the arse. “How long until it kicks in again? You got the next one now, right?”
“I’ll go Monday. The doctors couldn’t get me in before then.” I sit up straight, tucking myself to his side when he drops down next to me.
“Nothing to worry about.” He sets a huge palm down on my knee, and then leans forward to set his beer on the coffee table.
A silly smile stays on my face as I watch him do the mundane task of switching the TV on, flicking through the channels before he settles on a car show. It’s normal and nothing special, but considering everything we went through to get to this point, it’s my ideal of a perfect night.
I nestle into his side, learning all about engines and suspension, shit I don’t have a care in the world about. But because it’s his passion, his interest, I take in everything I can.
Relationships are a partnership, and if he can show so much interest and care about what makes me tick, then it’s only fair that I can do the same for him.
“Hey, dove?”
I twist to look up at him, heavy-lidded and sleepy. “Yeah?”
“Love you.”
“Love you too, babe.” I don’t think this man could do a thing to make that change.