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Dalton

“Sun” — Derik Fein

Music played in the background through my speaker as the buzz of my tattoo gun vibrated my hand. It was strange to imagine that at one time I thought I’d be happy working at Chambers for the rest of my life.

I paused, wet some paper towels, and wiped the design to clean off the excess ink.

“Dude, this is gonna be sick as fuck,” my client drawled out as he took in my progress.

The corner of my mouth kicked up as I glanced up at him, then returned to work. “Thanks, Gene. I’m glad you’re happy so far. I’m really happy with the way it’s all coming together. I’m just going to finish this section, then we’ll get you cleaned up and out of here.”

This was his second session with me as I worked on his chest piece. We still had probably two more sessions to go. What started as a request to do a cover-up quickly morphed into a full chest piece that spanned to both shoulders. I often thought this, but it might just be some of my best work yet.

Fuck, I loved what I did.

Once again, I focused, then lost myself in the music and my art.

“Dalton, your next client is here,” Jinx announced from my doorway.

“Perfect timing,” Gene said with a chuckle.

As I prepped him to go, I looked up and noticed the bead of sweat along his upper lip. “You were ready to tap out?” I teased.

“Hell yeah, dude. That breastbone is killer.”

We both laughed as I knew tattooing any place where bone was close to the surface was a bitch.

“You know the drill. Questions?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

Gene had two full sleeves and a big piece on one thigh, so it’s not like this was his first rodeo with taking care of a new tattoo. We settled up and he left. I made quick work of cleaning up my station and then went out front to collect my next appointment. It was just a consultation that Killswitch begged me to squeeze in. Normally, we had a specific consultation day on the first Wednesday of every month, but he said she was somehow connected with the club.

A smile curved my lips, and I stopped in my tracks. The teddy bear brown hair with the new highlights she’d added hung in a glossy curtain that obscured her face. It made me want to run my fingers through it until I reached the base of her skull, then tip her head back to make her look up at me. The little minx.

As if she sensed me watching her, she looked up from my portfolio that she’d been flipping through, and I paused. Confusion replaced my earlier delight.

That was definitely not Ryian.

“Hey!” she brightly called out as she set the book back on the coffee table and then bounced to her feet. For some reason, I never thought twice about asking the name of my consultation client. Killswitch asked and I agreed.

Something about this just seemed… off. My instincts were screaming at me, but we were in the middle of a busy tattoo studio. What could she actually do?

“Come on back,” I told her, then stopped at the front desk.

“Hey Jinx, come back and get me in thirty minutes so I have time to prep for my next client?” I asked her with a fake grin.

“No worries. You know I will.” She popped her gum and gave me a wink.

“Thanks,” I replied.

Annette followed me back to my room, and I intentionally left the door wide open. Then instantly I asked, “So what exactly were you thinking of getting and where?”

I didn’t even offer to let her sit down. Yeah, it was rude, but she rubbed me the wrong way when I’d seen her in the grocery store the other day with Anson. Now she popped up in the studio looking like an entirely different person.

“Well, I really want a cherry blossom tree that goes up my abdomen, and then the branches grow up between my cleavage, and there will be blossoms that are spread along the swells of my breasts.” She immediately began unbuttoning her shirt.

“Whoa, that’s good,” I announced when I saw that she wasn’t wearing a bra. It wasn’t that I hadn’t tattooed a chick’s tits before, but something about her set my senses tingling. If she had mentioned it was going to be placed there, I would’ve had Jinx come in, at least for the first time—and especially with her.

I was a professional, but I wasn’t having her flashing her tits in my face after the weird way she’d acted in the store. I wasn’t interested in her before, and I sure as hell wasn’t interested now. No way was I giving her the wrong impression.

“When were you looking at getting the work done?” I asked. It hadn’t been long since I’d started at the studio, but I was getting pretty booked up. Killswitch hadn’t been specific about why she was getting a bit of priority, but I wasn’t part of his club. Though I owed them a solid for hiring me, my work spoke for itself. I didn’t really owe them to completely rearrange my schedule for this chick. “I’m starting to get booked out quite a ways.”

I opened my calendar on my iPad, and suddenly she was right behind me, looking over my shoulder, with her hand resting on my arm. I side-stepped out of her range. “I’m sorry, but I have client information on here. Could you please have a seat? I like to ensure their privacy, just as I will yours,” I firmly but politely explained.

She playfully pouted but sat in my chair. “I mean, I want it done as soon as I can, obviously, but I get it. You are a popular guy—I’m not surprised.”

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. I reopened the calendar on my scheduling app. “I can probably have something drawn up by next week for you to see what you think.”

“That works,” she said. “Then when is your next opening?”

I told her what I had available, and we settled on a date. She opened her mouth to say something, but then suddenly glared at the doorway.

“Next one is here,” Jinx announced. I’d never been so glad to hear her voice. “I can show you out,” she offered Annette.

“I know my way,” Annette clipped out as she stood up from the chair. Then she gathered her purse and turned in my direction. “Can’t wait to see you again, Dalton. Thank you so much for squeezing me in. That was so sweet of you.”

Then she breezed out the door.

“What the fuck was up with her?” Jinx asked.

“I used to work with her years ago. Ran into her in Chambers when Anson and I stopped to grab stuff. Then I got so lucky that since I’m the new guy, I got stuck squeezing in her consult,” I muttered.

Jinx looked at me like I was nuts. “Umm, that had nothing to do with you being the new guy.”

“Huh?”

“She specifically requested you,” she explained like I was a child.