Page 10 of Breaking Through the Doubt (Espen Jetties #4)

10

COREY

I opened the back door of my Bronco and grabbed the duffel bag off the back seat. There were still a few hours before I had to open the shop. Tuesdays were my long day. Those were the days I had to not only open the shop but close it as well.

Knowing I wouldn’t have time to work out when I was done, I’d gotten up early to come to the gym. I tossed the bag over my shoulder and locked the car door. There weren’t many cars in the lot, and I figured I’d have the gym mostly to myself.

After changing and storing my bag in a locker, I put my headphones on and went directly for the free weights. Some light lifting would be a good way to get my heart rate up and warm up to the heavier lifting later.

The music played in my ears while I did one rep after the other. But it wasn’t the music that had my attention. It was the last time I saw Leslie. It had been two days since we met up for dinner. What an awkward conversation that had started out to be. It was one of the weirdest nights of my life. Never had I been on a date where things had started so badly, and I ended up kissing the person at the end of it.

The night had definitely ended better than it had started. Although we’d shared a few texts here and there since then, we hadn’t really had the chance to talk. Leslie had left the next morning for a road trip. He had a few games coming up, and I had a schedule full of appointments this week.

I finished up with the free weights and moved to the next part of my routine. No matter how hard I tried to focus on only my workout, I continued to lose count and forget how many reps I completed. I couldn’t think of the last time someone affected every part of my day the way Leslie did.

Somehow, I managed to finish my workout, without any bodily harm or too much extra time. I didn’t bother using the gym showers. There were still a few hours before I needed to arrive at the shop.

My phone rang as soon as I climbed into my Bronco. Hoping it was Leslie, I pulled it out of my bag. When I checked the screen, I saw it wasn’t Leslie, but I was more than happy to talk to my dad.

“Hey, Dad,” I said when I answered the call.

“Corey, how are things going?” His deep, scratchy voice filled me with contentment. It was the same voice that used to read me bedtime stories.

“Things are going really well. The shop’s been busy. I’m actually booked all week. At this rate, I’ll need to hire another artist to take the walk-ins.”

“I thought you hired an apprentice.”

My dad had been fully invested in me opening my own shop. He’d been my personal cheerleader my entire life. It had only been the two of us for as long as I could remember. My mom was on and off drugs long before I was born. She’d gotten pregnant with me during one of her sober periods. It wasn’t long after I was born that the stress of having an infant led her to using again.

From then on, Dad took care of me. Cleaned my scraped knees, checked my grades, even helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my life when we both realized school wasn’t my thing and college would be out of the question.

She appeared occasionally, when she’d get sober for a short period, usually after court-appointed rehab, then she was gone again. Dad always did his best to shield me from the heartache she caused every time she started using again. There was only so much he could do when she’d waltz in, promising things she would never deliver. By the time I was nine, I stopped caring about my mom’s intrusions in our lives. And that was how I saw them… as intrusions.

All she did was disrupt my and Dad’s lives for a few weeks, maybe a few months, before she was gone again. I’d always be so happy when she left. Not my dad. Even if he didn’t want me to be hurt by her decisions, he always was. He did his best to hide it from me. It was one of the reasons I feared coming to Espen to open my shop. I didn’t want to be too far from my dad in case he needed me. Thirty minutes was nothing, but there were times when I missed him, and it seemed like he was hours away.

“I did hire an apprentice, but she’s not ready to tattoo on her own yet. I’ll probably need to find someone who already knows what they’re doing and has been in the business a few years.” I started the engine and slowly pulled out of the parking space.

“I’m sure you’ll find the right person. You were able to get Emilio into the shop.”

“Damn straight.” It had been no secret between us how fond my dad was of Emilio’s work. He’d always wanted to get a tattoo done by him. Six months after Emilio came to work for me, I was able to make that happen.

“Besides the shop, what’s going on in the rest of your life?”

I turned on the street my apartment building sat on and stopped at the red light. “I went on a date the other night.”

“What was she like?” My dad always hoped I would settle down with the perfect person for me. He wanted me to have a better life than he had. The guilt would settle in, and he would do everything in his power to remind me he did not have a single regret in life. Even if my mom hadn’t been present for him, she gave him me, and that was worth everything.

“Actually, he’s pretty amazing.”

“He? Really?” he asked, his voice surprised but still caring.

“Really. I know it’s been a while.”

Dad chuckled. “Let’s be honest. You’ve never really dated men. You’ve always taken them home for one night only.”

I laughed, even as I felt my cheeks heating. Not cool when your dad called you out for your one-night stands. He did have a point though. “You’re right. This one is different. I met him when I did his tattoo the other night.”

“Corey…” My dad’s tone said it all.

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. Like you said though, when was the last time you’ve seen me go on a date with a man?”

“I just want you to be careful. Think through your decisions.”

I turned into the parking lot of my building. “Don’t worry, Dad. I am. I don’t plan on risking my business and hard work for anyone.”

“Good. You can’t blame me for worrying about you.”

I turned off the car. “Hey, I just got home. Can I call you in a bit, after I get a shower and get ready for work?”

“You don’t have to call me back. We can talk later. You worry about getting to the shop and keeping that business running.

“I will. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too.”

After I ended the call, I climbed out of the car and went straight up to my place for a shower.

Dad’s words never left my mind the entire time I was at home. Even when I left to open the shop, they swirled in my head. Was it really a mistake to go out with Leslie? My gut told me no, while my head screamed something else.

I opened the shop in a trance. Even when my first customer came in, I couldn’t shake off the worry. Talking to Leslie would help. If only he wasn’t away for games. I told myself to focus on the job.

With the transfer done, I picked up my tattoo gun and set it on my client’s skin. The intricate design of the tattoo meant it would take a bit to complete. I pressed the button, and the outline began to form beneath the tip. Wiping the excess ink away, I watched the design take shape. About thirty minutes into the work, I stopped for a moment to reload the ink when I heard my phone buzz.

“Hey, man, if you want to grab that I’ll hit the bathroom,” Jeff said.

“Sure. Grab a drink or snack if you want to.”

I reached for my phone and answered it as soon as I saw it was Leslie on the other end. What timing he had.

“Hey. How’s the road trip?”

“It’s going okay. We had a close game last night and hope to do better tonight.”

I knew Jeff wouldn’t be long, but I didn’t want to miss my chance to talk to Leslie. “Are you around in a couple of hours? My client is in the bathroom, but I can call you when I’m done with his work.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about you having someone in your chair. I’ll be here for a little while, then I have to head to the arena.”

Jeff was already on his way back down the hall toward my station. “Great. I’ll call you once I’m done.”

Knowing I’d talk to Leslie once I finished the tattoo was exactly the motivation I needed to keep my head in the game and focus on my work, instead of letting my mind wander to the sexy man waiting to speak to me.

It was about an hour later when I finished the outline and the beginning of the shading. That was all I was willing to do on any one person in one sitting. Besides being exhausting for the client and the adrenaline their body was likely producing, to get the perfect color scheme the skin needed time to heal.

Jeff and I set our next appointment time, then I watched him walk out my door with butterflies fluttering through my stomach. As soon as I saw him turn down the street, I practically raced to my station to grab my phone.

It barely rang once before I heard Leslie’s deep voice come through the phone. “All done?”

“I am. When can I see you again?” I asked the question I’d wanted to know since I parted ways with him at the pub that night.

A sigh came through the phone. “I wish it could be sooner, but we’re on the road for almost two weeks.”

Two weeks? I knew he would be gone for long periods of time, but at the moment, two weeks felt like forever. For him, I could wait.

“Okay, then let’s plan to meet when you come back.”

“I think it’s a Tuesday. Do you have to be at the shop?”

Of course it would be a Tuesday. I was sure with enough notice I could arrange something with Emilio. “Usually, I open and close the shop, but I’ll find a way to make it work.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. After two weeks, I’ll want to see you. Until then, we can talk on the phone at night when either of us has free time.”

“I like the sound of that.” I heard some rustling and loud voices in the background. “The guys are here. I hate to hang up, but I have to go.”

“Good luck tonight.”

“Thank you. We’ll talk soon.”

We disconnected the call and a sense of contentment washed over me. I might have to wait two weeks for Leslie to come home, but at least when he did, he wanted to see me again. For now, I’d use our time on the phone to get to know him better.