Page 12 of Breaking Through the Doubt (Espen Jetties #4)

12

COREY

The lock clicked into place, and I let out a sigh. Today had been an incredibly long day. One client after the other. None of them had overly complicated designs, but that left us with less breaks. Every time it felt like we’d caught up, another person walked in the door. It seemed like my date with Leslie and our picture all over social media sent more people to the shop than normal.

“Fuck, I never thought I’d stop hearing the bell today.” Emilio stepped out of his station, drying his hands.

“I think it only did because we closed.” I walked around the reception desk. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the business, but damn, I’m tired.”

“Lila and I are going to grab a drink once we’re done cleaning up. You should join us.” Karli came out from the back with a clipboard in her hand. “You should come too, Karli,” Emilio said.

She glanced up when she heard her name. “Huh? Come where?”

“She’s already coming,” Lila yelled from her station. “I told her earlier.”

“What about you, Corey? Wanna grab a couple of beers?”

I glanced at the clock. Leslie’s game had started not long ago. I’d planned on going home to watch the last period after grabbing a pizza on the way. I didn’t have the energy to cook anything. Then again, a beer sounded exactly like what I needed. I’d spent so much time working my ass off since Leslie went out on the road, I hadn’t taken any time to relax. Get up, go to the gym, come to the shop, work until close, rinse and repeat.

The cycle had kept me from missing the time I could have been spending with Leslie if he wasn’t on the road. At night it was him in my dreams. There was so much I wanted to know about Leslie. We’d talked some nights on the phone. It just wasn’t the same.

I looked at my team. A team who worked their asses off for the last few weeks with the rise in popularity of the shop recently.

“Yeah. Let’s get cleaned up and grab a beer.”

Emilio smiled and went back to his station to finish wiping everything down. It didn’t take us long to finish the closing process and count the register.

The three of them were waiting outside while I locked the door. I’d secured the money in the safe for the night. The deposit could wait until Monday. A quick stop by the shop on my way home from the gym wouldn’t take any time.

“Let’s go.” Everyone climbed in their own cars, and we drove to Smitty’s Bar.

It was the best sports bar in town. Relaxed and easygoing with multiple TVs. If you were lucky during baseball season, you might run into one of the players on the Espen Emperors. It was one of their usual hangout spots after a game.

I parked on a side street and walked up to the door. When I pulled it open, I saw Lila and Karli already at the bar ordering a drink. I walked in their direction when I heard the door open behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Emilio. He smiled and followed me to the bar.

“Whatcha having, boss?” Lila asked, a smirk curling the side of her lips up.

“Knock that shit off, smart-ass. I’ll have a Yuengling, but first round is on me.”

“Works for me. You make the big bucks anyway.” She laughed.

She knew, as the others did, I paid myself the same percentage of work that I paid Emilio and Lila. Karli only made less because as an apprentice, she couldn’t bring in the money the rest of us could. Once she became a full tattoo artist, I’d pay her the same rate. The rest of the money went into improving the shop.

Our beers were delivered, and we took them to a high-top that had recently been vacated. The TVs above the bar had the Jetties game on. All of them tuned to the same channel. There was one TV on the other wall showing the basketball game. Since Espen didn’t have a basketball team, it made sense that the people would rather watch their own team on the ice, even if they did want to know the score of the basketball game.

My eyes were glued to the screen for a second before I reminded myself I came here to relax with my coworkers. I could follow the game without completely ignoring them. The three of them were talking about how busy the shop had been the last two weeks.

“I’m thinking about hiring another artist,” I said.

All conversation stopped and they looked at me. “Really?” Emilio asked. “Just based on the last two weeks?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. The business has been growing. The last two weeks just solidified my decision.”

“Do you have anyone specific in mind?” Lila asked.

“Not really. I thought I might post that we’re looking for an artist. I want someone who works on a variety of styles, like Emilio and I do. We have our specialties, but we can take on any design that comes into the shop.”

Karli began picking at the bottle of her beer. “What does that mean for me?”

Emilio bumped her shoulder. “It means you’ll have another artist to learn from.”

“But will there be enough work for me once I’m ready?”

I picked up my beer. “There will be. I’ve been calculating the number of clients we take and how many walk-ins we have to push off because we’re booked. Even with hiring another artist, who will probably bring their own clients, we’ll still need someone to take most of the walk-ins.”

Lila smiled at Karli. “And that’s how you build your client list. They get one tattoo, get hooked, and keep returning to you.”

Karli smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

“I think by next—” A loud cheer roared across the bar.

My eyes immediately darted to the TVs above. The Jetties were celebrating on the ice. I waited patiently for the replay. The puck came flying across the ice at top speed. For a moment, it looked like there was no way to stop it. Leslie dove sideways across the net, his hand outstretched, landing in a heap on the ice. He stood and opened his gloved palm, revealing the puck.

“Fuck, yes.”

Emilio clinked his beer bottle with mine. “Nice stop by your guy.”

My cheeks heated. “Who said he’s my guy?”

Lila rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Corey. We’ve seen the pictures. We’ve also seen the way he looked at you in the shop.”

I thought about how that sounded. Leslie Knoxton as mine. I wouldn’t lie, I really liked it. “We’ve only been out once.”

“Why not go out again?” Karli asked.

I nodded toward the screen. “He had to leave on this road trip. We have plans for when he gets back.”

Emilio chuckled. “Like I said, your guy.”

Emilio continued to rib me for a few more minutes about my relationship with Leslie. I wouldn’t expect any less from him. They were good people who worked for me. They knew how to keep me from taking life too seriously by making me laugh when I needed it.

Lila winked at me. “It’s good to see you happy.”

We ordered food and stayed through the rest of the game, which the Jetties won by two goals, and through the press conference afterward. It was weird seeing Leslie sitting behind the table, surrounded by reporters shouting questions at him about his save during the game.

He sat there calmly, drinking water, directing the conversation to the accomplishments of his teammates. It seemed like he didn’t want the attention on himself, rather on what the rest of his team contributed to the win.

When the press conference ended, we paid our tab and left. “I’ll see you guys on Tuesday.” They waved and headed in the opposite direction to their cars.

I arrived home and went straight to the bedroom, determined to get comfortable under the blankets. My phone sat in my hand. I debated whether I should call him to congratulate him on the win.

I hoped I wasn’t interrupting the team’s celebrations when I dialed Leslie’s number. If I was, I could always talk to him later.

It only rang once before Leslie’s deep voice answered, “Hi.”

“Hi. Great game tonight. That save was amazing.” I was sure he knew the one I was talking about. It was the one all the reporters asked him about.

“Thanks. If felt good to make it.”

“I’m sure that had to leave a few bruises.”

“Yeah, but it could always be worse.” Right then, I couldn’t stop the image of Leslie lying on my bed with me kissing each one of his bruises better. “How was your night?”

That was the last thing I wanted to think about with that deep baritone in my ear. I nestled farther into the bed. Unconsciously, my hand slipped under the waist of my boxer briefs. “Good…Um…busy.” Before I could talk myself out of it, my fingers wrapped tightly around my shaft.

“That’s good,” Leslie said in my ear. His voice was soothing and arousing at the same time.

My breathing picked up with each stroke I took. God, what the fuck was wrong with me that I was jerking off with a man on the phone who I’d only been on one date with? The little voice yelling at me couldn’t stop my hand, almost like it was moving of its own accord.

“How’s the rest of the trip going?” I asked. My brain unable to come up with anything else in the moment.

“Meh. I’d rather be home. Then I could see you.”

“Me too,” I grunted.

“Corey, are you all right?” Even as my brain was beginning to short circuit, I could hear the concern in his voice. I didn’t want him to worry.

“I’m good. Really good,” I moaned. “Your voice is just so fucking sexy. I can’t stop hearing it.”

“You think my voice is sexy?” Gruffness filled his tone.

“Very.” I continued to pull off one stroke after another. My balls were drawing tight to my body.

“Yours is too.” I didn’t have to imagine what Leslie was doing on the other end of the phone. His breathing was labored, and that sexy voice dropped a little bit more.

“Please tell me you’re touching yourself. I can’t be the only one to lose my mind.”

“You’re not,” Leslie panted. “Tell me what you look like. I want to imagine my hand on your cock.”

“Fuck,” I choked out. Could this really be happening? I glanced down where my hand was firmly wrapped around my dick. “Long and slightly curved.” Each breath became a little harder. “My head is an angry purple, begging for release.”

“Goddamn, Corey. I wish it was my hand pulling off each and every stroke.”

Even through the haze of my thoughts, I had to know what he looked like. “What about you? Tell me.”

“Thick,” he groaned. “Almost too thick to get my fingers around.”

“Jesus.” Leslie was right, imagining his dick in my hands, knowing I’d probably have to use two hands made my own cock jerk. Precum leaked all over, dripping onto my stomach.

“I want to touch you. I can’t wait until you come home.”

“I’ll be there before you know it. Keep stroking. I want to hear you come.”

Soon enough, the only thing coming through either side of the phone was our panted breaths. I imagined Leslie’s hand was the one wrapped around my dick, tugging the orgasm out of me. The muscles of my legs trembled until cum exploded from the tip of my cock, all over my chest.

“Leslie,” I groaned, continuing to run my hand up and down my shaft and riding out the orgasm.

A few seconds later, I heard a drawn out, “Fuck,” from the other end of the line.

The cum began to dry on my stomach, but I didn’t have any desire to move. Not an ounce of energy to clean up.

As our bodies settled, I heard Leslie’s voice from the other end of the line. “Corey?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice drowsy.

“I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Our date can’t come soon enough. I miss you.” I let the words sit in the quiet air, knowing Leslie felt them too. “Why don’t you get some sleep. I know you have to be on the road again tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

“I look forward to it. Night, Leslie.”

“Night, Corey.”

When I ended the call, I settled farther into my bed. Exhaustion from the day and the night’s activities taking its toll. I could change the sheets tomorrow. For now, I wanted to dream about all the ways Leslie could put his hands on me.