Page 32 of Breaking Through the Doubt (Espen Jetties #4)

Corey

I took the stairs down, two at a time, to the bottom. There was still a lot of work left to do at the shop and I wanted to get an early start. I opened the door and looked at the left side of the space, completely covered by construction plastic. Behind it was going in two state-of-the-art tattoo station setups for Emilio and myself. Once this was complete, we’d begin working on the other side for Karli, Lila, and Freddy, the artist I’d hired a few months ago to help take on the extra clientele.

It hadn’t been easy being down a few stations, but it had become more than necessary to remodel. If we were going to continue to supply the high level of experience and expectation, then we needed to meet that demand. It didn’t help that the first time Leslie took me to King and Hayes’s place, their husband, Jamie, talked to me all night about the different ways to incorporate tech without losing the true tattooing process.

From then on, I hadn’t been able to get the idea out of my head. After many weeks of talking to Leslie about it and how it might affect our time together, we agreed that it was the right time to complete it. I could focus on the concept with Jamie while the guys were on the road, then bring in an architect to create the vision we were looking for.

Even with the construction going on during the early mornings and days off, the demand for our services hadn’t lessened. If possible, we’d gotten even busier, having to stagger sessions for Karli and Freddy.

I lifted the construction plastic and smiled. The stations were everything I wanted them to be, and I couldn’t wait to use them.

“Looking good.” I glanced over my shoulder to see Leslie standing right behind me.

I laughed. “How did you get in here without me hearing you?”

A smirk lifted the corner of his lips. “I have my secrets.”

I laughed even harder and wrapped my arm around his waist. “I have my ways of getting them out of you. But, yes, it looks fantastic.”

“Will it be done soon?”

“Should be ready to go this weekend. At least the station will be, not everything Jamie has planned. The construction company told me they would have the work completed on Wednesday, and I can start moving things over Thursday before the shop opens and after it closes.”

Leslie lifted his arms over his head, stretching. “Does that mean we can spend the weekend at the house?”

He’d been so patient the last two weeks with me spending more time at the apartment above the shop than at the house. Depending on how much work he had for school, some nights he would stay with me and others he’d stay at the house. I missed sleeping next to him, but it was only temporary.

“Yes, it does.” I turned and placed a kiss on his lips. “Thank you for being so patient.”

“Anything for you.” Leslie’s phone beeped. He pulled it from his pocket. “King wants to meet for lunch after my morning class.”

I smiled. “Tell him I said hi.” Then I smacked Leslie on the ass. “Don’t be late for class.”

He gave me another quick kiss. “I’ll see you later tonight.” He gave me a wink and walked out the door.

I gave the area one last look, then grabbed my tablet and went to check my schedule for the day.

A few hours later, I heard loud, boisterous voices coming from the front of the shop. I left the storeroom and went up front to see what the commotion was about. It shouldn’t have surprised me to see King, Hayes, Noah, Jansen, Devon, and Leslie standing in the waiting area.

Leslie came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I missed you,” he said, giving me a quick kiss.

“I missed you too.” I squeezed him tighter. “Is that what this visit is all about?”

“Nope,” King said. “We want ink.”

I leaned back in Leslie’s arms and looked him in the eye. “We do, do we?” Leslie had gotten another piece of work from me before the season was over, but this was the first time the entire team had come in.

He nodded. “We want to get matching sticks and pucks, but not all in the same spot.”

“I can do that.”

The Jetties had won the Stanley Cup again for the second year in a row. Between that and Leslie announcing his retirement, the parties had been endless. It wasn’t long after that Leslie had started working on his degree in public relations.

“Let me draw something up.”

I grabbed the tablet and got to work.

“This place is looking great. Jamie is really excited about the technology aspect. He’s been busy working on it,” Hayes said.

“I can’t wait to see the final product.” I added a few finishing touches and showed the picture to the guys.

“That’s perfect,” Devon said. “Exactly what we were thinking.”

“No one besides Leslie has any tattoos yet?”

“Not me,” Jansen and Noah said in unison, while the others shook their heads.

“Okay, you’re all putting them in different places, right?”

“Yes,” Leslie answered, placing his lips on my neck.

“Give me a few minutes to mix the ink and you decide who is going first. I’ll be back.”

I went to the back and started mixing the right colors. When I returned, King was sitting in my chair.

“I’m going first. I have to prove to these guys how easy this is.”

“Fuck you,” Jansen laughed.

King parted his lips to keep going when Hayes covered King’s mouth with his hand. After a second, a soft groan left his lips.

“Nope. Not in here,” I shooed Hayes away. King smirked and I pointed at him. “I have duct tape if we need it.”

The guys busted out laughing. I ignored their ribbing and grabbed the gun, getting ready to start King’s piece. King flinched a few times, so of course the guys gave him shit for it. One by one, I tattooed each of them until I got to Leslie, who decided to go last.

“I’ll be the final one of these fools you put your hands on for today.” I picked up my gun and pressed it to Leslie’s skin. It wasn’t the first time, and I doubted it would be the last.

When I finished, all six of them stood together, letting me get a picture of their matching tattoos.

“They look great. Thank you, Corey,” Devon said.

“Anytime.”

Jansen looked down at his calf, then back at Leslie. “Now, I see why you have more than one. I think I’ll be back after this heals.”

“I can design anything you want,” I said.

“Dinner at our place next week?” Hayes asked.

The guys all agreed, and one by one filed out of the shop after I gave them their care instructions.

“Sorry to wreak havoc on your day,” Leslie said.

I reached up and cupped his cheek. “You never do that. In fact, I like being able to see you every day.”

“I guess me not traveling hasn’t really sunk in for you either?”

“Nope, but I’m excited about all of the things we’ll get to do together without having to worry about the next time you have to hit the road.”

He dropped his forehead to mine. “I love you. Thank you for being there for me through everything.”

“Always. I love you too. How about we go back to the house tonight?”

He glanced over at the construction plastic. “But you still have a lot going on here.”

“I do, but you have work to do and I’m tired of being apart at night. The drive is nothing as long as I get to spend the night with you in my arms.”

“Sounds perfect to me.”

I pressed my lips to his. This was home. It didn’t matter how far I drove or where I came from, this man in my arms would always ground me. Wherever he was, I wanted to be.

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