Page 20 of Under My Skin

Chapter Twenty

EVERETT

Simon’s unmistakable voice carries up the staircase.

“Hey, man. Toni said you were up here. She also said she’d enjoy watching me choke on a dumpling when I asked her out to dinner, so I think that’s progress.

” At the top of the stairs he says, “Did you finally pick a paint—” His sentence is cut short, and he tilts his head, his eyes jumping between us before his full attention lands on me. “Why is Lucy up here?”

Lucy huffs. “Well, hello to you too, brother.”

I walk back toward my wall of swatches, gently pulling them down one by one. There’s nothing for me to feel guilty about, but Simon looking at me like I lured his little sister up here is enough to make me sweat. “She was helping me pick a color.”

I don’t look at him right away, but the silence that follows is a good enough indicator that he’s trying to assess the situation. There’s nothing to figure out, though. Lucy and I aren’t like that, even if my thoughts sometimes take a turn they shouldn’t.

When I turn back around, Simon is looking at Lucy. “Did you get a tattoo?”

She lifts the leg of her jeans to show off my cat drawing, now fading. Last night, I thought nothing of touching her. I touch people all day. But now I kind of wish she had gotten the tattoo. I kind of wish I could touch her again. “Nope. Still a virgin.”

The air gets stuck in my throat, and I cough through it. What the hell is wrong with me? She meant a tattoo virgin, but that doesn’t stop me from imagining her sex life. What she likes, the sounds she makes, what she’d look like after I?—

Fuck me.

What she’d look like after someone does something . Not me. I can’t cross that line. Simon looks like he wants to rip my head off, and all she did was pick a paint color.

He points between the two of us. “Is there something going on here?”

Lucy and I glance at each other, my “No,” and her “No?” overlapping at the same time.

When Simon still stares at us, Lucy rolls her eyes. “Seriously, Simon? I’ve known Everett forever. If anything was going to happen between us, it would have happened by now.”

Would it have? I mean, I’ve never noticed her like this.

But if she isn’t having the same thoughts, that’s good.

Then only one of us needs to get our heads on straight.

Shoving down the inkling of disappointment that just dropped into my stomach, I force a smile.

“Besides, she doesn’t like anything about me.

Tattoos, death traps that blend in with the night, reckless endangerment.

” I casually wave my hand in the air like the list could go on.

I expect Lucy to agree, but she just looks at me with a thoughtful expression, her eyebrows pinched.

My heart kicks up speed. I need to get out of here. Turning to Simon, I try to keep my shit together. “You have your car, right?”

“No, I didn’t know she’d be here . . .” His words trail as he looks around the apartment, like the walls might be holding all our secrets. “Picking out paint colors.”

Lucy groans. “It’s fine. I’ll find a ride back to the apartment.”

My eyebrows pull together as I look at Simon. “Wait. If you didn’t come here for her, what’s up? ”

He shrugs. “I figured we could grab a beer and check out that new bar a few blocks down.”

“Oh! On the Rock? That place is sick.” Troy’s voice carries up the stairs. Now it’s my turn to groan as my head falls back, my eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Simon perks up. “Yeah? You’ve been?”

He’s already answering before his feet reach the top of the stairs. “Yeah. Live music, great food, a shit ton of beers on—” He stops short as soon as his eyes land on Lucy. “Well, hey! Are you inked yet?”

“Not yet.” Lucy beams at him, and something in my gut twists.

A hand goes to his chest. “Say the word, and I’m your guy.”

“Thanks.” Lucy’s cheeks blush, and it has my usual patience for Troy dwindling like a fast-burning candle.

“Is there something you need, Troy?” I ask, my arms crossed to hide the fact that my fists are clenched.

Most people would assume he’s just being friendly, but Troy will try to hook up with any girl who walks in here and gives him a second look.

We had to start a rule that he can only fuck up relationships with his own clients, not the clients of the other artists.

He was starting to lose work for Toni and Alex, so we had to sit him down for an intervention.

That’s probably the reason he wants to be the one to tattoo Lucy. And another reason I wish she had decided to get the damn cat tattoo tonight. If I had been the one to tattoo her, she’d be off-limits.

Troy rubs a hand over his buzzed head. “Nah. I just wanted to let you know Alex left for the night, Toni is finishing up. I know how you feel about locking the place up, so I just wanted to make sure you’re good to do that.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I answer with a nod.

Simon looks at Troy. “Want to come?”

Troy’s eyebrows shoot up, mirroring my own. I don’t usually hang out with the artists from the shop outside of work. The business comes first, and at the end of the day, I need to be neutral—no playing favorites.

“To On the Rock?” he asks, not bothering to hide his surprise. His eyes jump to me, like I’m the dad who’s going to remind him he still has homework to do.

I shrug, surrendering to the night I didn’t sign up for. “Why not? Come have a beer.”

He grins, but his eyes land on Lucy when he says, “Yeah. I think I will.”

I scoff and shake my head. If Simon was worried about me being around his sister, he has no idea what he just did.

At least I’m loyal. No matter how much I think about Lucy in ways I shouldn’t, nothing would come of it because I won’t fuck up my friendship with him—I can’t.

He’s the closest thing I have to a brother, and I won’t lose that over a girl, regardless of who she is.

Troy, on the other hand, only knows Simon through me. He’s got nothing to lose.

My jaw tenses at the thought, and I’m ready to get this night over with. Grabbing my jacket and keys from the corner of the floor, I slip one arm in and then another. “Luce, who are you riding with?”

Her face falls. “I can’t walk?”

She could, but it would take twice as long. I’m not crazy about the idea of her walking around town alone at night either.

Simon cuts in. “No way. Just ride with me, it will take less than ten minutes.”

My eyes dart back to hers. “How’s orange rank on your list?”

She bites her lip, and I fight the urge to walk over to her and pull it free with my thumb until her voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “It’s supposed to be one of the safer colors . . .” she answers slowly, but there’s no mistaking the hesitancy in her voice.

“Great,” I answer as I head toward the staircase.

“Troy, we’ll meet you over there.” There’s a good chance Troy drove an actual car here, but I’m not opening that door for Lucy.

She might think riding on the back of a motorcycle at night is dangerous, but it’s still a better option than going anywhere alone with Troy.

Simon starts going off about all the fun facts he’s learned about this bar as everyone files out, and I shut off any lights in our wake.

I’m glad Troy chimes into the conversation with him because all I can focus on is how quiet Lucy is.

She doesn’t say a word as I turn the lights off and lock the door, she’s still quiet when Simon invites Toni to join us on the way out, and the entire time her brother helps her secure his spare helmet, her eyes are locked on me.