“It has cheap drinks midweek.”
“Oh?”
“I’m heading there tonight.” Kyrone watched the expression on Jared’s face closely.
A small smile spread over his full lips. “Really?” He sounded nonplussed, but the gleam in his eyes told a different story. “You said you worked in a nightclub…”
Kyrone chuckled, fairly confident the pretty manwasinterested in him. “Wednesday is my regular night off.” He sucked in a sharp breath as the pain became a little too much. “I could show you the best clubs in town if you want, as you’re new here.”
“Are you flirting with my apprentice?” Faye asked, pausing to dip the needle in more ink.
“Me? Flirt?” Kyrone asked innocently.
“Yes, you.” She cuffed Kyrone lightly over the knee before continuing to ink the outline of the text.
“Does she treat you like that?” Kyrone asked Jared in mock offence. “Does she treatallher customers like that?”
“Just you, honey,” Faye told him.
“You should feel honoured,” Jared said. “It means she likes you.”
“Well, I already knew that. The question is, do you?”
Jared lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes slightly. “I haven’t decided yet,” he said eventually.
Kyrone gasped his amazement. “I’ll have to try harder to impress you then, won’t I?”
“Maybe.”
Faye groaned dramatically. “Encourage him at your own risk,” she muttered to Jared.
Kyrone was quiet for a little while as he let Faye get on with completing the outline of the text. Watching Jared really was a good distraction, even though the man was paying more attention to what Faye was doing than to him.
“All done,” Faye said, nodding with satisfaction at her handiwork. “Jared, you can take over from here.”
Jared changed his gloves, and they switched seats again. He took the tattoo gun from Faye, offered Kyrone an encouraging smile, and then got to work filling in the tattoo. It didn’t take Kyrone long to realise that Jared had a habit of pursing his lips and pinching his eyebrows together when he was concentrating, which was cute as hell.
“How old are you?” he asked without really meaning to.
Jared glanced up. “Twenty-two.”
“By the skin of his teeth,” Faye chipped in. “It’s his birthday today.”
“Really?” Kyrone asked. Twenty-two was definitely in his ‘I can touch that’ range.
Jared’s pale skin flushed a little. “Yes.”
“Oh! Now I get it.”
“Get what?”
“Why you didn’t leap at my offer to take you out tonight. You already have plans.”
“I don’t.” Jared dipped the needle in ink again. “I told you I’m new in town. I don’t really know anyone here.” He nodded at his mentor. “Except Faye and the guys upstairs.”
“You’re not throwing him a party?” Kyrone asked Faye.
“He doesn’t want one.”
