“Hey, Trouble,” Carter calls Pete from his station. “Could you hand me another paper towel roll? They’re at the bottom of that cabinet.” He points at the supply closet next to where I’m working.
“Sure thing, Car-Car,” he beams, hopping up from the couch beside the nervous looking girl in the waiting area. It’s like being useful and helping the team brings him actual joy. He’s just sweetness and light all the damn time, and why does he already have a nickname for Carter?
He bends down to get the towels, and I just watch as the waistband of his jeans slides down a bit, showing his underwear. Are those jelly beans? I lean closer, and… yup, there are definitely multi-colored jelly beans printed on his boxers. Ugh, now every time I look at my favorite candy, I’m going to think of that perky ass, wrapped in painted-on denim, bent over and wiggling at me as he searches the back of the cabinet. “Oh, it’s okay, Trouble. I found a spare roll right here,” Carter calls over, and my head snaps up to catch him pumping his eyebrows at me. Did he make Pete bend over in front of me on purpose?
‘Sexual harassment, asshole’, I mouth silently at him as I shake my head and force myself not to look back as Pete returns to the waiting area, blissfully unaware that his precious Car-Car was basically parading him around like prized cattle.
I follow Pete’s every move throughout the day. The way he interacts with our clients in the waiting area is amazing to watch. He’s such a people person.
You were a people person.
I hear a familiar voice inside my head. A voice I haven’t heard in a very long time.
I remember a time when the whole room would light up just because you walked in.
Yeah, Adam. Then you fucking died.
Is it normal to have a conversation inside your head with your dead ex? I used to wonder if anyone else experienced it. But that voice has been quiet for some time now.
Someone has to point out when you’re being an idiot.
Am I though?
Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you want to get to know him better? Let him get to know the real you?
The real me is exactly what he shouldn’t get to know.
I’m getting frustrated with the voices in my head. First it was about the booze, now Adam’s voice is piping up, trying to push me toward Pete.
The REAL you. Not the mask you’re wearing for everyone to see. Let him get to know the caring and loving guy you once were.
Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.
CHAPTER 6
PETE
It’s been a week since I started working at Savage Ink and it’s been the best. I’ve had many different jobs, and it’s never felt this right.
Of course I wouldn’t be my clumsy self if I didn’t end up in some kind of accident. Like the other day when Ash delivered our lunch and my special order for a fruity shake. I picked it all up in my arms and as I turned around I saw Gavin refilling the disinfectant liquid. His biceps bulged under the weight of the container. My knees went weak and I tripped over my own feet. The sandwiches went flying, I went down on the floor and the shake? Let’s just say I had to give my hair a quick rinse in the bathroom sink. Go me!
As clumsy as I am, I can be me here. No one cares what I wear, no one minds that I sometimes sing along to the tunes that play through the speakers. But most of all, I love taking care of clients in the waiting area. I’ve met so many interesting people. I love it when they tell me why they are getting a tattoo. Sometimes it’s for sentimental reasons, nostalgia or just because they like them. There is so much more to tattoos than just pretty pictures on skin. I’m learning they can be a way to immortalize people or things, and carry them around with you always.
Like today, this guy told me the story about his dog. His five-year-old daughter was in their front yard when the neighbor’s dog escaped and went straight for the little girl. The family pet Benson, a beautiful golden lab, didn’t hesitate for a second. He jumped forward and protected her. We both shed tears when he told me how Benson didn’t make it. And that’s why he was here. He wanted to always remember the sacrifice Benson had made to keep his baby girl safe. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried like a damn baby when I saw the incredible portrait Carter created of Benson on the man’s chest.
Since my car is now in Heaven’s parking lot after its impromptu dip in the puddle lake last week, Jordan drops me off at work every morning. That’s why I’m waiting for him now to pick me up so we can go for tacos and margaritas to celebrate the end of a very successful week at work. I am hoping that after a few months with a regular paycheck I’ll have enough to buy a new car.
With a little time to kill and the shop now empty, I take the broom from the closet to sweep the floor before connecting my phone to the shop’s speakers. Music is a must when cleaning alone. I hit play on my ‘Celebration’ playlist, because of course I have one, and get to work.
The opening bars of ‘Walking On Sunshine’ already have my body feeling looser as I clear my throat to sing along with Katrina. I love this song. Who doesn’t love this song? It’s so catchy. My ass has a mind of its own as I move around the floor, the broom posed as my microphone as I sing loudly to Gavin’s closed office door.
“And I just can’t wait till the day when you knock on my door
Now everytime I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down
‘Cause I just can’t wait till you write me you’re coming around.”
Getting louder I spin and dance through the cheerful chorus then quickly lose my balance as I try to do a spin kick. Laughing hard, I expect to fall on my ass but instead I feel strong arms wrap around me and hold me suspended in the air. I look down at my feet then up over my shoulder to find Gavin staring at me in amusement. I’m so surprised by his expression that it takes me a moment to remember to breathe but I’m not going to waste this opportunity. I think this is the first time that Gavin has looked at me with anything other than indifference since I started working here.
