Going Inksane (Nice Ink Book 1) Page 9

  “It’s okay,” Heath said with a shrug.

  “Okay?” I echoed, my eyes going wide. “It’s better than okay. It’s the best pizza in town and you know it.”

  “I don’t know. I might need you to take me to a few more places to try their pizza so I can be sure.”

  Realizing what he was doing, I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you admit I was right.”

  “In that case, you were right about everything. The restaurant, the bread, the pizza, you were right about all of it. It’s the best in town.”

  “Even though you’re being sarcastic, I’ll take it.”

  “Good, because I meant it, especially the part about wanting to go out with you again.”

  This was normally the part where my fight or flight instinct kicked in and sent me running in the opposite direction. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t want to run. I wanted to give him a chance and see where this went.

  Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’d like that.”

  “Did I mention this was the best pizza in town?” Heath said, and I laughed as he took another big bite.

  It occurred to me that Derek was right about me and Heath, something he was never going to let me live down once he found out. For once, I did not care.

  Chapter Seven

  Heath

  When I finally rolled out of bed on Tuesday morning, it was with a smile on my face and my morning wood tenting my boxer briefs.

  Last night had been the best date I’d had in a long time, even without a kiss at the end. As badly as I had wanted to kiss Ned, something told me that I needed to take it slow with him. Despite how much fun we’d had, he still seemed somewhat reserved, leading me to believe I was right about him having been hurt in the past.

  If he had been hurt, the guy who did it had better hope I never found out who he was. I would have no problem showing him the error of his ways.

  The thought of some guy hurting Ned was enough to kill my boner.

  Grabbing my phone from where it sat charging on my nightstand, my smile returned. There were two messages waiting for me, one from Ned and one from his brother, Derek.

  When he agreed to set me up on a blind date with his brother, Derek insisted on having my phone number. He also refused to give me Ned’s number, saying that if his brother wanted me to have it he would give it to me. I thought that was a little odd since he was setting me up with the guy behind his back, but I wanted that date too much to argue.

  And I hadn’t been disappointed.

  Sometimes, you met a guy and thought something might be there. Then once you went out with him, you realized what a twat he was and ended up regretting that decision.

  Not the case with Ned. Besides being so gorgeous, he was a nice guy who liked helping others, and he had the best sense of humor. I could not remember the last time I’d had so much fun on a date.

  Hell, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been on an honest to God date. Most of my recent encounters had been one night stands I’d picked up at Whispers.

  As much as I wanted Ned, because damn the guy was beautiful, I wasn’t going to push. I was going to let him be the one to initiate things.

  Speaking of Ned, I opened his message: Thank you for last night. It was fun.

  I fired off a reply: It was fun for me too. Thanks for showing me the error of my pizza ways.

  I opened Derek’s message next: Since I didn’t hear from Ned last night, I hope that means you guys had a good time.

  I smirked at the unspoken threat. Since Ned hadn’t said anything to his brother, I wondered if that meant I shouldn’t either. After the text message Ned sent this morning, I wasn’t worried he’d kept quiet because he had a horrible time. Instead, I suspected he wanted to make his brother squirm for ambushing him.

  I was just glad Ned had been nice enough to give me a chance. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he hadn’t shown up.

  With Derek being the one who’d set us up though, I figured I owed the guy something. We did. Thanks for setting it up.

  Setting my phone aside, I climbed out of bed. As soon as I did, Daisy wriggled out from under my bed, and I laughed. The only reason the damn dog was so happy to see me was that she knew she was going to get a treat.

  Most of the time, Daisy slept in my bed, which wasn’t a problem since I had a king sized bed. If she got bored waiting for me to wake up, she would hang out under my bed, playing with the treasure trove of dog toys she kept hidden there.

  In the kitchen, I took one of the dog cookies from the jar I kept on the counter and handed it to her. Daisy snagged it and trotted off to my bedroom. Smiling, I shook my head as I reached for one of my K-cups to make some coffee.

  For some reason, my dog insisted on eating her treats under my bed. I was still waiting for my cup to fill when Daisy returned to the kitchen.

  “All better now?”

  The expectant look she gave me told me that I was on the right track, but there was still more to be done.

  “Let me just get this coffee in me and then we can go.”

  Though I hadn’t specified we were going for a walk, she knew. It was part of our morning routine and the reason she was wagging her tail. Every morning, while I had my coffee, she had her treat. Then I would take her for a walk. When we got back, I would feed her and give her fresh water, which she would gobble down while I took a shower.

  I’d never imagined a little dog could be so high maintenance, but I wouldn’t trade her for the world. That dog was cooler than half the people I had met and the love she gave me didn’t come with any conditions or expectations. Well, other than food, water, walks and treats; all of which I could handle or I wouldn’t have adopted her.

  While I wasn’t the same kind of crazy dog owner my brother was, treating my dog like she was my baby, I was good to her. I never understood those people who got a dog only to treat her like shit or ignore her. What was the point of getting a dog only to abuse her?

  Growing up, I had often asked a variation of that question about my parents. What was the point of having kids they didn’t want unless they were abusing them? I doubted my parents intended to have kids though. It would not surprise me at all if Cooper and I had been unplanned. The only reason I could come up with for them not dumping us into the foster care system was that it would have required some sort of effort on their part.

  When my coffee was finished brewing, I snagged the cup and took a sip, careful not to burn myself.

  “Damn, that’s good.”

  K-cups were the best thing to happen to coffee. As much as I liked coffee, there was no way I could drink an entire pot. This was not only easier, it was less wasteful. Not to mention, there were a ton of great flavors to choose from.

  I wondered if Ned liked coffee. Last night, we had accomplished a lot of the getting to you know you stuff that came at the beginning of a relationship. I hoped to Christ it was a relationship for him because I sure as hell wanted it to be.

  I shoved that thought aside, refusing to let myself believe he wasn’t feeling what I did.

  I still couldn’t believe the guy was a quintuplet. Aside from a couple of sets of twins in high school, I hadn’t known anyone who was what he called a multiple. While it was cool for him, I was grateful it was just me and Cooper. It had been hard enough feeding and clothing the two of us. I couldn’t imagine having three more people to look after. Then again, maybe we could have helped each other out.

  Even without him saying so, it was clear Ned and his brothers were close. I guess they kind of had to be with that whole sharing a womb thing.

  The fact that he and his brothers were so successful was impressive. I’m sure their parents were proud, which must be nice. The only time my parents appreciated anything about me was when I started taking care of Cooper and they didn’t have to bother. Not that they’d really done that before.

  I was glad Ned’s parents were supportive. Even though I wasn’t a parent, and had no plans to be,
I knew I would never treat a child the way Cooper and I had been treated.

  Things hadn’t been much better for X. At least not until he’d gotten big enough to fight back against his old man’s abusive rants. All it had taken was one hit from X, one hit that had broken his nose, and his dad had backed off, permanently.

  I guess I should be grateful my parents never beat me. Their brand of abuse was a heavy dose of neglect with a side of verbal jabs. When they did pay attention to me, it was only to remind me what a fucked up disappointment I was. My father was even more vocal about that after he’d seen me and X kissing once. Then I was a disappointing, embarrassing faggot who was going to burn in hell.

  Funny how I was going to hell for being wired to want men, but my father could abuse me and Cooper and escape God’s punishment.

  Today, I wouldn’t be caught dead kissing X. Even then, at the age of fifteen, it was more about seeing what it was like than because I was into X. Both of us were gay, but we’d never been with a guy. I still don’t know which of us morons got the bright idea that we should kiss.

  It wasn’t a bad kiss, but it was the weirdest experience of my life. X was my best friend, and kissing him was like kissing my brother, but at the same time it felt good. I have no doubt we would have gone further if my dad hadn’t chosen that moment to stumble into my room.

  With as drunk as the old man was, I was honestly surprised he remembered it the next day, but I should have known better. My dad never missed a chance to remind me how worthless he thought I was.

  As weird as it sounds, I’m still glad my dad caught us. Besides the fact that it saved me from having to make any sort of announcement about my sexuality, it kept X and I from doing something stupid. Kissing was easy to bounce back from and put behind us, but it wouldn’t have been the case with anything more serious.

  After that, we’d agreed to go back to being friends and never talk about it again. Not even Cooper knew X had been my first kiss. I wondered what he would say if he ever found out. Not that he was ever going to get that chance. X and I had agreed that was one secret we needed to take to our graves.

  I would have to swear Ned to secrecy. I just hoped he didn’t have a problem with it since X and I were so close and owned the business together. I doubted he would though. Ned didn’t strike me as the jealous type. He was far too together for something like that.

  Daisy barked to remind me that she was still waiting.

  “Okay, let me get dressed.”

  Draining the last of my coffee, I rinsed my cup and put it in the dishwasher. When I returned to my bedroom, my dog was close on my heels as if she was afraid letting me out of her sight might lead to me changing my mind.

  Once I was dressed and had brushed my teeth, I slipped a baseball cap on my head and then grabbed my cell phone. Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed Ned hadn’t replied yet, but I wasn’t going to let it bother me.

  Ned would get back to me when he had the chance. I was sure of it.

  Damian was already there when I got to the shop. As the manager, he liked to be the first to arrive so that he could set everything up for us. Have I mentioned that hiring Damian was the smartest decision we’d ever made?

  The radio was already playing, and the sound of Burning Sky reminded me it was my day. Still high on my date, I would have loved to hear something more upbeat, but this beat the hell of Chris Isaak or anything else Cooper could torture us with.

  “What do we have on the books today?” I asked.

  Damian glanced at the open appointment book he kept on the counter. We had a computer he could have used for scheduling, but he said he preferred the book. Something about it being easier to deal with.

  I didn’t care either way. As long as he kept the shop running efficiently, I didn’t have to, which was one less thing for me to worry about.

  “Some girl has an appointment with Flynn and Cooper’s scheduled to pierce some girl’s navel,” Damian said. “That’s it for a while.”

  It wasn’t much, but I wasn’t worried. There was usually a steady trickle of walk-ins. Until then, I could keep busy by doing some sketches, or I could text Ned. Provided he’d texted me back first. I wasn’t gonna give away my desperation by texting him again before I heard back from him.

  “By the way, how was your date last night?” Damian asked.

  My smile got wider. “Really good, man.”

  “Good like you’re gonna see him again?”

  “Fuck that,” X’s voice boomed out. “Was it good like you got laid?”

  “None of your business you nosy asshole,” I said.

  X laughed. “Ah, did you get shut out?”

  “Fuck you,” I said as I headed to the back, but X only laughed harder.

  “What’s funny?” Cooper asked as he entered the shop.

  Flynn was right behind him. Now everyone could be there to listen to X’s attempts to piss me off.

  “Heath’s date didn’t put out last night,” X answered. “The poor bastard must be losing his touch.”

  “Is sex all you ever think about?” Flynn demanded.

  “Well, yeah, I am a guy. Sex is on my mind morning, noon and night. If I’m not fucking, I’m thinking of fucking.”

  “Not all guys are like that.”

  “Yeah, they are unless they’re eunuchs or ace.”

  Flynn’s eyes hardened and for a second, I thought he was going to punch X. Instead, he stalked over to his station without saying another word.

  “Dude, speaking of someone who needs to get laid, you are wound way too tight, Flynn,” X informed him. “You need to find yourself a warm, willing body to sink into. Trust me. It’ll cure what ails ya.”

  “Says the porn star,” Flynn scoffed.

  X grinned. “You’ve seen my movies? That’s sweet, but you’re not my type.”

  Flynn finally cracked a smile. “Thank God for small favors.”

  Yeah, like X and Flynn not going toe to toe in the shop and tearing our shit up. As far as size went, X had a few inches and pounds on Flynn. Their skills were another matter. I’d seen X kick ass a few times but I’d never seen Flynn fight so it was anyone’s guess who would win. It wasn’t something I wanted to find out.

  Though I would never give X the satisfaction of knowing it, I thought he might be right about Flynn needing to get laid. The guy was far too serious most of the time.

  “How was your date?” Cooper asked.

  “Good, we went to LaManzo’s.”

  “Oh, good choice, good food and really romantic.”

  I wasn’t surprised to hear him say that. Cooper had a far more active social life than I did.

  “Did you try the pizza?” Cooper asked. “It’s the best in town.”

  “Yeah, I did, and it was really good.”

  “Did you guys have fun?”

  That cheesy smile returned to my face. “Yeah, we did. Ned’s a great guy.”

  “Are you gonna see him again?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “That’s good. You deserve someone great,” Cooper said as he returned my smile.

  I was a little surprised by the sentiment. Sure, Cooper and I loved each other, but we didn’t make a habit of spewing our feelings all over each other. We knew they were there, and that was enough.

  I understood what he meant though. One day, when he was ready, whoever he settled down with would need to treat him like a god damn king or I was gonna have to bust some shit up.

  “What he deserves is to get laid,” X spoke up again.

  I gritted my teeth. “Dude, if you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m gonna shut you up.”

  X grinned. “Think you could take me?”

  It had been a while since X and I had brawled so I didn’t know, but I was sick of hearing him say I needed to get laid. Dude wasn’t wrong, but Ned wasn’t just some guy I wanted to fuck. This was the guy I wanted in my life long term.

  And yes, I knew that after one date. Ned was everything I had been imag
ining in a partner lately, and you didn’t let someone talk shit about your partner.

  “I like this guy, man, so do me a favor and back off.”

  X gave me a long look, probably trying to decide if I was serious.

  Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, all right, my bad man.”

  That was as close to an apology as I was going to get, but it was good enough.

  “Speaking of someone great,” Cooper said, his smile turning devious. “What’s the deal with his sexy cop brother? Any chance he’s single?”

  “No clue, you’d have to ask him.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  If Flynn hadn’t been there, I would have told Cooper not to bother since Derek only had eyes for Flynn. I wasn’t about to let Derek’s secret slip though, especially since I owed him for setting me up with his brother.

  “You don’t want to date a cop,” X said.

  Cooper frowned. “Why not?”

  “They’re too uptight in bed, probably because they have to follow so many rules and laws and shit.”

  “And you know this from personal experience?”

  “Nope, just a theory I have.”

  Cooper rolled his eyes. “It’s a shit theory. Cops probably make the best lovers because they have to follow so many rules during the day. I’ll bet they’re freaky as shit when you get them in bed.”

  I cut my eyes in Flynn’s direction to see if I could gauge his reaction. As usual, his face gave nothing away. I’ll bet the guy would clean up if he gave up tattooing in favor of playing professional poker.

  The sound of the shop bell tinkling was followed by Damian coming into the back.

  “Flynn, Cooper, your appointments are here.”

  “Both of them?” Cooper asked.

  “Yeah, I think they’re friends,” Damian said, shrugging. “You want me to bring them back, or did you want to come get ’em?”

  “Mine’s here for a piercing so I’ll come up there and see what she wants,” Cooper said, getting to his feet.

  “You can bring mine back,” Flynn said.