Resistance (7 page)

Chapter 6

Julieanne is face down on my table, her porcelain skin smooth and soft, perfect for the reverse cityscape I’m doing. She has Rome from mid-spine up across her back already. Now we’re doing a mirror image under it that looks like it’s underwater. It’s very intricate and very cool. Pepper’s soft skin under my fingers infiltrates my mind as I touch Julieanne’s back. What the fuck. I can’t seem to shake that night from my brain. Pepper. Damn. Just. Damn. I zero in on the work I’m doing and try to focus.

“Tell me what's happening with you
,” Julieanne says above the sound of the gun.

“Not much. Just Mayhem stuff and Allie
,” I reply.

“Come on, there must be more than that. Seeing anyone?” she purrs. I suck in a breath and raise my eyes to Clara. She doesn’t meet my gaze but I know she’s listening. She’s been cleaning her station up for the day for the last thirty minutes. It usually only takes her fifteen
.

“Nope. Just enjoying life
,” I respond blandly.

“
Wanna grab a drink sometime?” Julieanne asks, a twinge of hopefulness in her voice. My mind wanders to Pepper again and our one-night stand. I haven’t seen her around since then and it irks me. I’m curious about her. If I’m honest, she’s occupied plenty of my thoughts over the last month. I tasted the merest sample of her, but I want more. So much more. I want to indulge. Something about her, even after the way she left abruptly, captured my attention. Her body is a constant source of spank bank material these days.

“I’m not really up for dating
,” I share.

“It’s just a drink
, Sawyer, not a marriage proposal,” Julieanne huffs.

“I’m out
,” Clara calls from her station, giving me a chance to dodge Julieanne’s response. “Don’t forget you have a two o’clock appointment tomorrow for Hoot. I’m on for Carmine’s at three but it looks like that’s it for tomorrow.”

“Great.”

“Oh, Allie wants to stay with you tonight. You cool with that?” Clara asks.

“Yeah, I promised her we’d hit Adventure World
,” I say and chuckle.

“You? Skating?” Clara bursts out laughing.
Julieanne follows suit and I have to stop my progress on her latest tattoo until she steadies her breath.

“Hey, what the kid wants, the kid gets
,” I state.

“You spoil her
,” Clara says with a grin. She brushes a bright pink chunk of hair over her shoulder.

“Yup.”

“All right, well...see you later then. I'll drop her after chorus practice,” she informs me while waving her goodbye to Julieanne and me.

“Al
l righty.”

I resume my work on
Julieanne and try to dodge her feeble attempts at getting me to agree to a drink with her. All the while I can’t seem to get Pepper’s seductive pout out of my brain. I should give Julieanne a go. Really, I should. She’s pretty. She’s nice. I’ve known her a couple years now and she’s never shown any sign of being crazy. But, I don’t feel anything around her. No pull. No attraction. Nothing. She’s just...there.

At four I close up the shop and stop at the MC to make sure nothing
’s needed of me before I head home and wait for Allie.

“Bro, you
need
to hook me up with that fine piece of ass,” Carmine pleads as I show him the pictures of the piece I was working on for Julieanne today. His face looks greedy as he drools over the pictures. He looks slightly ghoulish. He’s slender with sharp features, shiny dark hair, and dark eyes. Like Gollum with hair.

“She’s single
,” I say and instantly regret it. Why did I tell him that? Julieanne is too good for him.

“What are you waiting for?!” he scoffs.

“I’m not sure you’re good enough for her.” I laugh. “She’s a nice girl.”

“I can be nice
,” Carmine drops sarcastically.

“Right
,” I answer. Carmine, although fun to hang with, is a little harder than the rest of us. I’m not really sure what’s different about him, but something just makes me a little hesitant around him. He’s always disappearing to take calls that no one seems to know about. Or he’s taking care of “family” stuff, yet he doesn’t have a wife, kids, or family in the area. No one else seems to overthink his rough-around-the-edges character but to me, he seems a little off. Like he’s waiting for the right moment to pounce. At what, I don’t know.

“Give her my number and let her decide
,” he says, lifting his chin at me.

“Maybe
,” I offer noncommittally. Footsteps echo down the hall from the back of the clubhouse and Beau appears to the left of the bar with a smile on his face. He’s the kind of man you want to be like. He almost always has a grin on his face and keeps business and pleasure separate in his life. It seems to work for him.

“What’s up?” he calls out as he approaches Carmine and
me.

“Finished work and thought I’d see if anything needed doing here before the kid gets home
,” I offer.

“You have that
kid
a lot for not being her dad,” he returns, not in a scolding way, but more out of curiosity.

“That kid is mine. I am her dad. Blood isn’t everything
,” I respond firmly.

“Good answer
,” he says with a head nod. “Carmine, what about you?”

“No kids and I’m here for whatever.” His response is snarky and cold. Why does he set off red flags for me?

“Good enough. Boys, I’m out. My boy’s got a game tonight. Sawyer, I need another bit of work done to my sleeve. You got any time open in the next week or so?” he asks.

“For you, sure. Just
lemme know,” I tell him. My pocket vibrates as I push off the stool at the bar. I tug my phone out of my pocket and grimace at the screen. Kylie. Swiping the screen, her text appears.

“
If you stop by, I’ll make it worth your while
.”

I roll my eyes
, momentarily wondering why I ever thought she was worth dating. She thinks she's being seductive and coy but it only comes across as trashy. If Carmine asked me to set him up with her, I would say yes. They seem like a much better match. Ever since Clara and I ended things, Kylie has been like cum after a blow job. Sticky in all the places you don’t want. I ignore her as much as possible but there are times she hunts me down and almost refuses no for an answer. I should have known that she’d pursue me thinking I was finally free of Clara. I glance up at Carmine and smile.

“I have a number for you
,” I say.

“Lay it on me
, bro.” He grins widely. I text him Kylie’s number before heading home. There, maybe he will have more luck with her than I did.

What the hell was I thinking? Adventure World Skating Rink is packed with tweens and slightly older little shits. Pop music blares through crappy speakers that crackle and pop and the constant sound of arcade machines dispensing coins is enough to make my ears bleed. Allie tugs on my hand
, bringing me out of my mental fog.

“The lobby isn't really that cool
,” she says sarcastically. I realize as soon as we stepped into the lobby I just stopped moving. I try to unwrinkle my face and smile at her.

“Right. Where to?” I ask
, hoping I sound excited instead of horrified. Allie has been begging me to take her here ever since one of her friends had a birthday party here. I thought after hearing about it that it’d be a fun night out for us. Now I’m regretting my decision greatly. This is every parent’s hell. Loud. Crowded. Sensory overload. I stifle my groan and let Allie lead me to the front counter where my wallet will no doubt be raped and pillaged of whatever’s in it.

I’m lost in a sea of
dancing neon lights, blaring music, and small children squealing while moving at light speed when I crash into Allie’s back, sending her off balance.

“Hey!” I squawk at her. She turns to face me
, looking irritated, her eyebrow arched and expectantly waiting. She looks just like her mother. Dark hair, golden skin and a glower that can bring a man to his knees. I look past her to see that we’re at the counter. Every single atom of oxygen leaves my body at that moment. The black-haired stunner sitting behind the counter raises one eyebrow at me and smirks. I forget all the complaining I was just thinking about and suddenly relish the kid at my side who forced me to come here. The gorgeous, raven-haired girl’s chocolate eyes are fixated on mine and I feel like I’m living in a dream state after thinking about her so much. Pepper.

“So? What size?” she asks
, looking amused and perplexed.

“What?” I ask
, confused. So much for playing it cool.

“Skate size. What size are you?” she explains. Her eyes flit over Allie and light up with recognition. What is happening?

“Sawyer. What the heck. Why are you being so weird?” Allie complains. I look down to her and stare blankly. Pull it together, man. This is your chance.

“Uh, thirteen
,” I respond. Allie looks between me and Pepper curiously.

“You look familiar
,” Allie states bluntly to her.

“You do too
,” Pepper responds, nodding.

“My mom did your tattoo
,” Allie says with certainty after a beat.

“Yes
. And you had a crush on a kid named...Adam,” Pepper says.

“WHAT?!” I cry out. Allie turns sixty shades of pink and Pepper laughs as she turns around and grabs two pairs of skates before setting them on the counter
.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to rat you out
,” Pepper says sincerely to Allie.

“Uh. Yeah. Well. I don’t like him anymore, so...” Allie
says, struggling with her speech. I look at Allie and narrow my eyes. We don’t keep secrets. Or at least, I didn’t think we did. I’m going to have to drill the kid now to get information. Crushing on boys is NOT cool. I really hope I just conveyed all that with my look.

“
Thirty-two dollars,” Pepper states, boring a hole through my head with her eyes. Damn, those eyes. Her yellow work t-shirt is baggy and hides all her perfect curves, but I know what lurks underneath and it has me way outside my element. Her jeans hug her legs and she’s wearing little makeup. It makes her look younger than the night we met. Her hair is loosely tied up in a bun yet she couldn't possibly be any prettier somehow.

“Sawyer!” Allie’s little voice distracts me from my train of thought
.

“What?” I ask
, confused. Allie looks at me, also confused, then to Pepper, and then back to me. Her eyes bug out and then the world ends.

“You
like
her!” she squeaks happily. Pepper’s gaze is cool and smug as she watches me drown in my attempt to quell the situation.

“Allie. That’s...uh...rude
,” I sputter. Allie grabs my wallet from my hand and turns to Pepper.

“Here
,” she says, fishing out some money. “I think he likes you and...you should like him back because he’s really great.”

Pepper’s jaw drops as she takes the money and she makes the most adorable choking sound
.

“Wow. You’re a real spitfire
, aren’t you?” she asks Allie.

“My mom says I’m full of sass.” Allie preens
, thinking it’s a compliment. Pepper laughs and I find myself unable to rip my eyes from her or form a complete thought. I want to do dirty things to her. Scratch that, I need to do dirty things to her. I shake my thoughts from my brain and focus on the facts. Allie. I’m here with a kid. I don’t know jack shit about Pepper, not really. She’s great as a fantasy but...reality is a bitch and she’s probably bad news.

“Have fun
,” Pepper says, handing my change to Allie. I grab my skates from the counter and find myself wondering what she’s reading as she pulls out her Kindle without giving me another glance. I back away from the counter and slam into a mother carrying a tray full of sodas.

“Oh SHIT!” I shout. “I’m so sorry!” The woman looks at me with those parent
al, dead, lifeless eyes that say she hates her life and she hates that she's here on a Friday night. I pull a twenty out of my pocket and hand it to her. “For the drinks. I’m really sorry. I didn't see you there.” I swear the woman only grunts before walking away. I refuse to look back and find out if Pepper saw all that. Refuse.

I set my skates down on the bench Allie picked and pull my
button-up shirt off to let it dry out. My t-shirt will have to do. Allie starts squealing with delight next to me.

“What is it?” I ask
, chuckling.

“You GLOW!” she gushes. I glance downward to find that my white
t-shirt is indeed glowing in the black lights. Awesome. Just awesome. I haven’t felt this ridiculous in years.

Allie holds my hand as she
easily leads me around the roller rink. I’m not so great on skates and I feel like I’ve been clutching the rail or wall for most of the evening. I also feel like the biggest fool. If Pepper is watching me right now there is no chance for my manhood. None. I’m done for.