Page 7 of Inked Nights

Sloane grunted. “I don’t talk about feelings. But you look like shit, and we have time to talk. So, spill.”

Maya, who stood behind Sloane, cracked up. “Smooth.”

Sloane shrugged. “We open soon, and there’s no time for beating around the bush.”

“I like the way you think,” Austin said from Maya’s other side. The shop had filled when Derek was setting up. Austin, Blake, Maya, Sloane, Callie, Brandon, and Jax were all there, watching.

The shop hadn’t been this full in a while since they usually didn’t work all at once, but now that they’d remodeled a bit, there was more room. However, this meant that every single artist was staring at him.

“What?” he finally said.

“Don’t ‘what’ us,” Maya put in. “You look sad. And, usually, when you go out for your date or whatever the hell you call it, you come back looking all lubed up.”

“Jesus Christ,” Austin muttered under his breath, and the rest of the crew laughed.

“Lubed up?” Derek asked.

“It’s true,” Maya said.

Then Maya’s words caught up with him. “Wait. How the hell do you know about my dates?”

“You got drunk and mentioned it to Sloane once,” Callie said. She grinned at him through her multicolored hair, and he wanted to close his eyes and growl.

Sloane had the decency to wince. “And then I mentioned it to Hailey since I was also drunk and forgot to tell her not to tell Maya.”

“And now that I know, the people who matter know because we love you and want you happy. But why aren’t you happy?”

“I’m fine.”

“You aren’t,” Jax put in. He was their newest artist but had fit in quickly.

“I’ll be fine. How’s that?”

“Why don’t you just tell us what’s up and then we can move on?” Austin said quickly, clearly ready for this conversation to be done. As Derek wanted the same and knew he couldn’t get out of it, he decided he’d just get it over with. He had no idea what he was doing, after all; maybe they could help.

“I met a girl a few years ago. A woman. We’re having fun. Or we were. We meet up once a month at the same place, have a good night, and don’t talk to or see each other until the next month. No names, no numbers, nothing is shared except the experience. It’s nice. It’s different. She’s nice. She’s different. But now she says she doesn’t want to do it anymore, and I have no idea what’s going on. I’m still going to show up next month, you know. Because I can’t just let it end, but it’s not like I know what to do other than that.”

He hadn’t realized he’d blurted it all out until he looked up and the crew was staring at him like he’d grown another head. Maybe he had because he sure as hell didn’t feel like himself just then.

“I have more questions, but we don’t have time for explanations of why and how,” Callie put in. “But do you like her? Do you want to see her more than just the one night a month? Because if you do, find her.”

“I can’t find her. That was the whole point of our arrangement.”

“Then wait for a month and see if she shows up,” Sloane said. “Just don’t stalk her or some shit and be that creepy asshole we have to beat up.”

“Amen,” Brandon and Jax said at the same time before smirking at each other.

“I’m not going to fucking stalk her. But I want to know why she wants to end it. Does she want more and think I don’t? Did she find someone else? I want to know why, and I don’t want to wait, but I think I have to.”

“Do you have a photo of her?” Maya asked. “Maybe we know her. We know a lot of people.”

Derek gave her a dry look. “We live in Denver, not some Podunk town. I don’t think you know her.”

“At least let us see,” Callie pleaded. “If you have a pic that is.”

“I have one,” he mumbled and dug out his phone. They each had one photo of each other, though it hadn’t been part of their terms. He hadn’t been able to help himself and looked at the damn thing often. She was wearing just a sheet, but you couldn’t tell unless you knew and he was glad about that. The look in her eyes, the parting of her lips was just for him.

And now he was going to share her, at least this small part of her, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. But he wasn’t sure he could hold back if he wanted to find her.