Page 28 of Obnoxious Bad Boy

“You have to tell me where you got it. You look like a man with taste.”

If he had a sip of the hellish concoction in my cup, he wouldn’t be saying that. “Just… doing my best.”

The guy seems unfazed by my standoffishness and forces me to shake his hand through sheer power of my awkwardness. “I’m Henry. You know many people here? Vex is my cousin.” He points in Vex’s direction, and when I finally get a glimpse of the man who I came here for, a girl is piggybacking on him, and he carries her around the kitchen island, laughing about something.

I’m in the mood for murder.

I drink my whisky-wine, regardless of how revolting it is, because then at least it blurs my vision a bit.

“Yeah, I know him,” I mumble.

Henry shakes his head and fake-clinks his plastic cup to mine. “He doesn’t even like a drink anymore. That guy used to be fun back in the day, now he’s all business.”

That makes my attention skyrocket.

“Is he? How come?”

“He used to tattoo for a pack of cigarettes, without all the fuss of appointments and fuck knows what. And now he’s some big shot you gotta book months in advance, just because he got his mugshot on the internet? It’s bullshit. It’s like that studio is his fuckin’ baby since he bought it.”

“He bought it?” I’m a little surprised, because going by the bare interior of Vex’s room, I figured he was renting the place.

Henry nods. “Oh, yeah. Cash in hand, ‘cause no bank would have loaned a fuckup like him money. So I know he’s loaded, but won’t even buy his cousin a drink. You, on the other hand, look like someone who likes to have fun.”

“I do?” I lean against the wall because I’m a bit lightheaded, and the edges of my vision grow fuzzy.

“Hell yes.” Henry laughs and stands a bit closer. “In fact, I’ve got something to make your night even better. I’ll even offer you a special price on the happy pills.”

Despite my current mood, I’m not sure happy pills are the way to go. I feel like I’ve been in this conversation too long already. “I don’t know about that…” I mumble.

Henry shrugs with a smile. “I’m not telling you to buy a whole bag, just try them tonight and then you’ll know if you like them.”

“I don’t think I can afford it,” I try, to get him off my case, but to my horror, he puts his arm over my shoulders and pulls me out of the kitchen.

“Let’s just see what you got in your wallet, and I’ll cut you a deal.”

Fuck. How did I get into this position?

Chapter 8

Vex

The constant demand for my attention is exhausting.

In my studio, I hold all the cards, and even though many of my clients choose me because of my social media presence and come in with the hope that maybe something can happen between them and the hot mysterious tattoo artist, they don’t arrive emboldened by booze or drugs. But this is a party, and there's a lot of both.

The potential that anyone here might expose the truth about me by posting a short clip recorded on their phone, and ruin the persona I’ve worked so hard for makes me tense, but that is the nature of my double life, so while I remain flirty and offer girls bold smiles, the fact that one of them films my interaction with her friend remains a constant buzz at the back of my mind. I can’t just walk away from this, even though those two have been hogging my attention for a bit too long.

I wish I were locked in a room upstairs, undressing Aaron, but instead here I am, playing for an audience of two, in the hope that it might become an audience of millions if the blonde girl posts a video online with all the right hashtags, and my handle. But the redhead who’s just climbed onto my back? She’s pushing it when she nuzzles my ear.

“You should get one of those leather harnesses, then you could be my mount.” She laughs as I dutifully carry her around the kitchen island.

This feels more like a job than my actual job.

But as I walk, pretending I’m having fun, I spot Aaron in the doorway, and all my attention focuses on the unbelievable sight I’m witnessing.

What is Henry fucking Rover doing here? Because I sure as fuck didn’t invite him.

More importantly, what is his arm doing around Aaron’s shoulders, and why are they leaving through the back door?