Page 17 of Beck

He stared down at the paper and froze. The image he’d drawn was something different from his usual sketches. It still had the tribal mandala effect, but to one side, a man’s face appeared in profile. The mandala was where the man’s brain would have been, and the tribal designs were integrated into the hair. He knew who it was and that it would never see the light of day, but seeing the conundrum that was Beck on paper in that form was disconcerting.

Turning to a new page, he tapped his pencil in the centre, seeing where his brain was going to take him next. As he settled, the door chimed, and Ani entered, her expression brightening when she saw Kole.

“Kole! I’m so glad you’re here. Have they helped you to settle in?” she asked, rounding the desk and putting her stuff away.

“They’ve been great. They weren’t sure what had been decided on where my base would be, but I’m happy sitting here.”

“Oh, no, no, no. That won’t do. Not that I don’t want to see your face all day every day, but you do have a space to do whatyou wish. You’ll need to get away from the hustle and bustle of the front here; otherwise, you won’t be able to concentrate. Follow me.”

She waved at him, and he stood, gathering his things, but the door chimed again, garnering Ani’s attention.

“Denny! It’s good to see you,” she said, rounding the desk to greet him. “You ready for more?”

“Always.”

“Beck’s upstairs. You know the way.”

Denny nodded, but Kole was ashamed to admit he was a little starstruck. Standing barely five feet from him was a member of The Ports, a band he religiously followed. Yes, he was a boy band fan.

“Oh, Denny, have you met Kole yet? He’s our newest addition.”

Denny smiled at him, and Kole’s stomach swirled. How many times had he looked at that smile and wished someone focused something similar on him?

“Nice to meet you, Kole. You’ve joined a great family.” They shook hands.

Kole finally found his voice. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Denny let go and headed for the stairs. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

When Denny disappeared, Kole swallowed. “Holy shit. I gotta get used to this.”

Ani laughed and followed in the celebrity’s wake. “You will. Soon, it’ll be old hat to you, especially when it comes to princes and their friends, like Donovan and Christian.”

“Who are they?”

“Donovan is Beck’s friend, and Christian…that’s Prince Christian.” Ani grinned.

Kole gaped and gulped. “Okay, fingers crossed.” He was sure he’d dropped into an alternate world.

Ani showed him to a room set up exactly like all the others, with tattoo equipment and chairs.

“I don’t need all this,” he said.

Ani waved him away. “You don’t need to. It’s here for if we have a visiting artist, which we rarely do. Besides, we have two more rooms like it.”

Kole studied the space and could see the potential. Even the equipment didn’t faze him like it might’ve before. The idea of being able to ink someone was not as scary as the first time.

“Thanks. It’s perfect.”

“Don’t feel like you have to stay up here secluded. You’re welcome to join us downstairs whenever you want, but we wanted you to have your own space if you wanted it.”

Kole’s throat closed, making it difficult to swallow. “Thanks.”

“I’ll leave you to sort yourself, but come down in a bit. Once the scariness and overwhelm has eased.” She squeezed his hand and left.

And then it was Kole, standing in the centre of a room that had been given to him without any questions asked. Had he made the right choice? He wandered over to the window, putting his bags on the desk, and looked out. The cars roaring past were muted by the windowpane, but the view was nice. He could see himself being happy there. If only he could find someone to share his life with.

Beck’s face flashed through his mind, and he didn’t push it away. It was futile, but he couldn’t deny his attraction. He wanted to see whether Beck was willing to give them a try, but he needed to build up the courage first. He would, but he didn’t know when. He didn’t want Beck to think he’d moved to London for him because it wasn’t true. He’d moved for himself. Beck was an extra he hadn’t expected. But he was determined to move past his anxiety. What Andrew had done to him wasn’t nice, but he needed to live his own life now.

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