Page 22 of Beck

“He’s got talent, that one has,” Toby said.

Beck grinned. “He does.”

Toby settled into the chair, pulling his trouser leg up so Beck could continue the tattoo on his shin. It was a painful area, but one many people liked to tattoo as it looked good.

“We should get this finished today unless the pain gets too much. Remember to tell me if it does.”

“Will do.”

Beck put on his music, and Toby pulled out his phone to read. Settling on his stool at Toby’s feet, Beck dropped into what he called his tattooing brain. He lost himself to the rhythm of the machine, the sound, the scent, almost able to taste the ink in the air. Nothing was better than that.

Toby had to stop several times, the pain becoming too much, and when his two hours were up, only a small amount remained. Toby sighed. “I wanted it done today.”

“I don’t have any clients until four o’clock today. Do you want a break, and then we have a go at finishing it?”

Toby raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

Beck nodded. “I know what’s it like when you just want it over and done with. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour to finish up. Give yourself a breather though. Get something to eat and drink from the café down the street and then come back. I’ll get Ani to put you in the diary.”

“Thanks, Beck.”

He cleaned and covered the tattoo with a temporary covering and led Toby downstairs. “See you in a bit,” he said to Toby.

“Do you want me to bring anything back?”

Beck shook his head. “No, I’m good, thanks.”

“Ani?” Toby asked.

“I’ll take a blueberry muffin if they have one, please.”

Toby smiled like she’d given him the sun, and he nodded and left. Ani glanced at him. “Did you not get finished?”

Beck shook his head. “It’s the most painful section right now, and it was a bit much for him. Should only take half an hour once he comes back. Anyone else booked in since I was up there?”

“No. You’re slammed from four o’clock, though.”

Beck leaned over to view the calendar. “Wow. I only had two booked in when I looked earlier.”

“We’ve had a good morning.”

Beck grinned. “I can see that.”

He headed back to his studio to clean up and then grabbed a sandwich before settling on his stool with his phone. He didn’t often do the doom scroll through the various social media platforms because that sucked hours of his time before herealised it, but with only a few minutes until Toby returned, he knew he would have an excuse to turn it off.

The first brought up a picture of Denny. They’d become friends with the guitar player for The Ports when Joey had been going through the issues after his best friend’s death. Elliott had been a vital part to their lives, and he was sorely missed. It had turned out that Denny and Elliott had been together, and when Denny had told them, they’d done what they always did and brought him into their fold. This picture was like many others out there. A group one with his bandmates, but Beck could see he wasn’t happy. It was in his eyes. He’d had many problems with the management for the band, and if it had been Beck, he would’ve quit already.

Scrolling further down found a few pictures of acquaintances, some from the tattoo shop that Ani put on to show what they’d created that week, and several about local events happening. But what caught his attention was a photograph of Joey and Ethan. They looked loved up in the restaurant they’d been to the other week. It wasn’t them that had him focused on it. It was the background, where Beck and Kole sat, leaning into each other, Kole’s mouth at Beck’s ear as he whispered something. They looked very much like a couple.

He saved the photo to his phone and closed it. Could he try a relationship with Kole? Would it work? He sighed and shook his head. The lies he would have to tell weren’t the foundations of a good relationship, and that in itself made the decision. As much as he liked Kole, he didn’t think he could do more than have sex with him. It would ruin them both.

The bell rang, and he shoved his phone into his pocket and raced down the stairs, shouting, “Coming!”

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of tattoos, ink and designs, and he loved every minute. He didn’t get to see Kole again before he left for the evening. The following day, hewould be travelling, so he said he’d see everyone on Monday. He wasn’t looking forward to his appointment, though he loved the Cornwall coast. His client was a complete and utter bitch—and that was him being polite—and she complained about everything. It was more hassle than it was worth, but she brought in too many new clients to them for Joey to cancel her completely.

However, he wouldn’t be there long, and he planned to visit the beach while he was. Might as well make the most of the time he had. It didn’t matter that it was still freezing cold, the sound and scent of the beach was enough to relax most muscles in his body. He wasn’t a fan of going into the water but listening and watching it was enough.

Having already eaten at the shop, he didn’t bother to go into the kitchen other than to stick his head in the door to make sure the place wasn’t burning down. Then, he headed into the living room, still too wired to sleep. Flicking the TV on, he dropped onto the sofa and scrolled the channels. It would probably take him far too long to choose something, and he’d be on his way to sleep before there was any point of pressing play, but it kept his mind busy.

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