Page 5 of Beck

Kole rested his cheek against Ethan’s head as they walked. “I know you are. I’m okay. I’m figuring things out. But you need toletme figure them out. I’m getting there.”

Ethan went quiet, but he wouldn’t be for long. And he was right. “Okay.”

Kole glanced at him, though all he could see was his hair. “What?”

Ethan lifted his head, meeting his gaze. “Okay. I’ll back off. Just make sure you come to me if you needanythingat all. I don’t want you to ever think I haven’t got your back.”

Kole pulled Ethan into a hug, wanting to cry but refraining. “I know.”

They pulled back, and Ethan’s eyes were wet but resolved. “Don’t be a stranger if your decision is Whitby.”

“I won’t. You’ll never be rid of me.”

“Good.”

“You all ready?” Dallas yelled from his lean by the door to the building where the event was being held.

“We’re coming!” Ethan yelled back.

“So is Christmas! And it’ll get here quicker if you’re not careful!”

Ethan shook his head and lifted his middle finger to Dallas, who just laughed in response. “Come on, before we’re accosted by him. I wouldn’t put it past him to throw us both over his shoulders and carry us in there.”

Kole laughed and followed Ethan to the entrance. He’d been at the venue the previous day, but it still surprised him how big the place was. The cavernous ceilings appeared to reach the sky and a football field could probably fit in the square footage. With how the organisers had laid it out, partitions divided the space evenly between the hundred tattoo companies in attendance, but only enough to show the different spaces, not to stop the flow of visitors. Kole wasn’t sure what to expect with the event, though each of them had tried to explain it. But their words had failed to encompass the enormity of the event. As he entered that vast hall, the hustle and bustle of people echoed, creating a cacophony of noise along with music that didn’t reach as far as it probably should have.

“Kole!” Ethan called. “Come on!”

Shaking himself, he headed over to their area, a space with four reclinable chairs and trolleys that were filled with tools. Two tables stood in front, one where Ethan and Ani would speak with the clients, and the other for Kole to create the designs. He exhaled at the blank tabletop, steeling himself against the wave of nerves that had him trembling.

“You’ll be great,” Ethan said in his ear, making him jump.

“I’ve never done designs for other people before.”

“I know. But you’re great at it. I know you’re worried about letting them down, but you won’t.” Ethan kept his voice down. “If you decide you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”

Kole swallowed. “I want to.” And he did.

Ethan squeezed his shoulders. “Okay, then. Get drawing.” He threw three pads of plain paper on the table and shoved Kole towards it.

Kole laughed. “Yes, sir.”

Grateful for the pep talk, Kole settled down on the stool he’d been given and pulled a pad closer to him. He needed a muse, something to get the ideas percolating. He studied the hall, noticing the designs on the walls, the large banners hanging from the ceiling and the decorative arches. Plenty of ideas, but he needed more. Peering around him, he observed the people, and his gaze snagged on Beck, his head thrown back as laughter bellowed from him, the lines around his eyes and mouth as they deepened, the strength in his body, the wings of the tattoo that peeked around the edges of his tank top. A dark angel.

Feeling the need to draw, Kole grabbed a pencil case from his coat pocket, something he’d stashed there the previous night after worrying he’d forget it that morning, and chose a pencil. The moment the tip touched the paper, he fell into the design. Starting with something small, he sketched angel wings in the corner and steadily continued expanding on the original until he had something he was happy with.

“Woah, I want that!”

The voice startled him, and his pencil ran off the end of the sheet. He snapped his gaze up towards a youngish woman, her eyes on his newly finished design.

“Isn’t it a bit big?” the man beside her said.

“No, it’s perfect. It’s exactly what I was trying to draw myself, but I couldn’t get it to look right.” She glanced at Kole. “Is it for sale?”

Kole’s mouth worked but nothing came out, and Ethan stepped over, leaning down. “Kole, are you willing to sell that one, or is it personal?”

Kole glanced at Ethan, blinked and exhaled, his brain finally coming back online. He cleared his throat. “Yes, that’s fine.” He handed the paper to Ethan with a smile, his stomach swooping with the idea that someone was going to be carrying his design on their body for a long time.

The woman grinned. “Thank you so much!”

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