Page 96 of Until the Ink Dries

The shop was a mess.

Clothes were everywhere. There was broken glass on the floor. Displays were knocked over and destroyed. It looked like a storm blew through her shop. There was no way she could stay open today.

“I’m sorry, Shy. This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not. That bitch is unstable. We know that after what she did to Benny’s place.”

“I’ll help you clean up.”

The flashing blue and red lights caught our attention as we looked up to find two officers getting out of their cruiser. Shirah sighed as she went to unlock the door to let them in. I felt like shit, looking around the space at all the damage my drama brought to my best friend’s doorstep. Something told me that this wasn’t the last we would see or hear from Tierra’s ass.

* * *

After helping Shirah get the shop cleaned up, I left and went to grab Benjamin something to eat before I headed to his place. I knew he was at the house today, doing light painting and a few repairs while waiting on his furniture to be delivered. He’d been in a good mood, and I hated to sour it with this news, but I couldn’t keep it from him.

He, of all people, needed to know that Tierra was around.

Pulling into the driveway, I heaved a heavy sigh as I shut off my car, grabbed the food, and climbed out. Walking up to the front door, I rang the doorbell. A minute went by before he answered in a paint covered beater and joggers, his tattoos and muscles on full display.

The mere sight of him caused me to just stand there staring at him for a minute. Damn, he was fine.

“Baby?” he said, waving a hand in my face.

I blinked, refocusing my eyes on the grin on his handsome face.

“Huh?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Sorry, I got distracted.”

I stepped inside and stood on my toes to kiss his lips. He smacked my ass as I walked past him to go into the kitchen. I loved that he’d added a little character to the space by installing a backsplash behind the counters and painting the cabinets. Those plain white cabinets just didn’t do it.

“It’s looking good in here,” I said, placing the bag of food on the countertop.

“Thank you. I’ve been working hard.”

I opened the bag and placed his food on the countertop. “Eat. And don’t give me any backtalk.”

He chuckled. “I love how you think you run me.”

I smiled as I lifted myself onto the countertop while he started opening the lids of the food containers.

“How did apartment hunting go?” he asked, shoveling a spoonful of rice and gravy into his mouth.

“It went well. Remind me not to take Shirah with me.”

He chuckled. “That’s your best friend.”

“And your best friend is sleeping with her. Anyway, I signed a lease at Haven Heights.”

He looked up from his food. “For how long?”

I knew he was asking because he expressed that when I was ready, he wanted me to move in. I took that into consideration when looking at places. If things kept progressing between us, I didn’t want to be stuck paying rent in a place I was hardly ever at because my lease wasn’t up.

“It’s month to month,” I said.

He held back a smile, but I could see it trying to come through.

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