Page 22 of Broken

Why doesn’t he come out with the guys who work at Blackhawk Ink? They’ll get the wrong idea if I ask. The times I’ve thought about him are when I accidentally catch my nipple piercings on something.

Katja and Lucky aren’t wrong. The sensitivity in these things is like a shot of pure ecstasy. I can only imagine how much better it will be with someone else playing with them. Which is when my mind turns tohim.

I shut the door on those thoughts. Most of the time. It’s been weeks since I saw him, and I shouldn’t be letting him into my brain, given how rude he is.

“You ready?” A knock on the bathroom door startles me out of my thoughts of Garrett.

“Yep.” I check my lipstick and return to the empty coffee shop where Ruby is waiting. She looks cute in a little black leather skirt and electric blue T-shirt with a slashed neck. She’s tied her hair up and has white framed sunglasses pushed up on her head.

We closed twenty minutes ago and have been getting ready for happy hour. It’s become something of a standing date for Ruby, Sin and me. Lucky joins when she can and sometimes Jericho has come along, but he loses interest in our topics of conversation.

The pub is busy as usual. Sin is already at our table, the drinks lined up. Lucky is standing behind Shane’s chair with herforearms resting on his shoulders and her chin on the top of his head. She’s so short, she doesn’t need to bend over.

We greet everyone, and I pick up my pint of Guinness. What can I say? I’ve grown a taste for it

“Hey, you two, I was telling Sin and Jer it’s Shane’s birthday at the weekend. He’s finally allowed to drink in here without getting the place shut down,” she whispers comically loud. Shane tilts his head and scowls at her. She ignores him.

“Wow, that’s a big deal,” Sin says. “You’re going to be a real man.”

“Finally,” he deadpans, making me laugh. I get the impression he gets teased about this a lot.

“We’re throwing him a party and you’re all coming.”

“Are you going to tell us when?” Ruby asks.

“Saturday. It’s at the shop.”

“You’re having a party in the shop?” Jericho is sitting on the edge of his seat with his elbows resting on the table.

“Yep, we’re shutting down for the night. It’s gonna be a blast.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask if the moody owner is allowing that.

“Garrett is letting you have a party?” Jericho asks. “Are you high?”

“Nope,” Lucky beams. “He might have hit his head or something, but when I floated the idea, he said it was fine.”

There is a lot more talk about what a rarity that is and whether they should have a back-up plan in case he changes his mind. Lucky is convinced all is well.

“Everyone is coming, right?”

There are a lot of agreements and nods. Lucky turns to me. Sin lifts a brow. She’s brought up Garrett a couple of times since getting my piercings. I shut her down fast. I don’t need men right now. I think back to a couple of weeks ago when we met up for lunch.

“I’m talking about sex, not men,” Sin says.

“I think you’ll find that a man is involved, therefore your argument is bullshit.”

“Don’t lie to me, Calliope. You’d jump his bones in a heartbeat if you got the chance. Any self-respecting woman would take up that offer.”

“Sinclair,” I give back her full name. “I do not need a man. I do not need sex. I am perfectly happy with how my life is right now, thank you. I’m focusing on me.”

“And there is nothing wrong with a little self-love, but sometimes you need the real thing.”

“Ugh, stop it. I’m not ready.”

“Babe, I know what you went through was shit, and I know you find it hard to trust, but I’m not talking about a relationship. I’m talking about sex. Just sex.”

“Stop saying sex.”

---