Page 18 of Jimmy

Karey emerged from the left half of the store and walked up to Jimmy.

“Thank you.” Brett cleared his throat and dropped the paperback book into a bag. “Sir.”

“Thanks.” Jimmy had make a point to buy books every time he visited the store. He turned his attention to Karey. “Ready?”

“I am.” She held onto her purse. “Good night, Brett.”

Brett grunted but said nothing otherwise.

Jimmy waved, then walked outside with Karey.

“I don’t know what that’s all about, but I’m sorry.” She shivered. “It wasn’t this cold this morning.”

“It’s almost ten in the evening.” He threaded his arm around her. “Better?”

“Much.” She snuggled into him. “He’s been extra grumpy since you showed up.”

“He’s afraid of me.”

“That’s silly.”

“It’s true. People see me and decide I’m scary because I’m tall and inked. I wear black so I must be dangerous.” He rubbed her shoulder. “I’ve dealt with it for years.”

“They’re wrong. You’re a teddy bear.” She rested her head against his shoulder.

“You bring out my tender side.” He kissed the top of her head. He wanted to protect her.

“Do you have appointments tonight?”

“I do, but I have an idea what you can do while I’m working.” He opened the door for her. “Would you like to help Kurt handle the desk?”

“Sure. What do I need to do?”

“Kurt will take the lead, but people will drop in for a tattoo. You have them look through the book to decide what they want, because most of them don’t know what they want -- if they drop in, it’s not a planned tattoo. If they’re determined to have something in particular, they make an appointment. Anyway, the longer they look through the book, one of two things happen. Either they’re encouraged and go through with the tattoo or they chicken out.”

“Sounds about right.” She nodded. “Okay.”

“If they’re still interested, Kurt will have them fill out the form. If they want a piercing, that’s a little different. They’ll go through with that pretty much no matter what. I don’t do much piercing, but Kurt does.”

“Sure.”

“Thank you,” he said. He’d wanted to hire a receptionist but needed the right person.

She tucked her hands into his front pockets. “It’s nice to be needed and appreciated.”

“Plus you have a cute ass.” He embraced her and squeezed her rump.

“You’ve got a nice ass, too.” Her eyes flashed. “Looks good in those jeans.”

God, he couldn’t wait for the night to be over so he could take her home. He wanted to taste her everywhere.

Kurt joined them at the counter. “Your appointment is in ten minutes. You’d better get ready.”

“They’re not here yet, are they?” He hadn’t seen the woman in his chair.

“No,” Kurt said. “Hi, Karey.”

“Hi.” She let go. “I’ll be fine.”

---