Page 19 of Joyride
From Sketch:We’ll be right inside the front door.
Aria finds a spot quicker than expected. We climb out and head inside.
“So now that you’ve told Sketch about what happened, do you think the two of you will hook up,” Aria asks.
“Aria!” Elena gapes at her.
“What?” Aria says innocently. “You can’t tell me you haven’t given it any thought.”
I give her a small smile. “I have thought about it briefly, but I still have some healing to do.”
We walk through the doors, and she doesn’t say anything more about it. Her eyes light up when she sees Clutch.
“Hey, Little Bird.” Sketch gives me a half-smile, making my tummy do flips.
“Hey.” I return the smile.
“We already bought y’all tickets.” He hands me one before handing one to Elena. Clutch hands one to Aria and throws his arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side. The two of them would make a cute couple. They lead the way to the booths where all the artists and vendors are.
“Do you want to get a tattoo,” Sketch asks me.
My cheeks heat. If I tell him yes, he’s going to insist on doing it. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Well, there’s a lot of great artists here. Some have shops here. Others are only here for the convention,” he explains to me. “They should all have some kind of portfolio of their past work on their tables so you can check out their specific style.”
“You’re a bit of a pro at this, huh?” I playfully nudge his side with my elbow.
He shrugs. “Something like that.”
We stop every so often to check out an artist’s portfolio. It’s when we’re about halfway through that I come to the portfolio I fall in love with. The shop is called The Mad Tatter and it’s here in New Orleans.
One of the artists stands and walks closer to me. “What do you think?”
“I love it! This work is phenomenal,” I praise. “Is it yours?”
He chuckles. “No, it’s an artist who works for us part-time. He doesn’t actually live in New Orleans.”
My eyes lift to his. He’s grinning at Sketch, and I turn to him. “This isyourwork?”
He smirks and nods.
“Sketch, these are amazing,” I tell him.
“He’s alright,” the guy in front of me teases. I shift back around. “Name’s Luke.” He holds his hand out for me to shake, which I do.
“I’m Wren.”
His eyes shoot to Sketch. “TheWren?”
I glance at Sketch over my shoulder. “What does he mean,theWren?”
“Nothing.” He glares at Luke. “He’s being an asshole.”
“Mhmm” I mumble.
“What do you want to get?” His warm breath caresses my ear, sending chills down my spine. His front is mere inches from my back.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before responding. “Uh.” The words catch in my throat. “I’m thinking a lotus flower with watercolor.”
