And if being my friend wasn’t enough, he’s also my mentor and co-worker.
I walked into Bold Tattoo Studio for the first time four-and-a-half years ago, looking for an apprentice position. The door didn’t even shut behind me before I laid my eyes on Kaden Merrick and stopped in my tracks. I was a goner.
The man of my dreams, in the flesh, right in front of my eyes.
Fate’s got a twisted sense of humor.
I don’t make friends easy—not that I wouldn’t want to, but it’s easier to keep people at arm’s length. But with Kaden, it was effortless. We just clicked, like it was meant to be.
Which is why crushing on him is a really bad idea.
Oh, and the fact that he’s straight. That too makes it ahellof a bad idea.
Kaden starts back up and I wince again. Getting a tattoo on my neck might not have been the smartest decision. This one hurts like hell.
“Secondly?” he says.
“Huh?”
“You said ‘first of all’, so what’s secondly?”
“I don’t have a secondly.”
He raises his brows, snickering. “No shit.”
“Why do you hate me so much?”
“Shut up,” he snorts. “I’ll fuck this up if I keep laughing.”
“So, stop laughing.”
“So, stop talking,” he says, shooting me a look, making me snort a laugh before I wince again.
“Almost done,” he mumbles.
“Had I known you were gonna be this slow, I would’ve asked—”
“Finish that sentence, I dare you.”
“—Diaz. I would’ve asked Diaz.”
He stops, scoots his chair back a little and stares at me, dead on.
“Take that back.”
I suck in my cheeks, raising my brows. “Or what?”
“You take that back and you apologize.”
We stare at each other for a beat before I shoot him a smile.
“Okay, I take it back. I would never trade you for Diaz, Kadey-babe.”
“Thank—”
“I mean, what would I even do with all the free time—ouch!” I laugh while rubbing a hand over my arm where he just punched me.
He shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. “If you want it quick and sloppy, be my fucking guest, go to Diaz,” he says, drenching a paper towel in green soap before he cleans up my new tattoo. “But if you want perfection, you come to me. That’s the game and you know it.”
