Page 75 of Spring Break Fling

“I don’t have the luxury of later,” Samantha snapped, folding her arms. Her icy tone made it clear she wasn’t leaving without a fight.

This was how she always was. Just so fucking obnoxious. She couldn’t just be a normal person.

Diego glanced over from his booth, his eyebrows raised in silent question. Jessie made her way over, trying to diffuse the situation. “Samantha, maybe you can wait outside? Nikko’s with a client right now⁠—”

“Don’t patronize me,” Samantha spat, cutting Jessie off with a glare.

I did not want to have this argument in front of Hannah or anyone else. I was so damn tired of Samantha’s short temper. “Samantha, enough. We’ll talk. Just calm down.”

Hannah was already pulling her sleeve back down, covering the tattoo I hadn’t even started fixing. I walked a few steps away. As expected, Samantha followed. Hannah quietly stood, doing her best to be as small as possible. I could see the tension in her jaw.

“Wait,” I said. “This will just take a minute.”

“It’s fine,” Hannah said quickly. “I can come back later. You two clearly have something to work out.”

“Hannah, wait⁠—”

“It’s okay,” she insisted, her voice tight. “Call me when I can come back?”

I nodded reluctantly. She walked out without looking back. Guilt twisted in my gut as I watched her go. Samantha had a talent for ruining things, and this was no exception. The last thing I needed was Hannah getting a peek at my dirty laundry.

I turned to Samantha, my patience worn thin. “Back lot. Now.”

She followed me outside. The sound of her heels clicking against the hard floor grated on my nerves. I shoved open the door hard enough to jerk it off the hinges. As soon as the door closed behind us, she slapped me hard across the face. The sting radiated through my cheek, but it was the sheer audacity that made my blood boil.

“What the fuck?” I growled, pressing a hand to my face.

“How dare you!” she hissed, her eyes blazing.

“What did I do this time?”

“You called the cops on Greg!” she shouted, her voice dripping with outrage.

I barked out a laugh. “Your roided-out boyfriend? Yeah, I did. He broke into the shop and stole from us. Probably because you told him to. You’re lucky I didn’t point the cops in your direction, too. You put him up to it. I know you, Samantha. You are hellbent on revenge for something you have zero reason to seek revenge for.”

Her face twisted in mock offense. “I had nothing to do with that! You’re the one who provoked him by bragging about tattooing my scorpion on my thigh! What did you think was going to happen, Nikko? You asshole.”

I took a step back, crossing my arms. “Oh, so now it’s my fault your psycho boyfriend can’t handle a little honesty? Get real, Samantha.”

“You’re unbelievable, you know that? You think you can just mess with people’s lives and there won’t be consequences?”

“Consequences?” I scoffed. “You’re talking about consequences when you’re the one sending your goon after my business? That’s rich.”

Samantha stopped pacing, turning to glare at me. “He’s not a goon, and you’re the one who started this by taking things too far!”

“Taking things too far?” I repeated incredulously. “You showed up at my fucking work demanding I come by and get some shit that could have been tossed. You turned this into a soap opera. You thought you were going to make me jealous or some shit.”

“I did no such thing!”

“You are a spoiled, bratty, selfish manipulative snake,” I said with disgust.

“You’re a bastard.” She spun on her heel and slithered right back into the shop. “You fucked up this time, Nikko!”

“Samantha, don’t⁠—”

But she didn’t listen. Instead, she started grabbing anything within reach and throwing it. Ink bottles, machines, clipboards—all went flying.

“Are you kidding me?” Diego shouted, running toward her.