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Tattooing had never been like that with him. He’d never had a creative block when it came to putting ink to skin. Maybe it was because that medium was more of an art-on-demand type of situation. Clients came in with ideas and had visions of what they wanted done and he delivered that. Part of what made Seb a sought-after tattoo artist was his ability to read people and understand the feeling that they wanted to convey through the art they had permanently inked on their bodies.
That was a talent Ezra had in spades. He had a sixth sense for interpreting what his clients wanted. Seb remembered when his mentor told him that he had the same gift, and the reason he’d taken Seb under his wing at such a young age was that he saw that Seb had that ability. Ezra said that artistic skill could be taught, but having a sixth sense of knowing what people wanted was unteachable. You either had it or you didn’t.
Seb had it. But when it came to composing his own personal art, he had to be inspired or else the canvases remained blank.
The console lit up again displaying the message that he had a voicemail from Genesis.
“Do you need to check that?” Kennedy asked.
“No.”
“Is Genesis your girlfriend?”
He realized then that it was the first question relating to his romantic life she’d asked him. She’d asked him about every other aspect of his life on the trip home from Chicago, but not once had she asked him about his dating or relationship history.
“No, she’s not.”
Kennedy looked back out the window and he could read from her body language that she didn’t believe him. Or at least, she thought there was more to their relationship. The truth was, he and Genesis had hooked up in the past.
They’d met at an industry event and she’d come back to his place. When she saw the paintings he had around his place, that he truly never expected anyone to see, she talked him into letting her showcase them at one of her galleries. That was almost four years ago. Since then, he’d had several shows and he was starting to make a name for himself in the art world. And they hadn’t hooked up since that first night. Their relationship was purely professional now.
She’d actually just had a baby of her own with her wife Isabella.
“She is an art collector, and she owns several galleries.”
“Oh.” Kennedy nodded.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Seb offered even though she hadn’t asked.
He knew that it would be better for her to think that he did. What she wanted, he couldn’t give her. Unlike Dan or maybe that doctor that he’d seen her talking to, Seb didn’t check off all the boxes on her wish list for the perfect partner.
Seb’s fingers tightened and then loosened again on the steering wheel as he remembered the way Kennedy’s head fell back when she laughed at something that McDreamy or McSteamy, or whatever Laura’s sisters had called him, had said. Seeing that interaction was like getting kneed in the balls if his balls were his heart and it was the Terminator’s knee.
This jealousy, or whatever he was feeling over her, was not something he was happy about. He’d hoped that avoiding her this past week would have diluted her potency. It turned out it only made his attraction to her stronger.
His shoulders tensed as he shifted in the seat. Unlike the peace he’d felt earlier in the night, he felt on edge. Being this close to her, spending time with Kennedy again and not acting on what he was feeling for her was frustrating. He wasn’t used to repressing his emotions. Keeping all of his feelings bottled up as they kept increasing made him feel like a pressure cooker that was going to explode.
“I heard you got set up last week.”
“What?” he asked, snapping out of his internal agitation.
“Jessa told me about Amelia showing up for a massage you didn’t order.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” Seb shook his head as he grinned. “I thought maybe all those Needlepoint Mafia stories were just myths, or urban legends, but I guess not.”
She chuckled and hearing her laughter soothed the anxiety that he’d been feeling like a calming balm to his soul. “No, they’re definitely not myths or urban legends.”
“Have you ever been one of their targets?”
“Yep.” She said with a nod. “I have a few times.”
“Nothing ever stuck, huh?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
“What’s their batting average?”
“Their batting average?” she repeated.
