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“Let’s take a break,” I grunted, pulling my machine away from his back and placing it on the table covered in Saran Wrap. I’d have to replace the needle if we had a break, but I knew I needed to stretch my back out and take a break too.
“We can keep going,” Al said, turning his head to face me.
“Nah.” I disassembled my machine. “I need a break too. We have another hour to go yet, anyway.” I reached over and put some balm over what I’d already tattooed, wrapped him up, then pulled my gloves off. I stood and stretched my arms above my head, feeling my back crack from the force and nearly groaned at the sensation.
Al jumped down from the bed. “I’m gonna head outside for a smoke.” He reached into his pocket for his cigarettes, his moves jittery. “You coming?”
“I’ll come get some fresh air,” I said, instead of telling him I didn’t smoke. I’d tried them once when I’d been in high school and coughed my guts up. Besides, I was all about needing my lungs to work as effectively as they could because MMA training was something I needed to do to feel like me. Even though I hadn’t fought in years, going a week without training still felt wrong, like I was missing a piece of myself. “I’ll meet you out there,” I told Al as we headed toward the main club doors and toward the restrooms. I tilted my head toward them, and he nodded in understanding.
I did my business, then used the sink to stretch my back, feeling knots start to form. I’d always had trouble with my back from my fighting days, but after being thrown fifty feet when an IED went off when we were on patrol, it had been so much worse. I’d been one of the lucky ones, though. We’d lost four members of our unit that day. Four people whose families would never be the same again.
Staring in the mirror, I felt a black cloud start to descend over me. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, all I wanted to do was hide. After all the years I’d been home, it affected me as much as it did back then. If I closed my eyes, I could still hear gunshots ringing out as if I was back there. I could still feel the heat surrounding me, and the sweat beading on my forehead. The shouts coming from all directions ricocheted around my head, and I slammed my hands over my ears to try and drown them out. But my eyes…
My eyes didn’t move off my reflection.
I knew I wasn’t there, I knew that, but my mind wasn’t part of me at that moment. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there with my palms covering my ears and my breath coming in pants, but eventually, I shook my head and cleared the fog. I chanted over and over again, telling myself it wasn’t real. Turning the tap, I then gathered water in my palms and splashed my face, needing to make sure I was fully in the here and now. Maybe I did need the fresh air after all? I switched the tap off and forewent drying my hands, not wanting to hear the noise of the air dryer. I was on edge, and I wasn’t sure if it was because the pain was reminding me of what happened over there, or because I could sense it in Al so heavily.
The silence was deafening as I walked back into the club and took a right turn to the front doors. I pushed them open and winced as the sunlight hit me full force. We were still on the cusp of summer, so the sun was firmly with us even though it was already past seven. The club didn’t open until nine, so we had plenty of time to finish up.
“Hey,” I greeted Al and leaned against the wall next to him. His attention was focused on a car in the lot, one of only two, and the other one was mine. Al’s bike sat a few feet from the entrance, the sun glinting off the shiny metal. “What you looking at?”
He pointed toward the car, the smoke from his cigarette flowing over the top of his hand. “I can’t figure out whose car that is.” He frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Why are they sitting here when we don’t open for another couple hours?”
I shrugged. “Beats me.” I adjusted my stance and crossed my arms over my chest, causing my muscles to flex and the tattoos on my skin to dance. “Go see who it is if you’re that bothered.”
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Al took another draw from his smoke and darted over to the car as quick as lightning. I could only see the back of the car from here, so when he rapped his knuckles on the drivers’ window and a scream rang out, I rushed forward, instantly regretting telling Al to go and check it out. The incident in the bathroom had obviously blurred my brain because that was not a smart thing to say to him right then.
“L?” Al frowned as the car door flung open. “What the hell you doing here?”
“I’m eating,” a soft but firm voice whipped back at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing sneaking up on a girl who’s shoving a burger down her throat?”
I halted at the back of her car out of eyesight and felt my lips lifting at the way she was talking to him. Not many people spoke to a member of the club like that, but she sounded like she didn’t give a fuck.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know you’re eating a burger and not a serial killer looking to chop my head off?” Al responded, his tone serious.
“Ew.” I saw a hand wave in front of Al, wafting the smoke away. “Put that thing out.” A burger made an appearance in the air. “I’m eating, Al-droid.”
Al’s brows shot high on his forehead. “You did not just call me that.”
“And what if I did? Huh?” Al leaned closer, his features morphing into an expression I couldn’t read, and a second later, he took a draw of his smoke and blew it out in her face.
“You fucking fuck!” Al stumbled back, and I stepped into view as she bounced out of her car, slapping his chest. “You’re a dick. That was my only meal tod—” She cut herself off and stepped back, and I was amazed at how quickly she schooled her features. She spun around and nearly stumbled as she spotted me. My instincts kicked in, my arm reaching out to grab her.
“Fuck,” she whispered.
My hand clamped around her small wrist, my tan skin darker than her pale tone, and for some reason, I liked the contrast. My gaze slowly trailed from her feet and up to her face, and it was then I realized this was the girl from the club last week. The one who had caught my attention and not let go.
“You remember Lotus, right, Asher?” Al said, stepping toward us.
I kept my mouth closed and my hand on her arm as I stared into her eyes. They swirled with something I recognized, but as soon as I started to see more, she locked me out and shut herself off. But she didn’t move her wrist from my grip. She stayed there, her fingers twitching from the touch.
“Hi,” she whispered, and her hair blew over her face from the wind. My other hand jerked, wanting to move it off her face, and at the thought, I let her wrist go and backed away.
“Break’s over,” I growled at Al, but I didn’t know why I’d spoken like that. I’d already been on edge, and now this stripper was making the air swirl around us and my skin heat up. This was her job—to make men want her.
“You coming inside?” I heard Al ask as I made it to the front doors. I wasn’t sure what was said after that because I flung them open and went back into the main part of the club. I needed to concentrate on finishing his back piece and then getting back to the shop for my last client of the day. I’d worked every day for fifteen days straight and tomorrow was my day off. A day I needed.
