Page 109 of Broken
“I never would have expected the Nurse Nightingale act from you.”
“You call this an act?” I arch a brow.
She squeezes her eyes shut for a second. “Sorry. Apparently I left my manners at the bottom of the toilet last night. Thank you. This is helping.”
I give her my best ‘I told you so’ look. She hides a smile by looking down at what is left of her food. My curiosity gets the better of me. It’s something I’ve been thinking about since she sent her texts.
“What brought this on? It wasn’t about everything we’ve done, or talked about, is it?”
For a moment she looks like she doesn’t understand the question. Then it dawns on her. Us talking about her issues with her asshole of a mother and ex-husband. And me admitting I am attached to a motorcycle club.
“No, nothing like that,” she picks up a piece of avocado with her fingers and pops it into her mouth. “Sin has been away for a week and wanted to catch up.”
I have never been interested in hearing anything about girl talk. Something about the way she is avoiding looking at me right now piques my interest.
If the way her friend reacted to me at the coffee house the other day is anything to go by, I can guess what they were talking about.
I’m a private guy and hate people getting into my business. Having them talking about me should rile me up. In the past, and with anyone else, I would have been irritated and argued about keeping my shit out of their mouths.
Strangely, knowing Calli is talking about me to her friends isn’t bothering me so much. Huh…
“I never got a chance to thank you,” she says in a quiet voice.
“For what?”
“The other night. For listening and not judging.”
“There is nothing to judge you about, Calli.”
“It’s still appreciated,” she lifts her eyes to meet mine.
The uncertainty shouldn’t kill me, but it does. It also makes me completely unable to come up with a response. No one has thanked me for something like this before, at least anyone who isn’t one of the four people I work with.
We’re both uncomfortable now and I kind of hate it. Calli gets up to clear the dishes. Making myself useful I clean up the mess on the coffee table and meet her back in the kitchen.
“How is the tattoo today?” I ask.
“It’s good, a little itchy,” she makes a face.
“That’s normal. Can I see?” Calli sucks in her bottom lip. “Purely professional,” I add.
She hums but sets down the dish towel and lifts her T-shirt. I’m not expecting her to remove it, but she does. She’s wearing a soft cotton bra which isn’t tight on her sternum. It’s healing fine, not at the scabbing stage yet.
I take my time assessing the tattoo. I’m never disappointed in the work I do, and this tattoo is no exception. It had to be my best work, considering who I was putting it on. She trusted me, that meant I couldn’t fuck it up.
“Have you moisturized today?”
Her expression turns guilty. She says she’ll do it and disappears to the bathroom. It takes five seconds for me tofollow. Calli hasn’t closed the door, so I take that as an invitation. She has pulled the bra off and when she sees me in the reflection, she holds it up to cover herself.
“Need a hand?”
“I’m not sure I’m in the right frame of mind.”
“All I asked was if you need help with the tattoo, Calli. Where did your mind go?”
“You’re such an ass,” she mutters.
“Here,” I walk over and pick up the tube.
