Page 7 of Epidermis

“Perhaps I could cook for you again soon,” Konrad offered as they walked toward the door. “Next time I’ll be a proper host and offer you wine. I’m just waiting for my imports to arrive.”

Next time.

“No, no, that’s fine. I’ve been very well thanked for piercing your ear. We’re all good.”

“I did not offer out of obligation. I enjoyed your company this evening.”

“Oh. Thanks. You too.” Jasper opened the door and gave Konrad a jerky nod. “Good night.”

“Good night, Jasper.”

As soon as he was alone on the sidewalk, Jasper slapped both hands to his face and slowly pulled them down. He probably seemed like such an asshole. Konrad had been nothing but gracious, undaunted by Jasper’s less than friendly demeanor, and inexplicably wanted to do this again. And Jasper had avoided agreeing to it with about as much grace as a cat scrambling not to fall off the edge of a countertop.

Well. At least he probably didn’t have to worry about Konrad showing back up, after the way the night had gone.

three

Konrad was back.

Again.

Jasper was in his fifth hour of working on a full leg sleeve. The line work had healed and his client was back for shading, which for Jasper’s work, entailed packing a lot of black—not so much shading as it was total saturation. It was time consuming. He’d shed his long-sleeved overshirt, wearing only a black tank top and his gloves now, since even his need to be covered was eventually defeated by leaning over someone else’s body heat for hours on end. His client had been asleep for an hour or so, allowing Jasper to slip deep into the zone, a place where even the loud music was a distant hum. He was completely focused.

So when he stood up to stretch and saw Konrad in the waiting area, he had no idea how long the man had been there. He dragged his eyes toward Hiyori, who raised her hands in surrender. “I told him you’d be awhile. He said he would wait. I was going to tell you when you were done.”

Hiyori only interrupted him and disturbed his focus when she had to, which he appreciated. But goddammit.

Jasper finished with his client, cleaning him up and then applying many sheets of translucent Saniderm to cover the newly shaded tattoo. “You know the drill,” he said rather than citing the aftercare spiel.

“Sure do. Appreciate it, brother.”

There was a crisp hundred-dollar bill next to Jasper’s computer when the man was gone. He must have put it there when Jasper was throwing his gloves away. Jasper was tucking it into his wallet when Konrad approached, hands clasped behind his back, watching what Jasper was doing with curiosity.

“Forgive me, I did not realize it was customary to tip for such services,” Konrad said, stopping outside the booth. Respecting Jasper’s space, as much as one could claim to after showing up there unannounced. “I’ll have to make it up to you.”

Jasper tossed his wallet into the desk drawer and looked at Konrad with thinly veiled disbelief. “So you weren’t already here to harass me about having dinner again? And that guy tipping me didn’t just supply you with a better excuse than you had originally?”

“What would be so bad about that? As I said, I enjoyed your company.”

Hiyori wasn’t watching them, but Jasper knew she was listening, and he knew the other two artists and Shariah probably were too. The back of his neck prickled and burned with discomfort. “You can’t just show up to my job to coerce me back to your restaurant.” Jasper crossed his arms, and Konrad’s eyes followed the motion with something too close to appreciation for comfort. “It’s unprofessional.”

“If you provide me with the means to contact you outside your place of business, I promise not to do so again. Hand on heart.”

Jasper gave a choked, startled laugh. “Are you asking for my number?” he hissed, as if there was any hope of this conversation remaining private. The music had suspiciously been turned down since they started talking.

“Yes.”

Jasper looked at the ceiling with a passing regret for never believing in God. Otherwise he might have found some solace up there. As it was, he was alone with this relentless man. “Fine. You can contact me to coordinate one more dinner, and then kindly lose my number.” He held his hand out for Konrad’s phone so he could add himself as a contact.

Jasper Hayes. The inclusion of the last name reinforced a much-needed sense of formality.

Konrad smiled. “I don’t get a contact photo?”

“Please leave.”

Even Jasper didn’t know why he was being quite so rude, but Konrad inclined his head as if Jasper had simply bid him a good day, and left as he was asked. Jasper sat in his chair and spun in a slow circle. He had his face buried in his hands but he could feel multiple pairs of eyes boring into him. He hauled his face up from his palms and found Hiyori, Shariah, James and fucking River staring from their various corners of the shop.

Every co-worker he had. Just… staring.