Hidden Depths (2 page)

All of a sudden, he got a terrible thought.

"You're not going to put something horrible on me, are
you? Nothing that says 'I suck cock' or 'I'm a dumbass' right?"

At that she laughed again. "Actually I hadn't thought
of that yet, but it's not a bad idea. Still want me to do this? You really
could go see Frank. He's very good. Not as good as me, but good enough."

"Nope, as long as you promise to stick to the design we
pick, I want you." He let that hang there, fully intending the double
entendre and wondering if she'd catch it.

Of course she did.

"Awww, that's sweet. Too bad I don't want you. But,
I'll do your ink. Tell me what you're thinking of and where. I'll draw up a
design and we can do the tattoo in a couple of days."

"Why not now? Tonight?"

"Afraid you'll change your mind?" she asked, the
dare dripping off every word. After a brief pause she continued, "That's
actually why I want you to wait. I figure you'll chicken out once you get home
and see Deb. I'm not really sure what's got your panties in a twist there,
lawyer boy, but I'm pretty sure you don't want a permanent reminder of
it."

How is it that he could hide his moods from even his closest
friends and family, yet Gia managed to call him on his bullshit? It wasn't the
first time, either. She'd been able to do that since the day he'd met her.

"I'm not changing my mind Gia. I want it done this
evening because I have time this evening. With my schedule, plus wedding plans,
I'm not entirely sure when I would be able to get back in here. So, since it
doesn't look like you're all that busy, let's draw something up and get it
done."

After another brief stare down, she nodded her head.
"Fine. Where were you looking to do this? The shoulder blade area is a
decent place to start. Not super painful and easily hidden under a shirt."

"Nope, left bicep, big enough to cover most of the
upper arm."

A quick raise of her eyebrows and a little smirk then she
shook her head. "Damn, you never do anything halfway, do you? One
condition... You never tell Deb I did this tattoo. Got it?"

Josh felt the smile light his face, the last little feeling
of tightness easing away. "Deal."

God, he looked amazing. He always looked good, in his fancy
suits and ties, but today he was dressed in an old Stanford T-shirt and faded,
worn out jeans. She was pretty sure no one in his family even knew he owned
clothes like these. She liked it so much better than the suits. His blue eyes a
sharp contrast to the messy dark brown hair. She knew he'd been in his Mustang
today, windows and top down, running hell bent for election. She was sure he
had no idea how much attention she paid to these little details, and if her
luck held, he'd never find out.

Gia still had no idea why he was here. Something had clearly
set him off today for him to even think about crossing the threshold of this
building, let alone actually getting inked. She knew that tattoos and piercings
were better than therapy for some people, herself included. Maybe this was his
first foray into that method of finding mental sanity. She should probably warn
him that it could become addictive. Somehow she didn't think Deb was going to
like even one tattoo, let alone covering his body with art work.

She watched as he flipped through a couple of albums,
looking at some of her work, finding things he liked. He finally decided to go
with a serpent on his left arm. Huge and done in full color. Shaking her head
again, she sat down and started sketching. Wednesday was always one of the
slowest days in the shop. She never even had Jasmine come in and man the desk
on Tuesdays. She usually used it for scheduled appointments when she would be
working on larger tattoos. Somehow, Josh had managed to show up with his odd
request when she had the afternoon wide open.

Making a snap decision, Gia flipped the sign to closed,
turned off the neon out front and locked the front door.

While she was dropping the blinds, she heard Josh asking,
"What's up? Why'd you lock up?"

Unable to resist the urge to tease him, she smirked and
asked, "What's the matter Josh, afraid I want to have my wicked way with
you?"

She waited for a response, expecting his face to turn beet
red, a shiver of discomfort, some sort of reaction. When he just stared at her,
his eyes boring into hers, she finally raised one shoulder in a half shrug,
"Just figured this'll take the rest of the day. It's after three now, and
I never do much business on Tuesday anyway. This way, we can do this
right."

She sat down next to him, ignoring the little bump in her
chest. She grabbed her sketch pad and started to draw out the serpent. She
couldn't resist one quick little jab. "A snake tattooed on a lawyer...
it's almost too much of a cliché."

"Okay, smartass."

"Better than being a dumbass." She looked over
just in time to catch the grin he immediately hid behind that annoyingly bland
expression he always wore.

"Okay, since we're stuck together for several hours,
why don't you tell me why you're here. What happened that brought about the
decision to do this today?" She watched his normally shuttered expression
turn pensive, his eyes squinting, little frown lines appearing beside his full
lips.

"Nothing."

"Uh huh, sure... nothing."

"Look, if we need to make nice for awhile, let's talk
about something else."

"Sure, so why do you smile when I insult you, then hide
it so I don't see it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just now. I said it was better than being a dumbass. You
grinned, then hid it behind that stupid stoic expression you favor so much of
the time. I'm not entirely sure which reaction I find more confusing...
laughing when I insult you or hiding it. So, explain both."

"I don't wear a stoic expression."

"Yes, you do. Constantly. At least around me. You
always look a little constipated."

"I do not look constipated."

His voice was getting a little louder, and even more stuffy
sounding. Good. She was making him angry. She had no idea why she liked making
him mad so much, but she truly enjoyed it. "Well, maybe it's not
constipated so much as looking like you have a giant stick up your ass."

"You know what Gia, if I do look like that, it's
probably because I'm trying not to yell at you. My mother always said if you
can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. And, I have a very
difficult time thinking of anything nice around you. The 'constipated'
expression you're referring to is me biting my tongue."

Now he was yelling. Not loudly, but he was clearly angry and
no longer stoic. She stopped sketching and turned to him wearing a huge grin.
"Hi, Josh. It's nice to see the real you finally make an appearance. Much
better than the bland version. So, here is what I was thinking of for your
design. What do you think so far? I still need to add some details, and a
background, but this is the basic shape. Do you like it?"

Josh's glare turned to a quick look of confusion followed by
laughter. A deep, honest belly laugh.

"How do you do that? You infuriate me, insult me, then
make me laugh all in thirty seconds."

She shrugged, "It's a gift. Now, look at the sketch. Is
this what you were looking for?"

Once she got his initial approval she went back to
sketching. Since she was working on the details, she focused on those, leaving
Josh to wander around the shop for awhile. When she got the sketch done, she
made her copy and proceeded to trace it all out in purple ink.

When she was done, she got everything ready, prepped her
station, new needles, gloves, baggies, wipes, etc. All set up she turned back
to Josh.

"You really want to go through with this?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay... strip."

Chapter 2

At the command to strip, Josh froze in mid stride. "I'm
sorry, did you say strip?"

He had no idea what his expression was, but it was clearly
amusing her because she laughed again. That deep rich laugh that always drove
him to distraction.

"Yes Josh, take off your shirt. It would be a little
hard to ink you through cotton. I could shove the sleeve up, but it's easier if
it's just off and out of the way. Granted it's been a while, but I'm sure you
have nothing to be ashamed of and it's just us in here. Let's see it, lawyer
boy. Unless sitting in an office has made you soft."

She was obviously taunting him. He knew she was trying to
get a reaction out of him, just like she always did. And, like always, his ego
made him rise to the bait. He stripped off the old T-shirt and even kicked off
his sandals. The only pair of Birkenstocks he owned. Wearing just his old jeans
made this feel almost intimate despite the fact that they were in her place of
business.

He wasn't entirely sure what little imp made him ask,
"So, do you have to strip too?"

He eyed her from head to toe. She was also in worn jeans,
faded and ripped from wear not design, black combat boots covered her feet. Her
shirt was a fitted black tank top that seemed to lace up the front. He wondered
if it would actually come apart if he tugged that string. Trying to redirect
his wandering thoughts before they started to manifest in more physical ways,
he finally looked up into her face.

Her normally cheerful, if somewhat sarcastic, expression had
been replaced with some unreadable look. Was that desire he saw in her eyes?
Whatever it was caused an almost physical sensation in his gut before she shook
it off. The snarky little grin he was used to returned.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking." She turned to the
table beside her workstation and pulled off all her rings and bracelets. Then,
with a quick glance at him she pulled the laces on her boots, kicking them off
to the side and stuffing her socks down inside them. "Barefoot looked too
tempting to pass up."

She patted the table then looked at him expectantly.
"So, let's get you on the bed."

Josh gulped, trying to remember to breathe. As he climbed up
on the table he told himself that she wasn't really flirting with him, it was
just her natural personality. She was treating him like a client. Trying to
take his mind off what she was about to do, to put him at ease. He started to
mentally run down the list of why she would never actually flirt with him; she
didn't like him, they had nothing in common, they hardly ever even got along,
attraction was based on mutual likes and dislikes, and above all else, he was
engaged to her friend.

Thinking about Deb brought back that tight feeling. The one
he'd been running from all day. It wasn't her really. He loved Deb, he honestly
did. It was just everything she represented. Marriage, kids, settling down.
Living the life his parents expected. The life they had carved out for him.
He'd known the plan since before he could talk. With a few small exceptions he
had toed the line his entire life, ignoring all his personal wants and desires.
For some reason, lately, the line felt more and more like a noose. He sighed,
mentally shrugging it off. He was just having normal pre-wedding jitters.

He sat patiently while Gia shaved his arm, cleaned his skin
and laid on the outline. He approved the positioning in the mirror and waited
while she loaded the first color.

After the prolonged silence, he was startled when she asked,
"Are you ready?"

He nodded, settling in for the expected pain. Now that the
work was beginning, she decided to start getting chatty again.

"So, what were you thinking about? While I got you
ready. You seemed pretty deep in thought."

She was always too observant. He sighed, "Nothing,
really. Nothing I can explain anyway." At least nothing I can tell you.

"Well, give it a shot. Pretend I'm your local
bartender. Aren't they supposed to be like free therapists or some shit like
that?"

"Yeah, but the local bartender is not someone who is
directly involved in my life."

"Aaaahh, so it's about Deb. Or, your impending
nuptials."

"Nuptials... who even says that anymore?"

Gia laughed, deep and throaty, and Josh felt his body
responding to the sound. Oh yeah. There was absolutely no way he could tell her
about that. Deciding to once again take the chicken shit route, he opted to
tell her about everything else. He would just leave Deb out of it.

"It's not Deb, not really. It's just been one of those
days. Ya know? The kind that just makes it feel like everything is closing in
around you. You have to do something to break loose, to shake off the
pressure."

"So you thought it would be a good idea to get a
tattoo? There are a lot less permanent ways to express your freedom. You
could've gotten your nipple pierced or something. Then, when you're done
playing the rebel you could simply take it out. Besides, I thought that's what
the Mustang was for... breaking loose."

Josh couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped. "I
forgot you knew about that."

"Seriously Josh? I know you and I don't get along all
that well now, but I was the one that helped you find the damn thing."

She actually sounded hurt by his careless comment.
"That's not what I meant, Gia. I remembered that you helped me track it
down. It's just that I've gotten so used to keeping that part of me a secret
that I forgot anyone knew. Except Blake."

"Except Deb. She knows about it right?"

"I don't think so. At least we've never talked about
it. I keep it at the storage unit. Maybe she does... I've never deliberately
kept it from her. I'm sure she does."

"You should take her for a ride in that car. It is
seriously sexy. I can't imagine it wouldn't be fun all the way around."

Josh looked up just in time to see Gia wiggle her eyebrows
at him with a sexy little twist of her lips, making sure he knew precisely what
'fun' she was talking about. He laughed at her, relaxing despite the pain in
his arm. He had forgotten just how well they could get along, when they weren't
sniping at each other.