Helena Hunting - Inked Armour

I stormed across the lot, my head a mess. I wanted to go back in there and punch Cross in his smug face. But that wasn’t an option because then I’d be arrested for assaulting an officer. I’d acted like a complete asshole in there. Tenley was probably mortified.

When I got to the car, I leaned against the side and crossed my arms over my chest, working to get a handle on my emotions. I was way too aggravated. Cross had that effect on me. Most of the time I could keep a lid on my temper, but he and Sienna made me crazy.

A minute or two later, Tenley came out of the building. I met her halfway and put an arm around her as soon as she was close enough to touch.

“I’m sorry I lost it in there.”

Tenley returned the embrace, burrowing into my chest. “It’s okay. Cross was antagonistic, as usual.”

I helped her into the car, then went around to the driver’s seat. “I wish I’d handled that better.”

“Next time we go, you’ll be better prepared. It’s been an intense morning, and I’m sure you didn’t expect to run into Officer Cross. It definitely didn’t help, and neither did his judgment.” Tenley fingered the sleeve of her coat, picking at a loose thread.

“The judgment I’m used to. Sometimes it gets a little tedious, though.” I let my head drop back against the seat. “You know I would never raise a hand to you, right?”

Tenley’s eyes went wide. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

“I’m just making sure.”

“Cross said that to wind you up.” She took my hand. “Do you want me to cancel my plans with the girls?”

“Why would you do that?”

“It’s been a difficult morning.”

I wasn’t sure if I should be embarrassed or grateful that my girlfriend was so concerned about me. “That’s cool of you to offer, but I have clients lined up this afternoon.”

Besides, as enticing as the thought was, if I stayed home with Tenley, I was liable to do a lot more than talk. I put the car into gear. Her phone chimed in her purse. She rooted around in the oversize bag, then checked the e-mail.

“Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Professor Calder wants to meet with me tomorrow morning.”

“What time?”

“Ten.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“If you want.”

I expected more of a fight. Usually she wanted to deal with things on her own.

“I think he’s sleeping with one of his students.”

I pretended to be surprised, even though I wasn’t. “Why do you think that?”

“Because I saw a girl go into his office and there were . . . un-professional noises.”

I’d already seen the same thing. I had to wonder how stealthy this jerk-off thought he was being. Or how above the rules he believed himself to be. “I won’t be waiting in the car.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

I did not get to spend the night with Tenley. Lisa and Sarah, hijackers that they were, stole her from me. Which meant I had to hang out with the guys instead. Normally that would be fine, but the day had been a roller coaster and the only thing that got me through was the plan to spend the night with Tenley.

So the change in plans was a little hard to take. I would have used guilt to get my way, but I could tell she already felt bad. She said they had a little project they needed to finish before the end of the week. She wouldn’t tell me what it was, but promised to make it up to me tomorrow night. When she offered to describe the ways she planned to do that, I declined, figuring it would make it worse. Now I wished I’d taken her up on it.

We ended up at Chris’s place, since he had the most beer in his fridge. I planned to bail after a few, on the chance that the girls’ night ended early enough for Tenley to come over.

His place was in a dodgy neighborhood in a sketchy low-rise building. Everything from the linoleum on the floors to the avocado-colored stove in his kitchen was outdated and ugly. The only new things in the place were his couch, the massive flat-screen fixed to the wall, and the gaming system set up on the coffee table. Chris was all about comfort and electronics.

Chris should have been able to afford a better place with the money he made working at Inked Armor. But a good chunk of his paycheck went to help out his family. Chris was loyal to a fault. His father practically disowned him by the time we opened Inked Armor, but Chris refused to let his mom and sister suffer as a result. From what I knew, his dad was a real loser. Because of that I didn’t get on him about his crappy apartment.

After using his germ-infested bachelor-pad bathroom, I returned to the living room to find him and Jamie watching porn. I dropped down on the couch and waited for the good parts: the blow-job scene or the nipple sucking, or the penetration from behind. That didn’t happen, though, because it actually wasn’t porn—it was some period drama with a lot of nudity.

“What the shit is this?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but Jamie said he wanted to watch it, and there’s tits, so I said fine,” Chris replied.

Jamie’s phone went off and he fumbled with it, his eyes half on the screen and half on the message coming though. “Holy fu—” He shoved the phone back in his pants, a massive grin on his face.

“What’s going on?”

“The girls went lingerie shopping, and Lisa just sent me a picture of one of her purchases. They’re all at Tenley’s place now.” Jamie shifted and tried to rearrange himself inconspicuously.

“I don’t want to know,” I said into my beer.

“Don’t worry, man, you’ll get to see whatever Tee picked up later tonight. Unless they all decide to have a sleepover.” Chris clapped me on the shoulder. “But one night without getting any won’t kill you.”

I choked on a mouthful of beer. He and Jamie stared at me, waiting.

“We’re, uh, easing back into things,” I mumbled. I took another large swig, focusing intently on the bare ass on the TV.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Jamie asked.

I shot him an irritated glare. He and Lisa talked about everything, and I was sure she’d told him all about the “take things slow” conversation.

“It means what it means.”

“Christ almighty! You haven’t fucked since she came back? But it’s been more than a week!” Chris looked as if his head might explode from the concept.

“Shut up, man. I never said that.” I wasn’t about to share that we’d only had sex once, right after she came back. That would soon change.

Chris gave me an incredulous look, but Jamie just smiled and patted my back all dadlike.

“We’ve had a lot of shit to work out,” I said defensively.

“It’s cool, H,” Chris said, trying to be supportive. “I didn’t push it with Sarah in the beginning, ’cause it took me almost two months to get her to go out with me. I didn’t want her to think all I wanted was to get into her pants. We didn’t get naked until the fourth date.”

For Chris, dating usually meant sex, and then possibly pizza or fast food. That he’d taken Sarah on real dates to restaurants that required a reservation was unheard of.

“Can we talk about something else? All this sharing makes me want to try on dresses and get my balls waxed.”

“Sure, bro.” Chris went back to watching the period porn.

It dawned on me that Chris never let anything go so easily. He’d usually capitalize on the opportunity to razz the hell out of me. He also liked to impart the finer details of his sexual conquests. “How are things going with Sarah, anyway? You spend an awful lot of time with her but don’t say much.”

He rolled his beer bottle between his palms, pondering the question. “She’s cool, and a closet hippie. All laid-back, you know?”

My experiences with Sarah had been anything but laid-back.

“I hope Lisa got more of the frilly ones,” Jamie said, staring unseeingly at the TV screen.

“You thinking about wearing those?” Chris ribbed.

“They make my ass look good,” Jamie quipped back.

I couldn’t tell if he was serious, but the image was in my head and I couldn’t get it out now.

“Okay, that’s it, I’m going home.” I drained the last of my beer and stood up.

“I call BS,” Chris said as I headed for the door.

“Let us know how it goes,” Jamie said, relaxing deeper into the couch.

“How what goes?” I asked.

“Good luck with your drive-by at Tee’s. Come back when you get shut down by the girls.” Chris flashed me a grin.

I flipped him off and pulled the door closed behind me.

The walk home from his place was brisk. I stood outside the back door to Tenley’s apartment, debating whether I should call first. I hadn’t been to her place since she’d come back, and I was a little nervous about going up there. I gave myself a mental kick in the ass and decided surprise might work in my favor.

Lisa came to the door when I knocked, opening it the three inches the chain lock allowed. “Well, look who it is. This is a sausage-free party, no boys allowed.”

“Hi. Nice to see you, too. Sure, I’d love it if you’d get Tenley for me.” Lisa was wearing pj pants with cartoon snowmen on them and a T-shirt.

“You’re not coming in.”

“Is it Hayden?” Tenley asked from the other side of the door.

“Hi, kitten, Lisa won’t let me in.”

There were some giggles, followed by the rustle of paper. The door closed in my face, and when it reopened, Lisa threw it wide. Tenley and Sarah were sitting on the floor of Tenley’s living room, surrounded by rolls of wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and tape. Sarah was also dressed in festive pj pants and a T-shirt. One of Chris’s, actually. I could tell because it was more of a muumuu than a shirt on her.