Gravity (Artistic Pricks Ink Book 1) (15 page)

Yanking a hand through my hair, I stare at my best friend as he watches Shelby and Ki leave the room. His eyes locked on Shelby’s ass. I wait until I hear the door to my office click shut, not wanting the girls to hear me rake Mitch’s ass, if possible. I wasn’t shocked when Skinner called, but I’m not impressed either. This shit is bad for business and bad for all of us as a whole. We’re a family and this shit is pulling at the threads that holds us together. Being at each other all the time is no way to live. This stops now.

“What’s your problem?” I ask when he says nothing.

“It’s nothing, okay? Just lay the hell off me.” Mitch replies, coming off distant. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he blows out a breath. “I’m sorry, okay? I guess I just lost it. She pushes my fuckin’ buttons.”

Nodding, I turn toward the office. “Okay, you’re sorry. Fine,” I repeat, mocking his tone. “Thing is, you can’t run around blowing up at everyone. It’s not the answer any more than the endless booze and getting kicked out of strip clubs every night. You can’t keep running.”

“Back off Luke. I’m warning you,” he snaps, closing the distance between us. “I’m. Fine.”

“Sure you are,” I reply, sarcasm dripping from every word. “You push and push, trying to keep everyone from getting too close to you. You don’t want anyone to see how vulnerable you really are. You’re broken, Mitch, and you’d rather die than ever admit that shit.”

“Luke,” Mitch warns, his fists clenching at his sides.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of in admitting that your hurting, Mitch. It doesn’t make you weak. Becky isn’t standing here to say it, so I will. It’s time to shape up.”

“Don’t.” He grounds out at the mention of her name, but I continue.

“Whatcha gonna do, Mitch? Huh?” I ask getting up in his face. “Gonna get in my face and yell at me too? You wanna beat my ass because I mentioned
her
name?”

“Fuck you, Luke.” He growls, shoving me. “You think you’re so damn perfect?”

“Oh, now we’re getting somewhere,” I shout, shoving him right back. Mitch needs to break, to feel the hurt he never let himself feel. “Didn’t you say the other night, that since you’re my friend, it’s your job to call me on my shit? To bust my balls about it? Well, here we go.” Gesturing around me, I make it clear I am done with this shit. It’s time for Mitch to get a wake-up call. “This is my shop. If you won’t listen to your friend, then listen to the one running
our
business. Shelby is right, Mitch. You’re losing it,” I ground out angrily. “Are you drunk when you are laying ink in my shop?”

“No!” He shouts defensively, rearing back a fist.

“Go on and do it,” I encourage, turning my jaw to give him a better shot at me. “If it will make you feel better, swing away.” Stretching out my arms in invitation, I wait. Mitch’s eyes widen in shock. “One day you’ll realize taking all that frustration out on the people who care about you won’t do anything but more damage. There’s nothing good about living in this self-imposed solitude where you drown in mistakes and memories,” I tell him, dropping my arms to my sides. “Go upstairs and sleep this off. Don’t even think about clocking in for a shift unless you’re sober.”

Turning on my heel, I sigh. “Mitch, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t push you,” I say before heading down the hallway to my office.

Walking into the office, I see Ki and Shelby sitting on the couch. “He okay?” Shelby asks, meeting my eyes, worry etched across her face. “I’m sorry.”

“This had to happen,” I admit, sagging to my desk chair. “He’s off the clock. Skinner will be back soon from grabbing dinner,” I continue. “Since it’s a week day, we shouldn’t need Charlie.”

“I’ll hang around for a couple hours longer, just in case.” She nods, pushing to her feet. “I’ve got some paperwork up front to get keyed in and filed.”

Shelby stops in the doorway, her shoulders slump as she sighs. “I hate this shit.” Though her voice is soft, I still hear the words. They cut deep, because as much as this had to happen, I hate it too.

The door clicks closed and I bury my face in my hands, exhaling loudly. My shoulders are so heavy right now they feel like they weigh a thousand pounds. I am being crushed under the weight of it all and I just need to breathe.

I feel Ki come stand behind me, her hands glide down my shoulders before sliding down my arms. Her fingers dig into my biceps then move back up to my shoulders. Pressing down she digs at the knots from all the tension. “Ah,” I groan. “That’s nice.”

“Mhm.” She replies, her fingers working closer to my collar bone.

Ki leans down, her hands brushing over my chest, her thumbs running over my piercings. “I’m sorry about your friend.” She whispers into my ear. “Shelby told me he’s been through a lot.”

“Yeah,” I choke out, knowing that the only thing that even compares to his pain has been watching him go through it and know there is nothing I can do to ease it. I feel helpless and I’m not okay with that at all. It’s my job to fix things, to make things better. Ever since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve done for everyone I care about. I can’t do that here and it kills me. I feel out of control, but right now, Ki is giving me something to hold onto. She gives me an escape.

“Tell me what to do, Luke.” She whispers, turning the chair around. My hands fall away so that all I see is her. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she straddles me in the chair.

“You’re already doing it,” I reply, because, damn, she is so easy to just lose myself in. My hands slide down her back, resting just above her ass. I could easily escape everything that lies heavily on my mind and dive into her. “The funny thing is, you don’t even have to try.”

“Come on.” She smiles, and I damn near melt in the chair. Leaning down, she brushes her lips over mine. Pulling her flush against me, I try to deepen the kiss. Instead, Ki pulls away completely. “All of this will still be here tomorrow for you to deal with. Life doesn’t go away. No matter what we do, we have to deal with the ugly that lies in-between the good stuff, but by stepping away you can come back to it with a clear prospective. Let’s take a breather.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, yanking my keys from my pocket.

Ki turns her head, smiling at me over her shoulder. “Let’s take a drive.” She teases. “Time to get
you
back in the right mindset.”

I can’t help grin at her using my words from earlier. Watching her ass in the tiny shorts she has on, I follow her up the hall. “Shelby, I’m headin’ out.” I call out from the door. “You need me, you call.”

“Sorry Luke, I can’t hear you.” She shouts back. “You’re already gone.”

“Does the top work?” Kionna asks, slipping into the ‘Cuda.

“It does.” I reply, unfastening the clasps to prove it. “Topless drives last for hours though, Ki. Are you prepared for that?”

She shrugs, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Give me all you’ve got.”

Once I’ve got the top down and secured, I climb into the driver’s seat and start the car. The ‘Cuda roars to life, the vibrations of the engine centering me. Reaching between us, I toss a hat to Ki. I grin, revving the engine loudly as she slips it onto her head. Her eyes widen, the smile on her face is face splitting. “Hang on to somethin’ Dollface, I’m about to show you what this bad bitch can really do.”

Whipping out of the parking space, I roar out onto the road, ready to give her room to run. Catching the yellow light, I whip the car onto the exit ramp for the highway, toward the desert, making Ki squeal. Her giggles fill the air as we speed away from the bright lights of the city. Her laughter is probably the best sound I have heard in a long time. It makes me feel lighter. Ki is right; all the problems with Mitch and the shop will all be there waiting for me tomorrow. Right now, I want my escape.

Reaching over, Ki turns the radio up loud. Taking her hand in mine, I place them both on the shifter. The street lights fly by us in a blur, the car embracing each curve and bump like an attentive lover. One song fades into another and another, as Kionna sings along softly to the ones she knows.

“Pull off there.” Ki shouts, pointing to a turn off.

Nodding, I turn onto the gravel one lane road. “You takin’ me out here to bury me?” I ask, teasing her. “I didn’t bring a shovel, woman.”

“I found this place a few months ago. I come out here sometimes before sunrise to clear my head.” She replies, smacking my arm.

The road empties out into what looks like a deserted gravel parking lot. There’s a rickety looking building and some sort of half rotten wooden fencing. Taking a look around, I pull up beside the fence and park the car. “So now you’ve got me here.” I say, turning to face her. “What next?”

Looking around there’s nothing in front of us but miles of deserted land. It’s peaceful, but the last place I would’ve chosen. I don’t like silence. I need white noise in the background, people to focus on or my mind never stops running. “I come out here for the quiet, the wide open space.” Turning in the seat, Ki smiles. “It gives me room to think shit through,” she shrugs. “Sometimes problems and everyday life seem so huge that I’ll never get around them, then I come out here and they don’t seem so big after all.”

“That’s very deep,” I reply.

Ki nods, “It’s true, though. Look at the city,” she explains, pointing to the lights off in the distance. “Las Vegas is one of the biggest cities in the world; but, from here, it doesn’t seem so intimidating. It’s all about perspective when you face something, and knowing when to put space there is essential.” Leaning down she turns up the radio. “Although, so is knowing when to say ‘fuck it all’ for a night too.”

Leaping from the car, Ki runs around the car to my side. “What are you doing?” I chuckle. “Is there another spider?”

Ki’s gaze hardens. The fact that she looks around just in case, isn’t lost on me though. “Har har, smartass. Come on.” Opening the door, she grabs my hand. “I love this song and you’re going to dance with me while we forget all about anything other than right here, right now.”

“You make it sound so simple,” I whisper. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pull her body closer. Her hips sway to the beat as she leads me in front of my car.

“Luke,” she purrs, looking up into my eyes. “I need it to be that simple tonight. Shut up and kiss me.”

Growling low in my throat; I rip the cap from her head, tossing it to the ground, and take her mouth with mine. Doing as she said, I say fuck it all and let myself get lost in her. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, I let go and toss everything in my head out into the wide open space around us. For the first time, in I don’t know how long, I’m learning to let go and live. And damn, it feels good.

While sitting on the couch in Luke’s office, Shelby and I could hear Mitch and Luke argue. She didn’t give me all the details, but enough to know that Mitch has been through the deepest parts of hell in the last year. Luke wants to help him, but when you lose your heart like that, sometimes you don’t want it found again. That pain hurts so bad you can’t stand the sound of your own heartbeat. The weight of it all was all over Luke’s face. When he buried his face in his hands, I couldn’t stand it. My heart was breaking for him. This is something Luke can’t do anything about and, from the looks of it, he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

I had to comfort him somehow, to ease that pain. I wanted nothing more than to see him relax again, which meant getting him out of there for a while. The last thing I expected was to end up here. I’ve never shared this place with anyone, but bringing Luke here felt right. When I spotted the turn off, there was just no other choice. I need this tonight just as much as he does. To let go, to let the world disappear. I don’t know how it’s possible, but Luke does that for me. I forget Sabrina and all the bullshit going on in life, whatever that may be, and I’m just me.

Luke’s hips sway against mine while he kisses me hungrily, his hands holding me tightly to him. My fingers slide into his hair, when he sucks my bottom lip, before nipping it with his teeth. Just when I think he is going to deepen the kiss, Luke pulls back. Pressing his forehead to mine, he gives me that smirk. Right now, part of me knows I am getting myself in too deep. The other part of me doesn’t see anything but that sexy grin.