Page 23 of Restless Ink
Dimitri snorted and shook the other man’s hand before taking a seat. “I’m a high school math teacher. Not quite sure I live up to Mace’s expectations of a non-boring job either.”
Mace rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his beer. “Still better than playing with other people’s money.”
“Numbers are numbers,” Landon said, saluting Dimitri with his beer. “Am I right?”
“I’m with Landon on this one,” Dimitri said with a laugh, and Mace just shook his head at both of them.
“I can’t with you two. When Ryan and Carter get here, at least I won’t be outnumbered. Pun not intended. Now, pour yourself a beer, Dimitri. We do cheap pitchers since it’s happy hour and will order massive amounts of whatever’s on special for wings. That okay with you?”
Dimitri shrugged as he poured himself a glass. “Sounds good to me. I’m not picky.”
Landon sighed. “You should be. The wings are phenomenal, no matter the sauce, but one day I’d like for us to actually havetastewhen it comes to what we’re drinking.”
“And we do on other nights. Tonight’s about cheap beer and wings and trying not to overdo it since none of us are in our early twenties anymore.” Mace gave a mock shiver. “Heartburn is not my friend.”
Dimitri raised his glass at that. “Amen, brother.”
The waitress came by for their order, and Mace spoke for them all, getting more wings of various flavors than Dimitri thought they could all eat but, apparently, the crew had a rhythm. By the time she left to get another pitcher for the table, the last two of their party had made their way in.
Dimitri knew both of them, though not well. He’d met Carter a few times since the other man had married Thea’s sister, Roxie, but they hadn’t spoken all that much until game night.
He tried not to think about game night because then he couldn’t help but think of Thea.
And he wasnotgoing to think about Thea tonight.
Much.
He quickly looked at the other man taking a seat at the table so he could clear his thoughts. Dimitri knew Ryan from Montgomery Ink Too, the new tattoo shop in the Montgomery family. He’d talked to the man a few times and would soon be in to get more ink, though, likely, it would be Adrienne or Mace who did the actual tattooing.
“Oh, hey, Dimitri, glad you could make it,” Ryan said, lifting his chin. “Sorry I’m late. Took forever to get the last client out the door.”
Mace frowned. “Ethan, right? He has a crush on you, I think.”
Ryan sighed. “Yup. I tried to go easy on him and let him down nicely, but it’s not working out.”
“Didn’t you used to date his friend, Jack?” Landon asked, sipping his beer.
“Yeah, and that’s the problem. I know Ethan through Jack, and I know how…I don’t want to say clingy, but maybe obsessive he can get. Plus, he just doesn’t ring my bell.”
“I thought you were dating Angie?” Mace asked while Dimitri sat back in his chair, listening to a conversation he knew no part of but liking learning about new people anyway.
“I was. Now, I’m not. We were just casual anyway. Plus, the fact that Ethan doesn’t believe I’m bi and thinks that I’m going through a phase or some shit about not being able to make a choice annoys the fuck out of me.”
Carter frowned. “Then why did you say you’d do his tattoo? Seems like it wouldn’t be a good idea.” The other man poured himself and Ryan beers, and the younger tattoo artist chugged half of his back before answering.
“Because I thought I’d do the right thing and not say no because of personal shit.”
“Don’t do that again,” Mace warned. “You know Shep and Adrienne will have your balls if you do work you’re not comfortable with. Any of the rest of us will take the job, or the guy doesn’t get in the shop. We can turn people away if the situation merits it.”
Mace’s eyes clouded for a moment, and Dimitri had a feeling the other man was thinking about the close call Adrienne had gone through just a few short weeks ago. Adrienne was fine now, but she hadn’t been at first—none of them had been after hearing about the attack.
“I know what you’re thinking about, and that was different,” Ryan put in before holding up his hands. “But I get you. No more jobs that make work uncomfortable.”
“Good.” Mace nodded before taking another sip. “And here are our wings. They’re fast tonight.”
Since Dimitri’s stomach had just rumbled, he was glad for it. Everyone dug in with gusto, Dimitri going for the mid-grade hotness since he liked the heat but didn’t want to hate himself later for it.
Ryan and Carter each went for the ultra-spicy, but neither of them looked as if they were feeling any effects. At least, not yet. As both were only a few years younger than Dimitri, he didn’t know how they did it.