Say it Louder Read Online Free Page B

need to do last night over.”
    I groan and shake my head. “It was a bad idea.”
    “Yeah. Unless you’re aiming to get laid, alcohol doesn’t help much.”
    “Even then, it’s a pretty crap wingman.” I smile at my dumb joke, and she smiles back. How did I go from telling her to fuck off to smiling in six-point-four seconds?
    Willa’s distracting me. But maybe that’s the point. I drop a twenty on the check the moment Charlene deposits it on the table, and I rise even though Willa’s not even half finished with her coffee.
    “Where to now?” she asks, not budging from her seat.
    “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
    “You feel better yet?” She sips her coffee and looks at me thoughtfully, an appraisal of sorts.
    Weirdly, I do feel better. “Yeah.”
    “I’m magic like that.”
    I laugh a little. “You got any other tricks up your sleeve?”
    Her pierced brow arches and I drop my gaze to her hands cradling her coffee mug. Her short nails are rimmed in paint, her forearms saturated with color, and I’m sure her curved biceps can lift some heavy shit.
    The design on her left arm, bees pollinating delicately shaded flowers, continues beneath the hem of her sleeve and I see hints of another curling design at the edge of her chest.
    She clears her throat, a gotcha for staring. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
    I snap my mouth shut, realizing it was hanging open as I blatantly checked her out. “Sorry. I meant—I just—”
    “Forget it, Dave. Just messing with you.” Willa takes another long swig of coffee and leaves the mug, standing. “You’ve got nowhere to go and I’ve got somewhere to be, so we’re going to get along fine.”
    “I don’t think so.” How many times have we bitched at each other now?
    “I know so.” She sweeps her hand and I find myself falling into step with her as we leave the diner. “I’ve got just the thing to give you some perspective.”

CHAPTER SIX

    “Sit there, don’t touch anything, and don’t be a pain in the ass.”
    Dave gives me a kicked-puppy look but obeys, taking a seat on the empty chair adjacent to my station. I tray up my tools and ignore him. It’s kind of a test to see how he handles silence.
    He passes. Good. He’s not just running his mouth to fill the quiet.  
    Nancy walks in the door right on time, her short, spiky salt-and-pepper hair even wilder than usual.
    She wraps me in a big hug, still oblivious to the fact that I’m not a hugger. I’m not a toucher at all, really. I need a good, safe distance from people to stand back and see what they’re about. When you’re physically wrapped up in a person, you lose all perspective, like sticking your nose too close to a map.
    I squirm and Nancy takes the hint, finally releasing me. Her penciled-in eyebrows make every expression more animated.  
    “I’m so ready for this,” she says, rubbing her hands together. She’s psyching herself up, like a football coach talking to his team. “I mean, recovering from surgery was worse. Getting my tonsils out was way worse.”
    “You’re doing a great job selling it.” I give her a wry grin. “Maybe I could get that quote on one of our flyers?”
    “Girl, you do beautiful work. It speaks for itself.” Nancy’s gaze travels to Dave, who still looks a little green. Dark circles haunt his eyes. “Who’s this?”
    “Sorry, I should have introduced you. Dave, this is my client Nancy. Nancy, this is the pain in my ass. You can send him away, but I thought he could use a little education today.”
    Nancy’s penciled brow rises. “You’re teaching him to tattoo?”
    I snort. “I don’t think he can be trusted with ink, or even with crayons in his state.”
    “That’s not fair.” Dave frowns.
    I point to the counter where my drawing pad lies open. “Then you go over there and draw me a perfect circle. I’ll bet my next commission your hand’s all shaky.”
    Dave looks at his hand like he’s only just realized it’s attached to his body.