DEDICATION

 

This series has been in the works since 2016 and although, the first book was already done (in my mind at least) it just didn’t feel like the right time to release it. I want to thank all of the readers who have been begging for a release date. This one is for you guys. I hope you enjoy the ride

 

CHAPTER 1

Setting Up Shop

 

 

“Are you kidding me? What have you guys been doing all this time?” Brenda Brown, aka:  Little Byrd, complained as she walked into the tattoo shop. She was a short, petite woman with a big voice to match her big, juicy lips, a cute pixie haircut and curvy hips. She  “I left here hours ago and this is ALL you guys have done?” she continued to fuss.

“What are you talking about? We did a lot,” said Cole, one of the shop’s co-owners, as he sprayed glass cleaner on the inside of the front window where the shop’s name was etched in the glass.

“No, you haven’t,” Byrd disagreed as she rolled up her sleeves, looked around and saw that the place was nowhere near ready for business. “Where’s Ness and King?” she asked.

“Ness went out for a smoke break and King called me about an hour ago and said he’s on his way,” Cole answered.

“Ugh. King should have BEEN here since early this morning and Ness already took TWO smoke breaks,” said Byrd as she picked up a big box of black, powder-free, latex gloves from where Ness had lazily left them in front of the front desk.

“You know Ness can’t work unless he smokes,” Cole laughed.

“He DOESN’T work when he smokes. That’s his problem,” she mumbled as she carried the box off to the closet where the shop’s supplies were supposed to go. “And you hired me to manage the shop, not to be the cleaning lady, the moving lady or a babysitter. Call Ness and tell him to hurry up and get his ass back in here to help. We have appointments scheduled for early this afternoon.”

“Yes, Boss,” said Cole sarcastically.

“And you grab a broom and sweep this floor,” she told him.

“I was going to but I couldn’t find a broom,” said Cole.

“Well, go next door to that beauty salon and borrow one. C’mon, we can’t have this place looking like this when people start to show up to get inked," said Byrd.

“Okay,” said Cole as he gave the window one, final wipe.

“And, is Vida coming anytime soon?”

“I have no idea,” Cole shrugged.

“It’s her shop too. She should be here too,” Byrd complained.

“I’m sure she’ll show up, eventually,” said Cole on his way out of the front door.

 

 

 

Gia sat in one of the salon chairs with her back to the shop entrance. She looked up in the mirror in front of her and when she heard he door chime noticed when the stranger walked into her shop. She thought it was cute, the way he slowly, politely and timidly opened her front door. He wasn’t really short, but he wasn’t exactly tall. His black button-up shirt was nice, even if it was a bit tight in the tummy area. His ripped, black jeans fit him nicely, showed off all the right places and were just loose enough not to be considered skinny jeans.

“Hello ladies,” Cole greeted the stylists and their clients.

“How can I help you?” Gia asked.

“I just opened the tattoo shop next door and I came to see if I could borrow a broom?” Cole answered.

“I’m Gia, the owner,” she told him as she got up from the salon chair to go and get him a broom. “So, you’re the one who renovated and took over the old furniture store next door?” she asked.

“Yes,” Cole answered.

“Mrs. Polanco, the old owner, was my neighbor and a good friend of mine for years, until she had to close down. She was barely getting by before the Corona virus pandemic and when the city forced her to shut down, she couldn’t survive,” Gia told him.

“The same thing happened to me at my old shop. I had to close down. I lost so much money that I couldn’t afford to re-open, even when the governor said that we could. I was only able to open up this new shop because the rent here is much cheaper than it was in my old location, and I had to take on a partner too,” he confessed.

“You sound like you’re not too happy to have a partner,” she said.

“It’s complicated,” he answered vaguely.   

Cole noticed the Cuban flag tattooed in the middle of her lower back as she walked over to the corner of her shop where the broom was leaned up against the wall.  Her jeans were tight and hung low on her hips. He tried not to stare at her like a wolf as she walked over to him.

“Thank you. I’m Cole,” he introduced himself and shook her hand as she handed him the broom. He was about to turn to leave but then paused. “Would you like to see my shop?” he asked.

“Sure,” Gia shrugged.

 

 

 

“Wow, so this is what all the banging and noise was for,” said Gia as she admired the décor of the tattoo shop when Cole walked her inside.

“Yeah, the noise must have been annoying. I apologize,” said Cole.

“Well, you guys sure seem like you’ll be more interesting, colorful neighbors than old Mrs. Polanco. The space is much livelier,” said Gia as she watched Byrd flit around the shop in a desperate, hasty attempt to put things in order. She also noticed a tall, handsome white guy, relaxed with his feet up on the long, red couch at the front of the shop. He dreamily strummed random notes on his guitar.

“Yeah, you said this was some sort of furniture store before right?” Cole asked.

“Yes, it was an antique furniture store. Old Mrs. Polanco hardly had any customers in and out of here. I always wondered how she managed to stay open for as long as she did. In case you hadn’t noticed, the demographic around here ain’t really the kind to be interested in old relics. Your tattoo shop should do well though,” said Gia.

“I hope so,” Cole sighed.

“Still, I am going to miss Mrs. Polanco. She was sweet and like I told you, she was my friend. She was always a good neighbor,” said Gia.

“Well, we’ll try our best to be good neighbors too,” said Cole. “And maybe we can become good friends too,” he smiled.

“We’ll see,” Gia grinned when she realized that there was smooth but subtle flirtation in the way he mentioned the possibility of them becoming friends.

“Let me introduce you to everybody,” Cole continued.

“Sure,” said Gia.

Cole reached out and grabbed Byrd by the arm and stopped her from flying by. “This is Brenda, my shop manager,” he told Gia.

“But everybody calls me Little Byrd, or just plain Byrd,” Byrd waved her hand politely and introduced herself to Gia. She would have extended her hand to shake Gia’s hand but, since the Covid-19 pandemic, people really didn’t shake hands anymore.

“Nice to meet you, Byrd. I’m Gia. I own the beauty salon next door,” said Gia as she smiled and waved back politely.

“Nice to meet you too,” said Byrd. “And, the lazy Caucasian pothead with his feet up on the couch when he should be helping me set up is Ness. He can’t decide if he wants to be a tattoo artist or a musician,” Byrd told Gia.

Gia had wondered if the Hippy-looking white guy with the guitar was an artist or a client. She admired his long, gold locks of hair and thought about ways she could style it better.

“What kind of name is Ness for a future rock star?” Gia chuckled. She had heard him skillfully strum some beautiful chords on his guitar while he lazed about on the couch.

“It’s short for Loch Ness Monster,” Byrd explained.

“What?” laughed Gia. “That’s an even worse name.”

“That’s what all of the fly, fine, chocolate women that Ness dates calls him,” Byrd told her.

Gia blushed at the explanation as the dirtier side of her mind began to run wild. Just then, a large man with an enormous round belly came through the shop doors clumsily with a large box on one shoulder while he dragged a large metal crate behind him with his other hand on its handle.

“Not that bullshit again. I keep tellin’ y’all not to listen to the string bean’s lies. By the way,” said the large man as he set down the heavy box with a loud thud. “My name’s King, gorgeous,” he said to Gia as he extended his hand to shake hers. He was one of the folks who believed that the whole coronavirus pandemic had been a hoax so, he really wasn’t concerned about germs.

“King Hippo,” Ness chimed in snarkily before he strummed a dramatic chord on his guitar.

“I keep telling you not to call me that,” King warned him before he turned his attention back to Gia and shook her soft hand.

Right after Gia shook King’s hand, she clicked open a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer that she kept on a loop of her tight jeans and cleaned her palms.

“Whatever man. Leave the lady alone bro. You just walked in and already you’re all over the first woman you see,” Ness scolded King.

“Oh please. She’s not his type. You know King only likes the snowbunnies,” Byrd joked. “I don’t see why the two of you fight so much. You should be best friends. King only likes the white girls and you love chocolate,” she teased Ness.

“The darker the berry baby…and I like my berries sweet and juicy,” Ness sang to Byrd as he strummed notes on his guitar.

King shook his head.

“And we call him Ness because he’s Irish, and he goes missing so often that the sightings of him are so rare that we wonder if he’s real sometimes,” King joked.

“Less talking, more working,” Cole interrupted their playful banter. "We need to have the shop ready before clients start showing up,” he reminded them.

“Or before the other boss gets here,” Byrd whispered jokingly in King’s ear.

As if on cue, Vida walked into the shop like a hurricane and everyone froze, including Cole.

“Speak of the devil,” King whispered to Byrd before he hurried off to get his things packed away.

Vida didn’t take off her designer sunglasses as she looked around the shop but, even without being able to see her eyes, they all could sense her displeasure.

“Why does this place still look like we’re just moving in?” Vida asked with her hands on her hips, obviously displeased.

“We’ll be ready by the time clients start showing up,” Cole stepped up and tied to reassure her.

“I hope so. I have an appointment with a client in two hours,” Vida told them. “I have a lot of money tied up in this place and I need this grand opening to be a success so, everybody, let’s get busy,” Vida reminded them.

Vida’s presence was big, bold and commanding. Even Ness put his guitar down to help get things in order. Her expensive heels clacked and clicked against the tiled floors as she inspected the workspaces that she expected to be ready days before. She was regal and graceful, even without a crown on her head.

“And who is this?” Vida asked when she finally noticed Gia.

“This is Gia, the owner of the beauty salon next door,” Cole answered.

“Oh,” said Vida, dismissively as she rolled her eyes at Cole and barely acknowledged Gia.

“Nice to meet you,” Gia told Vida politely but not very warmly. She sensed the tension between the two tattoo shop owners and decided that she didn’t want to be in the middle of it. “I better be getting back to my shop. Your place is really nice,” Gia told Cole.

“Glad you like OUR place. Stop by anytime. We do amazing cover-ups too,” Vida said to Gia while she tilted her head to look a the faded tribal tattoo on Gia’s lower back, just above the waistline of her tight, low-rise jeans.

“Thank you,” Gia looked back and answered with a fake smile as she pretended to not be offended by Vida’s not-too-subtle jab at her.

“Thanks for the broom. Let me walk you back next door,” Cole offered.

“I’m sure I can make it back all by myself,” Gia told him. She felt Vida’s eyes on them as they spoke at the door of the shop, even through the dark tints of the designer shades. “But, you can walk with me if you want,” she told him, only because she felt as if that would burn Vida. “It was really nice meeting all of you,” said Gia on her way out the door with Cole right behind her.

 

 

 

“Well, that was awkward,” said Gia once she and Cole were outside. “What was that about anyway? Is she your lady? Because that’s the vibe I picked up,” she inquired.

“That was about my ex-fiancé being who she is,” Cole shrugged.

“Ex-fiancé? And you guys still chose to open a business together? How does that work?” Gia asked.

“It barely works. We fight all the time and I’m pretty sure Vida hates me,” Cole answered.

“If she hates you, why did she agree to go into business with you?” Gia asked.

“I suppose she wanted to help make sure that I’m still able to earn a decent living, for the sake of our daughters,” Cole answered.

“So, you guys have kids together and you were supposed to get married. What went wrong?” Gia asked.

“Now that’s too long of a story to tell over such a short walk,” he answered as they reached the front entrance of Gia’s beauty salon. “Maybe if you let me take you out to dinner, I can explain it all,” Cole suggested with a smile.

Gia smiled back but didn’t accept or reject his invitation. Instead, she tapped him on the arm in a friendly manner and went back inside of the salon.

Cole walked back to the tattoo shop, a bit dejected but not totally discouraged.  

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Copyright © 2020 Keith Kareem Williams

 

All rights reserved

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