Page 10 of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Chapter 5
Tango
(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
Whiskey and Fox had been shacked up with Amy for a few months while I continued to stay at the clubhouse. There were nights they would invite me to join them, and once in a while I took them up on the offer when they all stayed in a room at the clubhouse. I’m not proud of the fact that I did it for a two-part shitty reason. One, I was tired of hearing them complain about how all I ever did was work. Two, I needed to take the edge off and I thought getting blown by Amy while my friends were in the middle of their usual shenanigans would be more drama free than some of the other clingy women in the clubhouse.
I continued avoiding the inevitable discussions with my best friends and Amy herself about me moving in the house with them. They swore I could still have my own space if I wanted it, but I thought it was borrowing trouble to even step foot over that threshold. I already felt enough pressure to join in with them on the regular when they partied at the clubhouse. Hell, I’d come to my room a time or two to find them all crashed out there waiting on me, and those nights I had to fight myself to stop an angry outburst, because I didn’t want my personal space invaded by anyone else, not even my own best friends. Hell, on the nights it happened I would end up staying at my shop, because I knew I blow a gasket with all of them if I had to confront the situation, and it never helped things that I would come back the following day to see Amy roaming around the clubhouse wearing one of my shirts like I’d given it to her. I knew I’d have to get it through their heads eventually that I wasn’t interested in being an invested member of their scenario, but up until then, I’d taken the path of least resistance in order to keep the peace.
My peace was fading fast though.
“You gonna be a grump again tonight, or are you going to join in for some fun?” Her voice, being made purposely sultry the way it was, grated on my nerves a bit as she came up and put a hand to my back, digging her nails in just enough to make it known she was there and wanted my undivided attention.
I grunted a half-assed response to her that I couldn’t even understand myself.
“Ah, grumpy then?” She questioned on a playful laugh.
I continued working on the sketch I was doing for a client, bent over with my attention focused. Amy didn’t take the hint though. Instead she trailed her fingers up my back lazily, as if she had every right to touch me in such an intimate way. Her fingers stopped where my hairline started at the nape of my neck where I keep it trimmed close, as opposed to the longer, inky black spikes I wear on the top.
“I just want you to be as happy as the rest of us,” she purred.
I stopped what I was doing and turned an aggravated glare up at her. “Who says I’m not happy?”
“If you were happy you’d smile more, and join us, especially on nights like last night when we celebrated the guys asking me to be their old lady. You ended up no-showing on us again.”
“That was your celebration with Whiskey and Fox,” I explained to her. “Though, I’m not sure why you couldn’t have it at your own place.” Yeah, last night was one of the nights where I found them all having another wild fuck-fest in my room. Just the thought made me straighten my back up to pop my spine in an attempt to knock the kinks out of it. The couch in my studio was comfortable, but it was still lacking what my slightly achy body needed. Once I felt the instant relief that stretch brought on I turned my attention back to Amy who had finally removed her hand and was offering up a pouty look.
I didn’t bother pandering to the pout this time. I honestly didn’t give a fuck why she was upset, and I was tired of playing therapist to the guy’s chick. “Look, I need to get this done for my client. He’s coming by later to check it out, and approve it before we get to work on his back piece.” Amy just stared at me a moment before her whole upper body seemed to crumple in on itself a bit. Nope. I wasn’t going to feel bad this time. She wasn’t mine to entertain, and if she made the other guys feel that way all the time I could see why it took more than one of them to be in a relationship with her. She was non-stop work when she wasn’t just flat out fun to be around. Here lately, she was becoming far more work and less good-time Amy.
Amy turned on her heel in a huff, and sauntered off, shaking her hips like I’d seen many of the club girls do over the years. I just shook it off and continued on with my work.
“You need anything, Sugar?” Cherry asked. She was normally a dancer over at Renegade Ruby’s, but I’d been seeing her more and more here at the clubhouse, usually whenever Rabbit’s brother, Spinner, was around.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Okay, well I’m working the bar today since Charlie had somewhere to be. If you need anything, just yell, otherwise I won’t bother you since you look busy.”
“I appreciate that, Cherry.”
“How do you always know it’s me, and not my sister?”
I smiled up at her then. “You’re far nicer than your sister.”
Cherry laughed. “Well, that’s the truth and a half.” She continued chuckling as she walked away and moved toward where the other guys who were hanging around were congregated at the opposite end of the bar.
“You ready for tonight?” The question was issued as Iceman sat to my right nearly twenty minutes later. I moved to put my sketch away along with all my other crap I’d inadvertently spread over the top of the bar in front of me.
“This isn’t for tonight,” I explained. “I have a client coming in, but he texted and put it off until tomorrow.”
Iceman grinned at me. “I wasn’t talking about the ink, but that’s a mighty fine piece you’ll be doing from the looks of it.”
“Yeah, it is. I imagine it’ll have to be done in a couple sittings at least. The amount of color work and detail, I’m looking at a good ten hours of work, minimum.”
Iceman nodded at my assessment. “Imagine so,” he agreed.
“What did you mean, am I ready for tonight?”
His eyebrows pinched together as if he were thinking hard, then he glanced around, not seeing what he was looking for he turned back to me. “You know, with the little patching ceremony the guys are throwing together for Amy?”
