The Rules of Dating(6)

“This is my daughter, Saylor. Saylor, this is Billie, the nice lady who owns the tattoo shop.”

Billie knelt. “Your daddy actually thinks I’m a crazy person, and with good reason, but I swear I am a nice lady.” She adjusted the collar on Saylor’s dress. “How old are you?”

My daughter held up three little fingers. “Free. But almost four.”

“Three. Wow! You’re a big girl.”

“Look at my nails, Billie!”

“They’re so pretty!” Billie held out her hand. “I have blue nails, too.”

I showed off my own fingers. “And I have pink.”

Billie’s eyes widened. “Yes, you do.” She laughed. “That’s rad, Mr. Landlord.”

“Please call me Colby.”

She nodded. “Colby.”

Pretty sure she had me pegged as an uptight dickwad after last night. At least the pink nails might have earned me a coolness point in the other direction.

She stood up. “Look…I want to apologize for my rudeness. That was just a really bad night for me.”

“Yeah. I overheard it all.”

“Figured you did.”

When she looked down at the ground, my eyes briefly fell to her chest. It was hard not to look, considering she was wearing a corset, with two milky white mounds playing peekaboo—a black corset under a red-and-black plaid shirt rolled up at the sleeves.

My daughter reached out and touched Billie’s arm, tracing the designs on her sleeve tat.

“She’s always been mesmerized by body art,” I explained. I patted Saylor’s back. “Would you like Daddy to get a tattoo someday?”

She nodded, not taking her eyes off of Billie.

“I wanted to surprise her.” I winked. “But you know, that plan went to hell.”

“Thank God it did.” She snorted. “What were you thinking? I mean, maybe if her name was Rose, I would let you tattoo a rose on your body. Other than that, it’s lame. I’m not tattooing anything boring and generic on you.” Billie looked down at Saylor. “You wanna pick out a tattoo for your dad?”

Saylor jumped. “Yes!”

“You want to come into the shop for a bit?”

I placed my hand on Saylor’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Her eyes met mine. “I don’t have a client until four.”

My daughter made the decision for me when she took Billie’s hand, and they walked toward the shop together. I took the opportunity to admire my beautiful tenant’s backside, which was just as attractive as the front. She wore black leggings that had a bit of a shimmer to them and left little to the imagination. No wonder this shop always seemed busy. Goddamn.

A bell chimed as she opened the door.

“Children aren’t normally allowed in here for safety reasons,” Billie explained. “But as long as I’m not working on anyone, it’s fine.”

I scratched my chin. “Ah… I’d never thought about that. Glad I never promised Saylor she could watch me get the tattoo.”

“Yeah. Most legit shops have that rule.” She walked over to a shelf, pulled out a big black binder with laminated pages, and handed it to Saylor. “There are lots of pretty ones in here. Take a look and let me know what you like for your dad. Or I can make something new from scratch.” She smiled.

Saylor sat and placed the binder on her lap. “Butterflies!” My daughter pointed after flipping through the first few pages.

They weren’t just butterflies, but butterflies intertwined with other things I couldn’t fully make out. Not a single design was what one would consider, as Billie put it, generic.

I wrapped my arm around Saylor as she turned the pages. “Amazing, huh?”

She nodded and continued to eagerly flip through.

“Would you like a snack, Saylor?” Billie asked.

She nodded without looking up from the book.

“Do you like Goldfish?”

Saylor beamed. “Yummy! Goldfish!”

“She loves Goldfish.” I narrowed my eyes. “But why do you have Goldfish?”

Billie shrugged. “I like them, too. They’re small, easy to pop into your mouth without getting crumbs all over the shop. So sue me. You know what else I like? Juice boxes. They’re more environmentally friendly than plastic bottles.” She smiled. “You wanna juice box, too, Saylor?”

My daughter nodded. “Yes!”

“Yes, what?” I asked.

“Yes, please,” Saylor clarified.

“Wow, Goldfish and juice boxes, Billie. Remind me to bring you some Lunchables the next time I stop in,” I teased.

Billie chuckled and went to grab my daughter her snack. Once again, my eyes were glued to this sexy woman’s backside, which was taut yet round. Fucking gorgeous.

She returned with a snack-sized package of pizza-flavored Goldfish and a mini box of apple juice. She opened both items and placed them on a small table next to my daughter, who finally took a break from the book to enjoy her snack.

“That was really nice of you. Thank you,” I said.

“It’s my pleasure.” Billie took a seat on the opposite side of me.

“Listen…” I lowered my voice. “Apologies if I came off as threatening in any way last night. Throwing the landlord thing in your face like that—”