The Rules of Dating(9)

***

“Hey,” I said to the receptionist. “I’m here to look at the AC unit?”

She squinted at me. “Aren’t you the guy from the other night? The one who fell into the middle of the Tinder reunion?”

“One and the same.” I smiled and extended my hand. “Colby Lennon. I’m one of the owners of the building. We try to handle the repairs ourselves, if it’s possible.”

She smiled and shook my hand. “Justine Russo. If you’re going to fix this AC, I’m pretty sure you’ll get a sunnier reception from Billie this time. It’s blowing hot air. I think it’s up to eighty-five in the back already.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Where is the unit?”

“It’s in the rear of the studio. Help yourself. Billie’s back there.”

I headed back, feeling a little too excited about fixing a damn air conditioner. But that excitement quickly deflated when I opened the door to the studio and found Billie lying in a tattoo chair while some big, tatted dude rubbed her shoulders. She was wearing what I was starting to consider her signature work outfit—a corset, but without the flannel over it now.

Neither of them seemed to have heard me walk in, and it felt like I was interrupting a private moment, so I cleared my throat before fully entering. The big guy lifted his chin, but never took his hands off of Billie. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m, uh, here to look at the AC.”

Billie sat up from the chair. The big smile that spread across her face made me feel a tiny bit better about what I’d walked in on.

“Hey, what’s up, big daddy?” She winked.

Fuck. My cock twitched. Was it her calling me daddy or the wink? Maybe both. I tried to play it cool and lifted my chin. “Hey. What’s up?”

She turned to the tatted guy. “This is the new landlord I was telling you about—the one I’m not tattooing a rose on. Deek, this is Colby. Colby, this is Deek.”

Billie swung her legs in the air and jumped down from the chair. It was impossible not to notice her tits jiggling in that little corset. Today’s was black lace, and I found myself wondering if she had on matching lace panties under her jeans. I bet she did. The flannel she usually wore was tied around her waist. I couldn’t blame her; it was fucking hot as hell in here.

Billie tilted her head toward the back of the room. “Follow me.”

I did my best not to stare at her ass as we walked, though it wasn’t easy. Her jeans were tight, and today’s corset didn’t meet the top of her pants, so she had an inch of skin exposed, too—it was so damn creamy.

Fuck. What was with me and this woman? I wasn’t usually such a damn horn dog.

Billie waved her hands Vanna White-style when she reached the big condenser in the back of the room. “Here’s the offending equipment. I’ve named him Kaiden since it’s useless and blowing hot air.”

I laughed. “Good to know. And where’s your thermostat?”

She pointed to a wall ten feet away, then hooked her thumbs into her belt loops. “Well, I won’t stand on top of you while you work. Just yell if you need anything.”

“Sounds good.”

After I checked the basics in the air handler, making sure nothing was frozen and the filters were clean, I walked over to the thermostat. While I unscrewed the cover, I listened to the conversation going on behind me between Billie and Deek.

“It would be good for you,” he said. “I think you should do it. Just ignore her.”

“You’ve met Renee. She’s not someone who’s easily ignored.”

“You know what I think your real issue is?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to enlighten me.”

“You suck at taking help from anyone.”

“I do not.”

I glanced over. The big guy frowned at Billie. “Do I need to remind you of the ridiculous interest rate you paid on your loan to open this place?”

“No, I think the other six-hundred-and-thirty-seven times you’ve reminded me so far is more than sufficient.”

“Could have been interest free from me.”

“I didn’t want to risk your money.”

“You’re one of the most sought-after artists in a city of eight-million people, and it’s trendy for people from all walks of life to get ink these days. It wasn’t a risk.”

Billie shrugged. “Whatever. There’s nothing wrong with doing things for yourself.”

“I agree. But there’s also nothing wrong with taking a little help from people who love you once in a while.”

“I’ll think about it. Now rub my neck more.”

I lost track of their conversation after that, probably because it was driving me nuts that some dude was touching her, so I needed to drown them out altogether. Twenty minutes later, I was pretty sure I’d found the culprit of the AC break down. Two old, yellow wires in the thermostat were practically shredded and no longer connected. Since those were usually the wires for the cooling, I hoped a quick rewire might solve the problem. Luckily the toolbox had a spool with some copper wire, so after I stripped back the rubber casing with a wire stripper, I figured I’d let Billie know what was going on.

Another guy had just come into the shop. He walked right over to Billie, grabbed both of her cheeks, and planted a big kiss on her lips. My jaw flexed. But then the dude strolled to Deek and kissed him on the lips, too. He also rubbed Deek’s arm. “Are you ready to go? I’m not paying the late charge for doggy daycare anymore because you have to stick around work and gossip like a bitch.”