When she got here and realized how shitty I am at keeping my appointment book maintained, she took it over, and hoards the goddamn thing like it’s made of gold.
It’s nice to have a helping hand, though, and she’s always been nothing but helpful since the day we hired her.
I decide not to set up my room right away since I don’t know when my first client of the day will arrive. After I shrug my jacket off and drop it onto my chair, I scratch my neck as I walk out of the room and take the few steps towards Carter’s door.
I knock and wait patiently until he looks up at me. He hates being interrupted when he’s fiddling with his tattoo gun, but I understand it. They can be fickle machines sometimes and you always want to provide the best for your paying customers.
“What can I do you for so early in the goddamn day, Kenji?” he asks, after he snaps the final rubber band into place, then looks up at me with a grin.
I return the grin as I lean a hand against his door and cross my legs at the ankles. I wait as I watch his expression go from a playful version ofwhat the fuck nowtoyou’re hiding somethingbefore I step in and close the door firmly behind me.
“What’s up, Kenj?” he asks curiously as I reach for one of the stools he keeps in the room. Usually the college girls that aren’t regulars come with a gaggle of friends and the stools are for them to pile onto while the brave one of the bunch tries to sit under a machine of nonstop needles for a few hours.
“I finally broke her in last night,” I tell him, the grin on my face widening.
“No shit,” he says with a laugh as he gets to his feet and we slap palms. “I was wondering why you weren’t wearing that Miura scowl when I walked in, but it looks like the pussy fairy finally dropped by your place.”
I groan and let out a laugh trying to hide the embarrassment. I wasn’t sure what I expected him to say, butpussy fairydefinitely wasn’t on the list.
“How was it?” he asks as he goes back to setting up his station and I shrug. I don’t know what he’s looking for in an answer, but he knows damn well what it feels like.
“Tight,” I finally say when I decide on an answer and Carter chuckles.
“And how’s the training going?”
“That’s actually going pretty good,” I say thoughtfully as I slip my hands into my pocket. “Yesterday she slipped, but I don’t think she does it often.”
“Slipped how?” he presses absentmindedly as he sprays down one of his metal trays.
“I came home, and she wasn’t in the corner, but it didn’t bother me too much.”
Carter looks up at me incredulously and I know that he believes that about as much as I do.
“When do I get to work on her again?” he asks through a yawn as he sets his tray down and picks up another one.
Carter’s been eager to get back to the simple, delicate modifications we’ve been doing on Snow. I watch with a smile as he places his next tray down and reaches for a folder instead. But it’s not just any folder; it’s a special one.
The one that we use to keep all of the ideas and sketches of how Snow will look when we’re finally done with her.
I reach over and swipe it from his grasp. As I flip it over and look at the back of the sketch, I sigh before I had it back.
“What’s wrong?” he asks curiously as I hold the paper out to him. I wait until he tucks it away neatly into the folder, then goes back to his obsessive tray washing.
“I don’t know. I thought by leaving her topless for a while that her back would start to heal.”
“The stitches bust or something?”
I shake my head, “Nah. Those were done tight enough to hold. I think she’s been picking at them when I haven’t been home.”
“Well, just say when and I’ll swing by and redo them. She has to be healed up before I can get back in there and start putting the implants into place. How else is she going to be able to fly?” he asks slyly.
I rub my chin thoughtfully.
Snow’s been doing a lot of things it seems when I’ve been at work or out trying to clear my head, and I guess I’m only now starting to realize it.
“Kenji?” Carter presses with a chuckle.
“Whenever you have time,” I reply with a shrug.