Fighting a New World

6

Jax's POV

I had to try to keep myself from yawning as I listen to Dayton talk to someone about a consultation.

Ryder had a nightmare last night and ended up going numb for a while before any of us knew. Liam ended up having to pee in the middle of the night and luckily noticed. After we were able to get him back, he pretty much refused to go back to sleep so we all stayed up with him until he finally dozed off at about 5, which only left me and Callum with an extra hour of sleep.

I was supposed to be taking notes on how Dayton did consultations along with how he charges so I could know what was reasonable for my own tattoos but I pretty much falling asleep standing up at this point.

I still managed to get down a few notes though, just in case Dayton asked me about them later.

"Well if this all sounds good to you then you can follow Jax up to the front and he can get you an appointment," Dayton said loudly, probably just to wake me up.

I put on a smile as I stand up and resist the urge to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"So Dayton said it was going to take about 3 hours," I say as I get logged into the computer. "Do you want to do it all in one go or do you want to split it up over several days?"

"I think all at once," the girl said as she pulled her phone out to check her calendar. "When is his closest time for that long?"

"That would be next Monday, which would be July 20th, at 1-4. Does that work for you?"

"Yea that works. Do I need to put a deposit down to save my spot or anything like that?"

"There is $25 deposit but you will get that back when you come in. It's pretty much just to give you a reason other than your tattoo to come back."

That was pretty much it for her. She paid and told me how excited she was and then left but the second she was out the door my smile fell and I was finally rubbing my eyes.

"You seem pretty tried," Dayton noted as he came up to the counter.

"Just a little bit," I admit as I look up at him. "Ryder had a nightmare so none of us really slept." Dayton only hummed as he looked around the shop for a second.

"Do you think you handle things for a few minutes? We're the only two working today and I don't have appointments for an hour so you only have to worry about walk ins. You remember how to do walk ins right?"

"Yea I can handle it. How long are you going to be gone though?"

"No more than 20 minutes," he said as he started walking to the door. "Work on some basic designs while I'm gone. Something about how 'not all those who wander are lost'."

"Isn't that what the girl who just left wanted?"

"Yep. If it looks good, I'll use your design."

"Does that mean I can do her tattoo when she comes in?" I ask purely to annoy him.

Dayton's laugh boomed around the room as he opened the door.

"No."

And with that, I was left alone.

I can't help but groan to myself when I go to get the sketchbook that I left in Dayton's station. I had just gotten comfortable when the bell on the door chimed, letting me know someone had walked in.

I force another smile on my face as I walk back up to the counter.

"What can I do for you," I asked the man when I get logged into the system again.