THE MORTON QUADRUPLETS

CHAPTER 20 - AVA

I walk into the tattoo parlour two hours before I need to open the door. I haven't been in for a day and I do not know if anything happened while I was not here. I start by cleaning my workstation. I check all my supplies. I look at my dairy for the day to see who is coming in with an appointment.

There is one appointment I do not particularly look forward to but I cannot afford to be picky when it comes to clients so I will assist with a smile and be relieved when they go.

It is not long before Gary comes in. He greets me in a friendly way and starts to make sure his workstation is good for the day.

Just before we need to open Gary puts the kettle on to make us some coffee. I unlock the door and turn the open and closed sign to show that we are open.

When Gary brings the cups of coffee to the counter, he looks a bit worried.

"What's wrong, big guy?" I ask him when he hands me my cup.

"Something just occurred to me. You were at a funeral yesterday. Usually, all your near and dear would also be at the same funeral. Yesterday a woman came into the parlour asking for you." He tells while looking out the door as if it would help him to remember what happened.

"Did she leave a name?" I ask Gary, already knowing if she left a name, he would have told it by now.

"No, she didn't, but that is not what bothers me. You know how sometimes you know things without being told? I got the distinct idea she came here to ask for you knowing full well that you were not here." Gary looks at me. His look is questioning as if he expects me to provide some answers. I have none.

"I have no idea who it could be Gary. Maybe she will come back today?" I take a sip of my coffee.

"Yeah maybe" he gets distracted by a young couple coming into the shop.

I let him assist them. I am not a big fan of couple tattoos. I always wonder if they are still going to be together in five years. Some people feel getting matching tattoos is a bigger commitment than getting married. After all, if you get divorced you only need to remove a ring. Matching tattoos remove a lot harder.

Gary takes the couple to his booth to discuss their preferences. I think about what Gary told me this morning. I am sure the woman that walked in here is Marcella. It scares me to some point because I have lived a life free of Marcella for quite some time. I feel too tired to deal with someone trying to ruin my life today.

The day goes by without any real incidents. Gary had the couple and one of his regulars. His regular hardly has any more skin that has not yet been inked. It is at this point where the customers become hard to handle for me. It is like they are addicted to getting tattoos. When they have no more skin left, they start inking their faces and then you get those who want to know if you can tattoo the inside of their eyes. I simply tell them I am fully booked. Gary would still humour them with an appointment but I just cannot spend time on it.

When it is time to close shop, Gary is still busy with a client. I start to clean whatever I can clean and I lock the door and turn the sign over to show that we are closed.

I hang around until Gary is finished. One of the things I like about my job is that most of the time we can talk and enjoy the conversations with the customers or each other. It doesn't really feel like a job.

It is about an hour after closing time when Gary is finished with the client. We clean the last bit of the shop together before we walk out the door to lock up. Gary says goodbye and walks the opposite direction than where I am going. My apartment is so close to the shop if anything happened and I were to scream Gary would hear me before he is too far away.

I walk to my apartment and climb the stairs to my front door. As I am taking out my key to unlock the door, a car pulls up in the street. A man gets out of the rear door and closes it. The car pulls away and is out of sight in seconds.

The man standing on the sidewalk has his hands in his pockets. He looks up to me and smiles.

Adrien. I am not sure how to handle this. Before I can tell him to leave, he is climbing the steps towards me. He takes the keys from my hand and unlocks my door for me. He opens the door and pushes me inside. Inside he closes the door and locks it before turning to me.

"Hello boo" Adrien greets me with the joking affectionate nickname he used to call me ten years ago.

"Hello you" I greet him the way I used to when he did this. Adrien gives me a bright smile that melts my bones.

I stand looking at him for a few moments. If he is here, does that mean that something is wrong? Did something happen to the other girls? My heart starts to race with nervousness.

"What happened? Why are you here?" I ask quickly to get the feeling of looming doom off my chest.

"Nothing happened. I'm here because you are here." He answers simply. This is one of the things I have always appreciated about Adrien. He just gets to the point. I never needed to wonder what he means with anything. What he says is what he means.

I sigh a sigh of relief and turn to put my bag on the table.

"Would you like anything to drink?" I ask Adrien with my back to him. He does not answer.

When I turn around to look at him, he has moved with me. He is standing directly behind me. His hands slowly come up next to my head. He slowly takes my head in his hands. His touch is gentle and soothing. He rubs my temples with his thumbs and my eyes close as the tension leaves my body.

"I have been dying to touch you now for days." He whispers softly.

He is like a magnet to my body. I lean into him. Needing to feel more of the peace he brings to my world. I have forgotten how he can take over my whole world with one single touch. I was absolutely addicted to this man. His hands slide down to my neck and I give a soft groan.

I open my eyes when I hear his soft chuckle in front of me.

"Still the same little minx you have always been" he says softly as he slides his hands down my body. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me tightly against his body. "You make me absolutely crazy"

His voice is deep and rough with hunger. It speaks to my deepest being. I have no control around this man.

He lowers his lips to mine and kisses me softly. A whimper escapes my lips and it is all he needs as permission to do whatever he wants with me.

His kiss deepens. The hunger and need of the last ten years noticeable in his touch. It flames my need and hunger for him and I wrap my arms around him and dig my nails into his back.

He groans deeply and grips me tighter to his body. He breaks the kiss and pulls away slightly while swearing under his breath.

"I missed you" there is a sadness in his eyes that my heart cannot handle right now.

"I missed you too. Why did you show up overdressed like this?" I point to his shirt.

He chuckles softly before covering my mouth with his and kissing me with a need that resonates inside me also.

The hunger in the kiss grows stronger as we hastily try to remove each other's clothes. He growls deeply as he takes me to the floor. He grips onto me and claims my body the way he used to. For the first time in ten years, I feel whole.

Afterwards he lays on his back and pulls me into his arms. I cuddle into him, deeply satisfied. We are still half dressed.

"I didn't buy you dinner first." He chuckles as he lays with his eyes closed.

"You will have to try again." I joke with him.

I highly doubt that we will leave his apartment tonight. I also doubt that we will get any sleep in either.