Inked Creations

CHAPTER FOUR: "Small Talk"

TRIGGER WARNING: In this chapter there is a discussion about the following topics: Alcoholism, Domestic Abuse, Sexual Abuse. These events do NOT take place during the chapter. The discussion is a brief story explanation of Hawthorn's past.

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Sitting at a table in the corner of Thai Time, I don't even touch my menu. Calliope, the owner's daughter who does most of the waitressing work, knows my order. I sip my tea, and watch Agmos peruse the listed items.

"I have an opening tomorrow at three," I open with, casually. "If tomorrow isn't too soon for you, that is."

Agmos lays down his menu, and places his arms crossed on the table. He leans forward, his eyes meeting mine, and moving across my face. It's almost as if he's studying me.

"I think I'll get the chicken Pad Thai." He cocks his head to the side.

"An excellent choice!" I nod, and wave for Calliope to come over to take our order. "Chicken Pad Thai for him, and my usual. Thanks Calliope." The young woman blushes slightly, and smiles as she grabs the menus off the table. She chews on her lip as she walks back towards the kitchen.

Agmos raises his eyebrows at me. "What was that about?"

I take a long drink from my tea. I awkwardly purse my lips, and sigh. "I uhhhh may have had a one night stand with her a few months ago, and she got a little attached...."

He chuckles at me. "She has a little crush on you. That's cute." Grinning at me, he takes a sip of his own tea. His eyes locked on mine. I feel my cheeks getting hot and look away first, reaching into my bag and pulling out my tablet.

"You brought work on our not date?" He leans back in his chair, resting his left hand on his leg, right hand on the table next to his glass.

"Well I just got an idea and wanna run it by you. I don't consider this part of the process work, Agmos. It's.....art. Besides," I pull my hair free from it's bun, combing it with my fingers. "I thought this was just a casual dinner between artist and client."

"Artist and client, huh?" He lifts his glass to his lips. "Well then, tell me about you. We talked about tattoos all day."

I'm slightly taken aback. This is not what I was expecting from the man sitting across from me. I was assuming we would eat and work more on the tattoo design. He's making a good point though. After almost 3 hours of tattoo talk, some basic small talk was a welcome change of pace. SO I tuck my tablet back into my bag, and place it on the floor at my feet.

"Okay, then." I return his smile. "If you get to ask me questions outside the topic of tattoos, then I get to ask you questions too." I place my elbows on the table, propping my chin up on my hands. "And I get to go first. What kind of books do you like to read?"

"Books? There are a million questions out there, and you open with what kind of books I like to read?" Amusement lights up his face. "Sorry to disappoint, baby. But I don't particularly enjoy reading. Where are you from?"

"I'm from DC. East Coast. But, I moved to sunny San Diego when I was 18. Lived here ever since. Sooooo no books? What do you do for fun, then?"

Calliope arrives with our food, and refills both drinks for us. I give her a polite thanks, and the poor girl turns beet red again, bumping into one of the empty tables as she backs away to go about her business.

I dive into my food, and wait for Agmos to respond. Swallowing my food, I ask "You do have fun right? I mean, you don't read books, so what do you do?" I shovel another bite into my mouth.