Sketch Read Free Page B

punishment.
    *
    Did you get the divorce papers?
    I look at my phone and run my fingers along the keyboard on the screen. Telling Nina that I do, in fact, have them will lead to a discussion I’m not ready for right now. It’s not weakness to want answers, I tell myself. It’s wanting the person you perceive as the quitter to admit that nothing was wrong in the first place.
    It doesn’t make sense, and I know that, but I’m the one stuck here in this house I bought, with memories all around me, wondering what the fuck I did wrong. How did making sure my wife had the best things and making sure she was taken care of turn me into the bad guy?
    Taking a drink of my beer, I decide I’ve let her wait long enough. It’s time to answer.
    Nope. Are you sure you sent them?
    Toying with her is becoming my favorite past time, but at least when I toy with her; she has a reason to be angry. She has a reason to be pissed at me, and it gives me a sense of satisfaction. I can’t explain it, but I admit it anyway.
    My lawyer did. Devin, if you’re lying to me…
    I grin, imagining the anger on her face, the glint in her eye, and the flush covering her face and neck. Nothing is more gorgeous than a pissed off Nina.
    I’ll check at the shop tomorrow. Make sure that nobody got them and just forgot to give them to me.
    I wait longer than I expect to for her to respond.
    If you’re lying to me Devin, I’ll cut your dick off.
    Being an asshole comes easier to me these days than it ever has, and I enjoy our banter.
    Doubt it, sweetheart. It made you scream and beg for it. Chances are more likely that you’re missing it.
    I purposely shut my phone off and lean back against the couch, taking another sip of my beer. She may think she’s got me by the balls, but she has another thing coming. I’m in it to win it.

Chapter Five
    SKETCH
    I wait until halfway through the day before I send a message to Nina.
    Nobody has the papers; don’t know what to tell you.
    Grinning like a fool, I get up and walk towards the front. Today I want a fight, because I want answers. I’ve always been the kind of guy who gets what he wants—except with her. With her, I gave her everything I thought she wanted, everything she deserved. There was nothing I wouldn’t give her. That’s why I spent night and day here, building this place from the ground up.
    “We have a walk-in,” Jackie tells me as I come out of the back room. “Woman who’s hot if I’m being honest.”
    I think about it for a nanosecond. If Nina’s pissed, she’ll come here instead of getting into an argument over text. Arguments over text aren’t her deal. She’s the type who would much rather look someone in the eye as she cuts them down.
    “You want her?” Jackie asks, tapping her foot. “If not, she’s either going to have to come back or wait over an hour for Trix to finish.”
    It’s a Tuesday night, our slowest night, so it’s only the two of us here. I clap my hands, decision made. “I got her.”
    “I already got all her info. We’re ready as soon as she picks out a tat,” Jackie tells me as she turns and heads back.
    Jackie is the best counter girl I’ve ever had. When she graduates and decides to leave me, I’m fucked. I pop a piece of gum in my mouth and grab my fitted black hat. My hair has gotten longer in the front, basically because I haven’t had time to go get it cut, and now when I bend over, it gets in my eyes. Pushing the locks back with my hand, I put the hat on, bill facing backwards. It’s time to get to work.
    *
    As soon I enter the main floor, I can see the girl Jackie was talking about. A little on the tall side, wearing tight jeans, a tighter shirt, and long red hair. My dick takes notice, but I still can’t go there. Things are unresolved with Nina, and as fucked up as it is, I won’t cheat on her.
    “Hey, I’m Sketch.” I walk towards her, offering her my hand.
    She does this eye thing that I’ve learned females do when they want to