Shane turned and nearly knocked over the small blonde woman, their eyes locked and she blushed. He grinned, patted her on the shoulder and walked out the door.
Boaz walked up to Dorcas, as she uttered, “Snickerdoodle?”
“What did you say?” Boaz tilted his head, like an inquisitive dog.
Dorcas turned to her client, “um, you know him?”
“Well, I’ve been doing him for ten years, well, not doing… you know, I mean, I’ve been handling him. Oh, hell. Tattooing him forever. What did you call him?”
“I’m not sure I’m right, but I thought… no, can’t be.”
Boaz chuckled as he extended his hand to Dorcas. “What can’t be right?” He turned and led her to the back of the building to his desk.
“That young man, I thought I’d seen him someplace, but I can’t… I’ll check later.” She followed him. “You do beautiful work, Mr. Shapiro, have any of your designs been to competitions?”
They both sat, her eyes glanced to the computer just before he closed the website. Staring deep into her soul, were the color of the Aurora blueberries she used to pick as a child. She let out a little sound, licked her lips and turned to catch the reflection of Snickerdoodle in Mr. Shapiro’s dark chocolate brown eyes. They both sighed before actually seeing each other.
“Ms. Grant, I did’t expect you today.” He opened his online calendar.
“Dorcas, please… Mr. Shapiro, please call me Dorcas. It’s the 14th. I know, I’m a day early. It was unexpected, I was drawn in actually. Would you believe I was shopping, and I thought I’d seen someone I knew inside, I entered and well…”
He laughed again, “Ms. Gr… Dorcas, there are only two of us in here, and well my friend, uh… my client, Shane. What did you say again when you saw him?”
She closed her eyes, her lips were more dry than she’d expect and couldn’t help lick her bottom lip. She drew a deep breath and pointed to the monitor. When she’d opened her eyes, he’d closed the calendar, and his own website to reveal the red-haired, blueberry-eyed man, they both lusted after.
Their eyes locked, and they both said, “Snickerdoodle” A silence followed, that stretched out more than both had expected, in a rush their voices overlapped each other.
“I only just found out this morning.” He’d enlarged the photo and found his fingertip tracing the vines he’d tattooed around Shane’s thighs.
“I discovered him a couple of days ago, after someone told me about the site.” Dorcas had an interesting reaction, in her chest, her breath caught, catching the longing look in her client’s eyes.
“I’ve done all his tattoos, it’s funny his name being Snickerdoodle…” He chuckled and turned to look at Dorcas, who couldn’t take her eyes off his finger. “You can call me Boaz, Dorcas.”
“Boaz, look at that, both of us characters in the bible and lusting after that which we can not have.” Her hand flew up to her mouth, “Oh, I believe I have said too much.”
An explosion of laughter and air shot out of his mouth. “I haven’t really thought about that. Funny. And well, yes. I’ve lusted after Shane since I sat beside him in school. We’ve been friends going on ten years. But, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t lust after me. I mean, look he’s signed up with an escort company.”
“Yes, an escort company.” Her hand dropped to her lap, uncontrollably, she licked her lips once more. She leaned in, as though all the non-existent customers might hear her. “I have an idea.”
Her chest pounded, this was the most adventurous she’d been since that day, when she called the police. She suspected the Millers had something going on, but she couldn’t be sure. She was seriously worried for the couple.
Especially when they had not exited the house, there was more than enough time for the man that broke in to have killed them and escaped out the back. But, then the police arrived. They’d knocked and shortly the couple opened the door, fully alive. Probably more alive than Dorcas had ever been.