Ink Exchange

Chapter 10

By the end of the week, Leslie was more exhausted than usual. She'd taken extra shifts so she could afford to cover the groceries and still have money for the rest of her ink. She'd tucked that ridiculous tip away, not sure if she'd keep it. If it was a tip, she'd have a good deal toward getting a place later, enough to get started on her own, get some basic furniture. Which is why it's not a tip. That much money doesn't come for free. For now, she'd keep doing what she was doing before—earning her own money, paying her own way. Which means being broke. She knew Rabbit would let her do payments, but that would mean admitting she needed credit, and she wasn't keen on that plan either.

Better to be tired than sold, though.

But tired meant forgetting to control her words. Her cattiness slipped out after school while she and Aisli

Aisli

Without thinking it through, Leslie said, "So are you watching for the second-string boy-toy or the starting player?"

Aisli

"Is it Keenan's or Seth's turn to take you home?"

"It's not like that," Aisli

Leslie rubbed her eyes and then stepped closer. "I'd rather believe it was like that than that you're letting Keenan use you because he's got money." She squeezed Aisli

"God, Les, why does everything have to be about sex? Just because you gave it away so easily—" Aisli

"Like what?" Leslie had been friends with Aisli

"I'm sorry," Aisli

"We're cool." Leslie forced a smile to her lips and wished these emotions would fade away. Numbness was increasingly appealing. "All I'm saying is that you've got a good thing with Seth. Don't let Keenan ruin it."

"Seth understands why I spend time with Keenan." Aisli

Leslie nodded, hating that they couldn't really talk about their lives, hating that even her closest friendships were filled with half-truths. Would she look at me with pity? The idea of seeing that in Aisli

Aisli

Leslie told her. It was easy to remember: she could see the eyes staring out at her, could picture them without trying. The more she thought of her art, the less tense she felt.

By the time Seth strolled up the street to meet Aisli

Seth draped an arm around Aisli

"It's not finished." Leslie was barely able to contain the shiver of pleasure at the idea of getting the rest of it, but the thought of showing anyone felt surprisingly not-appealing. "Show you in a few days."

"Rabbit must have been pleased. Virgin skin, right?" Seth got a faraway smile on his lips and started walking, moving in that easy lope that was the only speed at which he seemed to do anything.

"It was. I got the outline last week." Leslie moved faster to keep up with Seth and Aisli

Aisli

Guilty by association. She couldn't really blame Seth: Aisli

They'd only gone two blocks when Keenan and Niall stepped out of a doorway. Leslie wondered how they'd known Aisli

Seth tensed as Keenan held out his hand to Aisli

Niall stood to the side, watching the street. Aside from a curt hello to Seth, Keenan behaved as if he and Aisli

"Aisli

Aisli

"But Niall …" Aisli

"There's a guest in town. We need to find him. …" Keenan shoved his hair away from his face, elegance gone as quickly as it had arrived. "We should've gone hours ago, Aisli

Aisli

Keenan turned to Seth. "You can stay with Niall and Leslie, right?"

"Pla