Free Slide by Garrett Leigh Page A

Gatoradebetween us. “I’m going to need that in the morning.”
    I looked up at the sky. “Dude, it is morning.”
    Pete pretended to scowl, but he was clearly amused.
    Turned out I was hungry. I made short work of the greasy cheeseburger and leaned back on the bench. Pete reached into his pocket when he was done with his and threw a package at me. I caught it and turned it over in my hands. “Cookie dough?”
    “It’s the only food I’ve ever seen you buy. Hey, look, there’s your shop. Have you got any work up in the window yet?”
    The change of subject was sudden and deliberate, but I let him have it. I glanced at the tattoo shop window across the street and shrugged. After the incident with the craft knife, it had taken me a few days to get my designs together. I’d finally given them to Ted the previous week, but I hadn’t had the balls to check if he’d used them.
    Pete tossed his burger wrapper into a nearby trash can and grabbed my arm to haul me to my feet. “Let’s go see.”
    I drifted along behind him as he darted across the street to the studio window. He peered through the glass, but it took a moment for me to remember he didn’t have a clue what he was looking for. Reluctantly, I stepped forward, and when I looked at the display I was surprised to see that every sketch I’d given Ted was there. Stunned, I pointed to the one that was easiest to see. “That’s mine.”
    Pete leaned forward to look closer. “Seriously? Wow, that’s amazing. I didn’t know you did shit like that. Is that like the tat on your wrist?”
    “I guess. I did that myself, so it’s probably the same style.”
    “Wow,” he repeated thoughtfully as he stared at the image. “That’s, like, proper artwork. I didn’t know you were that good.”
    I shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “I’m not. I only finished my apprenticeship a few months ago. This is my first real job.”
    “That makes it even better.” Pete turned away from the window. “There’s nothing wrong with being at the beginning of something, Ash. Sometimes that’s the best bit.”
    “Sounds like a cigarette to me.”
    He rolled his eyes and scowled. He didn’t object out loud to me smoking, but I knew it wasn’t a habit he approved of. Occasionally, he came home from a night shift in a good mood and thought it was hilarious to hide my cigarettes. That shit wasn’t cool. He needed a full belly to be civil; I needed my smokes.
    We left the shop and walked the rest of the way home. On the way, Pete filled me in on why he’d seemed to know Charlie. It turned out Ellie had been around a lot more than I’d realized, and in my absence, they’d become firm friends. Funny, since she hadn’t mentioned that to me. I was aware of her habit of sneaking things into my room when I wasn’t there, like the art-school prospectus I’d found under my pillow, but I hadn’t realized she’d been bugging him too. “Sorry. Has she been waking you up?”
    Pete shook his head. “Nah. Besides, she brings me coffee from Nino’s. A chick like that can do no wrong. Maybe you should just give her a key.”
    I looked at him like he’d lost his mind as he opened the door to our building. “Why?”
    He waited until we were inside and had reached the top of the stairs before he shot me a sideways look. “Because she only lives a few blocks away. It makes sense to have someone nearby with a spare key.”
    “I don’t know,” I hedged. “She’s kind of relentless. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
    He opened the door to the apartment and kicked his shoes against the wall with a thud. “I’m sure. You don’t have any secrets from her, do you?”
    “Not really.”
    Pete dumped his jacket on the floor and started for the bathroom. “Good,” he called over his shoulder. “I already gave her the key.”
    I went to my bedroom to change my clothes with his laughter still echoing in my head. He was still chuckling to himself when I met him in his room a