Page 37 of The Moment You Know

They sat in silence for several moments until Paige broke it with a sad smile. “You know what’s stupid? I wonder if he still has that tattoo.”

She hoped he did, if for no other reason than Ashley would’ve had to look at it for the past four years. It probably made Paige a terrible person to hope for such a thing, but wouldn’t hoping that Ashley’s boobs sagged down to her knees be worse?

“Oh, my God,” Jules said with a semi-shocked laugh. “I hope so. That motherfucker was big.”

“Yeah,” Paige agreed softly. “It was.”

Chapter 14

Twelve years ago

Paige looked at the large storefront window with ‘Elite Ink’ stenciled in white letters on the glass and then back to David, who stood at her side, watching her. When he’d said he had somewhere to go and wanted her to go with him, she hadn’t expected to end up at a tattoo parlor.

“Are you getting a tattoo?” she asked, reading the short list of services offered by Elite Ink: tattoos, laser tattoo removal, and piercings. She doubted he was getting a piercing and since he didn’t currently have any tattoos that he would need to get removed, she figured he was here to get one.

“Yes,” he answered, carefully gauging her reaction. “Does that shock the hell out of you?”

“No, it doesn’t shock the hell out of me.”

“You look shocked.”

“I just didn’t know you were thinking about getting a tattoo, is all.”

“Are you opposed to them?”

She shook her head. “No. I just can’t think of anything I’d want permanently inked on my skin. But you’ve obviously thought of something, though.”

“I have,” he confirmed with a smile. “And I’ve been wanting to get it done for a while.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“So am I here for moral support?”

“In a way. But mostly, I just wanted something pretty to distract me while I’m getting it done.”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her. When he pulled back, he felt a little bit nervous, a little bit excited, and a lot determined. Then, with a grin, he led her into the tattoo parlor.

Once inside, Paige was slightly taken aback to find that David’s tattoo artist was a young woman named Therese. She had an edgy look that befitted her place of employment, with dyed, cherry-red hair, heavy make-up, and piercings in her eyebrow, nose, and lip. Her skinny black jeans were strategically shredded across her thighs, allowing for teasing glimpses of colorful artwork underneath, and were tucked into shiny red Doc Martens. In contrast, the ink on her arms was on full display, thanks to the tank top she was barely wearing. Every inch of skin, from her shoulders to her wrists, was covered in exquisite, floral tattooed sleeves that literally had Paige mesmerized.

After introductions were made, Therese took David back to get him ready for the tattoo, leaving Paige alone in the waiting room for a few minutes. She took the time to check out the hundreds of framed pictures and designs of tattoos on the walls, wondering which one David had chosen. A fire-breathing dragon? A wolf’s face? A skull and crossbones?

And where would it go? On his chest? His arm? Maybe his back?

Paige was still contemplating all the possibilities when Therese reappeared. With a smile, she led the way down a long hallway to her private work space, where Paige found David shirtless and sitting in a chair. He was sort of straddling it, his bare chest pressed against what was normally the chair back, making it clear that whatever tattoo he was getting was going on his back. He pointed to a small stool on wheels for her to sit on, and after she did, rolled it forward until she was directly in front of him.

Therese sat on a similar stool behind David and put on a surgical mask and a pair of black gloves. Off to one side, there was a tray stand not unlike the ones a dentist would use for his instruments, with what Paige assumed were Therese’s tools of the trade. There were little colored ink pots, packaged alcohol wipes, stacks of gauze squares, spare gloves, and several different sized needles—but what really caught Paige’s attention was the tattoo machine that Therese picked up. Paige had been expecting to see something large and possibly menacing, but it really looked like a short, fat pen.

Therese did a little ‘test’ on David, to show him what it would feel like; it sounded like a dentist’s drill.

“Try and stay as still as possible, okay? If you need to take a break and stretch, or whatever, let me know. If you need a drink of water, let me know. If the pain becomes too much, or you feel light headed, let me know immediately,” Therese said from behind her mask. “I don’t want you passing out on me.”

David frowned at her over his shoulder. “Has that ever happened?”

Therese nodded. “A few times. They were big biker guys, too. ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’, is actually kind of true.”

“Jesus. Okay.”

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