Page 50 of Secrets

"Wanna take a stab at covering up my tat with the Drifters logo?"

"Cover-ups are kind of my specialty," she says and smiles. "For one, it's going to take a while. Like, multiple sessions. But I'm also your brother's ex-girlfriend. Aren't you supposed to hate me on principle?"

If only she knew he wishes the tattoo would take years just to spend that much time so close to her. "I got nowhere else to be. Plus, I live for the pain. And as for my brother, fuck him. You're better off without him."

She laughs. "Thank you, Max."

He follows her into the shop, and he takes off his leather and shirt to lean forward against the chair as she looks at the logo to draw up a markup. "So, how are you holding up with the whole Nelson thing?"

The silence drives him crazy, but not knowing whether she's still hung up on his brother makes him even crazier.

"It was a long time coming," she says. "This is probably going to be at least four sessions, Max."

"Works for me. And I'm really sorry to hear about what's going on with your Pops and this place. Nelson never said anything, otherwise the entire club would be down here backing you up."

She laughs. "Nelson only cared about what came out of my mouth when he was fucking it."

The image of Daphne on her knees for his brother forces him to tense up, and she pauses. "Sorry," he says.

"Just relax. Damn, you have a lot of defined back muscles. You really wanted to make this a challenge for me, didn't you?"

"Hard is kind of my specialty," he says, hoping she catches his drift.

"Such a flirt," she says as she gets everything ready. "How are you single, Max? You seem like a great catch."

Foryou.I’m a great catch foryou. "I guess I haven't earned the affections of the right girl yet."

She marks something on his back and shows him what she did with a mirror, handing him his own to see the reflection. “It doesn’t look like much, but it’s where we’ll start. Sound okay to you?”

The tattoo could turn into nothing but a black blob, and he’d be okay with it. Just being this close to her makes anything worth it. At the end of the day, this is what she does, and he trusts her. “Works for me.”

"It's so funny," she says, takes the mirror from him, and the buzzing of her tattoo gun starts.

The pain turns him on, and he hates the fact they're in a shop with others around. If they weren't, he'd strip down and show her just how excited he was. "What's funny?"

"When I first met you, the day after I hooked up with Nelson, I thought you were a better fit for me than he was."

What?"Really?"

"I mean, you're pierced and tattooed almost everywhere. At least, everywhere I can see. Me, too. Nelson can pull off a few arm tattoos in a polo and look professional, but not us."

"What do you know about my piercings?"

She laughs, and it sounds like sweet melodies in his ears. "I know more than you think. Nelson bitched about how stupid he thought getting your head pierced was. The truth is, I think he thought it could be fun but was too scared to let anyone puncture his beloved body part."

"He'd have to stop having sex to do it, which he couldn't commit to."

"But you were committed to it?"

"I didn't have anyone special to hold out on, so it wasn't difficult."

Laughing again, she continues the tattoo. "I think it's brave. The craziest thing I pierced is my nipples. It hurt like a bitch, but it's a lot of fun now."

"Got both mine done," he says. "Both eyebrows, tongue, nose, and four bars below the belt. Never did get my ears done, though."

"Too painful?" she jokes.

"The only thing I thought would be worth it would be gauges, but it was a lot of effort. Plus, your ears look weird when they come out if you go too big."

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