Page 3 of Burned By Love

He’d already cleaned his station after the last customer, but he did it again, then set everything out.He checked the design the guy had agreed on, and by the time he was done, Christy was calling him.

“Jonathan?Your appointment’s here.”

Jonathan sucked in a breath.He could do this.He’d checked the schedule, so he knew that he didn’t have anything else for several hours.He could get lunch, maybe even a nap, if he was lucky.

He plastered a smile on his lips and went out to greet the guy.Just like the last time he’d been here, the man’s eyes were wide, and he was pale.He kept looking around, his gaze bouncing from the front door to Christy, then to the hallway that led to the room where Jonathan worked.Jonathan couldn’t tell if the guy was trying not to look at Christy or if he was attempting to be stealthy about the fact that he was staring at her.Jonathan wouldn’t be surprised by either.

Christy was intimidating, but she was also gorgeous.Her fiery red hair fell in waves around her face, highlighting the dark black lipstick on her lips.She was dressed head to toe in black, the color only broken up by the colorful tattoos scattered across her arms and neck.As she smiled, the light caught on the ring in her lower lip, and the guy tripped on his own feet.

“Ready?”Jonathan asked him.He’d already forgotten the guy’s name, dammit.

The man gave Jonathan a tense smile.“Yeah, of course.”

Jonathan gestured at the customer to follow him into the back room.He paused for a moment to check the guy’s name, relieved when he could read it easily, even in his chicken scratch.“So, Billy.How are you doing today?”he asked.

“I’m fine.There’s nothing not to be fine about.”

Jonathan blinked.Billy was still nervous about his first tattoo.“Tattoos aren’t for everyone,” Jonathan said in a tone he hoped wasn’t judgy.“Some people love it, while others hate it.You don’t have anything to prove.”

Billy set his jaw.“I’m not proving anything.I want a tattoo.”

Clearly, he’d convinced himself of that, and Jonathan couldn’t exactly kick him out.He wasn’t even going to complain about how generic the tattoo was.Tribals?Unfortunately for him, he’d tattooed hundreds of them.At least it wasn’t the massive skull and snake Billy had wanted on his back.Jonathan loved doing custom pieces, but he could tell that if Billy decided to go ahead with that one, he’d be a pain in the ass from beginning to end.

Jonathan directed Billy to sit in the chair and take off his shirt.He settled next to him, glad to have everything ready.He just had to unpack the needles, show them to Billy so he’d know they were sterile, and get to work.

Billy jumped when Jonathan turned on the tattoo machine.Jonathan hadn’t thought it possible, but he was sure that Billy turned even paler.The man eyed the door as if he was planning on running, so Jonathan leaned back and gave him time to do just that.Billy didn’t move.He swallowed heavily, rubbed his face, and leaned back in the chair.

“Still okay?”Jonathan asked.

Billy nodded but kept staring at the door.Jonathan sighed.This wasn’t going to be fun.

He pressed his hand against Billy’s shoulder, held up the tattoo machine, and made the first line.Billy squeaked loudly and jerked away.Jonathan had been expecting it, so he immediately turned off the machine.It wasn’t good enough.Billy’s eyes rolled back, and he slumped forward like a puppet with broken strings.Jonathan barely had the time to grab him so he wouldn’t hit his forehead against the ground.

He gently lowered Billy to the floor and rolled him on his back.Then, with a sigh, he called out to Christy.“Hey, Christy?Can you call nine-one-one for me?”

* * * *

“THIS PLACE LOOKS NICE,” West said as he and Austin stood in front of the tattoo parlor.

It did look nice.From the little West could see through the wide windows, the place was clean and bright, unlike some of the parlors he’d frequented over the years.He wasn’t surprised they’d gotten a call, though.Most people were fine with tattoos, but sometimes, things went wrong, and when they did, first responders got involved.

Something had definitely gone wrong today.

“Someone fainted,” a woman said as she opened the door and gestured them in.“First tattoo.”

West grimaced as he, Austin, and the others followed her inside.The waiting area had a corner set up with a small fridge and a coffee machine, and the couch and chairs looked comfortable, and, more importantly, clean.The air smelled of coffee and cleaning products.It stung West’s sensitive nose.

They reached the back room.The place wasn’t big, so he and Austin stayed back to give Lisa and Jeremy space to work.West could help in a pinch during medical calls, but Lisa and Jeremy had more experience than he did, and he felt more comfortable kicking down doors than reviving people who’d fainted.

Since Lisa and Jeremy wouldn’t need him, West looked around.The room was small, but it was brightly lit and smelled of disinfectant.The desk in the corner held an open sketchpad, a tablet, and markers.The bright art on the walls was gorgeous.West wouldn’t mind having a few of those on his body.He especially wouldn’t mind it if the person doing the tattooing was the tall guy hovering nearby.

The man looked both annoyed and worried as he kept peeking at the guy who’d fainted.His brown hair flopped in front of his eyes, and he had to push it away a few times.It exposed the freckles dotting his nose and cheeks.He wore jeans and a t-shirt that exposed the designs on his arms—bright flowers but also delicate line art.

The tattoo artist got even cuter when he wrinkled his nose as the man on the floor groaned like he was dying.

“You’re drooling,” Austin said, bumping his shoulder against West.

“I’m not.”

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