Page 8 of Same Girl
She giggled and leaned her head back. “This view is so amazing, Fyve.”
“It’s what I wanted to show you.”
“Thank you for this, Fyve.”
“What’s your hesitation about me?”
“You’re a flirt. Women are drawn to you, and I see the way you look at them, talk to them, and interact with them.”
“I love women. They’re beautiful works of art, and I want them to know that they’re appreciated. But it’s you that I want.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I pulled her closer to me. Mya wasn’t all wrong about me. Women had always been my central focus, and I had always been surrounded by plenty of women. Hell, it was still like that, but I wanted to slow down and show her that I could be a different man.
My dad was in the streets, but he raised me. He and whatever woman he had in his life at the moment. My mama was too busy trying to live her life to be a mother, so we never had a goodrelationship. My parents had me when they were sixteen, so they had a lot of growing up to do too.
With me growing up in the streets and having a rough background, I had never known peace. But I was quickly finding that Mya brought that into my life. She was my place of peace, and it was the first time that I had ever known peace like that. As she snuggled further into my arms, I knew there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
“The second issue is the long-distance. I’ve never done a long-distance relationship before.”
“It won’t be a problem. I will drive down every Thursday evening and spend the weekends with you, unless you have other plans.”
“You can do that?”
“I own my own company.”
“Well, then I guess you found your girl.”
I kissed her temple sweetly, and for the first time in a long time, I was genuinely happy.
Tatted Up
“Do we have much longer?”
“No, baby girl,” I replied with my eyes laser-focused on my art as I angled my tattoo machine to finish the piece.
My client, Mya, wanted something sexy and unique on her inner thigh leading to her pelvis. She had opted for a set of dog paws surrounded by paisleys and flowers. People paid a hefty price for the work that I did at my shop. I had created a unique technique that allowed me to bring majestic colors into the tattoos that I designed and applied to my black clients. Because it was something that wasn’t easily done or seen anywhere, I charged a hefty price, but my clients were willing to pay.
Sitting back and putting the machine away, I grabbed a hand-held mirror and handed it to my client. “Here you are, Mya.”
“Thanks,” she replied softly.
There was something about her that tugged at my heart and reminded me of a girl I used to know. Mya was soft-spoken, yet discreet, based on the call she took earlier. Someone asked about her whereabouts, and she replied with, “Oh, I’m just running errands for the shop. I’ll be back later.” Another thing that I had picked up on was that she was insecure. It showed in the way she randomly peeked at herself in the mirror whenever she walked past one, and her face would fall, or how she kept asking me if I thought that the tattoo would look good or if her thighs were too fleshy.
The girl was fine as hell, so I wasn’t sure what she had to be insecure about.
“How do you like it?” I asked when she finished checking herself out.
“I love it. The color and definition are amazing. Uhm, . . . do you think that you could do something about these?” she asked, pulling up her T-shirt and pointing at the stretch marks around her tiny waist. Clearly, baby girl had lost weight, because she was fine as hell, and I couldn’t see how she would have one stretch mark on her otherwise beautifully unblemished skin.
“Gorgeous, I can do anything that you want me to. We can sit down during another appointment, and I can etch out some designs that would work there, unless you’ve already got something in mind.”
The beautiful smile that stretched those heart-shaped, plump lips and sparkled in those upturned chestnut-brown eyes shot straight to my heart. It made me always want to please her, and again, she reminded me of someone from a long time ago. I just couldn’t quite remember who.
“I would like that very much.”
I finished cleaning the site, bandaging her up, and giving her care instructions before I walked her to the door of the private room. Mya spun around and smiled at me before she hesitated.
