Page 82 of Tattoo My Heart
“From what I can tell, you have beautiful skin,” she shrugs and smirks in the corner of her mouth. “You could surprise Cal with a tattoo.”
I bite and lick at my bottom lip, nerves getting the best of me. It is to the point where I can’t even process what’s happening anymore. I just want to fix whatever I have with Cal.
“You could get a tattoo of his name,” Micki tries her hardest to tempt me. “Since it’s only three letters, you’ll be done in no time.” She then watches me up and down with apprehension. “Do you have any tattoos?”
“No.”
“Hmm, I didn’t think so. Afraid of needles?”
“Not that I know of,” I shrug.
“That’s good. What about blood?” she continues with her questions.
My eyes about pop out of my head. “Am I going to bleed?”
“Not in the sense you’re thinking,” Micki laughs. “Just droplets.”
“How long does it take to heal?”
I can’t believe I am even considering this. I’ve never had the desire to get a tattoo in my entire life.
Micki immediately gets into business mode.
“I will give you a sheet with after care instructions. I will need you to follow them to the letter. You don’t want an infection, right?”
“No,” I shake my head. I haven’t even said yes, yet, here I stand, scared to death about getting a tattoo I’m not completely sure that I even want.
“There are also forms you need to fill out.” She slaps a packet on top of the counter and places a pen on top of them. “And I need to see a form of identification.”
“Why?”
“It is our policy to check and make sure everyone who enters our shop and asks for a tattoo is of legal age,” Micki explains. “I’m not saying you look like jailbait,” she teases. “But I have to follow the policy. I wouldn’t want to lose my job over something this simple.”
With shaky fingers, I pull my wallet out of my small bag and hand over my driver’s license. Micki takes it and runs it though a small scanner before handing it back over to me.
“Fill these out for me, please.” She pushes the stack of papers my way. “After you’re done, look through our catalog. Pick a font, colors, any other design you might like.”
“Will it be you doing the tattoo?” I finally think of asking.
She blinds me with her smile. “Yes. I do good work, I promise. Cal would vouch for me if he was here.”
I grab the papers and move to the couch placed against the wall, then get to work. It doesn’t take me long to fill everything out. I then grab the massive binder sitting on the coffee table in front of me, and I start looking over the designs. It all looks amazing, making it very hard for me to decide on what I want.
A sigh of disappointment escapes my lips when nothing catches my eyes. Until I flip one heavy page and fall in love. This is it.
I hurry up and stand up with all my stuff, dumping it all on Micki’s counter. When she notices where the binder is open, she grins.
“Ready for this?”
I swallow hard and follow her in the back. I guess I’m getting a tattoo.
Oh God.
TWENTY-SIX
IgnoringEvie’s texts took quite a bit of effort on my part. She was just asking to talk to me. At first, I wasn’t sure how to respond. Then, a plan hatched in my head. It required my full concentration, and I didn’t want to give myself away.
The plan required me to come to the Hamptons early. That also meant having to deal with the parents.
