Page 4 of When Love Becomes A Need
“You’re overthinking it,” I said as I stepped back from her.
“No, you’re just crazy. I don’t see how you got all that on you.” Holding my arms out, I examined the work of art on my body, admiring them.
Many of the tattoos that filled my arms were my work, so I took pride in them.
“Trust me, once you start, you won’t want to stop.” My phone went off in my shorts. I took it out of my pocket. Seeing it was a number I didn’t have saved, I ignored it. The only time I answered unknown numbers was on my business phone because they more than likely wanted to schedule an appointment. Other than that, my personal phone was for people I knew.
“Must be one of your little girlfriends.” Autumn looked at my phone, grinning.
I glanced up at her with a smirk on my face. “I don’t have little girlfriends. You know I ain’t even worried about any broad right now.”
“I don’t see why you would let Kylie just stop your whole life.”
Her mentioningthat namecaused my whole mood to shift. I slid my phone into my pocket and gave Autumn a blank look. The last person I was trying to discuss was Kylie.
Kylie was the last woman I gave my heart to, and I promised myself I would never do that shit again. She showed me that women were sneaky and disloyal. The only two women I trusted were my mom and sister.
“Kylie doesn’t have me doing anything.”
“Mhm, could have fooled me. Before her, you weren’t so guarded and mean. Now all you do is walk around with a frown on your face, using women like some object, not letting them get close to you.”
For some reason, when she mentioned me not letting women get close to me, the girl from the coffee shop popped in my head.
When I first walked into the coffee shop, she was so into her camera that she didn’t even notice me. When she finally looked up, I was instantly taken by her beauty. She had a youthful look to her face, making her look younger than I assumed she was. Her honey color hair was in its natural state that seemed to become a trend and in a bun. Her hair color complimented her bronze skin tone well.
Normally I was attracted to women that had a little more meat on their bones and more shape to them, but her thin frame fit her well. She wasn’t downright skinny though. Her chest was full, like two firm melons, and even though she had an apron on, I could see her waist was small, and the black leggings she sported showcased her ass. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. Enough to be noticed, but nothing to brag about.
“Ahmad!” Autumn called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“What?”
“You just zoned out. Is everything okay?” I nodded and tugged on my beard.
“Yeah, I’m about to head back to the shop though. I have some appointments I need to take care of.”
My phone vibrated again. This time I didn’t even attempt to look at it. Autumn gave me a questioning look.
“Okay, are you going to mommy and daddy’s this weekend?”
Nodding my head, I walked over to my sister and pulled her into a hug. “You know I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I didn’t.” Autumn giggled.
Our parents made sure one Sunday out of the month, both Autumn and I came over for dinner. It’s been like that since I moved out and probably will never change.
“Okay.”
After letting her go, I turned and headed to the front of her house so I could leave.
____
“You’re so good at what you do Ahmad. How did you get into tattooing?” The girl in my chair asked me.
I glanced up at her and then focused back on her thigh, continuing the tattoo I was currently in the middle of.
Marci had been here for close to two hours getting this thigh piece done. She wanted this garden piece, full of different flowers, colors, and shading on the side of her thigh.
I wasn’t into a lot of talking when I was working because I liked to concentrate. Not to say I didn’t talk to the people in my chair because it helped ease whatever nerves they had when getting under the needle, but I liked to work in silence, letting the music I played in the background be the only sound.
“Shit, I don’t know. I always liked to draw, and when I got my first tattoo, I knew it was what I wanted to do.” I grabbed a paper towel to wipe the area I had just shaded.
