Page 5 of Daisy Chain
“Ladies first.” He waves his hand in the direction of the velvet curtain, where I’m assuming the work gets done.
“I don’t mind waiting.” Once he’s gone, I can make a run for it like the chicken he accused me of being.
“I insist.” He takes a seat on a sofa, rests his ankle on his opposite knee, and relaxes back like he has all the time in the world. “Good luck. Hope it doesn’t hurt too much.”
“It hurts?” I wheeze.
“Only a little.”
I never thought about the pain. “He’s trying to scare you.” Sally clasps my wrist and drags me through the curtain and into the room.
And it worked.
I glance around at the orange painted walls with band posters in vintage frames hanging on them. A Persian rug covers the floor, with a large black leather chair on top, next to a table holding pots of ink and a large looking needle. Suddenly, the alcohol gurgles in my gut.
“What was happening out there?” Sally asks with excitement. “If you had a few extra minutes, I thought you were about to get fucked on top of the counter.”
“Shhh.” I cup my hand over Sally’s mouth. Even though the tattoo artist is busy setting up and appears not to be payingattention to us, it’s not the kind of conversation I want to have in front of a stranger. Also, Kade’s on the other side of the curtain; I don’t want him to overhear us.
Sally nods, and I drop my arm.
“I have to say one thing. That man ishot. Forget about getting a revenge tattoo. Go have revenge sex with him.”
I cover her mouth again. “Enough,” I say on a harsh whisper. “He might hear you. If I take my hand away, will you stop talking about this?”
She nods.
“Are you sure?”
She nods again.
I tentatively drop my hand, prepared to cover her mouth again if I need to.
“We have so much to discuss when we get home,” she whispers. Sharing an apartment means we can’t part ways at the end of the evening and avoid whatever conversation she wants to have. Even if I barricade myself in my room, she’ll find her way in.
“So, you want Kade’s name tattooed?” the woman asks. Her lips twitch with a grin.
I don’t want to. It’s more that I need to prove I’m spontaneous and not scared of a little dare. “Is he still out there?”
Sally peeks through the crack in the curtain. “Yep.”
I let out a long breath. “Then yes, I am.”
“What color, font, size and position do you want?”
“Umm… I’ll have it in black, blocked letters and as small as you can make it.”
“And where do you want it?”
The skin where he touched tingles. I point to the side of my breast. “Here, please.”
“No problem. It’ll only take a moment for me to draw it up.” She walks to the side of the room and leans over a bench to get my design ready.
My heart pounds so hard and fast it feels like it’s lodged in my throat. I glance at Sally. She’s grinning from ear to ear, looking like she’s having the best time.
Too soon, the tattoo artist is back. “Okay, let’s get started.”
I remove my jacket and blouse. Next, I unhook my bra with fumbling fingers and slide my arms out of the straps. Holding the cups over my breasts with one arm, heat creeps up my neck. I sit sideways on a chair and move my arm out of the way so she can get to my side. She cleans my side with a wipe before she places the stencil where I wanted the tattoo, then asks, “You’re still happy to have it here? Is this size and font okay?”
