Page 164 of Hat Trick
“I thought so too.” I kiss her forehead. “When you’re with me, Lex, I always want you to be you.”
“Ah, so the stranger thing was a roleplaying bit.” The artist nods and draws an outline of the design. When she gives her approval of the size and positioning, he grabs his tattoo gun, and I move out of the way. “Kinky.”
Lexi huffs out a watery laugh. “Something like that.”
I hold her left hand while the artist rolls up the sleeve of her sweater and tattoos the five hearts and a tiny puck right above her right elbow. The process takes less than an hour, and when he finishes, she examines the permanent ink with a wide smile.
“It’s sexy,” I murmur, careful when I touch the area around the marks. “I like it.”
“So do I,” she whispers. “It’s perfect.”
“Anything for you, man?” the artist asks, and Lexi lifts an eyebrow.
“You should get something. We can be tattoo twins.”
“I’m not sure how five hearts would look on me. And there would be a huge fight over who each one represented. I don’t have favorite teammates.”
“Maverick, Hudson, Liam, Grant and… dare I say Ethan?” Lexi fills in for me, and I smile.
“Spot on, Armstrong.”
“What about a tiny roller coaster? It could have a double meaning: something crossed off your list, yeah, but also a representation of life. Its ups and downs. Highs and lows. But you always pull into the station at the end, ready to ride again.”
“Wow.” I drag my thumb across my bottom lip, thinking. “That was deep as shit.”
“Right?”
It could also commemorate the most perfect day I’ve had in a while. Our trip to Coney Island awakened something in me, and I wouldn’t mind having the memory of it on my body for the rest of my life.
“Let’s do it.” I slip off my jacket and tug off my hoodie, laughing when Lexi grabs the sweatshirt and holds it to her chest. “I’ll get it in the same spot as you so we really can be twins.”
My tattoo takes a little longer, and when the artist puts a protective film over it, I turn my arm to the side to admire it.
“It looks great,” Lexi says. “The perfect size.”
“I can take a picture of them side by side,” the artist says. “If you want.”
“Yes, please!” She hands over her phone and lines our arms up. “I need a photo to remember this date by.”
“You’re not going to remember it by the art we just put on our bodies?” I ask, and she sticks her tongue out at me.
I give the artist a thousand bucks, which is way too much money for the cost of the pieces, but Lexi is smiling nonstop. She keeps snapping photos of the tiny hearts, and I’d pay a thousand more just to keep her happy like this.
“Ready for the last stop?” I ask, stealing my hoodie back and pulling it on.
“I don’t see how tonight gets any better, but yeah. I am,” she says, looping her arm through mine as we step onto the sidewalk. “Does it involve sex toys?”
“What?” I sputter. “No, it does not involve sex toys.”
“You never know with you, Mitchy. I didn’t think I’d find ropes in your dresser, but here we are.”
“Okay, fair, but there are no sex toys scheduled for the rest of the night.”
“Bummer. Whatever else you have planned is just as good, I’m sure.”
“I’m starting to think you like busting my balls,” I say.
“Starting to think that? Oh, Riley.” Lexi flashes me a smile. “You’re so naive.”
