Future prospects? What, is she planning to run for office? More importantly….
“What about my future prospects?”
She bites her lip again, then she squares her shoulders. “You’re a big boy. You could have declined the bet.”
Yeah-fucking-right. I was all-in the instant she threw down the gauntlet. There was no scenario where I was going to walk away from this woman.
She finishes filling out the form and, once the tattoo artist has cleaned and sterilized his station, he invites us back to his chair.
“Hey, man. I’m Eric.” He’s a young guy, probably only a few years older than us, and he radiates confidence.Thank Christ. “What did you have in mind?”
I gesture to Tink. “Whatever she picked.”
“For real?” He chuckles and shakes his head. “What? You lose a bet?
I scrub a hand over my face, fighting a blush. “How’d you guess?”
“I see it all the time.” He turns to Tink and rubs his hands together. “Let me see what you chose so we can determine the best placement.”
She opens the design book and points, careful to prevent me from peeking. “This one's for him.” She flips the page. “I’d like the birds in flight.”
Eric smirks and turns back to me. “Where do you want it, amigo?”
Talk about a loaded question. “I’m probably going to regret this, but since I don’t know what I’m dealing with, just put iton my ass. At least then it will be hidden 95 percent of the time.”
Tink’s eyes go wide, and my momentary embarrassment is nothing compared to the crimson flush that stains her cheeks. It spreads down the column of her neck and disappears into the collar of her coverup.
“Don’t get shy now,” I tease. “This is your deal. You have to check the placement.”
“I can get you a mirror to view it before we start,” Eric offers.
No way I’m letting Tink off that easy. After all, this was her idea. “Nah. I don’t want to see it until it’s done. I want to be surprised,” I add, winking at my co-conspirator.
“Fine.” Her voice cracks just enough to suggest it’s anything but fine. “It’s no big deal. I’ve seen plenty of butts.”
“Sweet.” I roll my shoulders, pretending to be hyped. “Let’s do this.”
Eric gestures for me to lie face down in the chair, and as I do, he points to the next station. “Nita is on break, but she’ll be back soon. She can do your ink, if that’s cool?”
Tink must nod because Eric turns his attention back to me, and I drop trou.
He does his thing back there, and before I know it, Tink is giving him the green light to start tattooing. There’s a quiet buzz, and I don’t have time to so much as blink before the needle pierces my left ass cheek.
Fuck. My entire body goes taut because damn, that hurts like a mother.
“Try not to clench,” Eric says, adding a whole other layer of awkward to the process. “It’ll only make it hurt more.”
Words of wisdom.
“Are you okay?” Tink asks, her voice laced with concern.
“It’s all good.” Total lie, but I’m not going to bitch about the pain. It would just make her feel bad. She’s right; I made mychoice and now I need to face the consequences. “Just surprised me there for a second.”
Who knew getting ink would feel like getting stung a thousand times in a row?
Only everyone who’s ever done it, dumbass.
I close my eyes and try to think about hockey, training camp, and the fact that I’m going to be the newbie when I get to San Jose. I’d never admit it to the guys, but I’m nervous as hell.
