I’m just finishing up the last little bit of this tattoo when I hear the door chime. Knowing that Cam is coming, I focus on wrapping up, so I can get out to see her. I don’t know what it is about her, but she does something to me. I’ve never been the one to have a serious relationship; hell, I’ve perfected the bachelor lifestyle over the years, and it has always suited me just fine.

“All right, man,” I tell James, as I wipe down his new tattoo. “You know the drill. Keep it covered, apply the healing lotion, and don’t scratch it.” I hold up a hand mirror, so that he can see his new ink.

“Thanks, man. It looks great. Can you snap a quick picture of it before you wrap it up?” he asks, handing me his cell. I take a couple pictures for him before covering the ink and sending him on his way. I clean up my station, making sure to take my time and not rush the cleaning process.

I walk out to the reception area and see Cam sitting there, looking at something on her phone. I stand there, admiring her for a few moments. I take in the way she smiles when looking at a picture on her screen, moving on to a small chuckle at something she finds funny.

I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about her that makes me want to know everything I can. I feel this pull toward her, and that’s something I’ve never felt with a woman. It’s kind of weird, especially since I’ve only been around her for maybe an hour total, and don’t really know anything about her, except that she just moved to town and lost someone important to her.

“Hey,” I say, the word coming out gravelly.

Cam looks up from her phone and smiles as soon as she sees me. “Hey! Here’s your dinner. Do you want to sit and eat before we start?”

“Yes, but let’s head back to my station. You can take a look at the finalized stencil, and make sure you don’t want anything changed.”

Cam stands, handing me the takeout bag, and we walk back to my area.

“You can hang your stuff on the hook behind the door, and take a seat in the chair,” I tell her, as I set my food down on my table and pull out her stencil.

“Here’s the final drawing.” I hand it to her, to inspect and approve.

“Oh my!” Cam gasps. “Ethan, it’s perfect!” she exclaims, as she covers her mouth with one hand. I see a tear escape the corner of her eye, and I instantly reach out to wipe it away, but quickly drop my hand from her face.

“I’m glad you love it,” I gruffly tell her. Clearing my throat, I open my to-go box, pulling out the first taco. “Take a seat, and I’ll scarf down this food quick; then we can get started.”

Cam sits, still looking at the drawing. I want to get her mind off the pain I can see splayed across her face.

“So, what brought you to Nashville?”

“Lilly, and my job.”

“Have you known Lilly for a long time?”

“We met in college. We were on the same dorm floor our freshman year, and had a couple general education classes together. We ended up studying together a lot of the time, and our friendship bloomed from there, until we became best friends. I was really sad when she moved back home to be with her parents, shortly after she got pregnant with Ashlyn. We kept in touch, though, never allowing the distance to come between us. She was my rock when Ben died, and has begged me to move out here for months. She knew I needed a change to really move on, so when she saw the job listing for my position, she texted me a link right away.

“I took my sweet time applying for it, but finally took that leap and sent in my resume. Within days, I had a phone interview, then one by Skype, and finally, they flew me here to have an ‘in person’ final interview. I walked out of that meeting with a job offer in hand and a calm sense of peace over me. I knew this was what I needed to truly start my life over, without Ben.”

“Sounds like the best kind of friendship to have,” I reply, as I take the last bite of my food. I didn’t realize how starved I was until I opened the box and the smell hit me. I clean up my small mess and stand to wash my hands before pulling out a pair of gloves.

“Let’s get this started. Are you still okay with the placement we talked about before?” I ask.

“Yes, I think I want it on my left side, about here,” she says, lifting her shirt to point to the area.

“That will work perfect. Can you slip your shirt off, so it’s out of the way? I’ll also roll the top of your jeans down just a bit, so I have room to work.”

Cam slips her shirt off over her head, and I do my best not to ogle her too much as I take in her almost naked torso. I’ve seen every body part on countless women—some as they undress before we fuck and the others because of my job. But the sight of her smooth skin, and breasts that look like they could fill my hands perfectly, nearly takes my breath away and causes my dick to harden, until it’s pressing against the zipper of my jeans. Fuck, I need to calm down. This girl has me tied up in knots.

I take a few calming breaths, and grab the stencil, holding it up next to her skin. “Does here work?”

“Yes, that’ll be perfect,” she answers, as I press the stencil against her skin to transfer the design. I pull the transfer paper off, revealing the outline of the design on her.

I help position her in my chair, where she will be the most comfortable, yet in the best position for me to tattoo her without much movement needed. Once she’s settled, I get my equipment ready and we get started. I notice her flinch when I first start, but she quickly relaxes while I work.

“Are you from Nashville?” Cam asks, breaking the silence.

“No, I grew up in Michigan. Went to school at U of M, where I played hockey. I was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes after my senior year. I played for them for a season, and then was traded to the Nashville Predators. I played for them for two seasons before I suffered a career-ending injury during the offseason. I loved it here, so I decided to stay. It took me awhile to figure out what I was going to do, now that I can’t play hockey at that level.”

“Wow, that’s quite the story. What position did you play?”

“I was a forward. Do you know anything about hockey?”

“A little. I’ve been to a couple games and seen a few on TV. I don’t understand all the rules, but I’ve at least seen a few games.”

“Impressive. I can teach you anything you want to know about the game,” I tell her, as I finish up the feather, moving on to the wording. “How are you holding up? Still good?”

“Yes, it’s not as painful as I thought it might be. A few places have been more tender than others, but overall, it’s not that bad.”

“Good, let me know if that changes. I should be done shortly.”

“How did you injure yourself?” she asks.

“I broke my back in a skydiving accident. I’ve always been a daredevil, always seeking out the most adventurous things I could find to do, and I finally found one that got the better of me.”

“Oh wow!”

“Yeah, I had to have surgery and now have a metal plate in my back. My doctors highly advised that I not return to hockey, as the wrong hit could cause more damage. I was devastated, to say the least, and very angry about that, at first. I felt like my entire life had been ripped from my hands, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.”

“That would be hard to handle.”

“It took me awhile to not be mad at the world. But with time, lots of PT, and therapy, I’ve moved on, and realized my doctors that wouldn’t sign off on me returning to the game, were just looking out for me.”

We continue small talk as I finish up. I set my gun down, grabbing a clean cloth to wipe down her fresh ink. I grab the mirror and hold it up so that she can see the reflection.

I watch Cam’s face, the emotions as she sees the tattoo on her skin for the first time. Tears fill her eyes and before I know what I’m doing, I’ve set the mirror down and pulled her into my arms. I guide Cam’s head onto my chest and run a hand over her hair, whispering softly in her ear. “Shhh, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be just fine.”

I hold her as she lets her tears fall. Cam’s fisting my shirt as her tears soak into the fabric. A few minutes later, she takes some calming breaths and the tears dry up.

“I’m so sorry about that. The emotions just overtook me.”

“Nothing to apologize for, I’ve got you,” I tell her, before fully releasing her from my arms. “Would you like me to take a picture of it before I wrap it up for the night?”

“Yes, please, if you don’t mind. I promised Lilly that I’d send her a picture of it once it was done.”

Cam hands me her phone and I snap the pictures for her, then I cover her tattoo and pull out the aftercare instruction sheet to give her. “You’ll want to leave this covered for about four to six hours. After that, keep it uncovered. When you wash, do so gently, and pat it dry. You’ll need to apply a thin layer of salve to it daily, until it fully heals. Do your best not to scratch at it, as that can cause scarring on it.”

“Thanks, Ethan. It’s perfect,” she tells me again, slipping her shirt over her head.

I finish cleaning up my station, before turning back to Cam.

“$250, correct?” she asks, reaching into her purse and pulling out her wallet.

“Yes,” I reply, and she hands me the cash.

“Thank you again, Ethan. It turned out so much better than I could have ever dreamed of.”

“Anytime. Now that your tattoo is finished, have any fun plans for the rest of the evening?”

“If you consider a marathon on TV and a pint of ice cream as fun plans, then yes,” she says, laughing.

“Care to go grab a drink with me somewhere?”

She ponders my invite for a few moments before answering. “Sure, I’d love to.”

“Let me just close up, and we can head out.”

“Anything I can help you do?”

“Nope, I just need to turn out all the lights and lock up. I’ll take out my trash when we leave, as we’ll need to go out the back door, so I can set the shop’s alarm system.”

I head out to the reception area and lock up the front, turning off all the lights before heading back to my area. I grab my stuff and escort Cam to the back door. After setting the alarm, I lock up the shop and quickly stop at the dumpster to drop the bag of trash off before we head toward the bars.

Almost as an afterthought, I reach for Cam’s hand, which she gives to me freely, and I link our fingers together. “What kind of place are you in the mood for tonight?”

“I’m up for anything, really. I haven’t been to many of the places down here yet.”

“Let’s head to The Tap House. It’s a little more laidback there, compared to the other places down in this area.”

“Sounds good to me. Lead the way,” she says, smiling.

We walk, hand in hand, down the busy sidewalk. This area of town seems to always be bustling with people most nights each week. It’s a Thursday night, around 9:15, and it could rival some places on a Friday or Saturday night. Walking with Cam like this just feels right. She fits nicely at my side, and I want to get to know everything there is to know about her.

We walk into the bar, and I scope out a small booth along the back wall. We head to it, and Cam takes a seat. “Can I get you something from the bar?” I ask.

“I’m good with something on tap. I prefer lighter beers.”

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her as I step away from the table and walk to the bar. I see my buddy Nick, working behind the bar, and get his attention.

“Hey, man,” Nick greets me, reaching out his fist for me to bump with my own. “What can I get you tonight?”

“I’ll take two beers; whatever blonde you recommend.”

Nick grabs two beer glasses and fills them up, setting them down in front of me. I pass him the cash and head back to Cam. I set the beers down on the table and slide in next to her.

“Thank you,” Cam says, reaching for one of the beers. She brings it to her lips and takes a drink.

“You’re welcome,” I tell her, watching the movement as she swallows before taking a drink myself. “Are you ready to start your new job on Monday?”

“Oh yes, I’m excited to get started. I’ve heard such great things about this agency.”

“What exactly will you do for them?”

“I’m helping families obtain services their kids need. Sometimes that’s aiding with IEP services through the schools, sometimes it’s additional speech therapy outside of school, or occupational or physical therapy services. My main focus is the services within the schools and helping fight for the students’ needs when they have a 504 or IEP in place. Some schools balk at having to provide the services that students need. It’s my job to help the families fight back and obtain those services.”

“Wow, impressive. It sounds like what you do is very important. I can’t believe that schools would try and deny services to kids that need them.”

“Oh, it happens all the time. Services like these cost the districts extra money, and most districts are always trying to find places they can cut the budget.”

“That’s really shitty. I’m glad they have someone like you to help them fight.”

“Me, too,” she says, before taking another drink of her beer. I continue to watch her every move, finding myself captivated by the movement in her neck as she swallows. I’ve never found someone swallowing beer to be so erotic and sexy, but fuck, does watching her turn me on. I find myself wanting to slide my lips along the column of her neck, bite my way across her collarbone, and descend further down her body.