MARISSA
“If you don’t get your head on straight I won’t let you get anywhere close to the machine, girl,’’ Kam warned me as I stared at nothing in particular when I was supposedly dusting the display shelf where clients could find all the catalogs.
I glanced back at my mentor and found him looking more concerned than annoyed as I would have pictured him to be. Kam was usually tough, and while we got along well, and I now considered him a friend, he wasn’t to be messed with when it came to his shop and his reputation as a tattoo artist, which I got.
I sighed and shook my head to try and futilely chase away the thoughts ever present since I had met my birth mother four days ago. I’ve been weird with everybody, and now that I was back at work after my one week vacation it’s obvious I was nowhere near as fine as I kept telling my brother, parents, and friends.
“Sorry, Kam. I—‘’
“Don’t give me a bullshit excuse either, girl.’’ He rounded the front desk and stalked toward me. Kam was about an inch taller than me, and he’s never really worried me, even when he glared at me with his brown eyes that made most people wary around him. But today, I was worried. Not about him, but about myself. I couldn’t afford to mess my apprenticeship, not when I was so close to finishing it.
When he got to me, he snatched the duster from my hand and threw it on the front desk. “I know you. There’s something on your mind, and you’re not really here. If you want to work today, you need to get it out of your head.’’ He put his hands on my shoulders. “What’s wrong?’’
“I met my birth mother a few days ago,’’ I said quietly. Kam knew I was adopted since he met Jameson. Considering I looked nothing like I had Latino blood, he questioned me. I didn’t mind telling him. It’s no secret, and I genuinely liked Kam. It’s also nice to have a friend who was a few years older. He could be of good advice when needed be.
“Oh shit. How did it go?’’ he asked and pulled away, sitting on the edge of the front desk.
“Better than expected with her. But…’’ I shrugged. “It’s weird to see all these pictures of her happy family on her walls, to realize she adopted someone and I look so much like her.’’
“Wow, it’s… I'm sorry. I can see why your mind isn’t fully here. If you need a day off—.''
“Oh no. Believe me, if I have today off I’m going to replay everything in my head again, and I’m tired of it. Honestly, I’d rather not relive my encounter with her adopted son. He’s a real-life asshole.’’
Kam cringed. “How old is he? If he’s a teenager, it’s never a good period to face someone new.’’
I snorted and stared up at the white ceiling and the spots up there that made the shop so bright. Usually, people imagined tattoo shops as dark and edgy, but Kam had taken another spin on it. The walls were all white, but he’s drawn huge tatts on them, some colorful, some black with lots of shading. The whole shop was a work of art. The open space was amazing, but the three stations didn’t offer much privacy if there’s someone here to get a tattoo somewhere more private on their body, so there’s a room in the back, next to the office where Kam or one of his other tattoo artists could work.
“He’s twenty-four.’’
“Ah.’’ He cleared his throat, and I knew that look on his face as he played with the stud in his eyebrow. He’s trying to come up with something reassuring for me. Good luck with that.
“Yeah.’’ I grabbed my phone from my dark blue skinny jean’s pocket and checked the time. Sophie should be here soon to cover the front desk, and the other tattoo artists weren’t expected for a couple of hours when their first appointments get here. “It’s ridiculous to mull all of this over anyway. I promise you I’ll be fine.’’
He nodded but said nothing and I already knew he wouldn’t give me much to do today. Shit, I really wanted to do something with myself instead of only watching the others work even though it’s always very instructional.
I turned around to the front door made of glass and unlocked it. With a last deep sigh, I turned the sign to ‘open’ and promised myself I wouldn’t think of Lydia again today. Or Wyatt. Yes, I needed not to think of Wyatt again especially.
***
WYATT
“You have no idea how much I want to punch you right fucking now,’’ I said through gritted teeth. But the fucker didn’t give a shit. Ralph just laughed, head thrown back as we made our way up 17th Street.
“It’s no different than any other given day, asshole.’’
Since Marissa landed on my mom’s doorstep four days ago, I’d been in a more sullen mood than my usual. I’d also been more prone to let my temper have the best of me. I ended up fucking up an asshole two nights ago at a club when the guy wanted to get a rise out of me. Good thing Ralph had been there or I’d have sent the man to the hospital, and my ass would be in jail now. My parents didn’t need that kind of shit coming from me. I had done enough as a teen.
“Yeah, but since when do you need me to hold your fucking hand when you want ink, huh?’’ Because the jackass dragged me here under the pretense we’d get a coffee before I went back to work at the gym. But instead, he was heading to see Marissa. The idiot must be smitten or some shit like that because he never talked so much about a chick. And the idea didn’t sit well with me. It really didn’t fucking sit well.
He stopped, but I didn’t notice it immediately. It’s when I took three more steps that I realized he wasn’t beside me. I turned around and found him glaring at me. “What?’’
“She hasn’t been in contact with your mother since she visited so stop this shit, man. She’s not goin' to steal your place in the family. It’s not her family anyway.’’
“I know she fucking won’t,’’ I growled darkly, but everything in me was screaming out my fear. I had clenched fists, my whole fucking body was shaking from tension, and if I didn’t stop grinding my teeth like this, I’d have no damn teeth anymore to show my dentist.
“You know? Shit, Wyatt. You’re always waitin' for the other shoe to drop. You’re damn scared she’s goin' to replace you in some way when it comes to your mother. But guess what, asshole? She won’t!’’
“If you want that ink now, let’s go. If not, I have better things to do,’’ I retorted harshly, but it didn’t spite him. He only shook his head and started walking again.
“Then go. It’s not like I can force you to stay anyway.’’ But I didn’t walk away. He’d just given me an opening, and I was still walking beside him, wrung tight and pissed. “Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t mind oglin' her sweet, sweet body again.’’
“Shut the fuck up,’’ I snarled.
His answer was to laugh loudly again, catching off guard a few people walking around us. And most of them got guarded when they saw our tatts, Ralph’s piercings, and crazy hair.
***
MARISSA
“What needle would you use here, girl?’’ Kam asked me as I sat next to him while he worked on a college student here for the first piece on his lean forearm. The piece was a very detailed and realistic cracked hourglass of which sand escaped.
“For this shading? A 5RS?’’ I asked, but really, I was sure of myself. When I had worn Kam down, and he made me the ‘shop bitch’ I had already known a lot, but at the time it had still been theoretical. Since then, I’d learned a lot.
Instead of answering Kam smiled and chatted with his client anew, making sure the guy didn’t tense too much.
“Marissa!’’ Sophie called me, and I looked at her desk facing the front door to find Ralph and a pissed off looking Wyatt close behind. Great.
Kam was still focusing on his work, and I knew nothing short of a bomb could make him look up from the piece he’s working on. I stood up, tugged on my t-shirt with InkSpired written over my chest when it rode high above my waist.
“Ralph, let me guess. You’re here for a cover-up tatt?’’ I smiled, and it surprised me when it wasn’t forced. This guy with the crazy hair was so easy going that it wasn’t too difficult for me to push the rest away and focus on his bright spirit. But, I’d lie if I said it wasn’t difficult not to look at his friend behind him.
“You convinced me. I can’t resist a beautiful girl,’’ he retorted with a wink that had me chuckling.
“Alright.’’ I glanced at Sophie, and I frowned when I realized she’s busy checking out Wyatt and his big arms crossed with the muscles bulging against his black t-shirt. “Soph, who’s free for a cover-up tatt?’’
She blinked her big blue eyes and pink colored her otherwise pale cheeks. She looked at the planning on the laptop in front of her and shook her head before she stared up at me. “There’s no opening today. And Kam is booked the rest of the week.’’
“I’m happy if you work on me, Marissa,’’ Ralph butted in with a big smile.
Wyatt scoffed and came closer to stand next to his friend, towering over everybody around here. “She’s a damn apprentice, fucker. She’s not going to put ink on you.’’
I bristled at his gruff voice and the way he easily put me in my place. Of course, he’s right, but still.
“Oh, but she could!’’ Sophie said, taking my defense.
Sophie and I had hit it off surprisingly fast when I started here at InkSpired. She’s the one doing all the piercings, and she also took care of the front desk, appointments and some paperwork for Kam. I wasn’t really into piercings for myself yet, but if I ever wanted one, I knew she’d be the one I’d ask. And even though she looked sweet and a bit at odds with the place and profession with her pencil skirt and blouse and librarian glasses, I knew for a fact she covered a few nicely placed piercings.
“No, I can’t.’’
“Oh come on. We both know Kam would have never let you get close to his machine and ink some simple pieces if you weren’t ready for your stuff.’’
I glanced at both men listening quietly, one with a huge smile and the other with a scowl and intense eyes trained on me, unwavering. “It’s not the point, Soph. Book Ralph with Kam. I think his designs would fit him more.’’ I turned back to Ralph and played with the hem of my t-shirt trying to ignore how both men looked down my cleavage. “I’m sure Sophie will find you an opening with Kam for next week.’’
“Wyatt? Dude, is that you?’’ Kam’s loud voice interrupted Ralph from answering. We all turned to see my mentor taking off his gloves and walking toward us with an odd smile on his face. It’s odd because the man rarely smiled. One look at Sophie made me realize our thoughts were heading the same way: what the hell?
“Hey, Kam, long time no see,’’ Wyatt greeted him, and both men shook hands. If I looked closely enough and squinted a bit, I’d say Wyatt was smiling under that thick dark scruff of his.
“Last time I inked you was what…two years ago?’’
“Yeah, that’s about right. But I’m not here for me. My friend wants to cover up a sloppy piece.’’
Kam turned to Ralph, shook his hand as his dark eyes detailed his sleeves. “Nice work, but,’’ he pointed at the ugly tatt on his forearm I had picked on immediately when I had met him a few days ago, “What the hell happened here?’’
Ralph laughed and shook his head. “Alcohol was involved, both for the guy about to tattoo me and me.’’
Kam grimaced. “So damn unprofessional,’’ he muttered to himself and came to stand behind Sophie and me, eyeing the planning to find an opening. “Ya know what you want?’’
Ralph shook his head. “Not really. Your girl here convinced me to get a cover-up tatt, that’s as far as I thought.’’
“You should get something that’d blend with your sleeve,’’ I said, eyes on his forearm, already thinking of ways to cover up the tattoo and blend in the new ink with the sleeve. I was itching to grab my notepad, pencils and start sketching. But I couldn’t just yet. One day soon, though.
“You want her to work on your piece?’’ Kam asked with interest. “Or you want in her pants?’’
My eyes widened as Sophie choked on her coffee and Wyatt’s scowl deepened as he fixed me harshly. Ralph, not fazed in the least, shrugged.
“I want her to work on my piece, but if she also lets me in her pants, I won’t say no.’’
“Oh hell,’’ Wyatt mumbled and stuck his hand in his hair, tugging a few dark strands upward, messing with it more than it already was. It’s annoying how messy hair looked good on guys like him, but on women, a few strands out of place and you either looked like you got electrocuted or someone ravished you.
“Wyatt, my man, your friend is a comic.’’ Kam looked at me and nodded. “Alright, let’s start slow on this. Girl, you take him to the office and discuss a design. You come up with a flash and a sketch, and we’ll see if you can work on the piece yourself. What d’you say?’’
“What the—''
“It’s so great!’’ Sophie squealed and jumped on me to hug me. She’s so small that she had to go on her tiptoes to wrap her thin arms around my neck.
“You serious?’’ I asked in disbelief. I knew I had to prove him I was good enough by coming up with an insane design, but it’s huge already.
“I am. Now, show me I’m right,’’ he said, wrapping an arm around my neck and messing up my hair like he knew I hated.
I gently punched him in the ribs, but it’s more a light push than a punch. “Thank you.’’
He nodded and went back to his client.
“Scared to confide your arm to an apprentice?’’ I asked Ralph with a huge smile I couldn’t control. I must look goofy, but I was ready to burst with excitation. Everything else that had been in my mind for the last few days suddenly wasn’t important and had taken a backseat.
“Nah!’’ He smiled back at me, mirth dancing his brown eyes. “And if you mess up you would owe me a lot. A. Lot.’’ He winked, and I laughed at him.
“Follow me then. We’ll talk in the room out back and see what we can come up with.’’
“Yes, ma’am.’’
I led Ralph, and unfortunately Wyatt down the hall to the office and the back room. I opened the door to the right to the back room where a tattoo station was waiting to be used, a cabinet holding sterilized tools for Sophie to pierce the skin and a desk in the corner with two chairs facing it. On top of the desk was a notepad along with different pens, pencils and sharpies to sketch for the clients and take notes.
I sat, and both men grabbed the chairs on the other side of the desk. Ralph still had a smile on his face and Wyatt, well, he wasn’t scowling anymore. His eyes observed me as I got the notepad in front of me and a pencil to start out sketching. He seemed more curious than anything else.
I frowned at how focused on him I was instead of Ralph. I stared down at my fingers wrapped too tightly around the pen. If I wanted to draw, I couldn’t choke the thing.
“Ralph, can you show me your arm again?’’
He extended it on top of the desk while I leaned closer, watching the way the flames were a blend of yellow, orange and red while they licked trees, grass, and a few wilted flowers. I nibbled on my lip as I tried and found something that wouldn’t clash with the sleeve and also cover the old tatt completely.
“What do you say if we include embers under the flames here? It’d be a blend of black, brown, deep orange and red. We could also try and add something laced in the ember, something that’d have meaning for you if you want. A quote, a symbol… anything.’’
Wyatt leaned over the desk, eyed the tattoo on his best friend’s arm and then me before he leaned back, head tilted to one side and arms crossed. I fidgeted in my chair and glanced back at Ralph’s arm. I really thought it was a good idea and it would respect the bigger piece on his arm. Anyway, Wyatt’s thoughts didn’t matter.
Ralph mulled it over before he nodded. “I like the idea. And a quote could be great, but can you show me how it’d be?’’
“Of course. I can make a quick sketch first, and I’ll work on something more detailed later once we’ve tweaked things until you’re satisfied,’’ I answered, once again smiling as if my life depended on it. I had no control over my lips, and it’s very maddening when they tingled whenever Wyatt stared at them like he was right now. He might be surly and quiet, but he didn’t need to talk since his presence was potent. “You guys go and ask Sophie some water or coffee while I do this. I’ll have something ready in fifteen-twenty minutes.’’
***
WYATT
Ralph started walking back to the main room of the tattoo shop, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. I was all kind of fucked right now, and I needed a damn minute to gather my bearings.
Marissa Thornton was fucking with my head.
“What?’’
I leaned heavily against the white wall and shook my head with my frown back in place. I rarely smiled, and I wasn’t known to be the kind of man who did it easily, but these days I was worse than my usual.
“I don’t fucking know,’’ I grumbled, rubbing my forehead as if it’d get rid of these thoughts. Thoughts of bending Marissa over that desk in the room. Thoughts of tasting her and fucking her until she screamed my name on the station. Thoughts of seeing her blue-violet eyes flashing in anger at me right before I took her mouth and kissed her until she didn't remember what an ass I was.
I hated what she represented, who she was to my adoptive mother, but I wanted her fiercely.
Ralph’s eyes went from my face to my cock, hard and pushing against the dark denim of my pants. “I think I know, asshole,’’ he said and smirked, fighting off what I was sure was a laugh that’d grate on my nerves and strip me of my last strand of control over my volatile emotions.
“You checked out my cock?’’ I shook my head at him and adjusted myself when the zipper started to become uncomfortable.
“Oh come on, it’s not like I swin' that way.’’ He leaned against the wall next and crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly looking more severe. “Don’t get in her pants just because you’re pissed and you want to hurt her. She seems like a sweet girl, Wyatt.’’
“You have an excellent opinion of me.’’ And yeah, it hurt when your own best friend thought so little of you. Maybe I shouldn’t blame him for it because I’ve given him enough reasons to think I’d use this chick to get my kicks out of it. I frequently fucked girls just to get off, and in a way, I was using them, but it’s different. These women knew what I was all about going in and they didn’t expect anything else. If they did, then it’s their wishful thinking doing the damage to their heart and self-confidence.
“Hey, you’re the one bitchin' about her, scowlin' at her as if your damn life depends on it. And now, you want to fuck her? Come on, what am I supposed to think?’’
“Great.’’ I grabbed a handful of hair on top of my head and tugged until the sting got my cock under control.
“What now? Are you pissed at me?’’
I turned my head toward him, and when he saw the look on my face, he winced. “You surprised? Damn it! Instead of judging me, you should try and understand this fucking mess. And next time, if you’re afraid for your little Marissa, don’t drag me with you in your plans to get in her pants. She’s all fucking yours.’’
He went to say something, but then Marissa walked out of the back room, notepad in hands. We both stopped fighting and looked at her as she took a couple of steps before she stopped at seeing us still in the hall. But these two steps were enough for me to see her round hips sway, the way the skin tight jeans showed off shapely legs, the kind you could hold on when you thrust into a woman balls deep, the kind that had a vice grip on you when you brought her to orgasm. Lust shot through me, and I had to close my eyes to stop my cock from getting hard again at the visual of this chick walking and the kind of thoughts it conjured up in my head.
If she had been any other girl, I’d have found a way to get Ralph to leave, and I’d have fucked her on that little desk in the room behind her. I bet I’d have a blast watching her come apart and trying to be quiet, so the others wouldn’t hear her.
“What are you doing here?’’ she asked, confused. “Never mind.’’ She closed the space between us. She held up the sketching pad for us to see. “Keep in mind this is just a doodle. I’ll have something more detailed another day if you like this.’’
“Shit,’’ I mumbled, eyes riveted to the drawing. “It’s really good.’’
She managed to capture a vague outline of Ralph’s tattoo and underneath, blending with the flames she had drawn embers burning. The colors, brown, black, orange and red, were coming together in such a way you’d think these were real. And then, in the middle, she’d let a few scribblings for where a quote would go, a touch lighter than the colors of the embers.
“Hmm… thanks, Wyatt.’’
Hearing my name coming from her mouth made me look at her again. Her cheeks were a bit red as if my compliment flustered her. I loved that idea. My mouth twitched when I felt the urge to crack a smile, but I tempered it. It wasn’t because she’s smoking and that I wanted to fuck her until she’s nothing but spent and boneless that I was going to get all soft.
“You have real talent, Marissa,’’ Ralph said after a few more seconds. “And you can do that on me?’’
She nodded and looked at her sketch again, determination hardening the look on her face. “I can. I don’t have the experience, but I can. Now, we just need you to give me a quote—something rather short—and then I’ll make the flash for the tatt. But before Kam gives me the green light, we need him to review the design.’’
“Let’s go see him now and book an appointment. I have a quote. ‘Talent is a flame. Genius is a fire.’’’
“How fitting for your ego,’’ I mumbled and got an elbow in my ribs.
“Do you have preferences for the font?’’
Ralph shrugged. “Not really. Don’t use something girly and I’m good.’’
She grinned and laughed to herself as she led us back to the main room, still busy with clients chatting with the artists and machines buzzing.
“Thank you, Ralph. I can’t tell you how much it means that you’re willing to let me put my design on you. It’s a first for me, and I won’t forget it.’’
Ralph smirked over his shoulder at me. “That’s really good, babe. Now, I know you won’t forget me anytime soon.’’
I ground my teeth again, and the muscle in my jaw ticked while my hands clenched. I put them in my pockets, hoping to hide how on edge I truly was and that it went beyond my usual disposition. Ralph had always known where to hit to make me go nuts, but right now it wasn’t just mildly annoying. I actually wanted to put some sense in his dumb head. With my fucking fists.
“Marissa,’’ Ralph said, a hand on her elbow to stop her before we reached Kam who was now applying antibiotic cream on the guy he’d been working on and giving him the usual warnings of how to tend to a fresh tatt. “Do you have somethin' planned tomorrow night?’’
What the fuck.
“Well, not really. I finish work here late.’’ She glanced at me over Ralph’s shoulder before she quickly averted her gaze when she caught me looking at her. I bet my dark eyes weren’t sending friendly vibes.
“It’s alright. A friend of ours is a bartender at QB District. Heard of it?’’ At her nod, he went on, ignoring the tension mounting from me, tension Marissa had a hard time ignoring as she fidgeted and toyed with the pages of the sketchbook. “Why don’t you join us for a drink. We have a few friends comin'.’’
I rolled my eyes and tried to remember why this guy was my best friend and why I shouldn’t shoot him in the balls here and there.
“Thank you, but I wouldn’t be able to get in. I’m twenty.’’
He waved her argument away and leaned closer to her. I had to take a step back when the first thing I almost did was to grab him by the collar and pull him away from her. What’s wrong with me, damn it?
“We’d get you in, don’t worry. What d’you say?’’
I was looking down at my old chucks, but I felt it when her eyes landed on me. They burned through me, stocking the damn lust that had taken residence in my veins, pumping blood to my fast hardening cock. I’d never felt like I wanted to fight a chick and fuck her at the same time before.
“Sure, I guess.’’
I didn’t have to look at Ralph to know he’s smiling his smile that often got him laid by the end of the night. “Let’s exchange numbers so you can text me tomorrow when you’re there. I’ll get you in.’’
I tuned out after that and left the tattoo parlor with a wave for Kam and no other words for the others. I’ve had enough of this shit.