Vegas, Baby - Volume 2

We spent three days going back and forth over the whole thing—with her slipping in verbal jabs whenever she could and me getting all tongue-tied out of frustration each time—until I finally caved and walked up to the guy in the cafeteria. Lucky for me, she hadn’t specified what I had to say to him. So, I asked him if I could have the extra salt packet on his lunch tray and trotted back over to our table.

Aurora hadn’t been happy about how I’d fulfilled the terms of the double dog dare, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it since I’d technically done as she’d asked. And so the double dog dare rules had been set back then...be careful how you word your dare and don’t try to get out of one. It also taught me to be quicker with my comebacks, so I didn’t find myself in another awkward situation just because I didn’t speak up quickly enough.

“You’ve got me there,” I conceded as I pulled into a parking spot. I waited until I’d tugged her out of the car and into the tattoo parlor before adding, “But we both also know that once it’s done, you’ll be glad that I gave you the extra nudge you needed or else you’d never go through with this.”

“Wrong.” Belle made a buzzing noise like I was a contestant in a trivia show who’d just given an incorrect answer. “I know no such thing, and you only think you do.”

“Welcome to Ink Addiction. I’m Wendy. How can I help you today?” The girl manning the front desk looked up at us in the middle of her greeting. Her smile was quickly wiped from her face when she saw my sister’s scowl. Her gaze darted between the two of us before she asked, “Um...do you have an appointment?”

Since Ink Addiction was a high-end parlor where you had to book your appointment months in advance—unless you were married to a rock star apparently—it was a fair question. She was probably hoping the answer was no so she could tell the crazy ladies who looked like they’d never stepped foot in a tattoo parlor to leave.

“Yup.” I grinned at her and nudged Belle forward. “My sister does.”

Belle trudged over to the counter and sighed. “Yeah, I called last week, and the guy who does my husband’s ink said he’d fit me in today at noon.”

“Last week? That doesn’t sound right.” Wendy tapped at the keyboard in front of her. When she found Belle’s appointment, her eyes went wide. “Oh! I get it now. You’re Griffith Thorne’s wife. That must be why Maddox came in today. So he could do your tattoo. I was wondering since he didn’t have any other appointments scheduled.”

I elbowed Belle in the side when she didn’t say anything. “Did you hear that? The guy came to work just for you.”

“You probably bribed him to do that so I’d feel too guilty to chicken out at the last minute,” she muttered.

“Aw, there’s nothing to be scared about.” Wendy stretched out her right arm so we could see the butterfly tattoo on her inner wrist. “It really isn’t that bad, and Maddox is the best at what he does.”

The butterfly had a 3D feel to it, almost as though it was perched on her wrist, ready to take flight at any moment. “I can see why you’d say he’s the best. This is some fantastic artwork. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It is, but Maddox didn’t do mine. I wish he had been the one to do it,” Wendy sighed. “Not that I don’t love my tattoo. All of the artists here are amazing, but Maddox is kind of picky about the work he does. He owns the place, and people come from all around the world to get inked by him. Getting an appointment with him is sort of like winning the tattoo lottery.”

“If you really want a tattoo from him, you should take my spot,” Belle was quick to offer.

Wendy’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why do I have the feeling this is the last place you want to be?”

Belle shrugged her shoulders. “Because it kind of is?”

“Then why are you here?” Wendy asked.

My sister pointed her thumb in my direction. “This one double dog dared me to get one. But that can wait. You really should—” I slapped my hand over Belle’s mouth before Wendy decided to cancel her appointment and take it for herself.

“Don’t mind her,” I interjected. “She’s a tiny bit afraid of needles, but it’ll all be worth it when her hubby catches sight of his name on her skin.”

Belle’s lips stopped moving, and after a moment I felt most of the tension melt from her body. When I pulled my hand away from her mouth, she offered me an apologetic smile. “Okay, fine. You might actually have a point.”