Playing (Inked Hearts 2)

"Can I see it first?"

"Nah, I'm gonna strap you down and do it freehand."

I stare back at him.

His dark eyes get bright. "Kidding."

"Oh."

"Sorry." He peels the plastic off the temporary tattoo, presses it to my skin, and wets it. "I know better than to tease when you're in the chair."

I make an uh-uh noise as my gaze fixes on the tattoo gun behind him.

The needle doesn't scare me. But the ink?

It's terrifying. There are no do overs or blank slates or quick fixes. Once the ink is on my skin, it's there forever.

"Are you a virgin?"

"You should know."

He laughs as he pulls on plastic gloves. "Is this your first tattoo?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"You don't like needles?"

"It's more the permanence."

He nods I get that, peels off the temporary tattoo's paper, grabs a mirror and hands it to me. "What do you think?"

That's it, right where I need it.

You are not your mistakes.

I hand the mirror back and stare into his dark eyes.

He cocks his head to one side. "You sure you're up for this?"

"Yeah. I just need coffee."

"Didn't like what I made?"

"No. It was good. I just…"

"Need more?"

"Yeah." Something like that.

He motions to the chair. "Is this how you want it?"

I stare at the temporary tattoo. It's exactly what I need. It's everything. It's perfect. "It's perfect."

"You can tell me if it's not. I know you're not shy about your preferences."

My cheeks flush. "Was that a problem?"

"Fuck no." He grabs the rubbing alcohol, wets a cotton swab, cleans the temporary tattoo off my skin. "I like you bossy."