“Clowns aren’t terrifying.” He was lying. He had to be. Nobody looked at a clown and thoughtthere’s a snuggle buddy.
“They are if they’re on your forehead.”
“Come on, how long have you known me?”
“Forever?”
“Exactly. And am I a dick?”
“Not really.”
“Not at all. I’ll make sure it’s decent. But you need to break out of your shell. Live a little.”
I tried to think of examples of how I was alreadyliving a littleand came up with exactly none. He was right. I’d grown into a bore since I got my big-boy job. Not that he would come straight out and say that, but still. “How many tattoos do you have?” None. He had no tattoos or piercings.
“No, you’re not going to win this with facts.” Brent stood up, the cat staying firmly in place. “Come on, Bunny Foo-Foo, let’s give you some treats, and then your dad and I are gonna go get some ink.”
“You’re getting some too?” If so, that would explain the weird bet. He wanted a tattoo buddy.
“No. Yes. Maybe.” Yep, that was 100 percent we were doing this. Oddly, that had me more on board.
“You’re going to need to put the cat down to leave.”
“Ignore him, Bunny Foo-Foo. You are getting down for treats and treats only.” He side-eyed me something fierce. He was so silly with the cat. I kinda loved it. “We’re gonna have such a fun two weeks.”
Twenty minutes later, I was at a tattoo shop I’d never heard of, standing in front of what looked like those gumball machines from when I was a kid, the kind that had crappy toys inside instead of gum.
“And this is where you’re gonna get your tattoo.” He tapped the red top.
Thank gods he was talking about a temporary one. I was worked up for nothing. Perfect. I could have it on and off before I reached the airport.
I went to the counter where a woman with teal hair, a bunch of cool piercings, and glittery glasses pulled an earbud out of her ear and looked up at me. “Oh, sorry. When you guys came in, I thought you were just window-shopping and didn’t want to bug you.” I didn’t correct her that window-shopping was done outside.
“Nah. I want one of those tattoos from the machine,” I said. “But I don’t have any change.”
“Cool. That’ll be fifty.”
“No, I mean, I don’t have any change. I don’t have twenty-five cents, much less fifty.”
“Fifty cents? It’s fifty dollars.” She wasn’t mean about it, and I half wondered if she thought it was my attempt at humor. Not that fifty dollars for a glorified sticker was funny.
I scowled at Brent. A deal was a deal, but I could be pissy about it. I took out my card and tapped it. A few seconds later, she handed me a quarter.
“Okay, go see what you’ve got, and we’ll get you in the book. The deposit is nonrefundable, so I hope you like it.”
Now, I was really confused. I plopped the quarter in, turned the knob, and pulled out the capsule. I popped it open, and inside was a bear tattoo. And as much as I hadn’t been into this whole tattoo thing, there was something about this bear. I didn’twantit as a tattoo… I needed it. Every part of me suddenly wished it was a real bear.
“This one.” I handed it to her.
“Ah, Sothea’s bear… I mean, some of Sothea’s best work. And just your luck, my brother-in-law is upstairs. I’ll give him a call. You can do it now.”
“Wait, wait, your brother-in-law?”
“Yeah, my ma— My husband and his brother and I own the shop. Hold on.”
And that’s how she went from ignoring me to walking into the other room with the phone in her hand. She was gone for ten minutes, and I was surprised when she said he’d be right down and how lucky I was to have a piece done by him. Apparently, it was the only one in the machine. The rest were her partner’s, with the hopes of bringing in first-time tattooees. Was that what you called them? Tattooees? Tattoo getters? Tattoo virgins?
No matter the proper name for it, if this tattoo hadn’t been a bet, and I wanted a first tattoo, it wouldn’t be from a luck-of-the-draw machine. I’d have looked through books and books and books to find the perfect one. Though, the end result probably would’ve been the same, because this one was perfect.
