Chapter one
Becky
Alchemy Ink was one of those places I’d passed a million times on my way to work and made a mental note to go to.
Of course I needed to build up the nerve to get an actual tattoo first.
And I finally arrived at the door, but it wasn’t even for me.
Kevin had begged me to go with him, and I sucked at putting my foot down. We’d been dating for six months, and I started to hit the point where I wasn’t certain we would work out.
“Babe, hurry up.” Kevin strode in ahead of me. “We’re already late for the appointment.”
As if I hadn’t been here fifteen minutes ago, waiting for him. He reeked of some shit cologne like he’d been smoking and tried to cover it up, and I was happy to keep a few steps downwind.
The sign for Alchemy Ink featured theAas the philosopher’s stone symbol and the script in white against a black background. When we stepped inside, the scent of incense drifted our way, thankfully cutting down on the odor of his cologne, and the interior décor drew my eye in every direction. The walls were cream with wooden accents, the floor was glossy black tiles, and leather-bound books stood next to stones, glass vials, and a myriad of other shiny knickknacks on the shelves.
“Are you Nyx’s appointment?” a slender, dark-haired guy asked. He had the whole emo rocker vibe going on with his shaggy dark hair, gauges, and kohl-lined eyes. If I stared a little longer, it was because he was more my usual type than my boyfriend. Kevin and I had been an online date meetup that just…hadn’t ended.
And I’d been lonely and pathetic enough to stay.
What could I say? After getting pissed and shat on by pets all day long at Kennett Vet, I was a little desperate for company not of the four-legged variety. But my cat, Bast, didn’t approve of Kevin in the slightest, and she pissed in his shoes every time he stayed over. I probably should listen to her. I had the intuition of a kumquat, and she had a honed douchedar.
And Kevin was the typical bro-type who usually set my nerves on edge.
“Yeah, I’m getting inked,” he said as if that wasn’t clear from the fact that he’d booked the appointment.
“Mm.” He cast him an unimpressed look. “Take a seat. Nyx will be out for you in a sec.”
“Remind me what you’re getting again?” I asked as we sat on one of the sage couches against the wall. My fingers itched to poke and prod the oddities on the shelves, from the bronze compass and brass sundial to the glass test tubes filled with green tendrils, but I stayed put.
“Becks, we talked about this last night,” he said with a huff.
Right. I’d been reading a book on my phone while he blathered on about his tattoo ideas. Most of them were cringe, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him so. Primarily because he wouldn’t listen to any feedback.
“I’m getting No Regrets in Gothic script across my back,” he said. “It’s going to look so badass.”
Oh. Oh no.
Maybe we needed to speed up the timeline of our breakup.
My palms broke into a sweat, not because of him getting a tattoo but because of the thought of that stuck on his body for eternity. The sex and conversation weren’t rocking my world, and the longer we were together, the more comfortable he got.
I was fast finding I didnotlike his comfortability. Any attempts he’d made at paying attention to what I had to say, at showing consideration, seemed to fly out the window far too fast.
However, I had already shown up here, and my curiosity about the shop itself trumped the company I was kept.
“Hey, are you Kevin?” a throaty female voice asked from the other side of the room.
I looked up and…damn.
The woman who stepped in wore a white tank with a cutoff black denim vest and black jeans that highlighted her muscular legs. Her dark hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she had the sort of lush lips I wanted to kiss. Her thick eyeliner made her deep brown eyes pop, and the colorful tattoos lining her arms and the side of her neck elevated her hotness to eleven.
The past couple of years, my bi-curiosity was reaching a fever pitch, and after a string of dating guys like Kevin, the temptation to try expanding my search options…yeah, I wasn’t averse.
Her gaze snagged on me. “You my client?” The curl of her lips was cocky, and I liked the look a damn lot.
“No, that’s me.” Kevin hopped up and stood right in front of me. “She decided to come with me for support.” He glanced at me. “No fainting over needles, though, okay?”
