“Deal,” she says, grinning. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”
I can’t help but smile at the genuine excitement in her eyes, and she smiles back. We then proceed to stand in the middle of the two stations, looking into each other’s eyes and smiling like idiots, until Betty clears her throat and snaps us out of it, and we take our respective seats. We’re next to each other but facing opposite directions—Tyler facing the front door and me facing the back wall.
Betty and Kenzie shave and clean our wrists before applying the stencils and counting down from three before turning their machines on at the same time and getting to work.
Tyler groans and shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and I turn my attention to her. Her head is thrown back into the headrest of her chair, eyes squeezed shut, and face scrunched in pain.
“Breathe, Sunshine,” I say. “You need to breathe. Deep breaths. In…” I demonstrate. “Out…” She blows a big breath out through tight lips before taking a long, slow inhale with me. I reach over with my free hand and lace my fingers through hers. “Hey,” I say. She turns her head in my direction and opens her eyes. “I’ve got you.” I move my thumb in slow circles over hers, and her body relaxes.
I spend the next fifteen minutes distracting her with small talk and stupid jokes, and she scolds me for making her laugh because she doesn’t want crooked lines. We’re done within a few minutes of each other, and I manage to keep Tyler’s focus on me while we’re cleaned up and clear bandages are applied to prevent infection.
Betty gives Tyler the rundown on aftercare, and she asks a few additional questions before she turns her attention back to me.
“Ready?” I ask. She bites her bottom lip and nods excitedly. “One…two…three.” I don’t look down at my wrist. I keep my focus on Tyler because I know I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.
She covers her mouth with her hand as she turns her wrist back and forth, studying intently.
“Do you like it?” Betty asks.
“Yes, it’s beautiful, thank you,” Tyler says. Betty squeezes Tyler’s shoulder and follows Kenzie to the front of the shop, leaving us alone. She looks at me and smiles before turning her attention back to her wrist.
“I feel like the sun is obvious,” she says, tracing her finger over the fresh lines of ink under the bandage. “Sunshine?” She asks, and I nod. “And the moon?” I swallow nervously when she looks back over to me. “Is that you?”
I nod, hoping she doesn’t press it further. I don’t want to reveal the reason I call her “sunshine.” That, much like the moon, I’d be nothing but darkness without her light. Right now, where we are with each other, I like that it’s a secret. Something that’s just mine.
I swing my legs over the side of my chair and stand, offering Tyler my hand. She takes it and stands beside me before wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me into a hug. My arms wrap around her shoulders like they belong there, and I pull her closer before planting a quick kiss on the top of her head and forcing myself to let go and step back.
“Anything crazyyouwant to do today?” she asks as we make our way to the front of the shop.Yeah, I think.Kiss you. Tell you how much I love you. Fall to my knees and beg you to set that goddamn contract on fire.
I shake my head.
“Nah, I’ve had enough crazy to last a lifetime,” I say, handing Betty my credit card.
After I’ve paid and tipped for both of our sessions, a few of the artists ask if I’d be willing to take a few photos and sign some autographs, and I happily oblige while Tyler looks for an Uber to take us back to the venue. When it arrives, I open the door and let her in first before climbing in beside her, watching as she traces her fingers over her wrist.
She releases a contented sigh before laying her head on my shoulder. My eyes close and my heart squeezes in my chest at the unexpected contact. I should move away. Make sure we keep a respectable distance for the last few weeks of the tour. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to make my body do what it should do. It still craves her touch as badly as it did the night we met.
So, I don’t move.
Because she’s choosing to do the one thing I’ve wanted her to do since I first laid eyes on her.
Stay.
TRACK 6
Return of The King
FORTY-TWO
Eric
? Back In Black - AC/DC ?
“Can you believe this is almost over?” Tyler asks as I hand her a coffee and slide into the booth across from her.
No. No, I can’t. Didn’t even want to think about it. About how much it was going to hurt, watching her walk away after our final show in Pittsburgh in two weeks. How empty my life was about to feel without her here with me every day.
I swallow the knot of emotion in my throat and shake my head. She presses record in her app and flips to a new page in her notebook. Her light blue eyes meet mine and I can’t help but notice the way my body reacts every time they do. Even after spending every day together for almost six months, I still feel my breath catch in my lungs, my heart skip a beat in my chest, a smile pull at the corners of my lips.
