“Who would want a tattoo the day after Thanksgiving? Why is the shop even open?” she whined, burying her face in his chest.
“I only have two. I’ll be back before you know it, and we can do whatever you want.”
She was quiet for a moment before conceding. Elias kissed the top of her head as she released him and slipped out of bed. She immediately grabbed his pillow and hugged it to her chest as he went into the en suite.
He turned the shower on, and as it heated, he washed his face and brushed his teeth. Taking off his boxers, he tossed them into the hamper and stepped into the shower.
Once finished with his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and exited the bathroom. He moisturized and dressed, choosing a cologne at random. He kissed Eri, and she hummed softly, but Elias knew she was already on her way back to sleep. They’d stayed up into the early hours of the morning.
He arrived at the shop with half an hour to spare. His first client was at eleven, and he began setting up for it. It was a small tattoo, and he’d allotted an hour for it even though he knew it wouldn’t take that long. Javier was also there, working on a client.
Elias’ first client arrived, and he completed the tattoo within forty-five minutes. Once they were gone, he cleaned his station and set up for his next client, who was due at twelve-thirty. It was similar in size to the first one, but had more complexity to it.
When his client arrived, they asked if he could do the entire tattoo in red ink. It wasn’t what they’d discussed before, and Elias told them that the red would fade faster than black, but he would do it if that was what they wanted. They assured him it was, and he got down to work.
Over an hour later, he finished the tattoo and cleaned his station again, then sent a text to Eri letting her know that he’dbring lunch home with him. He placed an order at the restaurant they had their first non-date at, told Javier he’d see him later, and exited the shop.
He pulled into the restaurant parking lot ten minutes later and waited an additional ten for their food to be ready, then headed back to his house. Elias placed his keys on the entry table and rounded the corner into the living room. Eri was seated on the couch in a pair of his sweatpants as she worked on his laptop.
“And you threw a fit about me working,” he teased as he took a seat beside her.
“I was just checking some emails,” she responded before closing the laptop and placing it aside as Elias unpacked the food.
“Your appointments were quicker than I thought they would be. I know you said you only had two, but you weren’t even gone for four hours.”
“I scheduled them back to back, and they weren’t large pieces, so they didn’t take long,” he responded.
“Makes sense. So, what do you want for Christmas? Lucy and I are going shopping for the holiday soon.”
Elias thought about it, but couldn’t think of anything he wanted. “Surprise me, Amate. I’m sure I’ll like whatever you choose. What do you want?”
“Same. Surprise me.”
They ate their lunch, and then he suggested a horror movie marathon, to which his girlfriend accused him of wanting to see her scared, but agreed, because she still enjoyed them, even while scared. He took their trash into the kitchen before going into his bedroom and changing into a pair of sweatpants.
When he returned to the living room, Eri was in the horror section of a streaming app. She passed him the remote when he took a seat beside her.
“I’ll let you choose the torture I’m about to be subjected to,” she said.
Elias chuckled. “If you don’t want to, baby, we can always watch something else.”
“No, it’s fine. As much as you watch whatever I want with me. I don’t mind. Besides, it means I get to cling to you like a spider monkey when I get scared,” she teased.
“I knew you weren’t really scared,” he teased back.
He rearranged them and pulled her to sit between his legs, and he leaned against the arm of the couch. Elias chose a movie, put the remote aside and wrapped his arms around Eri. He could spend the rest of his day in that position, with his arms around her, and he’d be content.
42
Elias awoke to soft kisses being peppered across his face and neck. The weight on his waist was unmistakable. He placed his hands on Eri’s thighs as he opened his eyes.
“Well, isn’t this a great way to wake up?” he said.
“I thought of a better one, but if I did that, then the food would get cold,” she responded with a smirk. She moved off him and headed towards the door. “So hurry,” she threw over her shoulder.
Elias glanced at the clock on the nightstand and found it was five minutes after eight. He shook his head as he got up and headed into the bathroom. He wasn’t surprised she’d woken him up early. She’d been far too excited about Christmas. He relieved his bladder, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and then headed into the kitchen. Eri sat at the table waiting for him. He kissed her before sitting beside her.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
