Elias nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have any more until Friday. I’m pulling eight hours on a bike the next two days to get a jumpstart since all the material I need is in.” He also had other plans for Thursday.
“Tell me one of you has neon pink ink,” Marco said, walking into the common area.
“You know I don’t do neon tats,” Javier replied.
“Check the third drawer,” Elias said, nodding to his station drawers. “That client wanted neon?”
“Yep,” Marco responded, opening the drawer. “As the underlay of the flowers, and the last neon tattoo I did was like three years ago, and it wasn’t pink.” He pulled out the ink. “Thanks,” he said before leaving.
Elias likely wouldn’t have had it either if this were eight months ago, but he’d gotten a request from a client for an all-neon tattoo and figured, what the hell? They hadn’t been sure of colors initially, so he’d ordered an array. At least some of it was being used again.
He finished cleaning his equipment and disinfecting his station before saying bye to Javier and heading out. He’d just slid into his car when his phone alerted him of a text. Elias pulled it out and found it from Eri.
Eri:You never showed me the Mojo Jojo tattoo you did.
Elias:I’ll text you a picture when I get home.
Eri:Or you can show it to me the next time I see you.
He couldn’t help but smirk and shake his head because he knew what she was trying to ask without saying it. He contemplated acting like he didn’t, but he decided against it.
Elias:I can show it to you Sunday afternoon.
He had three tattoos on Saturday and knew the last one would take him a while. Elias planned to see her before then, but did not intend to tell her.
Eri:Sunday works.
He placed his phone in the cupholder and pulled out of the parking lot. They were having a family dinner on Sunday evening. It was their second one since his cousin had returned from his honeymoon, and their aunt and cousin had not been to the last one. He was hoping that the trend would continue this Sunday. It was peaceful that way, but he wasn’t very hopeful. His mother had told him Celia was griping to her about wanting the family to gather for some news she wanted to share, and he wanted no part of it.
10
Elias leaned against his car as he waited. It was almost one in the afternoon. The February weather was the warmest it had been, but the night’s temperature would drop into the mid-twenties, which wouldn’t work well for what he had planned, since when he’d looked initially, it was supposed to be in the mid-thirties. That wasn’t much better, but he’d make it work.
It was another five minutes before he saw Eri approaching the parking lot. It hadn’t been hard to find her car in the sea of them with the Jigglypuff decal in the left corner of the rear windshield, and he’d taken the free spot beside her. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him, and Elias pushed off his car as she came to a stop before him.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” she asked. He could hear the genuine curiosity in her voice.
“Well, it’s Valentine’s Day,” he replied, grabbing the two dozen marigolds from the hood of his car and handing them to her. “And I was hoping you’d let me change your mind about the holiday being useless.”
Eri took the flowers from him, bringing them to her nose. Elias hadn’t been sure what her favorite flower was or if she had one, but he knew that her favorite color was orange and figured he couldn’t go wrong with marigolds.
“That’s nice of you, but you don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. The question is, are you going to let me?”
He watched her think it over briefly before nodding, but he could tell she was apprehensive. Elias didn’t know why she disliked the holiday. She hadn’t answered him when he’d asked, but she would at least enjoy the day out with him. He’d ensure it. Besides, his aim wasn’t to change her overall outlook on the holiday but to change it regarding spending it with him. He placed his hand on the small of her back and steered her towards his passenger door.
“Wait. You meant now?”
“No better time than the present.”
Elias watched her glance down at herself. She wore a pair of black high-waisted jeans, a form-fitting tan ribbed sweater tucked into them, and a pair of matching boots. He wasn’t sure why she even felt the need to. She always looked beautiful, no matter what she wore, and today was no exception.
“You look perfect,” he informed her, opening the door. Besides, she could go home and change later that evening if she wanted to, before they headed to dinner.
When they were both in the car, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed to their first destination. Nesiah, who always enjoyed talking about food, had let it slip that she, Eri, and Avian had discussed going to a new restaurant that opened up later in the month. Call him an asshole, but he would take her first. She could experience it with them later.
The car ride was filled with small talk, and as he pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, he could feel her looking at him.
