But then Stephen’s words come back to me—Live hard. Love harder—and I’m able to breathe again. I also know exactly what I want to get for my tattoo. Not only are they the words I want to live by, but they came from my brother and every time I read them, I’ll think of him.
“I’d like to get a tattoo that says, ‘Live hard. Love harder’,” I tell Willow.
She smiles and nods. “That’s a great motto to live by.”
“My brother said it to me… before he died.”
Her smile turns into a sympathetic frown. “I’m sorry for your loss. I promise to do it justice.”
“There he is,” a masculine voice says. “It’s been a minute.” The tall man with a thick beard and tattoos covering his arms walks over to Ethan and gives him a handshake.
“Thank you for doing me this solid,” Ethan says to him. “Jax, this is Nevaeh; Nevaeh, Jax. He owns this place with his brother, Jase.”
“I do all your work and you don’t trust me to do your girl’s. I see how it is,” Jax says with a laugh.
“Nothing against you, but no man is touching her but me if you catch my drift.” Ethan glances over at me and winks, and for the millionth time since I’ve met him, I blush crimson.
Jax laughs. “Oh, I get it. Since the day Willow became mine, nobody touches her but me, not even to do her ink.”
“Such a caveman,” Willow groans, but I can hear laughter in her voice. “C’mon, Nevaeh, let’s go back to my station and I’ll draw something up. You said you want a piercing too?”
“I do, but I’m not sure where.”
When she gives me a look of confusion, I explain. “Getting a piercing on a body part other than my ears is on my list of things I want to do, along with getting a tattoo.”
She nods in understanding. “Lift your shirt.”
“Huh?” I give her a perplexed look.
“There are only a few places to get pierced other than your ears: Nose, eyebrow, lip, nipples, naval, and clit.” My legs squeeze together at the mention of getting pierced down there, and Willow laughs.
“Exactly. And you don’t seem like a facial piercing kind of girl. So that leaves your nipples and belly button.”
Lifting my shirt, I say, “I’ll go with my belly button.”
Willow nods in agreement. “You have a sexy stomach. It will look great. Are you a girly girl or a tomboy?”
“Um, I guess a girly girl.” I like pink and to wear pretty dresses.
“How about this?” She reaches into a case and pulls something out. When I get a good look at it, I see it’s a ring. It’s a curved bar and tinted pink. The top has a rainbow-colored gem and the bottom is the same but slightly bigger.
“That’s really pretty.”
“Where are you planning to get your tattoo?”
“I’m not sure.” I look at myself in the floor-length mirror. I want it somewhere I can see but can still hide it when I need to. “What about right here?” I pull my shirt down slightly, exposing the area where my collarbone connects to my shoulder.
“That’s a good spot,” Ethan says, stepping into the room. He runs the tip of his finger along my collarbone and I shiver at his touch.
“I’m also getting my belly button pierced.”
“Willow, you do piercings, too, right?”
Willow snorts. “Yes, caveman, I do.”
She has me lie down on my back and tells me we’re going to do the piercing first to get it over with. After having me stretch my torso, she marks where she’s going to pierce.
“Breathe,” Ethan murmurs into my ear.
