“You know, I wasn’t going to, but since you brought it up, I think we should look into getting you one of those Life Alert buttons.” His smile is feline.
“That is so kind of you to think about my life, but I don’t think any of my falls will be fatal for quite some time,” I say, then stage whisper, “I drank lots of milk in my youth, osteoporosis can’t touch me.” That earns me a low chuckle from Dom, one that I feel in my belly.
“Don’t taunt the osteoporosis Gods, Hoot, you never know. So tell me, what exactly were you trying to look at from behind…” Dominic reaches out and grabs the novel I still have clutched in my hand, “Cold Calling: It’s Hard but It Works?”He raises an eyebrow at me while handing it back.
“Um, well. I’m maybe thinking of switching my major to business.”
“Of course, who needs medical sciences anyways?” He smirks then raises an eyebrow at me, “It definitely had nothing to do with the woman that just ordered a coffee.”
He’s taunting me and he knows it. I try to keep a neutral face and give off the appearance of nonchalance, taking a page out of his book. Unfortunately the blush I feel creeping up my neck is completely blowing my cover and Dominic sees right through it.
“Well, in case shewasyour reason for falling over, she happens to be my landlord. Her name is Victoria, and she and her husband Rick own and operate the tattoo parlour below my apartment. She’s also very much like a mother figure to me, so to speak.”
“Oh.” I feel embarrassment coating my cheeks. “Okay.”
Why am I embarrassed? I don’t know, Celeste. Why are you hiding behind financial books to spy on Dom?I clear my throatand try to steady my nerves even though I feel like a kitten in bathtub, completely out of my element.
“You should come by some time, get a tattoo, hang out.” His smile is kind and nonjudgmental which seems so foreign to him, this feels…different. I sense a wave of intimacy roll between us. Like he just let me have a peek at his private life, that we now have a reference point outside of this cafe, that we could potentially hang out.Get a tattoo. Hang out.I wonder what we would do at his apartment. Does hang out imply friendship or suddenly more than friends? Does this wall that he has let me poke a few holes in suddenly mean he’s interested in a new way? Beyond friends? DoIwant that?
“Hoot?” he asks, and I realize I haven’t answered him.
“Yes!” The word catapults out my mouth before I can compose myself. His eyebrows raise in surprise. “I mean, yeah, actually! I’ve wanted to get a tattoo for a while and since you’re a walking canvas, I figured I’d get your opinion. My mom actually suggested I should finally get the tattoo I’ve been thinking of for a while.” I pull out my phone, my initial reason for coming here to begin with, and show him a few inspiration pieces I found on Pinterest. We spend the next half hour pouring over designs, things I never thought possible through ink before.
“I think you should come to Death Pig for your tattoo.” Dominic says.
“I’m sorry, what now?” My eyes widen a little frantically and I look at him, praying that I misheard and he isn’t asking me to partake in some sort of ritual sacrifice. Dominic sees my expression and chuckles.
“Sorry,Deathless Pigmentis the tattoo parlour where I got most of mine done. It’s owned by that couple I mentioned before, Rick and Vic,” he explains.
Dominic shows me Vic and Rick’s tattoo parlour website and their portfolios. Hearing him talk about them feels like anotherlayer peeling from that wall; chipping away slowly without even meaning to. I watch as he doesn’t hide his smiles behind smirks, or his love for these people behind nonchalance. He’s letting me in on his life in a way that I’m almost positive most people have never seen. I like not having to hammer my way in. I like that he’s opening up on his own. Maybe I like it more than I should.
“Honestly, Hoot, for your first time, I think you should have Rick do the tattoo. Vic may be the brains behind the operation, but Rick’s skill is unmatched. He did almost all of mine,” he pauses to roll up the sleeve of his Henley, displaying his corded forearms.
I knew he was fairly fit, but his shirt and apron hide just how defined those arm muscles are. Suddenly my mouth is as dry as a desert and I realize I might have a new kink for beefy forearms. On one forearm is an intricate tattoo of a coiled snake, its head facing down towards his hand. It is so incredibly detailed, every scale stands out even in the greyscale. The shadowing of the body makes it seem ready to slither from his arm onto mine.
Pinterest feed forgotten, I absentmindedly step closer, running my fingertips across it. I wasn’t familiar enough with tattoos or designs to know if this kind of realism was common. I’d never seen a tattoo have such a life of its own. I feel goosebumps rise on Dominic’s skin and only then do I realize his arm is still under my touch. I still my fingers, glancing up to meet his gaze. His head is bowed toward me, our faces only inches apart. I open my mouth to say something. What exactly I’m not sure, but then I see his eyes dart down to my parted lips and back up to meet my gaze once more. I close my lips and quirk a smile pulling my hands back from his arm. He quickly pulls back as if remembering where we are and scratches the back of his neck with his non-snake hand.
“So, um, yeah, I can ask Rick about his schedule and if you want to go in for a consultation or just email him some referencephotos beforehand,” Dominic says, pulling out his phone and texting me all the information. My phone lights up at its arrival but I barely notice it. My eyes strain to focus back on his mouth.
“That’s great, thank you.” I say, throwing as much honesty behind those words as I can. I really do appreciate him opening up about this. It’s immediately clear to me that Victoria and Rick are way more than just landlords to him.
“So can I see more of what your inspiration is?” He tilts his head towards my phone. I quickly snatch it back into my chest, my head full of new ideas for my tattoo.
“On second thought,” I smirk, “You can see it once it’s finally done.”
“I can hardly wait.” His lips tug up on one side in his signature smirk then part as if he’s about to say something else when a whorl of chestnut hair and jazz hands take over my vision.
“PINKY!” Delaney screeches very close to my ear, rendering me momentarily partially deaf. Blinking away the ringing in my ears, I pull back to find my best friend with the biggest ruby red smile plastered on her face.
“Um, hello, Lane. Why are you smiling at me like one of those clowns in the street?” I ask bemused.
“Hello, Delaney, nice to see you again.” Dominic raises a hand in greeting politely before returning behind the coffee bar. My mind clicks at the realization that they’ve already met, when Lane scoped him out and said something about a lesbian version of him? I keep my amusement sequestered as I focus back on what Delaney is saying.
“Hello, hello! OKAY! So, you know the long-distance girlfriend that’s the best person in the whole wide world thing I’ve got going on?” Delaney starts, I nod along. “Well! She’s moving here!”
My eyebrows shoot up, a smile splitting across my face for my best friend’s obvious joy. “That’s amazing! Why the change?” I ask, holding her hands as she practically vibrates in front of me.
“She just finished her program on the east coast and is going to work under the costume director here on campus, while starting a new program in set design in the fall!” Delaney begins squealing.
