I tensed from the stabbing pain in my side. At least the pop music blared loud enough and there was plenty of alcohol at this party to distract everyone from me acting like a baby during my first tattoo.
“Stop moving,” Max said, eyes trained on his work in deep concentration.
“Trying.”
“Almost done. Elmo was a good choice.”
“Not funny.”
Max held the skin of my ribcage taut with his palm, and his fingers curled gently around my torso—something to take my mind off the sewing needle jabbing into me. The way I’d yanked my shirt up and settled onto my back, he could probably seesome of the lower part of my breasts. Gentleman that he was, he kept his hand clear—for my sake, his girlfriend’s, or both.
“You parents’re gonna kill me,” he muttered.
The basketball player throwing the party while his parents were away stumbled into the room, leading a blonde girl from my English class with him. They both halted at the sight of me sprawled on the bed and Max kneeling on the floor for the best angle.
“Shit,” the guy slurred.
“Oh, hey, Daisy,” the girl said with a smile, and I waved back.
“When’ll you two be done in here?”
“Ten,” Max said, pausing his work. “Maybe fifteen.”
“Cool.”
The couple tottered closer, and the stench of beer radiated from them.
“Damn, that looksgood, Matt,” the girl said.
“It’s Max,” I corrected her.
“Fuck yeah.” This dude’s eyes had definitely shifted from the flower tattoo up to the spillage of my underboob. “Real nice.”
“You next?” Max asked with a smirk on his face, pulling their attention away from my body. “Couple’s tats?”
They shook their heads, and the girl tugged on her boyfriend’s hand to lead him out. “Let’s find another room.”
“I want my first one to be epic,” he announced to nobody in particular. “Classic design, back piece. My cousin told me he could do it.”
“Let me guess,” Max said and eyed him. “Phoenix. Rising from the ashes.”
His eyes glimmered in awe. “Dude, how’d you know?”
“No idea, Ash. But I can’t wait to see it.”
When the two of them left the room, we laughed.
“How did you get that from just his name?”
“I could hear him talking about it from up here.” Max picked up his improvised pencil-and-needle mechanism for tattooing me. “C’mon. Just a little more.” He continued poking the design into my skin, and I admired his dedicated focus. His eyes flicked up and met mine, sending the corner of his mouth up. “You’re doing great.”
“What’s Lily up to tonight?” I blurted out, diverting my attention to the photos on the dresser. Max hadn’t mentioned her at all this evening. True, we didn’t discuss relationships much, and I usually kept time with boyfriends and time with Max separate. I liked having hangouts with Max and Gwen, or just Max. Friends. But he’d been with Lily for a while, and I could tell he wanted us to be friends, too.
“Family reunion,” Max said. “Why?”
“Just curious. She’s gonna be next for your stick-and-poke service?”
“Doubtful. I don’t think Lily’s a fan of needles.”
