Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Doc walks over, takes in the ink and points, “Look right here.” As he holds out his hand, it starts to tremble. “Goddamn it.” He pulls his hand back, embarrassed. It’s a sign of weakness in his eyes, even though it shouldn’t be.
I pretend I didn’t notice and say, “Yeah, you’re right. Good eye, man,” as I return to my work, brushing across it in wide strokes to shade the area.
Once I pull the tattoo gun away again, it looks perfect, and the truth is, I might not have noticed where it needed more without Doc. No one excels at his art the way Doc does.
I spray the tattoo and rub the excess ink off before telling the guy to take a look. He stands, walks over to the full-length mirror, and I can see the pride in his eyes. It’s a tribute to his grandfather who passed away.
“This is fucking badass. Thanks, C,” he says.
“No problem.” I smile because this is an incredible feeling. I don’t think people realize how honored I am to bring their visions to life on their skin.
We take care of business, payment and all that. I don’t have another client coming in, so I look at Doc and say, “Let’s go chat, daddy.”
He rolls his eyes and snickers. “It creeps me out when you call me that.”
“I know. That’s why I do it.” It’s fun to give him shit. He’s more like a dad to me than mine was. “Leila, you got up front for a bit?” I ask her.
She looks up from her piece and nods.
Doc and I make our way to the back room. He goes to sit behind the desk with his old-ass computer on it. After closing the door, I sit in the chair across from him.
“How you doing, old man?” I ask him.
He growls. “I think I like daddy better than that one.”
“I know.” I wink at him. “Stop trying to change the subject. How’s the shakiness? Is it getting worse?”
“I’m fine. It is what it is. It’s not going to get better.”
Yeah, I know it’s not and I hate that. I want something different for him. “You should start working out with me. I feel like I don’t see you nearly enough.”
“You see me all the time, kid. Stop acting like you feel guilty because you’re branching out. I like your friends. It was nice on Thanksgiving. It’s like you have your own little family now.”
“You’re my family,” I tell him, even though I know what he’s saying is true, and I like having these people around. “We have a little family now,” I add.
“Yeah, your boy is seriously a fucking whiz with numbers. He called me this morning about new stuff he found, all sorts of shit I don’t understand, but it sounded important.”
I chuckle because what he said is so standard Doc…and what Hayden did is standard Hayden as well, continuing to work on shit and trying to help someone out.
“He’s not my boy,” I tell Doc.
“But you want him to be.”
“Yeah, I kind of do, which is weird as fuck. Don’t know what it is about him, really. I told him I’m sweet on him. He just got out of a long-ass relationship, though. He doesn’t need to rush into anything and hell, who knows if I’ll change the way I feel tomorrow? We’re not serious. We’ll play around together, and keep living our lives. Take it from there.”
“You’ve always been so damn noble. You want him? Reach out and fucking grab him.”
I shake off his words. “I don’t know how much I really want him yet. It’s all so damn new.” But if I figure my shit out, I won’t run. I’m not the running type. Doc knows that.
“So.” I push to my feet. “Think about the gym. You’re getting old. Gotta keep in shape.”
“Yes, daddy.” When I frown, Doc laughs and says, “See? It’s creepy as fuck. Don’t call me that.”
We both laugh but before I go, I add, “I’m serious about this shit. I love you too much to fuck around.” The man sitting in front of me will never know what he means to me.
“I know, kid. And I love you too much not to tell you to pull your head out of your ass where Hayden is concerned. You claim that boy if you want him.”
“I will,” I tell him, figuring he’s making a bigger deal out of his than it needs to be.
We part ways, and I finish up my day at the shop. I only have one more small tattoo and a shit-ton of piercings. This married couple comes in. She wants him to get his nipples pierced but he only will if she does.
“I have mine done. I fucking love them.” We go into a piercing room. I do her first. She cries out because it hurts like hell. Once she’s done I do him and tell them to have fun once they heal. Taking care of a nipple piercing is no joke, so I make sure they understand the aftercare instructions really well before I head out for the day.