He immediately abandoned his station to kiss her firmly on the lips. She turned bright red with his attention, and I liked her on the spot.
“Hey, Stace. How’s nursing school going?” Van asked, propping up on his elbow so he could talk to her.
“Oh. Hey, Van. Hey, Kill. It’s good. I'm actually done with my bachelor’s degree and working on my master’s now.”
“She’s not only cute, but smart too. I found my keeper,” Taze said, not seeming to care that the guys were witnessing him turn goo-goo eyes on his girl.
“Shut up,” she said, kissing him on the lips. "I'll be at the front if you need me.” She tried to look annoyed by his attention, but was failing miserably.
“I always need you, baby,” Taze answered trying to grab her again.
She looked over at me and rolled her eyes. “Boys,” she said, making me laugh.
Kill kissed the top of my head when I giggled. Stace’s eyes widened. She looked at Van, and then back at me. Most likely, thinking I was Van's, not Kill’s.
“Come with me. I'll get you away from all this testosterone.” Stace eyed me curiously.
I assumed she wanted to grill me, but I went anyway. “See you, Killer,” I said, kissing him before following Stace.
“Don’t go too far, Slick.”
Stace led me to the front of the shop. Perched on top of the glass counter were tattoo-care balms, various pieces of body jewelry, and a huge anatomy textbook with notes scattered around it.
“Sorry about the mess. There weren’t many scheduled clients today, and Taze wanted me to come to the shop so he could help me study. I’m Stacey by the way, but everyone calls me Stace.”
“I’m Faith. It's nice to meet you.”
She began packing everything away, when a picture of a human heart caught my eye. It was sketched in black and gray like the tattoos I’d been admiring in the other room. I reached out to stop her from putting it away so I could study it.
Stace stroked it lovingly. "I love this picture. Even though I know it's really your brain and various hormones that make you feel reactions, I still think of the heart as something more special whenever someone mentions love."
"I completely agree with you. I'm a biology major, and the heart has always fascinated me too. Although I'm sure mine isn't as smooth as this one."
"I can’t help but picture mine with scars all over it too," The sadness in her voice as she stroked the picture one more time before putting it away made me look up at her. Her face looked haunted, as if she were thinking over every part of her life she’d had to survive.
“I always picture mine with a steel plate holding it together, along with the freshly-stitched wounds,” I answered, wanting her to know it was okay to open up to me. “I hope I'm not bothering you. I can leave if you need to study, or I’d be more than happy to help you.” I felt bad to take her away from her homework. She seemed to be as serious about school as I was.
“That’s okay. I have it down pretty well. Taze just likes to help me, because it makes him feel like he's doing something.” Her face brightened when she mentioned him, and I wondered if I had the same look on my face when I spoke of Kill.
“Yeah, I think it has something to do with the me-caveman, me-protect-women instincts they have,” I said, thinking of all the times Kill had tried to help me.
“That's a good way of putting it. So, you and Kill, huh?” she asked with no more beating around the bush.
“Yeah, I tried to stay away from him, but he wore me down,” I said, thinking of everything we’d been through in such a short time.
“I get that. Taze showed up after every one of my classes to bring me a coffee and ask me if I wanted him to walk me to my next class. I tried to avoid him, but I couldn’t resist his puppy-dog face and finally gave in.”
“You guys are so different, though. How does it work?” I asked, hoping she had some secret she could pass on to me.
“I guess we just got tired of trying to fight the attraction we had for each other. Once we finally gave in to us, it just clicked.”
Kill and I had seemed to click, and since we’d given in to each other, life had seemed so much easier. I just hoped it would last. Soon, he would be a rockstar living his dream. I would find a stable job and become a sensible adult like I’d planned the moment my mom left. Was I fooling myself into thinking we would work?
“Don’t fight it, Faith. Kill looks at you like Taze looks at me. I can tell you're scared, but take it from me. As much as you run, you can never get far enough away from that kind of love. I don't mean to be so forward. I just recognize what you’re going through.”
Her eyes started to water, and she blinked the tears back. “Here, this is my phone number,” she said, handing me a card with her student teaching hours on it. “Call me when you feel like running. I'll tell you the story of me and Taze.”
I stuffed her card in my purse, wondering if I would ever call her. I gave her the abridged version of how I met Kill, leaving Jason out. Our conversation moved to the subject of school as we compared some of the instructors we’d shared. After a while, Kill came out to search for me.
