Page 16 of Bittersweet Redemption

My palms start sweating. Part of me wants to walk out the door and wait for Kayla in the car, but the other part wants to prove that I can do this. I’ve always wanted a tattoo, so I’m getting a damn tattoo.

The man leaves, and a few minutes later, my name is called.

“This is your artist, Kai.”

My stomach sinks. It can’t be him. It can’t be. But when I finally look in that direction, I find out that it is, in fact, my next-door neighbor. He’s standing there with his arms crossed and his normal scowl across his beautiful face.

He mutters, “Fuck.”

“I, uh.” I look at the girl at the desk. “Is there not anyone else who can tattoo me?”

The woman looks between us, confused. “Not right now. Jones is with a client for a big job, and our next artist won’t be in for another hour. But you don’t need to worry. Kai’s one of the best here.”

I could leave. I could turn around and go like I was thinking about doing. “It’s just. . .”

Kai rolls his eyes. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He turns to walk away as the front desk person exclaims, “Kai!” She seems surprised that he would say something like that, which is weird because it’s what I’m used to with him. Maybe he’s on his best behavior at work or something.

Reluctantly, I drag my feet and follow him. Kayla is sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the building from me. My eyes are on Kai, and I can’t help but notice how well his black T-shirt fits him.

“Sit here.” He points to the black chair.

I do as he tells me, sitting awkwardly and looking around the area. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Mm-hmm. Do you have a design picked out?”

“Um, kinda. I want Roman’s name here.” I lift my arm and trace from my forearm down to my wrist .”

“Fonts?”

“I’m not sure. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I didn’t look up any fonts.”

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Spur of the moment, huh? You sure this is a good idea?”

“Spur of the moment coming here tonight. But I’ve wanted a tattoo for a while. I was just out with my friend.” I hook my thumb in the direction where Kayla and Derek are. “She suggested it, so here we are.”

“Here you are,” he repeats in a monotone and hands me a book of fonts. I look through a few pages before settling on one and telling him I want it in black.

He stays silent as he writes Roman’s name on the transfer paper and shows it to me. “Good?”

“Yeah.” It looks exactly how I always pictured it too. I hold my arm up for him to place the paper on it. “You’re not going to purposely mess it up, are you?” I hate to ask, but with our history and his known feelings for me, I can’t help but worry.

He looks directly into my eyes. I suddenly feel completely on display in my tiny skirt and shimmery top, nerves fluttering through my body.

“I wouldn’t do that. This is my job, and I wouldn’t mess up something permanent on purpose.”

I swallow. “Even though I deserve it?”

“Yeah. Even though you deserve it.” I watch him as he prints Roman’s name onto the transfer paper. When it’s ready, he comes back over to clean my arm, shaves the spot where I want the tattoo, and cleans it again. He positions the paper and transfers the design to my arm. Then he turns to get his gun and ink ready. He does all of this without saying a word to me, and I study his every move making sure he doesn’t do anything sketchy.

“I really am sorry. I wish I could take it all back.”

“Yeah, me too. But you’re still not gonna move?” His back is turned, but I can tell he’s clenching his jaw. He doesn’t want me here, and I can’t blame him.

“I can’t move. It took me forever to find a house I could afford in a good neighborhood.”

“It took me forever to find a house with no credit history or job history because I was in prison for ten years.,” he counters.