Page 10 of Midnight Ink

I nod. “It’s for Anna. It’s a thing we do. Hiding rubber ducks in places each other will find later. I got it for her. I also have a jaguar. You know what, I can give you the full tour if you come with me.” I wink.

“I don’t know if you’re flirting with me or you really want to tattoo me.”

“Why can’t it be both?” I watch Anna walk toward us. I know she must want to peel off that uniform and burn it. “Hey, Grems. Come here.”

She scowls, the piercings in her brow moving with the motion. “What do you want?”

I wave a hand in his direction. “Tell him how amazing I am.”

“Like, in bed or?”

“No—”

“Because zero out of ten. I’ve seen pepperoncinis bigger.”

Oh, this little asshole. “Really!?”

She bends down to him, lowering her voice. “It’s not just that it’s small, and it is, make no mistake. It’s more the pigtail-like curve.”

“Oh, fuck off.” I shove her away from us as her laugh lights up the booth.

She giggles.

“She’s kidding, right?”

My brows rise.

She looks at this man. “Guess you’ll have to take his pants off and find out.”

“Anna! Tattoos. Am I good with tattoos?!”

“Oh, yeah, he’s kick-ass at tattoos.” She looks around then lifts her shirt, showing him the Japanese-style crane I did for her months ago. The ribs sucked, and even with her extremely high pain tolerance it wasn’t a fun time. Totally worth it, though. The way it flows on her body is brilliant. Almost the whole piece is in black and gray, the crane’s wide wingspan flowing with the curve of her body. The only shock of color is two of the six peonies around it, which are colored bright red. There are two that are black and two that are white. I’m so damn proud of it.

“Holy shit, you did that?” The guy sits up, inspecting Anna’s ribs. Her boss comes out of the back and she shoves it back down.

“Anything else for you two?” She blinks, beaming the fakest smile I’ve ever seen as he walks by. Once he’s gone she sags. “Madd, I’m going to need you to get that shop set up fast. I hate it here.”

“Soon, Grems.”

“Grem?”

“Short for Gremlin.” Anna winks before ruffling my black hair. “Have fun, you two.”

“You have a shop?”

“Not yet. Soon. I need more practice. Oh, and money. I’ve tattooed her and one of my other friends, but he only comes up during June and July.” Jamie went back home last week and I miss him already. I met him last summer and we hit it off instantly. In fact, I told him next year I plan to do a big piece on his arm. Right now he just has a bunch of random shit I wanted to try. “I told Anna she’s going to come work for me.”

He takes his sketchbook and closes it. “Can I see?” I watch his eyes and watch him wrestle with it, but eventually he pushes it toward me. “I’ll be gentle,” I whisper with a grin. He folds his arms around his body as I open the book.

“They’re just random. They’re um⁠—”

“Incredible.” I flip through the lifelike sketches. He captures reality with ease. “Amazing.”

“Not as amazing as that crane.”

I close his book and slide it back to him. “What do you say? Would you like a tattoo?”

“You want me to follow a stranger to their house in the hope of a free tattoo, and not expect you to murder me?”