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Van lies on the table in front of me, shirtless of course. You’d think now that he’s no longer in the Coast Guard, he’d lose his shape, but the man works out all the time. Can I really complain? No.
The stencil is on his skin already and I move forward to do the first ink spot but pull back. “I’m nervous.” I set down the tattoo machine and shake out my hands.
“It’s natural to be nervous, but honey, I would never set you up to fail. You’re ready for this.” My dad slides his chair next to mine.
I’ve been working under him for the past year while attending art classes. My dad and his employees have even tattooed some of my designs on other people, but this is my first time actually tattooing my own design on a person—who also happens to be the man I love.
“Hey, I’m good. I want to be your first.” Van takes my hands.
“It won’t be the worst one on his body. Look at all his other tattoos,” my dad says.
I sigh and stare at him to stop. I know he secretly loves Van but refuses to admit it. Now that their businesses are neighbors, they run into one another a lot.
“Okay, and you’re sure about the design? Last chance.”
Van hooks his finger under my chin. “I love it not only because you drew it but because of what it represents. The thought you put into it is amazing.” He kisses me. “Now let’s get on with this.”
I start the tattoo machine again, take a deep breath, and work on the outline first. Van doesn’t react even though I’ve seen people get them on their ribs, and it hurts like hell. My dad points out things when I need them and tells me I’m doing great. He lowers his reading glasses to inspect the art better and smiles at me.
Van’s eyes close for a while as I get in the groove.
“Hear you two are heading to New York City in a few days?” my dad says.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Will you see Kenzie?”
“Doubtful, you know she’s getting married, right?” I shake my head but don’t take my eyes off Van’s skin.
“I can’t believe it’s not Easton and Lance, truthfully. I thought those three would just agree to cohabitate together. Brother husbands or something.”
“Dad!”
“That poor girl was a tug-of-war between them.” He grabs the colors I need since I’m almost finished with the outline. I begged my dad to do the shading, not completely confident in my skills, but he refused.
“Actually, she played them at times too. All three of them are responsible for how it all went down.” I finish the outline and show it to Van. “You like?”
“I love.” He lies back down.
“Well, I think I speak for everyone in town when I say that we’re happy she’s marrying someone else.” My dad sits back down, fiddling with his phone. “Reminds me of your uncle Kingston, Stella, and Owen back in the day.”
I nod, remembering the stories I heard over the years. “You okay?” I ask Van for the millionth time.
“Stop asking me. Your hands are on me. I’m perfect.”
“Hey now, no hard-ons while we work on you,” Moose says from the station across from me.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Van argues.
I love the way he holds his own with them. They can be a bit of a tough crowd in here.
“No talk about hard-ons and my daughter.” Dad ends the conversation there.
The tattoo takes four hours total, but as I wipe it for the last time, I’m pretty happy with how I did. The colors really pop. I help Van sit up and walk with him over to the standing mirror. He stares at the tattoo for a long time.
The anchor is prominent to symbolize his past life, but also his strength and stability. The rose across the center signifies his passion and love. No one loves as fiercely as Van. And the small butterflies flying out from the anchor represent new beginnings.
“It’s beautiful, babe,” he says before taking my lips with his.
