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He glanced up and her and their eyes met. When Brandon didn’t speak, she continued, “Your choice. I either bury it or embrace it. Up to you.”
“What the hell. I already told you to put the initials in, so why stop now?”
God. Did that mean his dad had put these burns there? It took everything in her not to ask. And he didn’t volunteer.
With the stencil in place, she drew a quick test line. Brandon didn’t even give any sign he felt the needle at all.
Unlike most of her clients, Brandon barely spoke as she worked. Normally people liked to chat, or the ones that didn’t put earphones in and listened to music. He did neither, he just stoically sat quiet while she worked.
When she got to the first burn, he flinched slightly. “Did that hurt?”
“No.”
When she got to the second, he flinched again. “You sure these areas don’t hurt?” She turned off the gun while she waited for an answer.
“Yeah, not like you think they do.”
“Okay.”
He shifted his enormous body on the chair and cleared his throat. “Like I said, my dad and I had different ways of coping with the loss of my mom.”
She’d suspected his dad had done this but hearing it out loud. Shit. She couldn’t imagine a parent doing this to their child. “Your dad did this to you?”
“Yeah.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Why am I telling you this shit?” A harsh breath passed his lips. “What the hell is in that needle? Truth serum?”
She smiled. “Tattoo artists are like hairdressers and bartenders. People just tell us shit.”
“Any chance you can be like a therapist and keep this shit to yourself?”
“Brandon, you don’t even need to ask.” She squeezed his arm. “After I’m done with this tattoo, when you look at those burns, you’ll see the warrior from your mom’s stories. And all you’ll see will be her, and her love for you. You got me?” Tears burned in her eyes as she looked at him. Making that happen wouldn’t be easy, but there was no way she was giving him anything else. From one mother to the other, this art deserved nothing less.
His head bobbed up and down. “Cool.”
“Let’s wrap this thing up.” She turned the gun back on, and neither of them spoke through the rest of the outline.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Thegamewasamazing.He played awesome. His team won. And he’d had his girl and his son in the stands watching him. What more could he want? It just sucked that they had to go home today.
Jeff hoisted his bag up on his shoulder. “You ready?” he said, turning to his roommates.
“Yeah.” Ryan grabbed his bag off the floor and hooked it on his shoulder while Gonzo did the same.
“What time is their flight?” Ryan asked.
“7:00 pm. Just enough time to grab a bite to eat before I have to get them to the airport.” If Pete would get his ass in gear. He looked over toward Pete’s locker. “Zip, you ready?”
“Almost,” Pete called back as he shoved stuff in his bag.
Johnny looked over at Jeff, then gave Gomez a little nudge. Gomez glanced over his shoulder. “Sims sure ran out of here fast,” Gomez said loud enough for Jeff to hear.
“Yeah, that’s because he’s got a hard-on for Smitty’s girl. He had to catch her before she left.” Johnny stared at him the entire time he spoke.
Pete stood up and knocked Johnny on the back of the head with his bag as he walked past. “Oops, sorry.” Pete grabbed the strap of his bag like he was trying to get control of the thing.
“Let’s go, Smitty,” Pete said as he fell into step beside him. “That guy’s such an asshole.”
“Yep.” Asshole or not, his mind was reeling from what Johnny said. Why did Brandon need to talk to Kia? Did he have a hard-on for her?
