She’s asked the same question no less than a dozen times on the drive over. I wanted her to see the design first, and explain its significance, so she wouldn’t think it was a narcissistic choice on my end.
I smile. “You’ll see.”
Malakai raises his eyebrows—probably wondering about the secrecy—but says nothing as he readies his tattoo gun. About a year ago, Kai had some downtime between clients, so I told him what I was looking for. In less than five minutes, he sketched out exactly what I saw in my mind. The boy is insanely talented in bringing ideas to life. The design I'm going with is delicate and simple in appearance but heavy on substance.
Kai twists in his chair to face me. “You ready?”
“I am.” I nod.
He lifts my arm and props it on a padded stool covered in plastic wrap. After swiping some rubbing alcohol over my skin, he picks up a disposable razor and runs it along the same spot.
“What’s the razor for?” Ainsley asks. “She doesn’t exactly have hairy arms.”
“Almost everyone has body hair almost everywhere, regardless of how visible it is. This ensures a clean work surface,” Kai explains.
“Huh,” Ainsley muses. “The more you know.”
He takes a stick of clear deodorant and runs it over the place we agreed on before grabbing the transfer paper and holding it against my arm for a few seconds. Kai inspects his work after peeling back the paper before turning my arm so I can see it.
“That look okay to you?” he asks.
I take in the small flower running about two inches down the side of my forearm, starting right below my wrist. “It’s perfect.”
Ainsley stretches her neck so she can see. “A flower? That’s really pretty.”
“Not just a flower,” I correct. “It’s a jasmine flower.”
Ainsley giggles. “In case you get drunk and forget your name?”
I give her a head shake. “No, smartass. It was my mom’s favorite. She used to call me her sweet flower all the time. Plus, it's the Philippines' official flower, so it's in homage to our heritage."
She gives me a closed-mouth smile. “I love it, Jazz. It’s perfect.”
“Thank you.”
Malakai grabs his gun and sets my arm back on the stool. “You ready? It’s going to pinch at first—especially near the wrist since that’s one of the more sensitive spots.”
“Sure, now you tell me,” I grumble.
He laughs. “Regardless, I need you to remain as still as possible unless you want me to fuck this up.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “Let’s do this.”
Kai nods and gets to work. He’s right; the needles do pinch at first, but I adjust pretty quickly as he outlines the flower. The pain isn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. Maybe my threshold went up after recent...events.
“Smile!” Ainsley holds her phone out to take a selfie of us.
I comply and wait for her to take the shot before speaking. “What’s that for?”
“Girl, we’re making memories here.” Ainsley turns her phone to face me, showing me her Instagram page. “I had to post it on Insta. I figured Malakai wouldn’t mind me tagging the shop, right?”
“Free publicity is always good publicity, baby,” Kai agrees. “Even better if two beautiful ladies such as yourselves are promoting the shop.”
I roll my eyes. “You do remember she’s taken, right? And don’t you think you’re a little old?”
Kai laughs. “First of all, I’m twenty-four. That’s not old. Secondly, who says Ainsley’s the one I’m trying to charm?”
“Well, it sure as hell isn’t me.”