Apart from her greeting, Lexi barely spares him a glance as he walks over to watch her work.
“Nevermind,” he says, “I can see it’s going well. Damn, Lexi. I didn’t even know you could draw. Where have you been hiding that talent?”
She grins. “A girl’s gotta have some secrets.”
“Oh, you’ve got more than a few. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
I listen to them talk back and forth about tattooing and different techniques. I understand most of what they’re saying, but some of it goes over my head. Before long, Lexi is done with the outline, which Gareth declares is “clean and solid.”
“You need a break before I start shading?” she asks me, setting down her machine and removing the black gloves from her hands. When I decline, she stands, stretching. “I’m gonna grab a quick drink and use the bathroom. Be back in a minute.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She’s halfway out the door when she turns back. “Oh, and Gareth? Don’t let him look at the tattoo while I’m gone. It’s a surprise.”
As she disappears, I chuckle, using the opportunity to sit up. I don’t need a break, but I might as well take advantage of the one Lexi is taking.
Gareth’s eyes go wide, and he looks at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.
“You seriously have no idea what she’s inking on you?”
“Not a fucking clue.”
“You know this is her first tattoo on an actual person, right?”
“Yeah. It was my idea.”
He lets out a low whistle and shakes his head, chuckling. “You’ve got bigger balls than I do, man.”
I don’t know what the guy wants me to say, so I shrug. “I trust her completely.”
He looks me in the eye for a minute and scrubs his hand over his jaw, laughing as he mutters something about “knowing that look” and a “boom.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, but before I can ask, Lexi reappears, and his words are all but forgotten.
Once I’m back in the chair and comfortable again—this time on my side, facing away from her—Lexi gets back to work. Gareth sticks around for a bit and we shoot the shit, mostly talking about tattoos, but he’s also curious about my job. He seems a bit disappointed when he realizes it’s mostly cases that require me to find proof of infidelity or fraud.
At some point, Blossom pokes her head in the room to see how things are going and pulls Gareth out to take a walk-in, leaving me and Lexi alone again. We fall into a comfortable silence, not needing to fill every second with words.
I let the low buzz of the tattoo machine lull me into a zen-like state, but I’m not so out of it that I don’t hear Lexi turn on some music. Damn, man. Everything I’ve read about getting inked on the ribs is true. This is by far the most painful tattoo I’ve gotten. If the outline of the tattoo hurt, the shading is pure agony. I try to keep my mind clear, concentrating on keeping my breathing even and trying not to flinch when she hits extra-sensitive spots.
I couldn’t tell you how much time passes before the buzzing stops, and Lexi murmurs to herself as she wipes down my side.
“Another break?” I ask, looking over my shoulder.
“Nope. I’m done,” she says, smiling like she won the lottery. “Ready to see it?”
“Hell yeah, I’m ready to see it.”
I sit up, and Lexi comes around the chair, offering a hand to help me stand. I take it, but I don’t stand, I pull her in between my legs and kiss her instead.
“Thank you, doll,” I murmur against her lips.
“Don’t thank me until you see it,” she says, pulling away from me.
I get to my feet and follow her to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Turning to the side, I take a glimpse of my brand-new ink, and I’m speechless.
It’s an anchor with rope coiled around it, decorated with different flowers, giving it a touch of femininity. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I told Lexi she could choose any design, but it certainly wasn’t this. It’s everything I didn’t know I wanted, and every bit of it makes me think of Lexi.
“Well?”
She stands behind me, hip cocked, one eyebrow arched, waiting for a response from me. Grinning at her sass, knowing it’s a front because she’s nervous about my reaction, I turn, grab her by the hips, and kiss her again.
“It’s perfect, Lex. It reminds me of you, and I love it.”
“Of course it is,” she says, patting me on the chest. I chuckle, letting her have her little moment, even though she’s full of shit. “I want to take a picture for my portfolio, then we’ll show Blossom.”
While Lexi grabs her phone to get a picture, I take another look at my tattoo in the mirror and smile. Letting her tattoo me was a risk, but it paid off. I have no regrets, and I’ll always be able to say that I was her first.