Page 2 of Maggie

The receptionist cleared her throat. “Whoever is going first can go on back.”

Maggie’s heart thudded erratically in her chest.

One by one, the members of Lovely Oblivion filed up the hallway to get their tattoos. Maggie nervously waited until last. Though she had to admit everyone’s tattoos looked sharp, she was still nervous about getting one.

“Maggie, you’re up,” Bex said as she sat on the couch, a bandage over her new tattoo on her inner wrist. “Do you want one of us to go with you?”

“No. I’ll be okay.” Maggie stood and smoothed her hands down her jeans. She drew in a deep breath, held it, and counted to ten. Slowly, she released the breath and took the first step. One foot after another, she trudged up the hallway. Sweat broke out on her forehead.

She turned to her right to step into the room. Piercing hazel eyes met hers.

“Hi,” a man rumbled from his seat on a wheeled stool. “I’m Wylder. I’m your artist today.” He grinned at her. Laugh lines creased beside his eyes.

Maggie stood at the door nervously. The artist gestured for her to come in. He said, “Please have a seat.” He gestured to the tattoo chair and turned to the counter where he grabbed new black disposable gloves and pulled them onto his hands.

Maggie sat delicately on the chair.

She admired his colorful, superhero-themed tattoo sleeves and wondered what other art he had.

Wylder turned back to her and leveled his gaze to hers. “Nervous?” he asked.

“Yes,” she rushed out.

“It’s okay.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “I’ll take care of you.” If she wasn’t mistaken, she could swear a double meaning flashed in his eyes when he said those words. She had to be mistaken, though, right?

He let her hand go and turned to grab something from a counter by his workstation. He held the item out to her. “Squeeze this.”

He held a hedgehog-shaped stress ball in his palm. She laughed at the silliness and took the stress ball from him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled at her, then settled back comfortably against the counter. He cocked his head and his eyes brushed over her. “Now, talk to me, Maggie. Do you really want to get a tattoo?”

Maggie nodded and blew out a breath. “I do.”

He studied her with a serious expression on his face. “You need to understand — no one can force you into this. You can always get a tattoo later. If you aren’t sure right now, you don’t have to do anything.”

She breathed in and out nervously. “I’m sure. I’m nervous, though.”

Wylder nodded. “The first time I got tattooed, I was nervous, too. Now look at me.” He showed her his colorful sleeves. “Some places hurt more than others. Like this.” He tugged his shirt up and showed her a pirate ship inked along his side. “But other places, like your forearm, you’ll barely feel at all.” He lowered his shirt and stared at her. He continued to watch her, his gaze soothing her fear as it brushed over her. “Will we be tattooing you today?”

Something about him put her at ease. Some of the tension melted from her. He wouldn’t hurt her on purpose. He knew what he was doing. She nodded again and squeezed the hedgehog. “Yes.”

“Okay. You want the band logo to match your friends?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you thinking?”

“I was thinking on my forearm toward my elbow. That way it’s easy to hide if I have to dress up.”

Wylder nodded. “That location won’t hurt much either.”

He picked up a bottle and a clean cotton swab, then gestured toward her arm. “May I?”

She nodded. Wylder swabbed her arm clean and applied the stencil. The stencil’s purple ink remained on her skin when he peeled off the paper.

“Is that okay?” he asked. “You can look at it in the mirror if you want.”

---