Page 40 of Savage Spades

He pulled the truck up to a store with big windows on the front. Namaste Ink. The store name was written in window painting with big colorful letters that looked like graffiti. Whoever owned the store was at least talented. Why didn’t Kit just have the person at the shop draw his tattoo? He turned off the truck and rested a hand on her thigh. The feel of his touch sent flutters of butterflies to her stomach. After their first night together, Kit had been staying at the house pretty often. He fixed the air conditioner last week, so they didn’t have to sleep with the box fan on anymore. He still hadn’t returned her truck yet, and she got the feeling that he liked driving her around.

“Stop stressing out. I trust you.”

Her heart melted at his words.

“And if it’s bad, I can always get a cover-up,” he continued.

She slapped his arm and laughed. “Come on, let’s go.”

The door let out a chime as they opened it. Kit held the door so she could walk in first. A familiar man sat behind the counter.

“What’s up you guys?”

“Ace, how’s it going?” Kit slapped his hand.

Ace--that was his name. She was getting pretty good at learning all their names, but sometimes, it still slipped her mind.

“Good. Slow day, but I’m good. Getting matching tattoos?”

She let out a laugh. There was no way she was getting under a tattoo gun anytime soon.

“Just me,” Kit said.

Cam pulled the notebook from under her arm and set it down on the counter. Kit looked away as she showed Ace the drawing.

“Oh shit, this is good,” he said.

“Thanks. I’ve never really drawn a tattoo before, so if there’s anything you need to change--”

“Nope!” Kit interrupted. “I want exactly what she’s drawn.’

Ace rolled his eyes before focusing back on her. “How do you put up with him?”

She laughed. “One day at a time.”

“Alright, well, let me copy this and get the station ready.”

He took the notebook away to a back office area. Kit grabbed her hand, and they each sat in one of the green waiting chairs. They were the only people in the shop. One of the walls was filled with basic drawings--roses, butterflies, skulls, etc. The faint scent of cleaning supplies and rubbing alcohol hung in the air.

“Are you nervous?” she asked Kit.

“No, after so many tattoos, you almost become immune to it. Sometimes, it’s like I crave some new ink.”

“Does that mean you’re planning on covering the rest of your body?” She couldn’t imagine him covered head to toe with tattoos.

He shook his head. “No. I’m just filling in any empty spots where I already have something going on.”

“I’m ready for you,” Ace called from another area of the shop.

She followed Kit as he walked through an archway that opened up to a few different stalls. Ace must have a couple other people that work with him because she could see that the other stations held family pictures and other personal items.

Kit sat down in the black, leather chair at Ace’s station. He had the colors lined up and his tattoo gun sat beside them. She sat on a small chair in the corner of his station and watched him work. Ace shaved Kit’s arms and rubbed it down with an alcohol pad. She watched in amazement as he stuck the outline on Kit’s clean skin. Even though it was only a purple outline of the image, she could already tell it would come out great.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see the placement before we get started?” Ace asked Kit.

He nodded. “I’m good.”

Ace got to work, bringing her artwork to life on Kit’s arm. He used a perfect mix of reds and oranges to make the tiger and lioness look vibrant. Kit didn’t even flinch. He mostly kept his eyes closed and let his head hang over the back of the chair, as if the noise of the tattoo gun and the needle going through his skin didn’t bother him in the slightest. Two hours later and Ace gave a final wipe of Kit’s skin. The tiger looked better than it had on paper. The two scars down the length of the tiger’s body were red and fierce. The lioness had one an angry scar down her face. The part that drew her attention was the lioness whose head rested on top of the tiger’--two different animals. Different scars on their bodies, but they stood strong with each other.