Page 31 of When I Found You

We’re good. See you soon.

I put my phone away and pull out of the parking lot. I grab some fast food on my way to Ethan’s shop. Along the way, I think about the tattoo idea I have, that I’m going to finally get the courage to talk to him about.

Half an hour later, I’m pulling into the parking lot for Inker’s Tattoo, Ethan’s shop. I sit in my car and finish eating before I head inside the shop. The chime on the door goes off when I walk in and I hear a voice coming from one of the rooms call out to me, “We’ll be right with you.”

I take a seat on one of the couches and wait, sending Peyton a quick text.

Stacey

I’m out in the waiting room.

“Stacey, come on back,” Ethan says a minute later, as he steps out of the doorway to his room.

I walk into the room where I find Peyton sitting with his back exposed and a detailed design covering his shoulder blades. It’s about halfway inked.

“You can take a seat over here,” Ethan tells me, pointing to a chair in the corner.

“Thanks,” I say, shuffling around Peyton and over to the chair. I sling my purse over the back and take a seat, facing Peyton.

“Come here.” He beckons me closer. I stand and close the few feet between us. “Kiss me, woman,” he says, tugging on my hand. I bend down and swipe a quick kiss across his lips.

“How was your day?” I ask.

“Good, better now. Yours?” he asks as I take a seat again.

“Not bad. We made some changes to a song from last week and started a new one that Reese had an idea for over theweekend. I think that it’s going to turn into something really big.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, she said the inspiration hit her when she was flying to Austin’s game on Saturday.”

“She flew out for it, huh,” Ethan says.

“Yep, said since she had no other commitments for the weekend, and they were playing somewhat close, she wanted to go see it, and him. You know how lovey-dovey they are. With all the time they’re separated due to their schedules, it’s no surprise that she travels to the games she does.”

“Yeah, I guess so. So, this guy tells me that you’re thinking of some ink for yourself. What do you have in mind?” Ethan asks.

“I have two ideas. One is some music notes in the inside of my wrist. The second is music notes floating off a sheet of music. Maybe a few lines of the lyrics to the first song I wrote that went number one on the charts.”

“Both of those would be easy. We could do both and have the music notes coordinate. Are you thinking black or color?”

“Black, probably. Do you do watercolor tattoos?”

“I do, just know that watercolor tattoos tend to fade over time, so they need to be touched up to keep the vibrant colors.”

“Then I’d probably just stick with black ink, then.”

“Once I’m done with this, I can draw up some things for you. How big are you thinking for the sheet music?”

“Um…I don’t know. Maybe like two inches wide by four tall?” I tell him.

“What about the size of the screen on your phone there?” he asks, pointing to the iPhone in my hand.

I flip the phone up so I can look at the screen. “That would be perfect. Will that be big enough for a few lines of the lyrics?”

“Should be. I don’t want to make the text too small, as it will fade out and you won’t be able to read it. But we can play around with the size. Where are you thinking for placement?”

“I think my side,” I tell him, pointing to just under my rib cage and above my hip.

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