Page 6 of Love Restored

“You didn’t like my legs in that suit?” Blake asked, batting her eyelashes. “I mean, I thought they looked hot as hell. But if you have issues with it, maybe I should reconsider the banker suit I’m planning to wear tomorrow.”

“You’re an idiot,” Maya grumbled. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because, despite popular opinion, you don’t actually need to know everything going on in everyone’s lives at all times.”

Maya snorted. “That’s only going to make me more curious.”

That would be a problem if Blake planned to go back to the estate. But since she’d signed the paperwork, she’d done her duty. Now, the rest was up to the lawyers.

“Have at it, but sometimes, a suit is just a suit.”

Maya narrowed her eyes.

Blake blinked innocently back.

Maya flipped her off, and Blake did it right back with a smile. When Maya laughed and strolled back to her station, Blake was still smiling. She might be the new one in the shop, but she could feel the edges of the home she could have if she stayed long enough. These could be her people, and for some reason, that scared Blake more than she’d thought it would.

Once again, she shook off thoughts she’d rather not have and made her way to the younger girl standing at the front of the shop, browsing some of the stenciled designs hanging in pretty frames on the walls.

“Hey, I’m Blake. I hear you want a butterfly tattoo?”

The girl turned, her eyes wide, but it didn’t look like fear so that had to count for something. Blake couldn’t count the number of times people came in for a new piercing or ink and freaked out before they’d even gotten into the chair. And frankly, she was glad for that, considering ink was permanent, and piercings were one step below that. Body modification wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

“That’s right,” the girl said and gave her a little wave. Blake’s smile deepened as the girl blushed. “Uh, sorry. I uh, didn’t know if this was a handshake situation so I waved like a dork.” The girl closed her eyes and let out a breath before opening her lids once more. “Hi, I’m Kennedy, and I’d like a butterfly outline on my hip.”

“Hi, Kennedy. Can I ask how old you are?” She didn’t look older than eighteen, and while Blake trusted Maya to check Kennedy’s age, she wanted to be sure.

“I’m twenty-three,” Kennedy answered, her blush matching the red of her hair. “I know I don’t look it, and the whole nervous blushing thing doesn’t really help, but yeah, I’m older than I look.”

Blake let out a low whistle. “I’ll say.”

“I already checked her age,” Maya said from her station as she pored over a notebook, pencil in hand. “Those genes are going to do you well when you’re our age,” she said to Kennedy, and Blake scowled.

“Way to make me feel ancient,” Blake muttered.

“All in a day’s work,” Maya said with a smile. “But if you’ll notice, I did say our age.”

Kennedy’s gaze shot between Blake and Maya, her eyes widening even more. “Uh…did I miss something?”

Blake shook her head. “Nah, my boss just likes to rib.”

“As I’m the one that signs your paychecks, I feel it’s my duty,” Maya said, her attention on her notebook and not them. “But I’d get to it, Blake. You have a piercing appointment soon.”

Blake let out a sigh and nodded toward her station. “Let’s get to it, then. My chair is in the back.”

Kennedy followed her silently and sat down on the convertible chair in Blake’s station, her hands folded on her lap.

“So,” Blake began as she sat on her stool, her sketchpad in hand. “You want an outline of a butterfly on your hip. Is there significance, or is it because it’s pretty?”

Kennedy smiled softly and pulled a piece of paper out of her bag. “I had cancer when I was a kid and was a little late with the whole growing thing because of it. So rather than get a caterpillar like the old me, I want something to show that I’ve grown. Changed. And I want it on my hip because it’s for me.” She blushed again. “And, well, for whoever I’m intimate enough with for them to see that part of me.”

Blake blinked back tears. Hell, this was the part of the job she both loved and hated. Sometimes, it was okay for ink to look pretty because that’s how you felt at the time and you didn’t need the weighty significance that so many other pieces had. However, the fact that this would be both to Kennedy meant something.

“And I want it that small because it needs to fit under a bathing suit, you know?” Kennedy continued.

“Just the outline will work for the size, then. That way, it’s not too detailed to the point you can’t really tell what it is.” That was the problem with a lot of small tattoos. People didn’t want to go crazy with the size, but they wanted the kind of detail you could only get in a larger piece. There were ways to get around that, of course, but Blake preferred working with what made the ink better in any case.

“That was my thought, too,” Kennedy said with a bright smile. “And, well, I want it to be an outline because I’m not finished yet either. It gives it space to be anything it wants.” She paused. “Just like I want to be.”

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