Page 5 of Three Little Words

She nodded. “Yeah. So, what info do you need?”

I checked her ID and had her fill out our questionnaire. She filled out the paper on the clipboard, then handed it back to me when she was done.

“So where do you want it?” I asked.

Bryn grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up, revealing bare, untouched skin.

“On my ribs. Right side.”

Damn.

She smiled. “You sure you’re good? I want this to look great.”

I snorted. “I’m the best around.”

Bradley looked up, grinning. “You really wanna lie to a pretty girl like that?”

“Shut up, man. I taught you half of what you know. My dad taught you the other half.”

Bradley grinned, catching Bryn’s eye. “He’s pretty good, but I’m better.”

“Don’t listen to him,” I said. “He’s full of crap.”

Bryn laughed at that. “I’m gonna trust Benny when he says he’s good.”

I gave Bradley the finger behind her head.

Bradley shrugged and went back to sweeping, still grinning.

I led Bryn back to my station. “So…that sketch. Did you do that?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I did. I spend a lot of time drawing. I mean, if you have to clean it up or anything, it’s cool, but I’d like to stay pretty close to the original.”

“We can do the original exactly how it is. It’s a great sketch. Do you have any more?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have my book with me, but I can show you some on my phone.”

“I’d love to see.”

She smiled and pulled a beat-up iPhone from her back pocket. She opened her photos and started to scroll through, showing me different drawings. She was especially good at flowers, using clean lines and simple shapes.

They were made to be tattoos, really.

I smiled at her. “Nice. These looks fantastic. I like the one you picked for today, though.”

“Thanks. It’s one of my favorites.”

I nodded. “Well, I’ll go get the screen. Keep you a little covered up, since you’ll have to be topless for the tattoo to happen.”

“Topless?” Ryker had turned and was watching as I spoke to Bryn. He had a smile on his face that I could really only describe as lecherous.

“Yes, topless, perv.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m doing a tattoo on her ribs.”

“Nice.”

“And I’m putting up the screen.”

He huffed, rolling his eyes. “All right, fine. Have fun.”

I looked back to Bryn, who was watching me with her eyebrows raised.

“Ryker’s harmless,” I said. “Don’t worry. He’s all bark, no bite.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” I smiled. “I’ll be back. We’ll get you situated once the screen’s up.”

“Cool.” I watched as she sat down in my chair, relaxed. Nowhere near as nervous as most first-timers.

I liked her already.

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