Page 77 of Derek
“You got this Darlin’, I promise.” Indy gives me a genuine smile before kissing my glove-covered palm.
“Uh oh…” Atlas gasps. “Indy has contaminated Derek’s hand.”
“Out!” I bark before turning and grabbing a new set of gloves. I set back up on her stencil and look at her. “Ready?” She takes a breath and nods as I do a test line on her. Stopping the line, I look up at her. “You alright?”
She gives me a smile. “Yeah, let’s do this.”
* * *
“OH. MY. GOD!”Indy musters up all the energy she has to be excited and looks in the mirror. The piece is amazing, and my god the hotness factor… nope, not now. Anyway, it looks beautiful, but the poor thing is exhausted. My girl sat like a fucking champ for six damn hours. The last hour was bad. Every line made her whimper, and I wanted to stop, but she insisted I finish. Now, she sips on the apple juice as all the men look at it while she stares in the mirror. “Derek, it’s… oh my god, it’s beautiful!” She squeals.
“Yeah, man,” Ash nods his approval. “That’s fucking killer.” He slaps me on the back, which feels uncomfortable, but I let it go.
“Come on Darlin’, let me bandage you up, and then I’ll clean up, and we can go.” Indy stands while I place the SaniDerm over her tattoo before letting her go to put her shirt on.
“You did a great job,” Fox says while cleaning up his own station.
I grunt while stuffing the garbage into the bin. “Not like it’s my first tattoo.”
“Well, could’ve fooled me the way you were acting.” I glare at the man, though I know it’s the truth. I was nervous as fuck while working on her. The tattoo is huge. The placement is painful, and the thought of causing her pain guts me. But she took it better than most men I’ve tattooed. My tiny ball of sunshine really is a badass.
* * *
“How are you feeling?”I ask Indy while walking into her room. She’s curled up in her bed under the covers with the “Tattoo Flu.” I completely forgot to warn her about it. It’s common to feel run down and even have a slight fever after a big tattoo as your body tries to heal itself.
“Like crap.” She whines as she looks at me. “Can I lay on your chest?” She whines, and I ignore the quickening of my heart at her request. Nodding, I slip my shoes off and slide into bed.
“Noooo…” she groans. “Take your shirt off.” I sit up and do as she asks before laying back down. “That’s better. I like running my hand through your chest hair.” While that seems like an odd thing for her to like, it does feel amazing, and I find it to be one of my favorite things she does, like everything else.
I stare at the tv, watching whatever sitcom she has on while she runs her fingertips down my chest and abdomen, then back up. It’s about to put my ass to sleep. It’s so soothing.
“I can’t wait for my surprise.” Well, that woke me the fuck up.
“Oh, yeah?” I chuckle, shifting uncomfortably. “Why is that?” Indy leans over and presses her lips to my pec. “Fuck,” I gasp as her tongue flicks over my nipple.
She giggles playfully. “Because I know you probably did something super awesome and thoughtful, and it will be something I treasure forever.”
I’m going to vomit, shit myself and then die. Fucking hell, I have no idea what to do. Awesome and thoughtful? Why is that something she would assume coming from me? Wait…
My panic-filled eyes go back to her twinkling blues and… this fucking brat. “You know, don’t you?” She bites her bottom lip, but the laugh forces its way out.
“Of course I do!” She giggles. “I never told you when my birthday was.”
“I hate you so much right now.” I try to growl out, but I can’t help but laugh. Her happiness is so infectious. “I am planning something for you, though,” I say, still not sure what I’m going to do. “But it’s going to be after your birthday, fuck…” I shudder as her fingers slip into my waistband.
“I don’t think you hate me.” She smirks as she reaches with both hands and–holy shit! She and I both stare at each other in shock before looking at my jeans, my unbuttoned jeans that she unbuttoned herself. “Oh my god,” she smiles brightly. “I wanted to try, but I didn’t think… Derek! I did it!” I smile and pull her to me, hugging her tightly.
“I knew you’d get your hand strength back Darlin’. I’m so proud of you.” I silently thank the universe for this because, honestly, I didn’t know. This last relapse took her hand ability, and the girl has been trying so hard to regain mobility, but even picking up small items and buttons has seemed impossible. I grab her by her cheeks and kiss her softly, feeling light for the first time in a while. Not necessarily because she can work a button, but because she feels light and happy. And that’s all I want.
Chapter33
Indy
“You’re going to give Derek a heart attack.” Sunday whistles as she looks me up and down. It’s my birthday, and we are all going out to celebrate, no matter how much Derek complains. And since I didn’t get to wear my black cut-out dress for Atlas’ birthday because we went to Virginia, I am wearing it tonight. Janie taped my boobs up in a way that gave me cleavage, and I am in awe. My tattoo is peaking out of the side cuts of the dress, so I had Janie grab some SaniDerm from the shop to cover it so it wouldn’t get irritated. I love my tattoo so much. I can’t explain why, but I feel extra edgy and sexy—the complete opposite of what most think of me. I know I’m mostly bubbles and happiness, but I am a grown woman, and I do enjoy feeling like one every now and then.
Janie finishes my hair, having straightened it before giving me blow-out waves. Sunday helps me get into my gladiator sandals while Ren finishes my smokey eye makeup.
“I’m so lucky to have you all,” I say as I fan my face, not wanting to cry and mess up Ren’s work.
