Page 23 of Open Road (Tattooed Hearts Duet 3)

Voices began to trickle through, and I assumed the doors were open. Slade pulled me down to my chair, placing his arm along the back. He was staking his claim. I didn’t think he had anything to worry about, though.

When people started to swarm our table a few minutes later, we both stood there in shock as they asked us questions, talking about some of our work they’d seen on social media.

“Lennox, I loved that one you did with the flowers and books. It was beautiful,” a girl said, smiling at me.

“Oh, thank you,” I replied, finding myself blushing.

“What kind of tattoos would you give me?” someone asked Slade. He stared at them, not answering.

“A tattoo is personal. It should mean something to you,” I said, leaning closer to my tatzilla.

“Good point,” the kid said, his cheeks reddening.

Slade’s hand dropped down to my waist, making it even more apparent we were together. Laughing, I shook my head, talking to the people as they asked us questions. We had a few people sign up and put what they wanted tattooed. Esther made sure to walk by and add her name to the list. I looked at what she wanted and showed it to Slade, who shrugged, not making any comment. The time went by fast, and we had twenty people to choose from by the end.

“How do we even pick someone?” I asked, looking at the list.

“First, we mark off the people who only want a free tattoo.” He took a sharpie and marked off five people. “Then we mark off the people with unrealistic expectations for this competition.” Slade marked off another eight, and I had to admit he was right. Some of the tattoos would take all day, and this was only a three-hour competition. “Next to go are boring people who have no imagination.” He marked off another four people, leaving three people on the list—Esther included.

“Wow, okay. That makes it easier.” Covering up the names, I looked at the three things there, seeing if any of them sparked creativity in me.

A lion and skull combo.

Sunflowers entwined with music notes.

A heart with multiple swords stuck in it.

“You knowyou want the sunflower one, Peach. Just do it.” Slade nudged me, and I looked up, meeting his eyes. Grinning, I nodded, feeling happy. My fingers were already itching to start sketching.

“Which are you going to do?”

Slade closed his eyes and pointed to one. Looking at the paper, I laughed when I saw it was the lion and skull one.

“Can you message them? I want to go check on Simon.”

“Fine.” He pulled out his phone and typed in the numbers, sending them quick messages. Knowing him, it was probably something like, “You. 1 pm. Tattooed Hearts.”

Chuckling to myself, I walked around the booths, looking at some of the other tattoo artists as I made my way over. I’d been too nervous to look at other people’s setups, but I knew I’d have to peruse their portfolios sometime later. From what I could see, there were some talented people here. When I got to the hair section, it took me a while to find Simon. He was far away from all the others like he was an afterthought. I could see him and Zane standing, but it didn’t look like they had anyone stopping and talking to them.

“Hey,” I said as I neared. “We picked our people, so I have a little break. How’s it going?”

Simon looked at all the other booths. “I’m like the beauty school dropout. I didn’t think this through, Lenn. No one has signed up.”

“What? That’s insane. You’re crazy talented.”

“Yeah, but with no salon to back me, it’s like I’m invisible.” He slumped back into his chair, looking dejected.

“What if you do my hair now?” I asked. “Weren’t you wanting to practice? Well, here’s your opportunity.”

He sat up, looking hopeful. “Would that work, though? When do you compete?”

“We don’t start until after lunch. So, I have time. I can work on the sketch while you have me in your chair.”

“Are you sure, Lenn?” He leaned forward like he was too excited to believe it. I didn’t know why he thought I’d say no. I never could.

“Si, it’s perfect. I get a new look, and you get to show all these snobs how amazing you are.”

He beamed, practically bouncing out of his seat as he jumped. He lifted me into his arms, swinging me around as he hugged me.

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