What We Owe

Chapter Thirty One

The two tattoo artists eventually gave in to Stefan. I wouldn't say 'gave in' as much as I would say, Stefan finally threw down enough money and scared them enough into letting my chair be pulled up next to his bed. He was lying on his back and I was straddling the chair backwards.

If it wasn't for the alcohol in my system, this is the point where I would chicken out. Stefan's tattoo guy started his needle and I squeezed his hand in mine. He smiled at me and rubbed his thumb over my hand. I had sweaty palms and my heart was racing.

The man went into Stefan's rib cage on the opposite side that I couldn't see and he didn't even flinch. I could feel the vibration through him in our clasped hands. He just looked at me. I mean, I guess getting shot really makes getting a tattoo child's play, but I was the virgin to that kind of pain here. I refused to tell Stefan what I was getting so he did the same.

"Ready?" The guy behind me asked.

"Mhm." I said, putting my face down into my arm on the back of the chair. Stefan pulled my hand lightly and I looked up at him. His gaze bore into mine and I knew he wanted me to keep my eyes on him. I laid my cheek on my hand and heard the man's chair behind me roll forwards. He wiped at the back of my neck and I squeezed Stefan's hand as tight as I could.

The needle hit my skin and I waited for the pain to come, but it didn't. I loosened my grip on Stefan's hand and he chuckled lightly, making the guy have to pull away from his ribcage. We sat there, looking at one another and holding hands.

"Alright, done." The guy behind me said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yup, just going to rub some ointment over it and then you can go look." I was so excited to see it. I walked over to a mirror out of Stefan's view and held up a smaller mirror to get a better view at the back of my neck.

"It's absolutely perfect!" I said. "Thank you."

"Sure thing." I went back over and sat next to Stefan, ignoring the urge to go peak while he wasn't able to move and stop me, but I didn't. I played fair. He played with my ring, turning it over and over. I only saw his mouth twitch into a grimace once, and if you would have blinked, you could have missed it. But I saw it. He wasn't as unmoving as I thought.

The guy shut off the gun and wiped at Stefan's side. He rubbed the same translucent ointment over his side and set plastic over it. We both got up after the guy left the room and both looked at each one another expectantly.

"You first." I said. He turned and pulled down the plastic. I stepped closer and brought my face down to read the straight and narrow letters on his side.

Our vows.

I looked up at him with the same stupid grin I wore when he asked me to marry him. I kissed him and his hands went instinctively for my neck but pulled back remembering I had just gotten a tattoo there.

"Let me see." He turned me and I let him. He traced the skin around it.

"Butterflies." He said. I don't think he meant to say it, but he did. I turned and looked up at my beautiful Capo. My tattoos were simple, only black ink. One butterfly was just an outline, and the other a tad bit bigger, same shape, but colored in solid black. I wasn't going to be a butterfly alone. If I was one, so was Stefan.

He laughed against my lips. "I love it."

"I want another." I said, jokingly but he just shook his head and went to sling his shirt and jack back on.

"We're going home." He led me out of the shop as I told the guys thank you one more time. We went back to the car and I actually got in this time. We drove down the busy roads and kept looking at one another. It was almost repulsive how in love we were, but I was okay with it. He sunk underneath my skin and stayed there, just like the ink now on the back of my neck. There was never going back to life before him.