Design For Life

Chapter 2

"The tattoo attracts and also repels precisely because it is different." ~Margo DeMello

BPOV

I, officially, hated moving. I'd moved more times than I could count, thanks to my mother's inability to stay in one place too long. Renee was a bit of a free spirit, almost child-like, which led to me being the adult in our little family of two. When I was seventeen we moved to Phoenix, and for the first time, I felt like I was home. Thankfully, she'd met a man named Charlie, who was a cop, and they fell madly in love. After graduation, I headed to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix with plans to get a degree in English education. Money was tight, so halfway through my freshman year, I got a job working as a receptionist at New Moon, a tattoo shop in downtown Phoenix. Charlie wasn't thrilled with my place of employment.

Billy Black, the owner of New Moon, was awesome. I remembered walking into his shop, terrified of what I'd find. I was so naive when it came to the world of tattooing. I don't know what I expected, but I wasn't expecting the comfy, clean atmosphere that was New Moon. Billy sat behind the counter, long black hair pulled back, arms covered in tattoos. I told him that I was interested in being a receptionist, and he hired me right then and there. The following four years were a learning experience. Once Billy learned that I could draw, he asked me if I was interested in learning how to tattoo. To my great surprise, I was, and to my even greater surprise, I was good at it. I'd found my calling.

I finished out school; graduated with my degree in English education, and went to work as a full-time artist at New Moon. Renee didn't really care about my choice of career, but Charlie was less than thrilled. Especially, since I had, slowly, become tattooed over the years and was dating a fellow artist. He felt that I was wasting my potential. The next two years passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was being featured as an artist at the Arizona Tattoo Expo. That was where Jacob Black, Billy's son, asked me to come work for him. Jacob had set up his own shop, Eclipse, in a small town in Washington, and was looking for a qualified artist. I spent three weeks contemplating whether or not I wanted to move to Washington and leave the sunny warmth of Arizona behind me. I sat down with Billy and had a long talk, and after some consideration, I decided that a change of venue was in order.

That was how I found myself moving to the sleepy little town of Forks, Washington. I'd found a cute little house for sale for pretty cheap, and I snatched it up. I was excited to have my own place. I'd been living with Renee and Charlie while in school and was thrilled to be on my own. I spent my first week getting myself settled in, not only to my house, but to my job as well. I truly loved what I did. Eclipse was a small shop, but had a lot of clientele, and I was welcomed with open arms. By the end of the first week, I was desperate for a good book. The nerdy bookworm was there, underneath all the tattoos, and I knew that Forks had a library. I wasn't sure what time they closed. Realizing that it was almost six, I hopped into my old truck and headed toward the library.

It was cute. As was the guy behind the desk. I noticed the hours on the door and realized that they'd be closing soon. I hated when people waited until the last minute before coming in, and here I was, doing the same. Walking quickly, I approached the bronze haired man at the desk.

"H ... hi. May I help you?" he stuttered.

Poor boy, seemed to be a bit shy. Odd that he would work in a customer service type job. Flashing him a smile, I told him that I wanted to get a library card. He asked for my license, which I handed over, noticing that his hands trembled when he took it from me. I felt really bad for him. He was really hot, but seemed a bit flustered whenever I met his gaze. He handed me an application and a pen, which I managed to catch, before it rolled off the counter. He blushed and immediately turned his eyes to the computer to start inputting my information. I filled out the form and managed to catch my license, when he accidentally flung it. He really was too cute. After getting my card, I asked him if he could show me the fiction books. He managed to trip on the corner of a bookshelf, and I reached out to grab his arm before he fell. He really was adorable. Wholesome and good. Not the kind of guy I would ever date.