I struggled to hide my surprise when we went to an actual tattoo shop. I had been fully prepared to have someone just show up at our house and pull his equipment out of a suitcase from the trunk of his car.
"Great. We're here." I said trying to sound excited.
Alessio had definitely called my bluff on the whole tattoo thing. I had thought about tattoos before, there were a few I had decided I wouldn't mind getting but of course I knew I'd never actually get one. Because truly, I did hate needles and the idea of permanently inking myself sounded insane.
"Here." Alessio handed me two little blue pills. I scrunched my nose up in an immature response. "For your anxiety."
"I don't have anxiety."
"Trust me Katherine. You're going to psyche yourself out. Your anxiety is going to be so much worse than the actual tattoo."
"I-"
"Where did you even get those?" Stacey interrupted from the passenger's seat upfront.
Alessio shot her a look. He hated being interrupted. "Does it matter?"
She shrugged.
"You know this really isn't what I had in mind when I agreed to another double date." I huffed and snatched the pills from Alessio.
"Come on Kate!" Stacey beamed as she threw open her door. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"Easy for you to say, you aren't the one getting stabbed ninety-billion-trillion times." I grumbled and followed her lead in getting out of the car.
"I said I might."
"No one is forcing you Katherine." Alessio said at my side already. "Just admit you aren't a tattoo person." He taunted, knowing well enough that that wasn't going to happen.
"No, I'm fine. Can't wait."
"Fabulous." He said and kissed my cheek. He slipped his arm around my waist and led me into the shop. Even more surprising than the fact that we came to an actual tattoo shop was the reaction the man behind the counter had when he saw Alessio.
"Alessio!" He yelled and threw his arms open. He came across the counter and hugged Alessio. When they pulled apart he kept his hand on his shoulder and beamed. "You old son of a bitch, what the hell are you doing here?"
I gave Alessio a concerned look. Was this guy alright? I hadn't seen anyone give Alessio this greeting before. No one. The general greeting was "Mister Genovese sir, what a pleasant surprise how may we service you today?" Others may give him a curt nod, some became instantly terrified when they saw him and began stuttering. "A-Alessio, w-what a pleasant surprise." And then there were those of course who kept their eyes trained to the ground as he passed them.
This guy? Not only was he informal as all hell but he appeared to be genuinely pleased to see Alessio. Odd.
"I called you." Alessio reminded him. "I asked you to work us in today."
"I know, I just love busting your chaps." He patted Alessio hard on the shoulder several times and then stepped away. "So what is it gonna be? Naked mermaid?" He turned to me and hitched his thumb towards Alessio. "I've been trying to convince this guy to let me tattoo a naked mermaid to his arm for like forty years!" He insisted despite Alessio not even being forty years old.
Alessio rolled his eyes. "Katherine, Stacey, this is my very annoying friend Lewis."
He wasn't even Italian. I would be lying if I said that didn't surprise me just a little bit. Lewis wore nearly black jeans and a simply grey v-neck which allowed most of his tattooed arms and neck to be visible. He wore thick black rimmed glasses, white plugs in his ears and his hair was gelled into a way that reminded me of the 60's. He was scrawny but extremely vibrant personality was.
Lewis narrowed his eyes at us inspecting us thoroughly and then glanced back to Alessio. "Yours?"
I waved slightly.
"Jesus Mary and Joseph." He gasped and put a hand to his chest, putting the other on my shoulder. "You have no idea how relieved I am to meet you. Alessio has never brought a girl here before, never even mentioned a girl. I was really started to suspect he was taking it through a strict exit only hole, if you know what I mean."
A hint of color hit Alessio's cheeks but he actually laughed. "Fȕcking asshole." He muttered with a shake of his head.
Lewis smiled to Alessio and stepped backwards. "What're we doing today?"
Alessio glanced to me. "Do you want me to go first?"
I shook my head. "Nope." I said popping the P. If I heard the sound of the tattoo gun buzzing and watched Alessio get his done I would surely chicken out, and that was something I just couldn't risk happening.
"Virgin?" Lewis pointed to me.
Just as I opened my mouth to ask why that was any of his business Alessio answered for me. "They both are." Oh, a tattoo virgin.
"I'm not sure if I'm getting one." Stacey said looking around the walls at all of the images hanging.
"Naked mermaid?" Lewis pointed to Pietro.
"Demonic dragon." Pietro replied back.
"Damn it." Lewis muttered.
"Do you have a book?" Stacey asked. "I'll just look while Pietro gets his done."
"Sure, Donny is in back there. He'll hook you up." Lewis motioned towards a small hallway. Pietro started down the hallway but Stacey didn't.
"I'm sorry Kate but I've got to see this."
I rolled my eyes and Lewis laughed and led the three of us to a room. The black and white tiled floors reminded me of an old school diner but the deep red chair pulled me back into reality. I sat on the chair, being that it was the kind of chair where one could sit or lay down there was plenty of room for Alessio to sit beside me.
"Have you decided what you want to get?"
I shrugged sheepishly.
"Have you decided where?"
"I think you'd look so hot with something on your shoulder." Stacey piped up.
"I don't want something there yet." They both watched me waiting and I shrugged. "This is going to sound lame but when I get married I want a strapless dress and I don't want to have any tattoos showing."
Alessio leaned into me to whisper into my ear. "I could think of a few more discreet places..."
I gasped and pushed him away with a blush. The nerve of him, even suggesting that. "Places I'm sure you would shoot Lewis for looking at."
Alessio considered this for a moment and then nodded. "True, but I would respectfully allow him to finish the tattoo before doing so."
"So?" Stacey asked dragging the word out.
"You'll think it's stupid." I muttered.
"I'm sure I'll see it eventually." Alessio reminded me.
"And it's small."
"Which is good for your first."
"Quotations."
"Come again?"
"Well...I'm a writer. I was thinking quotations. Behind each of my ears."
"You want that thing on your head?" Stacey said in obvious disbelief.
"I don't want it there. But I mean, yeah. That's what I want done."
"You don't have to get anything." Alessio reminded me.
"I know. It's fine."
"Are you nervous?"
"I'm fine."
"I think your drugs have kicked in." He chuckled and put his hand on my thigh. Lewis came back in the room and slapped on some rubber gloves.
"You're first?" He asked pointing to me.
"So I am." I gulped.
***
I hadn't picked a bad tattoo. In fact, I think it was actually pretty good. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes and I had to hand it to Alessio, the anxiety I'd had since last night was much worse than the actual tattoo. Stacey admitted she was thoroughly disappointed in my lack luster response, but if I could handle it she obviously could so now she was with Pietro browsing the books.
There was one small problem though after my tattoo. Those anxiety pills made me ridiculously tired. My whole body felt heavy. I wanted to curl up on the floor and sleep but instead I sat across from the room as Alessio got his newest tattoo done. He was getting something else added to the slur on his shoulder.
"You know one of these days I'm going to slap some tits on you just to see how long it takes you to notice." Lewis muttered to Alessio.
"You know one of these days I'm going to start cutting fingers off, just to see how long it takes you to run this business into the ground."
"Harsh man."
"How you guys holding up?" Stacey asked wandering back into the room. Pietro's tattoo was taking forever and she was getting antsy.
"Almost done and then I can bend you over and do you too." Lewis said casually and then added on. "Tramp stamp, right?"
"No!" Stacey gasped and Alessio laughed. A deep throaty chuckle that surprised all of us except Lewis apparently.
"You're lucky Pietro didn't hear that." Alessio said.
"Pietro would've found it just as funny." Lewis replied with an air of friendly smugness.
"Perhaps, but I..." Alessio leaned back and Lewis stopped tattooing him for a moment. I knew Alessio was muttering threats quietly to Lewis. He did so quietly partly for Stacey's sake I'm sure, and part because a whispered threat into your ear was much more terrifying than a yelled one to your face.
Surprising me yet again Lewis responded with laughter and began tattooing Alessio again. "How did you guys meet?" I finally broached in a groggy voice.
Alessio glanced up to me. He knew what I was asking. Lewis wasn't a part of the family, was he? "I worked briefly with his brother." Briefly, as in he was already dead. "Pietro had let a relative tattoo him and in was poor need of a cover up." He chuckled. So Pietro had let one of the Mafia members tattoo him and Lewis's brother brought Pietro to Lewis to get it fixed before he died.
Watching Lewis smile and tattoo merrily I was even more confused. Had I lost a brother at their hands I wouldn't have been so chipper.
Granted, I was screwing the man and had lost a cousin who was as close to me as any brother could have ever been.
"Lewis is family." Alessio clarified for me.
And nothing was more important than family. Apparently even biological family.
"Lewis, if you want to throw a pair of tits or a dick on my boyfriend I wouldn't be opposed." I said loudly across the room.
Lewis chuckled and turned the gun off. "Alright my friend, you're done."
"Already?"
"Don't be such a puss and get such little things." Lewis said and slapped Alessio on the shoulder. Alessio actually winced and muttered something under his breath.
"Ah! My next victim!" He exclaimed and rubbed his hands together.
Stacey took the seat and she began explaining to Lewis the different ideas she had as he began throwing away ink containers and cleaning his gun.
Alessio took the seat next to me still shirtless and put his hand on top of mine. I laced my fingers between his and put my head on his shoulder. "You drugged me." I mumbled.
"It's just an anxiety pill Katherine."
"What did you get?" I asked lifting my head.
He turned so his back was to me. I glanced to Lewis and then back to Alessio, if I pulled the bandage off would Lewis yell at me? Then again, did I really care if he did? I carefully pulled a corner of the bandage up and then pulled it up further. A beautiful and realistic bright red rose tattoo stared back at me. The thorny stem followed the wispy curves of the tattoo as it meshed with the other tattoos around it.
"It's a rose." I said simply and lowered the bandage, after a second I lifted it again. "It's a rose?"
"I trust you can guess the meaning of that one without my explanation."
I was half tempted to slap it the way Lewis had. "You, I mean, we-"
He turned around to face me again despite the fact that I hadn't even repositioned the bandage. My hands remained in the exact same position as they had before he turned, my hands were still raised in the air as if I were still lifting the bandage. "My one single rose in a field of daises." He teased.
I shoved him and began yelling immediately. "You can't just go and get some meaningful tattoo about your girlfriend without even discussing it first! I mean, what if we break up? What if I sleep with your best friend? There's so many things that could go wrong with this, oh my God, this is permanent you know! I could screw you over, or you could screw me over and you're always going to have this big ass rose tattoo staring at you! Then someday your new girlfriend will ask about all of your tattoos and you'll be like "Oh yeah this is for all my dead friends, this is where I was stabbed and this is for Katherine." How do you think that is going to pan out? Do you even think before you act?" I yelled at him and then pulled him into me and kissed him hard before he had a chance to say a single word in response.
When we pulled back I couldn't help but be misty eyed as I shoved him again. "God you psycho!" I yelled and kissed him again.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me from my chair and onto his lap deepening the kiss. I muttered one word insults against his lips on occasion as we kissed.
"Excuse me." Lewis said loudly.
We pulled apart and I kept my forehead against his.
"I don't know if you guys are fighting, or about to have sex or what exactly is going on over there but you're interrupted my genius artistic flow."
"Lewwy?" Alessio replaced in a silky voice. "Go fȕck yourself." And he began kissing me again as the sound of the tattoo gun and Lewis's laugh mixed behind us.
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Hey readers! Early update because Fly Eagles Fly!
A lot of you guys predicted they would get each other's names, but to be honest I reallllly don't like name tattoos. I've met way too many people who have and regret them. That being said, I really do want Kate's tattoo. Might have lived vicariously through my book character as I almost got that tattoo but decided tattooing my head for my first tattoo probably wasn't the best idea so elected for a tattoo on my wrist instead. Anyway, enough about me.
How are your feels? Hmmm? More love, love, loooove.
Any way, next week the update will probably be late Monday instead of midnight or early Tuesday because I'll be traveling to Philly over the weekend and won't be coming home until Monday. (:
Don't forget to vote and comment!