“What’s up, Iz?”
“Do you have any free time today?” she questions, again hesitant.
“Yeah . . . Greg’s going to be gone all day with Cohen and then we’ve got date night later tonight. I planned on just catching up on the house stuff and all of that, but if you need me, I’m there.”
“Well . . . Okay, I don’t know if I’m nuts or what, but I want to go get something for Ax today and you’re the only one I know who can help me out.”
“Izzy, I’m dying here! What has got you acting like a freak?” I giggle. It’s so unusual for her to be so timid.
“I need to go to Smudge. You know, the tattoo place over on Pike? Anyway . . . it’s the only place I know of because I had my nipples pierced there, you know? Okay, I’m freaking out here just thinking about it, but Ax is going to be gone all day with Nate and I want to go get something I’ve been thinking about for a while now.”
“Ohhhkay? I’m assuming it’s either a tattoo are another piercing.” I laugh. “Izzy, you know I only have some ink, right? Greg’s the one with all the piercing know-how.” My giggles are full force now. Just the thought of her asking Greg for piercing advice when she’s all shy about asking me for help is hilarious.
“Don’t be a bitch, Mel!” she snaps, huffing through the phone.
“Okay, okay . . . I’m sorry! Just tell me what you need and I’ll help however I can.”
“Iwannagetatattoo,” she rushes out so quickly that it sounds like one long word.
“You want to get a tattoo?”
“Yeah,” she breathes.
“And I’m guessing you know what you want?” I smile. Lord, this girl is never this shy.
“God yes, Meli! I’ve been thinking about this forever. You know how we didn’t have the best start to our love story, right?” She doesn’t even give me a second to respond before she starts talking again. “Okay, so he’s got this amazing angel tattoo. Not even kidding, it is beautiful. Let’s just say that tattoo means the world to me, and I know it does to him as well. So, I want to go get my back done. I know I’m crazy for wanting something so big as my first tattoo, but I have to do this . . . I just have to.”
“Iz, I would be honored to help you out, babe. You sound like you’ve through it through, and my biggest advice when it comes to permanently marking your skin is that you are one hundred percent sure you want it. There is no way you could regret a tattoo that holds such a powerful meaning to you.” I smile, thinking about my own tattoo I have to memorialize my late sister. Yeah, you don’t regret the ones that hold your heart so close to the surface.
We finish up our call with the promise of me picking her up shortly before heading out to the local tattoo parlor, Smudge. I don’t know much about the place, but a few of the ladies I work with speak highly of the place. My mind is already swirling with the possibility of picking up some new ink while I’m there . . . and I know exactly what I want.
And I have a feeling that, just like Izzy, Greg is going to love it.
Almost eight hours later, I’m rushing home. Greg’s been blowing up my phone since I sent him a text that I wouldn’t be home for dinner. I’m hoping that my little surprise will be enough to defuse his annoyance that he’s been sitting at home—alone—for the last three hours.
“Are you excited for Axel’s reaction?” I ask a silent Izzy.
Poor girl was a trooper, but there is no way she’s feeling good right now. She just spent hours having a whole back piece done. It’s not even complete yet, but the detail is out-of-this-world amazing.
“I really am. I can’t believe I did it, Meli. I just know that if there was one thing I could have gotten that means just as much to me as it does to him, it was this.”
When she told me the story of Axel’s angel tattoo, I knew instantly that she had picked well and Axel was going to love it. Her whole back from the top of her shoulders to the top of her ass was done in an almost realistic set of angel wings.
It was simply stunning.
“You know, you make me feel like I took the easy road with mine. I didn’t have to sit still for hours.” She laughs lightly at my joke. Poor girl is crashing from all her adrenaline finally crashing.
We continue the rest of the ride in silence. When I pull into her driveway, Axel is waiting at the doorway, the lights from their house spilling out into the darkness and his massive arms crossed over his chest.
He nods his head at my wave but doesn’t move until Izzy is standing in front of him. I watch them have a few words, she nods her head a few times, and then he gently turns her around and lifts the hem of her shirt up. I smile to myself when I catch a glimpse of pure lust cross over his face.