After dinner, Zoey asked to go for a walk to get to know the area. I found myself walking hand in hand with her down the festive streets where there were shops and merchandise lining the block, buzzing with locals. Zoey loved to touch. There was rarely a moment when we were alone or in our own private space where she didn’t touch me. She’d have her arms wrapped around my waist, her arm behind me while rubbing my back, her face caressing my arm or her hand at my chest or abdomen. This was something I’d never experienced before, likely because I never kept a woman around long enough to be comfortable with someone in my personal space. Nonetheless, with Zo it felt natural in no time.
At some point, we stopped almost in the middle of the road. Rob and Barry were looking one way and caught my attention with a bar that they’d claimed to have not been familiar with, although they’d been coming into town every day since arriving. We watched the patrons go in and out, getting an idea of what type of clientele the place catered to—or at least that’s what I was doing and assumed they were, too. Absentmindedly, my eyes roved over to my right to Zoey, whose attention was elsewhere, more specifically across the street on a tattoo parlor. The shots we took had me twisted, damn near wasted, so it took me a minute to figure out what it was.
“What’s going on over there?” I bent down and asked in her ear.
I didn’t startle her, not that I was trying to, but it just showed how deep in thought she was.
Her arm pulled up and her index finger pointed to the parlor. “I want to go in there.”
“Why?” She had no tats, I didn’t understand the sudden interest.
Then those doe eyes looked up at me. “Short period of insanity.” A small smile played at her lips.
“Yo, Rob…B!” I called over to the guys and pointed to the tattoo parlor as Zoey pulled me across the street.
When we walked in, Zoey eyed all the drawings and sketches on the wall, seemingly amazed. I guessed this was a first for her.
I sidled up beside her and asked, “You picking out a new tat for me?” That was some personal shit. I picked all of my own ink.
Still gazing the wall, she shook her head. “No. You can pick out your own.”
Huhn?
I snorted, “Shit, Zo. Are you getting inked?”
She turned to me with a shy smile while biting her bottom lip. “But just something small. I need to figure out just what.” Her hands made their way up my t-shirt to my bare chest, softly running over my abs and pecs. “What are you getting?”
“Me?” I looked at her with incredulity.
She nodded excitedly, still biting that damn bottom lip.
I let out a breath. “Shit, Zo. I don’t know. You sprung this on me. I usually take time to consider what I want it to express. I’ve never done it on a whim.”
Her hands kept caressing my chest, exciting me, goading me. “You mean to tell me, out of all the ones I’m feeling now…” she rounded to my back. “None of these were done while intoxicated?” And that’s when I recognized the slant in her eyes, reminding me of the shots we indulged in.
I shook my head.
“Well, I’m not getting one by myself. You pick out one so we can get started.” She pushed off my chest and strutted away to talk to the artist.
I took a few minutes to first decide if I wanted this, then when that was done, I had to think of an expression I wanted, forever. That decision took a little longer than the first, but excited me three times as much.
Zoey glanced back at me over her shoulder, I knew, asking for my final answer. When I gave her an affirmative nod, she hopped over to a table behind a curtain to begin her first ink job. I looked around to find the other artist I noticed earlier and saw Rob and Barry, who appeared to be smirking.
“What the fuck?” I asked, my forehead wrinkled.
“That chick got you wrapped around her little finger, chief,” Rob snickered and Barry followed.
While at the station getting my latest tat, I thought about what Rob said and realized he was right. Zo had my ass open and there was no need to deny it. I was on that do whatever crazy things you want without considering the consequences shit right along with my Ni?a. It took less than an hour before my art was complete. When I walked out to the small reception area, Zoey, Rob and Barry were there waiting.
Zoey jumped up, bouncing on her toes. “Let me see…let me see!” She was so damn excited.