“He's so freaking hot,” she said next to me.
Before I could agree, his eyes shot over and locked on mine. My mouth parted open to say hi but nothing came. Instead we lay on our separate tables and stared at one another. He looked down my body, reminding me that I was only wearing a bra, leaving half of my body exposed to him.
“Don't squirm,” Erin reminded me.
“Sorry.” I clenched my teeth as she pressed the needle against my skin again.
He smirked as he watched me lay helpless, locked in his gaze. His artist walked back to his side right as I heard Erin say she was finished. It took me a few seconds before I could sit up and walk over to the mirror. It looked better than I ever could have imagined.
“It looks amazing.” Hannah was staring in the mirror too. “And it's perfect for you.”
Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dreams was written on my side. The author of this particular quote was unknown, but it had become my new motto for life. It reminded me that I was strong and staring at the tattoo in the mirror I felt empowered to chase after every one of my dreams.
Erin spread some ointment over the marking and covered it with a sterile bandage. “Keep this on it for about a week. You can take the bandage off later tonight.”
“Thank you.” I smiled but really felt like hugging her.
Hannah was already sitting on the table showing Erin the interlocked hearts she wanted on her wrist. Since it was a small tattoo, she said she could fit it in before her next appointment. I put my shirt back on and stood next to Hannah. I found myself looking up at Luke. He was still watching me but something had changed in his eyes. There was a needle pressing into his arm so that could have been part of the change, but it seemed like he was trying to figure something out about me.
I raised my eyebrows at him causing him to come out of whatever thought he was stuck in. He shook his head and turned his eyes back up toward the ceiling.
“That's cute.” I looked at Hannah's wrist as soon as Erin was done. “I really like it.”
“Thanks. I like it too.” She let Erin smooth the same ointment over her wrist. “You should get a matching one.”
“No, I'm good.” I shook my head. “I've had enough needles for today.”
I glanced over to see Luke still leaned back on his table, staring at the same ceiling tile. We thanked Erin and paid for our tattoos before walking outside to my car. It was more than uncomfortable to sit down and even more so to put the seat belt on.
“I need to get home and lay down,” I whined. “Or stand up somewhere. This hurts.”
“Maybe you should have Luke come over and rub some ointment on it,” she teased. “I would let him.”
“You're terrible.” I laughed. “But I wouldn't tell him no if he offered.”
We rode home laughing and talking about boys and our new tattoos. The rest of my day was spent lying on my tattoo free side on the couch and watching TV. The pain was getting better and became more of an unscratchable itch by the end of the night, but I still wasn't ready to get up and move a lot. Hannah had left about an hour ago with Trey and probably wouldn't be back until late tonight or tomorrow morning. I was walking to the kitchen when I heard a knock at the front door. It was probably our neighbors needing to borrow something.
I opened the door to find that pair of green eyes staring back at me. I was standing there wearing a pair of old black sweatpants and a worn gray t-shirt. My blond hair was knotted on the top of my head, and I had already washed my face for the night. Fantastic.
“Hey.” I know I sounded confused, but in my defense, I was.
“Hey.” He continued staring. “I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay after getting your tattoo today.”
“How did you know what door was my apartment?” I asked.
“I watched you walk to it the other day.” He shrugged like it was obvious. “After I gave you a ride home.”
“Oh.” I forgot about that.
“How's your side feeling?” he asked again.
“It's fine.” I lightly ran my fingers over the bandage under my shirt. “It just really itches at this point.”
“That's pretty normal.” He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me. “I brought you some better cream than what Erin would have given you. This will help with the itching.”
“Um, thanks.” I took it and looked down at the small tube and blushed when I remembered what Hannah and I talked about earlier. “That was nice of you.”
We stood in the doorway waiting for the other one to talk again.
“Well, okay then.” He pushed his hands down into his pockets. “I guess I'll get going.”