Music, Ink, and Love (22 page)

Our body connected, our skin touched, everything became unplanned and uncontrollable. We let our hunger control our bodies. Together, all we wanted was to please one another.

T
he needle traced the first line of her tattoo. Black ink permanently marked her skin in the lovely shape of a flower. Minute after minute, she took the pain and kept her eyes glued on her arm. I blew air on her skin each time I removed the extra ink. Something I wouldn’t do to any other client.

“It’s funny how it hurts at the beginning and becomes numb after a while. It doesn’t hurt anymore. You could go on and on.”

“Let’s keep it to your arm for tonight.” I smiled. “Though, I wouldn’t mind doing this all night.”

Tattooing her always felt as intense, as erotic as the first time I marked her. Her little star had only given me the itch to tattoo her more. It drew the beginning of something much more powerful than I thought possible. Touching her soft skin... her reaction to my touch and the needle. Marking her with my design made me the proudest tattoo artist in Seattle. It provoked different emotions in me. It turned me on, it motivated me to do more, and it made me happy. I loved this moment with all my heart and soul.

I added numerous colors, all of them forming the colorful sense I treasured about this design. It brought the flowers and the hummingbirds alive. It reflected exactly what she wanted. It had the old school flare and covered her upper arm perfectly. She yawned a few times but never said anything. She could take the pain easily

Three hours after the first line, I was done. She looked hot as hell. I wanted her. Now.

“Time for you to look at your arm, Rock Star, because I’m done. I personally fucking love it. But my opinion might be a bit biased.”

She got up from the chair and went directly to the bathroom to take a look in the mirror. Before I had the time to remove the gloves and meet her there, she returned with tears in her eyes and a striking smile traced her lips. Thank god, she loved it.

“It’s beautiful, absolutely perfect.”

“It turned out great, one of my favorites.” I had really outdone myself. I was proud.

The following morning was rough. My dad was waiting for me at the new house. He had managed to take the day off with Colleen to help us around the house. We had a few walls to paint; Nix insisted on adding a touch of color to the rooms without being too flashy. At first, I wasn't sure, but she had good arguments and Colleen agreed with all of them. Buying the house ended up being a family thing. Dad helped a lot and Colleen too. So we worked on the house while Nix sat in her classes peacefully... Well, maybe not that peacefully because I inked her arm for three hours straight after our passionate love making session so her arm was probably itchy or stiff.

She kept texting me every thirty minutes to know where we were at. At least I could send her pictures of the newly painted walls.

“Hey, Levi, I think you have a delivery truck outside.” Dad announced.

I hurried to the door. We weren’t expecting anything before tomorrow. The truck was backing into our driveway and I tried to think, not wanting to bother Nix to double check. I mentally ran down all the things we had bought and nothing was expected today. The couch, the dining table, it all had delivery dates for tomorrow. What the hell was going on? We hadn’t even shopped at the store mentioned on the side of the truck.

“Calm down, son. It's new furniture for your bedroom. It’s a gift.”

“Dad, you gave us enough already. You paid for...”

“Levi, I only have one son. It’s just the two of us now. I can buy you things if I want to.”

The tone of his voice warned me, in a nice way. He always had been a man who would follow his ideas, this being one of them. Giving me as much stuff as possible was a way of showing me his love while helping me in a way I couldn’t refuse.

“Thank you.” Words failed me. We could have afforded a new bedroom set, but we had decided to wait a few months. I couldn’t wait to tell Nix. I texted her to meet me here after her classes.

The truck driver came up to us while his helper opened up the back of the truck. He installed the ramp for them to move the furniture safely. I tried to get a glimpse of what they looked like, but all I saw was the plastic wrap over a shell of cartons. My dad told them where to put the furniture. I had all my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t leave any scratches on the fresh paint. These guys were professionals, I guessed.

I finished up with the wall in the living room and I went into the bedroom. “Seriously, Dad. You didn’t have to do this.”

“These are made to last a lifetime, Levi. Trust me, you’ll need these.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely better than what we had. Thanks again.”

Of course, Dad had to pick a queen size bed, a darkish almost black shade of wood with a contemporary touch. It looked young, and the same style as Nix had been looking at in the magazines.

“Nix is going to flip when she sees this.” I knew because I was, I didn’t expect this and it was beyond perfect.

“I’m glad you have her. It’s very humbling to see you two stepping together into a beautiful life. I can’t wait to have grandkids, too.” My heart skipped a beat hearing him talking about grandkids. It freaked me out.

“Wow, wow, Dad. Give us a break!” I laughed. “You will, but definitely not now.” Now wouldn’t be good. Nix has so many things to do before we could ever consider having a child. She needed to graduate and find a job. She told me numerous times how much it meant to her to have a few years of work experience before settling down with kids and I agreed.

A kid... The words kept echoing into my mind. A kid... I would keep my word and be patient, but I couldn’t wait to have a little peanut in her belly. I sighed.

“Everything in its time and place, son.”

I nodded, trying to put my thoughts aside. “I can’t wait to share that with her.”

“Who’s her?” Nix appeared behind us.

“Hey, Rock Star. Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I asked, surprised.

“I had to come here. I hated that you were doing everything without me. I want to help too.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. I had a test right after lunch and afterward, I felt like coming here and being with you.” She said, shyly.

I reached for her hand, entwining my fingers together with hers. “Thank you. Dad and I have something to show you?”

“Why is there a truck in the driveway, I thought they were all scheduled for tomorrow?” She wondered the same thing as me when she saw the truck.

We entered our bedroom, she followed us, clueless, and stopped in her tracks when she saw all the massive and new furniture. Her jaw dropped to the floor, her eyes got teary, and I could see her struggle to find the words.

“It’s a gift from me, Nix.” Dad said, leaning against the door frame.

“Wow... I... I don’t know what to say other than... it’s... beautiful. Wow! You didn’t have to do that, Austin.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Thank you, thank you, and thank you.” She kissed both of Dad’s cheeks and returned to my side and, taking my hand into hers, she held me tight. We walked to the bed, her free hand touching the furniture and then, she proceeded in looking inside the drawers of her dresser. “Now, this is quality. Look at this, Levi.”

“I know, babe. It’s perfect.”

The delivery guy brought the last nightstand into the room, still wrapped in the protective plastic wrapper.

Dad signed the papers. Nix continued to stare, touched and awed at our bedroom. Dad and I had painted a wall in a cherry red that she wanted. With the furniture it looked pretty neat. It added to the excitement of moving here.

Colleen joined her, and while they talked about how to place everything, Dad and I finished with the last wall. My shoulders were starting to stiffen up and my stomach kept yelling at me to get some food.

The joy coming out through Nix’s voice echoed in the house. She was laughing and joking with Colleen. Both of them got along really well. I also heard them moving around the furniture. I had that fucking smile on my face, I thought I had never been happy like this in my life. I wished Mom could have met her, but I was pretty sure she had sent Nix my way. To save me from the aching sadness, I tried not to think about it too much, but I thought Mom would have had a good time decorating the house with Nix.

It made me think that Nix might have felt the same way about her mom. Hers was still alive, but she had never contacted Nix after that day. Unbelievable! Thankfully, Colleen was here to fill that blank and I believed it made it better for Nix. And for me.

We worked inside the house and cleaned everything. We could finally move in. Everything was ready.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight. I’m way too excited about this.”

“You better sleep, babe. Tomorrow will be a very long day if you don’t.”

“I might go out for a run, burn some energy.” She suggested, but it had been raining on and off all day.

“I can think of something else if you want to burn off some of your energy. Let me know if you’re interested.” I teased.

“Oh really? What is it?” She said, closing in on me, with the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth.

Nix had decided to play the game.

“You and me, clothes off. Anywhere: bed, table, wall, floor.” I paused, looking at her accelerated breathing and the shade of red on her cheeks. “Or shower.” I cupped her face. “You decide.”

“Hey, kids. Ready to get something to eat?” Dad asked, completely ruining that intense moment. I could almost imagine the feel of her against my skin.

“Sure, we’re coming.” She said, still looking into my eyes. I could feel her desire for me.

“Are you kids alright?” The tone in his voice suggested that something wasn’t right.

I chuckled, if he only knew. “We’re good.” So good.

She smiled, obviously shy that my dad had caught us discussing sex.

I
woke up bright and early. The bed had lost its warmth, its sweet perfume. My Star was gone, I could no longer sleep. I had to find her, hug her, and kiss her.

Nix had already showered by the time I found her and she had packed half of our kitchen supplies.

“Good morning, Rock Star.” My morning voice came in full force.

“Hey, babe. Good morning.” Hers had a different tone to it as well. Thick and rusty. She sniffled delicately. Probably not wanting me to question her.

“Are you okay?” I questioned her anyway.

She shrugged not looking at me. “Yes... No... I don’t know. I woke up at 5 am and I had all these things in my mind. I remembered when we first moved here and how hard it was to convince my mom.” Her damn mom!

“It’s okay, Nix. You’re allowed to feel sad.” But I hated it. In my opinion, her life had to be filled with love and happiness. I hated that her mom still held control over her.

“I’m not sad. I’m finally living my life how I want to. It’s the end of that chapter, I guess.” She tittered.

“It is, but we’re about to start the best chapter yet.” I pulled her to me and turned her around so I could see her face. “Come here, babe, let me hold you, hold your hand.” My lips against her soft hair, I kissed her repeatedly. “It’s okay, Nix.”

“God, I love you.” She whispered, before continuing in a louder voice. “I know I’m not alone, I have you, but all these things are happening to me and I realize how
alone
I am.”

“Do you want to contact her, Phoenix?” The question came out of my mouth before I could seriously think about it. It might not be the right timing to talk about this.

“No... I don’t want to. If I do, she’s just going to try to control everything again and she’s going to be difficult with you. I don’t need that. I know that in my heart, I’m better now, but my mind... I miss having a mom, but I don’t miss mine.” She started sobbing.

“Hey... It’s impossible to replace a mom, I know that but Bekka, Tiff, Val and even Colleen are here for you. You’re not alone. I think Colleen is really fond of you.”

“She’s a sweetheart.” Her tender lips swept against mine, and kissed me. “Thank you.”

She took a deep breath, wiping her tears with the back of her hands and went back to packing. She amazed me.

“Nix, you can take a break for five minutes.” I could think of a few things we could do in those five minutes.

“I know, but I just want to get this done and take my break after. I’m almost done.”

Right! “Let me help you.” I rubbed her ass with my hand and hugged her. Her back to my front, she held my arms with hers. “We’re turning that page together, babe. I’m here with you.”

“I’m with you, too.” Her heartbeat became stronger against my hand. I felt my body mold against hers. “We should be packing before this gets out of hand.”

“Tonight.”

She laughed quietly. The moving truck arrived minutes later. We barely had time to see them moving the boxes around or our washing machine, everything went so fucking fast. They were talking loudly, way too loud for 7 am. They made me dizzy but damn, were they efficient! The rooms were empty, all that was left was the kitchen table and few other things, but we were giving them to charity since we had bought new ones.