Blue Madness: (Blue Raspberry Series #3)

by D. K Lake

  "I wanna do something."

  "Ok, like what?" I glance at the clock on the wall. "It's ten past six, we have some time before things get started at yours. What do you want to do?" I ask and notice he's looking at something on the other side of the street and there is a hint of a smile on his face.

  "Mitchel?"

  "Come with me."

  He leads me across the busy street and we weave our way along the sidewalk around all the people that are dawdling around and getting dinner, tonight is really busy in town.

  He unexpectedly stops outside the tattoo studio and takes my face in his hands and kisses me. I suddenly forget about all the other people moving around us and the cars whizzing past creating fumes.

  He breaks the kiss and tilts his head toward the tattoo place, still holding my face in his hands.

  "I wanna get something?" he says.

  "A tattoo?"

  "Not just any tattoo, one with meaning."

  "Ok." But I have no idea what he's talking about when he says one with meaning.

  "I need you to know that when you leave that doesn't mean it's over. I'm not going to forget about you as soon as you drive out of town. That's not what this is. You're like no one I've ever met before and I need you to know that I still want you no matter where you are or how far away you are. There isn't anyone else, not now I've found you. Kelse...I love you." he says honestly.

  My eyes sting and I know I might cry so I tear my eyes away from his and stare at the people walking by. He caught me off guard and I try not to burst out in tears. I was not expecting a declaration of love.

  He gently takes my hand and pulls me to the side and we lean against the window of the tattoo place.

  "You and me, this is real and I need you to know that."

  I nod dumbly.

  "Say something." His eyes search mine.

  "Mitchel...I-I love you too."

  "You do?"

  I nod my head and look up to see him watching me with soft eyes and I start crying. He wraps his arms around me, strokes my head, and then kisses the top of my head and gently tips my chin up with his finger.

  "Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you, not even a hundred miles."

  "I think Nebraska is further."

  "You know what I mean."

  He kisses my nose which makes me smile, and puts his arm around my shoulders and leads me into the tattoo studio.

  Inside is dimly lit and the main light is coming from the fish tank in the corner that is full of exotic fish. I can hear Nickelback playing in a back room and voices. The walls are dark blue and most of the space is covered with tattoo designs. There are seats around the outside with a coffee table which has magazines neatly stacked on top, and a desk with a computer and chair and behind the desk on the wall, there are photographs of tattoos on all different parts of the body.

  "Wh-what is that?" I laugh, pointing at the photo.

  "Baby, if you don't know what that is, I'm gonna have to give you a refresher course in the human anatomy."

  "Do you even know what the human anatomy is?" I laugh.

  "Yes...And I'm only interested in yours."

  I feel my cheeks burn and I focus on not turning into a tomato, not that he'd notice in this light.

  "Haha, very funny. What are we actually doing in here?" I look at the picture on the wall next to me where there is a tattoo design of a curvy woman with ridiculously big boobs sitting on a motorcycle.

  "It's a tattoo studio." Mitchel says matter-of-factly.

  "I know that. Why are we here?"

  I am dreading the answer. I'm just hoping he doesn't want the tattoo of the woman on the motorcycle, or the sexy alien, or the cartoon style pig...the list goes on.

  "Well, I don't think saying 'I love you' to you is enough. I was thinking of getting something to prove it."

  "What? Like a tattoo? Are you crazy? You don't have to prove anything. You love me, message received loud and clear, please don't get some tacky tattoo."

  "You think tattoos are tacky and only crazy people get them?" Mitchel says with a playful smile.

  "I don't know, your brother has one and I'm pretty sure he's borderline crazy."

  Mitchel laughs and turns away to look at the tattoo designs.

  "Well, I must be crazy then." he mutters.

  "I didn't mean that. It's just you don't have any tattoos now. Why do you suddenly want one?" I look over his shoulder and cringe at the weird fish designs. "Don't get that." I blurt.

  He chuckles and moves onto the next design board.

  "'Cause I've wanted one for a while, I just never knew what I wanted to get."

  "And now you do?"

  "I want something special that means something to both of us."

  "You don't need to do that. You know, we could just get matching wristbands or something."

  "You already got me one." He holds up his wrist and his hoodie sleeve drops down and he shows me the wristband I made for him that he hasn't taken off since I put it on.

  He smirks and walks away from me just as the curtain lifts and a skinny woman with a bouncy blond bob walks through, readjusting her skin-tight leather pants.

  There's another person behind her, he looks to be in his thirties and has a shaved head and is dressed in baggy jeans and a loose t-shirt and he has tattoos all over his arms and neck.

  "Thanks, Cal." She turns back to the guy and smiles sweetly. "Same time next week?" she asks.

  "Sure thing, Mona." Cal-the tattoo artist-responds.

  I glance down at her and wonder where he just inked her, she's got a lot of skin on show and it all looks tattoo free, and she's not wearing much else, just a black crop top and heels, she's not even holding a purse or bag and I wonder how she paid for whatever she's just had done.

  She waves goodbye and smiles at me on the way out.

  "Hey, man." Cal greets Mitchel.

  "Cal did the detailing on JT's back." Mitchel informs me like I automatically know JT has a back tattoo, but I did already know about it because it's hard to miss and it's pretty amazing to look at.

  "So what can I do for you?" Cal asks and walks to the door and flips the Open sign over to show Closed.

  "Don't suppose you could fit me in now, could ya?" Mitchel asks.

  "Sure can. Anything for you guys."

  You guys? I know Mitchel doesn't have any tattoos so I wonder how they know each other so well.

  "Cool." Mitchel says and wanders back to the other side of the room.

  "So what did you have in mind?" Cal asks.

  "Um...I haven't decided yet."

  "No probs, I've gotta make a phone call anyway. I'll be back in a minute." Cal says and leaves the room.

  I take a seat and stare at the fish. Mitchel comes over and sits down next to me, picks up my hand and laces his fingers through mine.

  "Hey." He nudges me.

  "You don't have to get a tattoo." I whisper.

  "I want to."

  "I want to murder my sister sometimes but that doesn't mean I should, because I know I'll probably regret it later."

  "We're talking about getting a tattoo here, not committing a murder."

  "I don't want you to do something silly and then regret it after."

  "I won't. I know what I want. And I want you."

  "You have me. You don't need a tattoo."

  "No, but I want something to remind me of you while you're in Nebraska."

  "Like what?"

  "I dunno...something."

  "Fine. But don't blame me when you break up with me and have to get it removed."

  "That's not happening." Mitchel snorts like that's the most absurd thing he's heard today.

  "I can't believe you just got the urge to get a tattoo when we left the movies?"

  He doesn't answer me and scratches the back of his neck. I move closer to him and slide my arms around his waist and look up at him.

  "So are you hungry or thirsty? We could go and get a slushie?"

&n
bsp; "Kelse,"

  "What?"

  "I know what you're doing, stop trying to change my mind. Come on, you gotta help me pick something out."

  "No way. I am not going to take responsibility for picking something you hate."

  "I won't hate it if you pick it."

  "You really want me to pick something?"

  "Yeah. Anything."

  "All right." I jump up and point to the first thing I find.

  "Kenny from South Park."

  "How is Kenny from South Park relevant?" he asks, laughing.

  "Oooh look at you using all the big words today." I tease.

  "Cute."

  "What, you said anything?"

  "No cartoon characters, even I think they're a little tacky."

  I wander around the room and Cal comes back and hands Mitchel a beer.

  "Kelse, you want a beer?" Mitchel asks.

  "Uh..." Does Cal even know how old we are?

  I nod anyway, feeling thirsty after all the popcorn and Cal hands me a beer bottle and disappears out the back again. I sip it and glance around the room, hoping something jumps out.

  "What about if I get the name Kelsey?" Mitchel says with a serious tone.

  "No. I hope that was a joke."

  "No."

  "Well, the answer is still no. There's no way I am letting you put my name on your skin."

  Mitchel pulls out his cell and looks through it and I search the designs.

  On the outside, I'm trying to be responsible and be the sensible one but on the inside, I feel like I want to burst with excitement and scream out loud and tell everyone that Mitchel wants my name on him.

  Is he mad or just that in love with me? But I already know the answer, he's just as crazy about me as I am about him. I can't believe I ever doubted he would forget about me after I leave. I know I won't be able to get him out of my head no matter where Mom moves me to. I couldn't believe how lucky I am to have found him, and how insanely in love I am with him. And I want to do something to prove to him as well, but what? A tattoo? No, my mom would kill me, but I am eighteen. Hmm...

  No, that's crazy, right? Or maybe I'm just crazy in love right now. Being young is the time for making terrible decisions and mistakes so why not add a tattoo to the list of memories.

  I catch sight of two small tattoos, simple and both black. A crescent moon and a sun.

  I really like the idea of matching tattoos. It's special and I think it's super sweet and romantic. But I can't get a tattoo, right? But who's stopping me?

  I don't know what Mitchel will think of it, though. I remember something he said to me about how I was his light in the dark, and I was his sunshine. To anyone else, it would have sounded corny but to me it meant something. It doesn't take me long to make up my mind.

  I look over my shoulder at Mitchel, watching him as looks through his cell.

  "Oi...come here." I call.

  "What have you seen?"

  I quickly cover the designs with my hand.

  "You're not going to show me?"

  "In a minute. Do you remember when you told me everything was dark until you found me?"

  "Yeah?"

  "You called me your-"

  "Sun."

  "He does remember."

  "Of course I remember, I had to memorize that shit." he jokes.

  I playfully slap him with my free hand.

  "I'm kidding. It just came out when I said that to you."

  "Ok...well, what do you think about these?" I remove my hand.

  "Which one?" He looks at the sun and the crescent moon.

  "I was thinking maybe the sun for you and the moon for me. It's my name and I've always loved looking up at the moon since I was a little girl."

  "You do realize there is a big one in the sky you can look at for free, right?"

  I give him a look.

  "Kelse, I came in here to get a tattoo. Me. I don't want you doing anything permanent. You were just trying to change my mind and now you want one as well?"

  "You only live once and all that shit." I smile.

  "Are you serious?"

  "Yeah...I think I am."

  "Ok. I actually really like it and if you get the matching tattoo that's really cool as well, but even if you don't, that's cool as well."

  "You make me wanna do crazy things, Mitchel Torres."

  "I'll get mine done first, that way you have time to change your mind, alright?" he suggests.

  "Ok." He kisses me and presses me up against the wall.

  Cal comes back in and clears his throat and gives us a cheeky smile.

  "Have you decided?" he asks.

  "This." Mitchel points to the sun tattoo.

  Cal nods and asks. "Any specific reason?"

  "Kelsey has helped me through a lot, she's like my very own sunshine." Mitchel's eyes flicker to me with a smile on his lips.

  "Ah...you must be Kelsey, I presume." Cal smiles at me as we haven't been properly introduced. "It's nice to meet you."

  "It's nice to meet you too, Cal." I smile in return.

  "Do you have any tattoos?" he asks.

  "Nope."

  "A virgin." he says, rubbing his hands together and I blush like crazy.

  Is it that obvious I'm still a virgin? And why would he say such a random thing. Maybe people with tattoos are crazy?

  "He means in the way that you've never had a tattoo...this will be your first." Mitchel says, trying not to laugh at my awkwardness.

  Oh.

  "Sorry, my bad humor." Cal says.

  I feel like an idiot and they are both staring at me because my flustered reaction has just given it away that I am, in fact, a virgin. Mitchel already knew but it's not something I promote to strangers.

  "I want something smaller," Mitchel says, taking Cal's attention away from me.

  "Ok." Cal folds his arms and nods.

  "I have a thing for pretty little things." Mitchel says and glances at me with a smirk and Cal looks at me and smiles.

  He's talking about me. I'm not that small.

  I stick my tongue out at him and he grins and looks back at the design.

  "And I was thinking about getting it here." Mitchel points to the inside of his forearm and I know this isn't the first time he's thought about this. He even knows where he wants it done. I can't imagine he spent the whole time we were in the movie theater thinking about this when he had his hand up my top.

  "Also..." Mitchel looks at me. "Kelse wants one, the same as mine but the crescent moon."

  "Ok, sounds cool, matching tats, I dig it. Take a seat and I'll just get it ready. Color?" Cal asks.

  Mitchel looks at me and we both say 'black' at the same time.

  "Black." Cal repeats and disappears into the back room.

  "This isn't the first time you've thought about this, is it?"

  "Nope. I saw this couple at the fair last night, they were all other each and they had matching tattoos on the back of their necks. They were pretty tacky as you like to call it, with these big red hearts with each other's name inside."

  "Sounds regrettable."

  "Only if they break up, but I'm guessing that's why they chose to have it done in a place they don't have to ever see it."

  I laugh. "They sound like a sure thing. You're certain about this?"

  "Yes. I'm just worried about you getting one. Your mom already hates me, what's she going to think when she finds out I took you to the tattoo studio and let you permanently mark your body?"

  "No, she'll hate me and I don't think it's possible for her to hate me any more than she already does. Anyway, this isn't her decision, it's my body, my rules."

  "She doesn't hate you, Kelse."

  "Don't defend her, she's horrible to me and it's Dad's fault."

  "I don't think your dad likes me either."

  "Well, it's a good thing I don't care what they think. All I know is I love you like crazy."

  Mitchel smiles and leans down to kiss me.

  "You kids re
ady?" Cal calls.

  Mitchel takes my hand and leads me into the back room.

  The room is so brightly lit it nearly blinds me. I squint and let my eyes adjust to the lighting. The walls are covered with more tattoo designs and there is an adjustable chair with a stool next to it. Mitchel hops up onto the black chair and Cal lifts his leg over the stool. I wander around and look at all the designs on the wall as the two of them discuss the tattoo and position.

  "Last chance to change your mind," I remind Mitchel as Cal gets ready to mark his body permanently.

  Cal grins over at me and looks at Mitchel for his answer before he starts.

  "Do it." Mitchel tells him.

  I take a seat in the spare chair in the corner, finish my beer and watch closely.

  "Does it hurt?" I ask.

  "Not like you think it would, not like a needle." Mitchel answers.

  It doesn't take long as the design is simple and before I know it, Mitchel's tattoo is finished and Cal is covering it with a small dressing.

  "That was quick." I say when Mitchel jumps out of the chair and I slide onto it and get comfortable.

  Mitchel drags the chair I was sitting in over to me so he can sit next to me and I rest my arm on the side for Cal to do what he needs to do.

  "Are you sure? Like, really, really sure?" Mitchel asks, chewing on his lip.

  "Yes."

  "I dunno, Kelse. I want something to be able to look at because it will remind me of you, but if you get something and regret it after you'll hate it every time you look at it."

  "Shut up. If you're going to say stuff like that you can wait outside." I say playfully.

  Cal laughs and gets ready to ink me. I'm super nervous but really excited.

  My first tattoo.

  "Kelse." Mitchel warns.

  I shake my head and smile at him. As crazy as it may seem, getting a matching tattoo with Mitchel actually makes perfect sense to me. Mitchel is the first boy I kissed, the first boy I fell in love with, the first boy I've ever wanted to sleep with and I planned to lose my virginity to him tonight if I had my way; he was my first for everything.

  "No regrets." I say and nod at Cal and he starts.

  Mitchel was right, it doesn't hurt, more like a little sting as Cal moves the needle around.

  It's all over so quickly and soon Cal is covering my freshly inked tattoo with a small dressing.

  "I love it." I say as he covers it.