Car Crash

by T Gephart

  I grabbed the latest version, taking it back to my chair and handing it to Kitty. “So usually with a tattoo, I like to consult the client first. But the more I thought about you, I figured this was the way to go.”

  Her eyes widened as she looked at my sketch, the color hopefully showing her what it would look like on her skin. I wasn’t sure she’d even dig it—her previous piece an art painting done by someone else—but I wanted to give her something no one else would have.

  She didn’t speak, which didn’t tell me much, looking at the picture like she was trying to commit it to memory.

  “If you hate it, we can change it.” My nerves started to get the better of me, thinking it was probably not her style.

  She shook her head and grabbed my arm. “Are you kidding? It’s beautiful, Dallas. It looks so real.”

  “It will look better on your hip, that’s where I’d like to put it if you’d let me.” My hand touched the spot I’d imagined tattooing at least a thousand times, holding it there and hoping she’d say yes.

  “Yes, a million times, yes.” She threw her arms around me and kissed me. “I love it, and you so much.”

  I tilted my head to the chair and got out a couple of towels, and handed them to her. “Take off your skirt and your underwear and lay back on my chair.”

  She nodded, not bothering to take any more time to think about it and lowered the zipper at her back. The material dropped to the floor, revealing a pair of barely-there panties that I’d preferred to take off with my teeth.

  I didn’t though, keeping it as professional as I knew how, watching her strip for me. My dick knew it wasn’t going to be involved but got hard all the same; the idea of her letting me mark her skin for eternity almost hotter than sex at that moment.

  I covered the chair with another towel and directed her to lie down. I wasn’t usually around for that part, letting the client get themselves situated, but with Kitty, I wasn’t missing a second.

  She covered herself with the towel, leaving her right hip exposed as she turned to the side. God, she was beautiful—everything about her so freaking stunning I was almost scared to mess with the perfection. But I made a silent promise to her and to myself that my addition would be worthy of her.

  Having been prepped for another tattoo entirely, I dropped a soft kiss on her forehead and walked over to get my machines and colors ready. Kitty watched as I got the design copied onto transfer paper and carried everything back to my station.

  I gave myself permission to look at her one last time before I started, knowing that once I’d drawn the first line, all my concentration would have to be there. She smiled, resting her arm above her head as I went to pick up my machine.

  “Shit.” I stopped the buzzing from my hand and put it down. “I almost forgot.”

  With a grin, I rolled over to my desk and snagged my Beats, rolling back to Kitty in my chair. “I promised you could listened to my play list when I did this, and I’m a man of my word.” I covered her ears with my headphones before pulling out my phone from my pocket and hitting play.

  Her body eased back into the chair, her grin widening as the music started. I wasn’t exactly sure what track was playing, but she closed her eyes as her head rested against the leather.

  Ignoring the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen was not going to be easy, so instead I focused on her hip and told myself if I fucked it up I’d never forgive myself. That, and I’d offer to tattoo every tramp stamp and tribal armband that walked through the door for the next three years. There wasn’t a chance she wasn’t getting my best work.

  After taking off the transfer, I started with the outline, the heavy black line staining her skin. I moved with intention and precision, careful not to overwork the skin or blow out a line, wanting every single one of those babies to be rock solid and as flawless as the woman wearing them.

  Kitty didn’t move, the perfect canvas, not even twitching as the time ticked away.

  There was a knock at the door, but I didn’t yell to “come in” like I usually did, instead I made sure Kitty was properly covered before giving the okay.

  Josh walked in, shutting the door behind him as he strode over to where we were. He clearly was expecting something else when he’d opened the door and looked surprised that I was working. But whatever smartass remarks he might have had were kept to himself as he looked down at Kitty’s hip and upper thigh.

  “Wow, those lines are insane, D. It’s going to look crazy good when you add the color.”

  Kitty noticed Josh but didn’t give him more than a quick smile before resting her head back down. She knew the drill, moving as little as possible until it was done. She didn’t even cheat and try and snatch a quick look, being the model client I knew she would be as she let me do my thing.

  “Thanks, man. I want it to be perfect.”

  Not big on chatting when I was working, I went back to what I was doing and started filling in with color. Bright pops of reds, greens, blues and yellows started to give it more life.

  I didn’t even notice when Josh left, too caught up on what I was doing to realize he’d stopped watching and left us alone. As far as I was concerned we were in our own world so it didn’t matter who was standing around.

  Five and half hours had passed when I finally put my machine down and looked at the final piece. It couldn’t have been finished a minute sooner, every last second needed to add every last bit of detail I’d seen in my head. And when I wiped away the excess color and took a step back to look, it was probably one of the best tattoos I’d ever done.

  “Are you finished?” Kitty opened her eyes, pulling the headphones from her ears. “I’m dying to see.”

  I nodded, shooting her a grin. “Just let me finish cleaning it up.”

  She might have been still while the needle was at her skin but she couldn’t stop wriggling as I washed the area and patted it dry. She wasn’t the only one who was getting impatient, my hand working as quickly as I could so I could show her.

  “Okay, baby, you can look.” I rose to my feet and watched as she twisted to see. Her eyes lit up as she saw it, dropping her fingers to touch the freshly inked skin.

  Not able to see it in its entirety, she jumped to her feet and walked to my full-length mirror. She’d ditched the towel, oblivious she was half naked as she looked at herself in the mirror.

  Hopefully Josh didn’t decide to come back and check on my progress, not sure I could be held responsible for my actions if he saw Kitty naked. But lucky for everyone the door stayed closed and no one got to see her but me.

  “It’s amazing.” She turned, checking it out from every angle. “It’s just so beautiful.”

  On her hip and upper thigh were three oriental lilies. They were bright and vibrant, each of them a different color. I’d shaded them so they looked 3D, the purple dragonfly I’d added above the center looking like he was midflight. I added a string of pearls snaking between each flower, careful to make each circle just right. And instead of a traditional clasp like you’d find on a necklace, I finished the end with a tiny dragonfly trinket.

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  Her finger ghosted above our little purple friend and smiled. “I would have thought you’d have drawn a bird.”

  “Not special enough, and there wasn’t a chance in hell I was giving you a butterfly. You needed something unique, something exactly like you.”

  I knew I was in love with Kitty, I had already accepted that.

  What I didn’t know—and I found out at that exact moment—was just how much.

  And, man, I was so far gone.

  I’d inked her skin.

  But she’d stamped my heart.

  Kitty

  WHEN I WENT TO SEE DALLAS, I hadn’t planned to get a tattoo.

  I just needed to be around someone who cared and understood me so I could talk it out. And I’d done that; he’d listened and hadn’t done what most guys did and attempt to fix it. I didn’t expect anyone to fix i
t, maybe it—and me—were just unfixable.

  But he didn’t seem to care about the mess I apparently was.

  No, he took everything I said and somehow managed to turn it around and tell me how awesome I was. Like a magic trick, he’d pulled an ace of spades out of his sleeve. And right when I thought he couldn’t do or say anything else to make me feel better, he showed me the drawing he’d been working on.

  It was stunning—so colorful and beautiful, and feminine without being too over the top girlie. It’s the right mix of everything that I loved, and that he drew it especially for me, made my heart squeeze.

  So when he told me to take off my clothes and get into the chair, that was exactly what I did.

  I’d always been impulsive, so why bother to stop?

  And most of all, I trusted him. Which was saying something since I wasn’t exactly sure who else I included in that list.

  I couldn’t stop staring at his beautiful work. The oriental lilies were so realistic I swear I could almost smell them, and that charming little dragonfly which looked like it was about to fly away.

  “Babe, as much as I’m enjoying the view, I think you should probably get dressed.” He handed me my skirt and underwear.

  It hadn’t even occurred to me that I’d been standing there naked, not that I cared, the beautiful flowers and dragonfly worth showing off.

  “Probably.” I grinned, slipping on my panties but stopping when I got to the skirt. “It’s so beautiful, I just want to look at it a little longer.”

  His hand slid up my leg, resting on my hip. “You’re beautiful.” He smiled at me in the mirror.

  After I insisted he take a million photos for me with his phone, he covered the tattoo and I finally put on my skirt. Even though I could no longer see it, my skin tingled, still sensitive even though it was covered.

  “I’m probably going to spend the rest of the day naked, just so I can keep looking at it,” I warned, turning to face him.

  “And this is a problem how?” he asked, kissing me.

  My hands wrapped around his neck and he deepened the kiss, and it was easy to believe that everything was fine. That whatever problems that did exist weren’t ours, and all was perfect in our world.

  “I’ve been dying to do that for hours.” He chuckled. “Hours.”

  He edged me back to his chair, my ass dropping to the soft surface as he lowered himself and took my mouth like he meant it.

  “If this was the plan all along, why did you tell me to get dressed?” I laughed, my hands wandering under his T-shirt and touching his hard abs.

  I was positive if my fingers went in the other direction I’d find a different kind of hard, and that excited me too. I loved that I drove him just as crazy as he drove me.

  “I’m seriously thinking about it.” He pulled away, biting my bottom lip and teasing it with his teeth. “But Josh will kill me, and I already owe him for rescheduling the clients I was supposed to be doing today.”

  “Oh no. Dallas, I’m sorry. ” I sat up in a rush, realizing how much he would have had to rearrange just to have spent that time with me. I didn’t even think, or offer to come back later.

  His finger rested on my lips as he shook his head. “Don’t. Don’t apologize for any of it. I don’t want you to even think about it. You need me, you tell me and I’m there, Kitty. Not only when I have time—I’ll make time—always.”

  He was so incredibly sweet, and I was so lucky to have him, and I swore to God that I would do whatever it took to make sure I didn’t screw it up.

  Not him.

  I just couldn’t lose him.

  “What’s wrong?” He tilted my head sensing my change in mood.

  “I’m worried I’m going to fuck this up,” I answered honestly. “I’m not going to lie to you, Dallas. I’m really in love with you, and I’m worried—”

  “Kitty.” He said my name and stopped me right there. “I can’t promise you that one or both of us isn’t going to mess up. Probably more so me, because let’s face it, this is probably the first real relationship I’ve ever been in. I won’t remember the date we met, or our first kiss, and I suuuuuuck at putting the toilet seat down. But I can promise you that nothing you do is going to change how I feel. And if you can make me the same promise—that we’ll deal with all that other stuff as it happens—then there is honestly nothing to worry about.”

  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry or laugh and hug the hell out of him. All I knew was that I’d never let him go. “For someone who hasn’t done this before, you’re pretty good at it.”

  “I’m a fast learner.”

  He was right about that.

  “Well, since you already owe Josh for the time, can we sneak out of here and go home?” It was selfish to ask, but I knew if I went home by myself, I’d obsess about things I couldn’t change. And I didn’t want to think about anything but him.

  “Let me get my keys.”

  He was both hard and gentle, screwing me up against the wall of my apartment the minute we got home and then making love to me on the bed later. I loved it both ways, losing my mind with him when he was out of control, but pretty fond of his softness too.

  I ignored all calls and we stayed in my apartment the whole night. Making love, having sex, and eating badly cooked food.

  It was perfect.

  And the next morning when my alarm went off, I didn’t immediately want to puke. Sure, I may no longer have a job, but either way I needed to go in and find out. Besides, I could always help Josh and Dallas at the shop, they had yet to hire someone to handle their front desk and it was starting to get ridiculous.

  “You want me to drive you.” Dallas pulled me against him, both of us still wet from the shower. “Josh never expects me there before eleven anyway, I could take you and still be back in time.”

  “No, but thank you. You have done way too much already.” I kissed his lips softly before heading to my wardrobe and trying to pick out a dress. What does one wear when they stormed out of their office the day before and possibly resigned? There wasn’t a section for that at Bloomingdale’s that was for sure.

  I settled on a purple dress with black trim that reminded me of my dragonfly, and with a little time on hair and makeup, I was ready sooner than I’d planned.

  Dallas dressed in the same clothes he wore the day before, and I made a mental note to clear out some closet space for him later that day. He’d never once complained about not having his things, but I wanted to give him room to leave some things at my place for when he was here. We hadn’t really spoken about it but since I didn’t see us spending a lot of nights alone, I figured it was a safe bet.

  He kissed my hand and walked me to his car, and even though I told him it was unnecessary, he drove me to the subway station. I’m sure he wanted to come with me—the look of hesitation all over his face before he left—but it was something I was going to have to do alone.

  I knew I would be okay, especially when I had one hell of a safety net.

  There was no hesitation when I got to my building, pressing the button for my floor and heading right to my office. I didn’t ask questions, or go see Garrett, taking a seat at my desk and turning on my computer.

  Garrett’s door was closed and I could hear talking so whatever we needed to discuss would have to wait. The last thing I wanted was to go in there all guns blazing when they—whoever was in there with him—were potentially discussing my exit. That would be awkward. Instead, I’d wait and have our meeting on my terms. When I was ready.

  It had been an hour when the first knock came at my door. I was surprised I’d managed to be there that long without everyone noticing. But it seemed I wasn’t the only one who had been preoccupied that morning.

  “Oh my God!” Linda, one of the PA’s on my floor came bursting in. “Where have you been? Yesterday was an entire shit show! You should have seen it, O’Shea and Crisp were conspiring to get Garrett fired.”

  Motive was something I hadn’t been able t
o work out. I knew there were people who weren’t fond of my boss, but he’d earned his place honestly. And while he’d delegated duties recently, he was still a very smart and shrewd businessman. I didn’t think for a second he’d gone soft, maybe bored, but he wasn’t the kind of man you should underestimate.

  I shrugged, pretending I knew nothing about it. “Really? I should probably go see Garrett and find out what happened. What else do you know?”

  Linda glanced around, looking to see if there was anyone else to hear. “They got this hot Wall Street lawyer in on it, and they were going to make it look like Garrett had lost the money. Then when he was gone, they were going to pump the money back in like a profit so they had guaranteed growth for the quarter. How sneaky is that? And since the money wasn’t actually taken they’re not at risk for any serious crimes. Not that it isn’t questionable, but really it was sort of smart.”

  “I’m sure they’ll both be glad to hear that, Linda.” Garrett’s voice came from behind her. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, but he’d obviously caught enough. “You want to return to your desk? Or would a visit to HR be better?”

  “Sorry, Mr. Brown.” Her eyes flooded with panic as she quickly waved goodbye and disappeared.

  He shook his head but didn’t look as annoyed as I’d thought he’d be, shutting the door and taking a seat opposite me for only the second time since I’d started working for him.

  “Well that was the condensed version, mine is slightly longer and not as complimentary. I wasn’t even sure you’d be joining us this morning to be honest.”

  “I wasn’t going to walk out and leave you hanging, Garrett,” I admitted, not wanting my time at the firm to be reduced to office gossip, speculating on my departure under suspicious circumstances.

  “Good, then let’s set a scenario where you don’t leave at all.”

  “Garrett.” I took a breath, about to launch into the thousand reasons why things couldn’t stay the same when he cut me off.

  “I know, I took advantage of you and your willingness to step up. And I know I should have been doing more than just paying you. I was/am bored, so I figured if you were happy to do it then what was the harm. So let me finish and then you can decide what you want to do. And I can’t promise I’m not going to try and make you stay, but whatever choice you do make, I’ll respect.”