“Whatevs. I’m eighteen now,” she grinned and
continued to flip through the book. I looked over her
shoulder.
“Sof, talk some sense into the girl,” Jack pleaded. I looked up at him, “Seriously?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re no help. You’re a bad influence,”
he complained.
“Oh, come on. You’ve never even thought about getting
one?” Nat asked him. He hesitated. “See! I knew it. Back
off, I’m getting something.”
“Where will you get it?” I asked. “Not on your lower
back. That’s so…” I couldn’t think of the word.
“Tramp stamp?” Nat laughed and I laughed with her. “And nothing lame, like a rose or butterfly,” Dash
added.
“What’s wrong with butterflies?” Nat asked.
“Too cliché,” he said.
“Yeah, get something different. I do way too many
flowers and butterflies,” Etienne said as he walked back in
the room. “Who’s first?”
I looked at Nick. The tattoos had been my idea, but now
I was nervous. “I’ll go,” he smiled.
“I’m not gonna lie, dude. It’s gonna hurt. That’s thin
skin with a bone right underneath,” Etienne told him. Nick
just shrugged and walked over to the chair where he sat
down. He rested his hand on a tray and Etienne wrapped a
piece of trace paper with my name on it around Nick’s left
ring finger.
I walked over and stood next to him. “Do you want me
to hold your hand?” I teased.
“Possibly. I’ll let you know in a sec,” Nick said. “I am not getting a skull,” I heard Nat say to Dash. “Or
Scooby Doo!”
“I’ve got it,” I shouted.
“What?” Nat asked.
I went back over to the counter so I wouldn’t have to
yell across the parlor. “How about a fleur de lis?” “Ooh, yes! Perfect!” Nat agreed excitedly.
“Grrr,” I heard Nick growl from his chair.
I walked back over to him. “Do you need my hand
now?”
He was tightly gripping the arm rest of the chair with
his right hand. “No. I’m afraid I would break it,” he said
through gritted teeth.
Dash walked over to watch. “Don’t be such a wuss,
bro.”
“Ignore him. He was a cry baby,” Etienne said without
looking up. It only took about a half hour for him to
complete the tattoo. It was incredible. It was an exact
replica of the print I had brought in.
It was my turn. I really didn’t want to wimp out and cry
in front of him. Nat came over to inspect Nick’s finger.
“Whoa, that is so cool,” she said.
“That is actually a really cool idea,” Jack agreed. I saw
him look at Nat when he said it. Like he thought it would
be a good idea for them, too.
I sat down and rested my hand on the tray. Etienne put
the stencil on my finger, looked up at me and asked,
“Ready?”
“No, but do it anyway,” I nodded. The needle hit my
skin and I drew in a breath. It stung, but I thought it would be worse. Dash was watching my face closely. “She’s
tough, man. She didn’t even flinch,” Dash said to Nick. “That’s my Sofia,” he smiled.
“It’s seriously not that bad guys,” I said.
“Are you just saying that for my benefit?” Nat asked.
“So I don’t chicken out?”
“No. It really isn’t. I mean it stings, but I’m not gonna
die.” Mine didn’t take as long since Nick’s name was a
letter shorter and didn’t have as many flourishes.
“That.Is.Awesome,” I said as I looked down at my finger. “My turn!” Nat chanted.
“What did you decide on?” Etienne asked her. “I want a fleur de lis,” she said.
“Color? Black and gray?” he asked.
“Hmm… what do you think, Sof?” she turned to me. “Traditionally they’re just black. I don’t know if a color
would look weird,” I answered.
“Let’s just do the black and gray shading,” she told
Etienne.
“And where do you want it?” he asked.
“The inside of my right wrist,” she decided.
“Good spot, that’ll look sick,” Etienne said. “Let me
just make up a stencil of something.” He left for the back
room again.
“Now, you’re completely sure about this?” Jack asked
Nat one last time.
“Yep,” she said. He shook his head at her.
“You’re gonna be the only one without one,” Dash said
to Jack.
“And I’m totally fine with that,” Jack smiled. Etienne didn’t take long and Nat was waiting in the
chair for him when he came back out front. She rested her
arm on the chair and he placed the stencil on her wrist. “Ready?” he asked. She nodded and squeezed her eyes
closed tightly. She let out a slight squeak when he started,
but other than that, didn’t say anything. Jack stood behind
her with his hand on her shoulder.
“You okay, Mon Ange?” Jack asked her.
She looked up and smiled at him. “Just peachy. Sof was
right. It really isn’t all that bad.”
“If you say so,” Nick muttered.
“Chicks have a much higher pain tolerance when it
comes to tattoos,” Etienne said. “A guy can take a punch
better, but the ladies do better with tats.”
“Really?” Dash asked, surprised.
“I had a marine pass out once,” Etienne grinned while
still focusing on Nat’s wrist. “And I was only doing one on
his arm. Total wuss. His buddies laughed so hard. Even
took a picture of him in the chair and posted it on the net.” “Bahaha!” I laughed hard. “That’s awesome!” Nat was trying to stay still but couldn’t help laughing.
Etienne had to stop for a second. “Sorry,” she grinned. He
started again, and less than forty minutes later he was done.
“Oh wow,” she exclaimed. The outer edges were dark
black, but he created a fade as the ink went in toward the
center of the tattoo.
“Lemme see,” I said, grabbing her wrist gently and
turning it to me. “Ooh, Etienne, you’re magic.”
“I know,” he grinned.
“And modest like your brother,” Jack said.
“Your turn?” he asked Jack.
“Nope. I’m good for now. The rings are really cool
though,” he said again. Nat noticed this time and looked at
him. He shrugged at her.
“You okay Nat?” I asked, patting her on the back. “I’m good,” she whispered. She stood up from the chair
and leaned in close to my ear. “Did I just hear that right?” I whispered as quietly as possible in her ear, “Yep. I
think you’re in for another tattoo soon.” She laughed at my
answer.
“What do I owe you?” I heard Nick ask Etienne. “Nah, dude. It’s on the house. Wedding present. But my
lovely witchy friend owes me a twenty.”
“That’s it? Are you sure?” Nat asked.
“Friends and witches discount,” he grinned. She
thanked him and paid him before we left.
“So what is your mamma gonna say?” Jack asked me. “Are you kidding? She has a tattoo on her back,” I
answered.
“What? No way
,” Jack exclaimed. “How did I not know
this? I’ve known her my whole life.”
“Yeah, she has a moon on her left shoulder,” I said.
“She won’t care. She’ll probably think it’s ‘romantic’.” “Well, I think we’ll go look at apartments now. I wanna
start at your place,” Nat said. “Do you want to come, too?” “I think we’ll go visit Mamma at the shop,” I said. “I
want to show her.”
“Sounds good. Maybe we should all hook up for
dinner,” she smiled.
“Am I invited?” Dash asked.
“Of course,” I said. “Be sure to bring Helene. And tell
Rene, too.”
“Ugh, I don’t know if I want to sit there next to Italian
goddess all night,” Nat complained.
“You are ten times more beautiful than her,” Jack said
as he leaned in and kissed her. She melted into him and I
turned away.
Dash cleared his throat and said, “Lates.”
“Later skater,” I waved.
My mom’s store was only three shops down across the
street so Nick and I walked. As soon as she heard the bell,
she looked up. “Oh Piccola, so good to see you,” she said. “Mamma, look what we just got,” I said, smiling as I
walked over to the counter to show her my finger. She took my hand and admired the tattoo. “I would
never think of such a thing. What a great idea. Nico, did
you get one, too?”
“Sὶ, Mamma,” he answered, holding his hand out to her. “Oh, beautiful.” I noticed she was getting a little misty. “Mamma, are you crying?” I asked.
“No, no. I’m fine. I’m just so happy for you. I love to
see you together. It makes me happy,” she said.
“Nat got a tattoo,” I told her.
“Oh no. Adeline will not like that at all. What did she
get?”
“A fleur de lis on the inside of her wrist. It’s really
pretty. And she’s eighteen, so there’s not much her maman
can say about it,” I answered.
“That is true. Who did them for you?”
“Dash’s brother, Etienne. He works across the street at
Dragon Tattoo,” Nick answered.
“Well, tell him he did a great job,” she said.
“So, Sof tells me you have a tattoo?” Nick grinned
slyly.
“Sofia! That is not something to tell people.” I
shrugged. “Sὶ, I have one. I was a young girl like Sofia
when I got it. But I don’t regret it. What are you two doing
today?” she tried to change the subject.
“Not sure. We’re going to dinner with the gang tonight.
Oh, that reminds me. Have you heard of Gia? She’s visiting
Rosetta,” I said.
“Oh, sὶ. I have not met her yet, but I heard she was
here. Why? Did you meet her?”
“It was weird. She was at the grad party last night. And
she latched onto Rene and was glued to him all night,” I
said.
“Really? That surprises me. Did she not notice he was a
werewolf?”
“No, she did. And when she found out Nick and I are
bound she acted all weird.”
“Well, things back home have not completely changed
like they have here. It would be a strange thing to her.
Nonna already talked to the coven, but I don’t think Enzo’s
sister has accepted it yet for obvious reasons. Ky is her
nephew after all. Nonna is also trying to meet with some of
the Italian wolf families to make peace, but not everyone
likes the idea. They did not have to accept it like we did
when you had your binding.”
“Sorry, Mamma. I know not everyone was happy about
it, but it was meant to be,” I apologized.
“You do not need to apologize. Once we all saw you
together, we knew it was right,” she smiled.
“But then why would Gia be all over a were?” I
insisted.
“I have no idea. Maybe trying something new,”
Mamma shrugged.
Nick laughed. “And she’s twenty!” I added.
“Well, I guess Rene is lucky then,” she smiled. “Whatever. She’s coming tonight so I’ll do some more
digging,” I said.
“Oh, Sofia, leave her alone,” Mamma complained. “I just want to get to know her better. If a member of
my pack is going to date some mystery Italian chick who is
two years older than him, I’m going to keep an eye on her.” Nick laughed. “Your pack, huh?”
“You know what I mean,” I waved off his comment. “I think it’s adorable that you are so protective of your
werewolf friends that you hated only months ago,” he
smiled. “You should see how she sticks up for Dash.” “What?” Mamma was surprised.
“She even helped him win a sumo fight against Jack
last night,” Nick added.
“You did?”
“All I did was release him from Jack’s magical hold he
had on him. Jack wasn’t being fair. And yes, somehow the
annoying Dashiell Baudin has grown on me.” I rolled my
eyes. “Anyway, I think we’ll head out.”
“Okay. Visit soon. Oh, you should show Luca your
tattoo. He will be excited,” she said as we left.
We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool at the apartment. “Did you catch what Jack said in the tattoo place?” I asked Nick as I sat up on my pool chair. “Yeah, what was that all about?”
“It sounded to me like he wants to do the ring thing
too,” I said.
“We’ve started a trend,” he smiled. “Oh, so are you
going to tell me what happened last night?” he asked. “With Nat and Jack? Are you kidding? She’d kill me.” “But you tell me everything,” he gave me a pathetic
frown.
“Nothing happened. But she realized they shouldn’t
have any more overnighters,” I gave in.
“He stopped her?”
“Actually, last time, he was the one who initiated it,” I
smiled.
“Wait, last time?” Nick sat up, mouth hanging open. “Oops. Well, I may as well tell you,” I realized my
mistake. “After prom, she changed into pajamas—” I
started.
“The kind you wear? As in tiny shorts and a tank top?”
Nick interrupted.
“Yeah. So anyway, Jack jumped her bones and carried
her to the bedroom.”
“Shut.Up.” I couldn’t stop laughing at Nick’s
expression and word choice. “You’re starting to rub off on
me. But really? Jack?”
“Yeah. So anyway, she stopped him and they went back
to the living room to watch a movie. That’s when he
proposed-ish.”
“Because he wanted to…”
“No, it was halfway into the movie or something and he
asked her if she wanted to get bound after graduation,” I
finished.
“Wow, who woulda thought? When is the big day
again?”
“Two weeks,” I answered. “Hey, you wanna go back
upstairs?” I asked. He got the hint and we raced back up to
our apartment.
Later, as we were lying in bed, he suggested, “We
should go somewhere this week before we start working.” “Like where?”
“We never went on a proper honeymoon. Where would
you like to go?”
“We didn’t need to. We had a pre-ho
neymoon in
Mexico,” I answered.
“That doesn’t count. I want to take you somewhere. We
won’t have to worry about getting back to school, or who
will kill us when we get home.”
“Okay, good point. But honestly, we don’t have to go
anywhere. We can stay here and enjoy a week of doing
nothing.”
“No, I want to do something. There is nothing to do
here. Let’s go somewhere you’ve always dreamed of
going,” he insisted.
“Italy,” I said instantly. “I want to see where Mamma
and Babbo grew up.”
“Sὶ! What a great idea,” he agreed. He jumped up from
the bed, went into the living room, and came back with his
laptop.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Reservations,” he answered. He did a little online
research and found us a flight and rented a car all within
twenty minutes. “Okay, we leave tomorrow night from
Phoenix.”
“Wow, that was fast,” I said. I was still lying next to
him in bed. “I’m so excited.”
He looked at the clock and said, “Don’t you think we
should get dressed? We’re meeting everyone soon.” “I suppose,” I sighed. We got ready and met everyone a
half hour later at Monte’s where Luca was working. I told
Stacy, the hostess, who also happened to be from my
calculus class, at the door to seat us in his section. She
noticed my finger and admired it.
She led us to the back where there was a huge round
booth that would fit all of us. “This isn’t really open right
now, but it’s the only place you’ll all fit, so I’ll just let him
know you’re back here,” Stacy said.
“Thanks,” I told her.
A few minutes later, Luca wandered back to our booth.
“Ciao, mes amis,” he grinned.
“Did you seriously just combine two languages?” Nat
asked.
“It’s called, Fritalian,” Luca grinned. “That way, all my
friends are covered.”
“You are such a dork,” Nat laughed at him.
“Have you met Gia yet?” I asked Luca.
His eyes turned to the left where she was sitting by
Rene. He stood there with his mouth open until I kicked
him. “Oh, sorry. Ciao, bella. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he
took her hand, kissed it, and took a bow. Rene’s chest
rumbled.
“Possessive much?” I mumbled. “You’re rumbling,” I
said out loud to Rene.
Destiny Revealed Page 7