Barber Shop Ink - Book 2: Between a Hedge and a Hard Place

by Penny Blush

  “Oh, fuck, Hedge!” I moaned my orgasm ripping through me.

  I kept thrusting as I pumped my release into her. I hadn't come so hard in my life. I didn't think I would ever stop coming. I rolled to the side, pulling her onto my chest kissing her as our ragged breaths slowed and evened out.

  “Best wake-up call, ever,” she laughed.

  “How do you think Tabby will react if I called her and told her to fuck off?” I asked swirling patterns on her skin with my fingers.

  “I think once you regained consciousness and got over the loss of your balls you’d realise that it really was such a bad idea.”

  “Your probably right,” I mumbled. “I do like my balls.”

  “I like your balls too,” she giggled.

  “Is that so?” I asked with a stupid grin on my face.

  “Yes, it is. Your balls contain our potential babies,” she whispered kissing me slow and profound.

  “Hedge, I don’t want to wait,” I tucked a wayward hair behind her ear. “As soon as we say, ‘I do’ I want us to try for a baby.”

  “Really?” she asked a broad smile breaking out across her gorgeous face. “You don’t want to wait?”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to wait.”

  “You want me pregnant?”

  “Hedge, you look so hot right now, and you are going to look stunning in your wedding dress, but I know you will look sexy as fuck carrying my baby.”

  “Memphis, if I didn’t have to get in the shower before Tabby busts in here kicking my ass for being late. I would get you to see if we could make a baby, right now,” she kissed the tip of my nose and slid out of bed swinging her hips on the way to the bathroom.

  I stayed in bed for exactly three-point-four seconds before I sprung out of bed joining Hedge in the shower. Needless to say - Hedge was late for Tabby.

  “Memphis, Memphis. Hey, Old Man,” Cassidy called clicking her fingers in my face breaking me out of my mental replay of this morning’s events.

  “What?”

  “You’re zoning out again, seriously, get out. I am ordering you to go for a run,” Cass turned me around pushing me towards the back of the shop and the apartment stairs. “I don’t want to see you back here for at least an hour.”

  “Yes, boss,” I grumbled stomping up the stairs.

  I got changed and took off along the running track beside the river. Running was not how I wanted to burn my energy, but I wouldn’t get to see my Baby Girl until tonight. I blasted my ‘Angry Running Tunes’ playlist Warrior by Disturbed started playing as I settled into a steady rhythm. When I realised that I was back near the shop again I was still buzzing so I decided to keep going.

  I ended up running for two hours, running from one end of the lake to the other and back again. Completely covered in sweat with a good burn in my muscles and a smile on my face I finally returned to the shop. I guzzled two bottles of water and made myself something to eat, reading and re-reading my notes for tonight. I wanted everything to be perfect, for our special night.

  I took a long, hot shower, going through all the details of how things were going to go. What I would say. What I needed to do as the water soothed my muscles.

  Getting out of the shower and toweling off. I took extra care with grooming my beard and tying my hair back. I didn’t want anything to block my view of my Baby Girl, and I didn’t want any distractions.

  I got dressed, making sure that my clothes were wrinkle free and my shoes polished to a high shine. Hedge would be looking like a Goddess, and I wanted her to be equally impressed.

  “Memph,” Jax called out from the kitchen.

  “Hey, Jax,” I replied shaking hands.

  “Tabby just called the girls are on their way. You nervous Bud?” Jax asked taking a seat on the kitchen bench.

  “Honestly, I’m sweating bullets,” I laughed. “I have never been this nervous in my life.”

  “I don’t know what you’re worried about, you’ve got this,” he dragged the piece of paper with my notes on it over, skim reading them. “You been going through these again?”

  “Yep, I want everything to be perfect,” I replied noting that my hands were getting sweaty.

  “You know this by heart,” he said lifting the paper, “you just have to relax and stop worrying.”

  “Jax, I don’t want to stuff this up, I can’t. This is Hedge, she deserves perfection.”

  “Why don’t you come down to the shop for a bit, get out of your own head for a while, just breath and try to relax.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I agreed following him out the door.

  In the shop, the guys all gave me shit about being all dressed up but fuck them this was for Hedge it was all for her. Fuck, if she had said that she wanted me in a top hat and tails I would have willingly agreed.

  “Everything’s all set,” Cassidy said giving me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Thanks for all your help Kid. I don’t think I could have done this without you,” I replied giving her a hug.

  “Memphis, you’re going to do great.”

  The sound of a vehicle pulling up caught my attention, and the long black stretch Hummer that seemed to be Tabby’s preferred mode of transport stopped in front of the shop. The driver came around to open the door, and I had to turn my back to the window to calm myself and regain my composure.

  The room fell silent, and I turned, and my heart stopped, my breath catching in my throat, she looked unbelievably stunning.

  I stood there grinning like a goofball as the love of my life was making her way towards me with a brilliant smile on her face.

  Chapter 22 Hedge

  I was so excited and nervous and scared out of my mind; my emotions seesawed all day. Tabby had done her best to keep my mind occupied and distracted as much as possible.

  “Do you think you could step away from your giant hunk of man meat for, like five minutes,” Tabby said by way of greeting when she picked me up this morning. “Memphis, get your paws off, she’s mine now,” she said swatting his hands away from me.

  “Morning to you to Tabby,” Memphis said, his massive body dwarfing her tiny frame as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hedge might be yours for the next few hours, but she is mine now always and forever,” he said giving me a squeeze and then dipped me for a long lingering passionate kiss that made my skin tingle and my toes curl.

  “Holy fuck you two are ridiculous, hot as hell for sure, but ridiculous. You’re so loved up it makes me sick, and a little turned on, I have to admit. But mostly sick.”

  “Okay weirdo lets go,” I laughed detangling myself from Memphis, picking up my purse and phone following Tabby to the door.

  “Hey Sweetness, where are you going?” Memphis asked catching my arm pulling me in for another deep kiss. “Tonight, you’re mine.”

  Oh my God if I didn't leave right then and there I would have pushed Tabby out the door and climbed Memphis like a tree and stayed in bed all day. Unfortunately, we had a lot to get done before the big event tonight.

  Tabby had kept me so busy all morning that I didn’t have a chance for my mind to wander. I felt like I couldn’t eat but at the same time was eating everything that wasn’t nailed down. Tabby kept having to bring me back to reality.

  “What do you want for lunch? You need something other than chocolate coated caramel popcorn. I’m thinking sushi.”

  “Umm I don’t know I liked the tan ones,” I replied then what she said registered. “Sorry, what?” Tabby started laughing at me.

  “Babe I asked what you wanted for lunch, what did you think I asked?”

  “I thought you were talking about the shoes you were showing me,” I face-palmed myself. “I’m sorry Tabby, I guess my mind is elsewhere.”

  “I can’t imagine where it could be,” she laughed again. “Are you ready for tonight? It’s a tremendous commitment.”

  “I know, but I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. I love Memphis, and I know that he will treat me right and never
hurt me. He has my complete trust and let’s face it the man owns my heart. It’s just that I have that weird anticipation thing going on. You know where you’re just so insanely excited you can’t wait, and you just want to do it already, but at the same time you’re totally and utterly shit scared.”

  “I get it, and he better treat you right, or I’m going to kick his ass.”

  “Thanks, Tabby, I’m glad you have my back,” I laughed giving her a one-armed hug.

  The rest of the afternoon flew by with preparations and arrangements sorted out, confirmed and double checked. Before I knew it, Tabby, and I were back in her Stretch Hummer and with my nervous anticipation building as we headed back to Barber Shop Ink and my future husband.

  We pulled up out the front of the shop and Cassidy came out to meet me with a brilliant smile on her face. Sensing my nerves, Cassidy held my hand as we walked inside. At first, Memphis had his back to us, and then he turned to me, and he stole my breath, he looked so very handsome.

  “Hey Baby Girl,” he said taking my hand from Cassidy and kissing the back of it. “You ready for this?” I nodded my nerves stealing my words. “You know you can back out if you want.”

  “Never,” I whispered.

  “Let’s do this then.”

  “Where’s Jax?” I asked looking around the shop. “He’s supposed to be here.”

  “Right here Cuz,” he said coming in through the yard.

  Memphis lead me into his private tattoo room with Jax following behind.

  “How are you feeling Cuz, you excited?” Jax asked sounding as if he was the one who was about to go through a commitment this big.

  “I’m excited, nervous and scared all at the same time, but really it’s Memphis that has to do all the work. All I have to do is just lay there.”

  “You’ll be fine. You’re a tough chick. I’ve made you a playlist, so that will help you zone out. You know most people wouldn’t go for such a big piece for their first tattoo but, go big or go home right.”

  “How’d everything go today?” Memphis asked rechecking his equipment that I know he would have checked a thousand times already. “Did you get everything sorted out?”

  “We got so much ticked off the list. Seriously, Baby, I’ve been more concerned about doing this than the wedding. If I can get through this, the wedding will be a breeze,” I joked.

  “You should have seen this one,” Jax said hiking his thumb at Memphis. “Cass had to kick him out of the shop he was bugging her so much.”

  “If I wasn’t doing the all bride and bridesmaid stuff today, you could have come with me. But there are certain things that you can’t see until the day.”

  I was so glad Jax was here; even though I have had multiple injuries and I am more than comfortable using a needle on other people. I'm not very confident when a needle is being used on me. Jax was keeping me sufficiently distracted and relaxed which also seemed to have a calming effect on Memphis.

  “Okay, we’re ready to go,” Memphis declared. “Jax is going to step out for a bit while we get the area where the tattoo is going to go prepared and then he’ll come back in and help me mark out and position the stencil.”

  “I’ll be back in a bit,” Jax said giving my hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving the room.

  Memphis sat down on his rolling stool, and I positioned myself between his legs, and instinctively I wrapped my arms around him. “Are you ready for this Baby?” I asked after kissing him.

  Memphis placed his hands on my hips kissing me back. “More than ready. Are you ready it’s a big commitment to get a piece like this done as your first tattoo and attempting to do it all in one go?”

  “I’m ready, and we’re just going to start with the outline and then see how both of us are going, right?”

  “There’s no rush if we can get the outline done at least, then we can do the rest later.” He gave me a quick kiss then pulled me to my feet and held me at arm’s length. “Now strip!”

  Half an hour later I was down to my bikini with the right-side strings of the bottoms undone and the material taped in place and the same with the top. Memphis did suggest that I could just lay on the tattoo bed naked, and he wouldn't mind, but I reminded him that my cousin would be in the room and he agreed to keep me as covered as possible.

  Memphis wiped my right side down with rubbing alcohol and then proceeded to shave the same area with a disposable razor.

  Memphis explained as he carefully worked the razor, that even the finest of hairs could get in the way and cause problems, with transferring the stencil and even the embedding of the ink into the skin.

  Jax came back in the room with a bottle of juice with a long straw. “You need to make sure your blood sugar level is maintained. You’d be surprised the number of people who faint from a drop in their blood sugar and not the pain.”

  Memphis wiped my skin down again with rubbing alcohol making sure that my skin was clean and smooth ready for the stencil.

  I had watched the guy’s tattoo clients hundreds of time before and knew the process. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I thought that he would slap on the stencil and we would be off and running. The boys took a good forty minutes to make sure that the design had transferred to my skin correctly and the flow of the design followed the contours of my body perfectly.

  “Dude, I don’t think we could have gotten the positioning any better,” Jax said.

  I was standing side-on to the floor length mirror looking at the stencil on my body and was in complete awe of Memphis.

  The design was perfect, and if it looked this good on my body with just the purple ink of the transfer, the finished product was going to be amazing.

  “Baby Girl, are you sure you are happy with the design and the placement?” Memphis asked for the millionth time. “This tattoo is a massive commitment, and it’s going to cover half your body.”

  The design was perfect because Memphis created it for me. The placement was flawless because not only did he take his time making sure it was right but, Memphis knew every inch of me. He knew how his design would flow with the curves of my body.

  Memphis is an incredibly talented artist, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else to work on me.

  Well, Jax maybe but I was done with being asked questions and just wanted him to start already so, I asked the question that I knew would piss him off and stir him to action.

  “Baby, if you don’t want to do the tattoo it’s fine I’ll get someone else to do it. Jax are you free? You can do it for me, right?”

  Jax stepped back with his hands in the air and a look on his face that said, ‘I don’t want anything to do with this?’

  Memphis grumbled and then smacked the tattoo bed with his open palm. “Baby Girl, get that beautiful ass up on this bed now, nobody gets to tattoo you but me.”

  I climbed back onto the bed and shifted and moved until I was in the position that Memphis wanted me.

  He picked up his tattoo machine dipping it in the ink-cap, rubbed a little ointment over the first section of the design transfer, winked at me.

  “Let’s get started. If you’re nervous or scared, don’t hold your breath okay remember to keep breathing. I’ll take it nice and slow just take deep breaths and try to relax,” Memphis instructed.

  The first few minutes were rough going, but after a while, my skin just kind of got used to it, and the pain begin to subside, becoming more of an irritation than actual pain.

  Jax stayed in the room with us talking and joking doing anything he could to provide a distraction, and it worked. After a while, I zoned out and found that the sensation was actually rather soothing.

  The guys came in and out during the outlining process. After Memphis growled at them for the twelfth time, Jaxon went up to the apartment and returned with the light throw blanket off the back of the couch so that the top half of my body was completely hidden from view.

  I was wearing a bikini, and it’s not like the guys haven’t seen me in my
swimmers before, but it made Memphis feel better. I’d tried to tough it out as much as possible, and Memphis would declare it break time when he could see me struggling.

  We had taken a few breaks but still had made steady progress and was now up to the part that everyone had said was the ugly part – across my ribs.

  The door opened, and Bishop walked in taking a seat on the vacant stool, rolling over to me taking my hand. “How are you travelling Hun?”

  “Fucking fantastic,” I replied through clenched teeth.

  “Yeah, ribs suck,” he chuckled softly. “You’re doing well though. Do you need anything?” His thumb tracing small circles on my palm giving me a new focus point.

  “Talk to me Bishop, distract me,” I winced through a particularly painful section.

  “How’d your day go with Tabby?”

  “Well, all the aarrghh - arrangements, for… the… wedding are pretty much done. Wow, that bit is not much fun,” I huffed. “It feels like your trying to tattoo my ribs with a cactus!”

  “I’m sorry Sweetness,” Memphis said kissing my shoulder. “Bishop talk to her, don’t make her talk.”

  “Tell me about your day,” I suggested

  “Well, it was a typical day around here, tattoo’s piercings, coffee. Watching Memphis was the highlight of the day though.”

  “Oh yeah, how so?”

  “Anyone would have thought that it was your wedding day the way he was carrying on. He spent two hours cleaning his room to make sure that everything was perfectly cleaned and sanitized.”

  “I did not,” Memphis huffed.

  “Dude you all but put up crime scene tape over the doorway to keep people out. He was like a kid waiting to open his presents on Christmas morning he was so excited. Weren’t you Memphy-wemphy,” Bishop said in a baby voice.

  “Fuck off Bishop, I wasn’t that bad,” Memphis countered.

  “Memphis, Cassidy had to kick you out. She forced you to go out for a run because you were so God damn annoying. You - what took almost two hours grooming your beard?”

  “This is Hedge’s first tattoo. I wanted everything to be perfect that includes me.”