by Lizzie Vega
They quickly made their way to the Aquarium but as they approached it was clear that the band that night had a loyal following. The line out the door looked formidable. Iris pulled Stefan closer to her as they walked by the front door. A steady throbbing beat gave them an idea of what all the interest was about.
Iris noticed the bouncer and caught his eye, “Hey, Alex,” she called to him, “Nice crowd tonight,” He looked at her and smiled and tilting his head slightly toward the adjacent buildings, “Let’s try this way.” Iris pulled on Stefan’s arm to lead him toward a darkened entryway, “First, through here,” they walked down a long hallway and a short, darkened stairwell. “And now, if we are lucky, through here,” she turned the knob and they entered a room lined with kegs and beer crates.
The floor above them vibrated to the beat of the band playing over their heads. Even from below the band was loud. Stefan had to lean close to Iris to be heard, “I’m impressed! You’re like a backstage pass.”
She just smiled at him, “Ok, up the steps we go. When we go through the door try to look like you own the place.”
She led him up the steps and through a doorway that opened up right next to the stage. Iris celebrated enthusiastically, “Yea, we made it,” and hugged him tightly.
Stefan watched the band as Iris placed their drink order. The four-piece outfit worked through an old blues standard as the guitarist accented the driving beat with a series of powerful riffs from an old gold top Les Paul. The drummer’s solid backbeat gave the song an almost primal feeling. Iris grabbed their drinks and handed Stefan a beer, “Thank you,” he said loudly in her ear, “they are very good. I’m a big blues fan,” She reached up and put her hand around his neck to pull him closer, “I’m glad This is their second night here, their set depends on the crowd.”
He reached behind her and put his arm around the small of her back and pulled her in, “Lookout, incoming,” as a server with a tray full of drinks veered dangerously close to them. After she passed, he left his arm around her waist. She made no effort to move away from him, she just put her hand on his thick arm, “Smooth,” she said, just as the song came to a thunderous end and the crowd applauded their appreciation. “Let me try something” and she put her hand to her mouth and called out, “Whoo hoo, Hard Drivin’ Man,” at the top of her lungs. Several other fans echoed the request.
The bass player peered over the lights. “Hey now,” he shouted into his mike, “Iris is in the house! It’s a party!!” With a quick nod to his drummer, he kicked off the old J. Geils classic with a deafening bassline. The crowd roared its approval and began to clap along. Stefan grinned and shook his head, “Do you know everybody in this town?” She laughed, “Nope, but give me time.” She raised her glass to toast the band.
They stood together and watched the band incite the crowd into a further frenzy to the point where a number of fans were beginning to dance with an increasing aggressiveness. Too small a venue for an actual mosh pit, two of the revelers suddenly veered little too close.
“Too much beer and too little rhythm.” Stefan seemed to sense him coming and casually hip checked him away from Iris and sent him flying in the opposite direction. The young man recovered from the deflection looking only mildly confused until Iris laughed at him, “Checking from behind, two minutes in the sin bin.” Stefan couldn’t help it and he laughed as well.
That did not sit well with the young man and he lunged awkwardly at Stefan. One of the others in his group intervened and dragged him toward the exit, but not before he flipped Stefan off and threatened him.
Stefan only smiled politely and shrugged his shoulders. Iris was impressed, “You must have been a hockey player back home,” she suggested, “Nice move.”
“Actually no, I’ve never skated in my life. I think I just timed it right.” Iris just smiled and leaned toward him, “Let’s watch a couple more and then hit the road. Ok?”
“Sure, more stops on the tour?” He was clearly enjoying himself.
Iris looked at him, her eyes gleaming, “Just one.” She turned to watching the band but with a blizzard of notes, the guitar player brought the band to a crashing crescendo. He thanked the crowd for their support, “Back in fifteen.” The stage lights dimmed as the musicians made their way off the stage.
Iris wound her hand around Stefan’s arm and squeezed his bicep, “I believe that’s our cue.” She pulled him away the viewing area and toward the exit. As they walked out the door, she looked at his arm and again saw a swirl of red and black ink peek out from under his shirt. She pulled him a little closer and pushed the sleeve of the shirt farther up his shoulder. The rolling wave of red and black broke out into a large full shoulder tattoo and she caught a quick glimpse of an eye staring back at her. “This is intriguing,” she said, “I would not have guessed this for a young college professor. That is some bad-ass ink.” Iris was serious, but Stefan questioned it, “You’re mocking me now, aren’t you?”
Iris was truly surprised, “Stefan, honestly, I’m not. I think it’s cool.”
His expression softened, “I wasn’t sure how to take that, plus it’s really a different style from yours.”
Iris grabbed his arm, “True enough,” she said, “was that a snake I saw or a dragon?”
Stefan smiled, “It’s a dragon, among other things,” he hesitated slightly, “I had it done a few years ago.”
Iris stopped walking and turned to him, “And you say I’m a contradiction,” she put her arms around him and moved closer, “I’d like to see the whole design, if that’s ok with you?” She reached up on her toes to kiss him.
“Well, look at the two lovebirds gettin’ all kissy-face.” Their almost first kiss was interrupted as the two guys from the bar approached. Iris’ first reaction was to get angry for breaking up the moment. She turned and defiantly addressed the drunks, “Clear out guys, we don’t want any trouble.”
Stefan held up his hands as if to signal for a peaceful resolution and one of the men slowed to a stop. The other one kept his momentum and it was clear he wanted payback for the altercation in the bar. “Let’s see who pushes who around now,” he slurred and drew back his fist looking to throw the first punch.
Stefan stepped forward and closed the space between them instantly. He took the man’s arm and twisted it around until the intended haymaker was now pointed at his own face.
Stefan spoke calmly to the drunk, “Stand still, please. I don’t want to hurt you.” It happened so fast, Iris didn’t really react. Held in Stefan’s arm lock, the drunk just looked confused and tried to struggle but he was held fast. Stefan addressed the other man, “I’d prefer not to hurt him, but if he struggles...” His words were cut short by a string of curse words as the man began to flail angrily with his other arm.
Stefan looked Iris briefly, “I’m sorry for this, Iris.” He looked back at the drunk and drew the man’s hand back and punched him twice in the face with his own hand. Then he released him. “Now, get out of here or we’ll call the police.”
The drunk just stood there staring at his own hand. He had no idea what had just occurred only that now his nose was bleeding like a small fountain. His friend grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him back, “We need to go before this gets bad, you’re done.”
He looked at the couple as Iris stepped out from behind Stefan. The look on the drunken man’s face went from one of confusion, to one of fear. He shook his head and blinked, then stumbled back, “I’m sorry, yes…I, I, we need to leave now.” They turned and quickly staggered back up the street. Stefan kept an eye on them as they left.
He turned around to Iris. She was just standing there with her hands on her hips as if nothing had happened. Stefan sighed heavily, “I’m sorry for that. I just wanted to get his attention and give him a chance to make a good decision.”
Iris just smiled at him. She blinked a couple of times and reached up and gently rubbed the corner of her eye, “I gathered that. That was quite the move you put on him.”
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br /> She stepped towards him and put her arms around his neck, “I normally don’t get to excited about that kind of behavior, but you certainly got my attention as well,” she tipped up to him and kissed him. It surprised Stefan but he certainly didn’t pull back.
“After all,” she quipped, “we are dating.”
Chapter 30
They sat down together side by side on the sofa.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked quietly.
“Oh, yes, I’m quite sure.”
Iris gathered up the hem of Stefan’s t-shirt and slowly worked it over his head, his long blond hair falling to his shoulders.
“This has had me intrigued all evening” she said as she traced her fingertips over the edge of a very large shoulder cap tattoo. It began as series of what looked like red colored waves, but as she turned him to get a full look at it, she realized the waves were more like the spines of a dragon with a head that curled around a large circular design. The tail of the serpent trailed across his back and wove itself back and forth into a tightening weave of black and grey.
“This is beautiful,” she said as she continued to follow the weaving with her finger. She looked at his eyes as she did, her fingers detected a change in his skin, the defined musculature gave way to a jagged rough texture. His eyes narrowed slightly as her hand flattened and she followed the irregular texture across his back.
“Don’t be afraid, Iris. It’s just a couple of scars,” he said quietly. She stood silently without saying a word and then moved behind him on the sofa so that her knees straddled him, then sat back down on her heels. From her point of view, she could now see the his entire back as well as how the tattoo was positioned. The intertwining design of the serpent partially camouflaged three long, thick and jagged cuts across his back, the deep red skin color of the scars matched the blood red color of the dragon’s head.
Iris drew in a breath sharply, “Stefan, oh my God, this is incredible. I’ll bet there’s a story behind this.” She leaned against him and kissed his shoulder and then moved up and kissed him gently on the neck.
“Tell me,” she whispered softly.
He turned and looked at her for a long moment, his blue eyes seemed to be studying her.
As his silence continued, Iris thought she saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. She began to think she had overstepped on their fledgling relationship. “It’s ok if you don’t want to, I didn’t mean..”
He reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face, his expression brightened, “Don’t worry, Iris, it’s nothing sinister. I was just thinking back to earlier this evening when you thought you thought you were being unfiltered. There is something about you that makes me feel the same way, I can’t really explain it.” He shrugged his broad shoulders, “All right, here goes, but tonight, it’s a two-part story.”
She grinned and snuggled in closer to him, they were almost nose to nose, “Ok, both parts, tell me.”
“When I was younger, my father sent me to my uncle Sygni’s farm for the summer to work as a field hand. He thought I should toughen up. I was a little scrawny back then.” Iris leaned back and clapped her hands on his sculpted shoulders, “I’d say you’ve filled out nicely. Sorry, continue.”
“I made up for being svekling,” he nodded to her, “weak, by being fast and smart. I would tear around the farm, running and jumping, chasing the animals and such. Sort of like parkour, I used to play in the barns as well. One day I climbed up into the loft and was going to swing across the barn and scare my uncle as he came into the barn.”
“Well, that day, I was not so smart. I grabbed the wrong rope to swing. It was old and worn and snapped halfway through my sneak attack. I fell down on top of a rack of old threshing scythes.”
Iris grimaced and visibly shivered at the thought, “Jesus, Stefan, that must have been terrifying for you,” but her eyes suddenly twinkled. “Continue.” She began to stroke her hand over his shoulder.
“I only remember parts of what happened after that… I remember hearing my uncle call my name as I hit the blades. I landed on my back and I thought, hey, you know, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
Iris interrupted him, “Yeah, cause you’re such a weakling, right?”
“Yeah, I was a total wuss,” he replied.
Iris laughed, “No way that’s a Norwegian word.”
Stefan nodded, “True, there’s no Norwegian word for wuss. Probably a good thing, I think. Ok, so my uncle, he is a mountain of a man, tried scooping me up in his arms but one of his arms slipped out from under me on the first try and it was covered with blood. I took one look at it and passed out.”
Iris brushed her hands lightly over the scars, wincing at the amount of pain he must have experienced.
“I woke up two days later full of stitches and with three broken ribs, sore as hell. Luckily, my aunt was a very skilled seamstress.” He kind of laughed when he said it. Iris pulled herself away from him and pushed him forward so she could get a better look at his back. “They didn’t take you to the hospital? You could have died.”
Again, he delayed, “Um, it’s a really rural setting and so my family is pretty skilled out of necessity.”
She again brushed her hand slowly across his well-defined back, pausing to rotate her finger tips softly across a gnarled section of skin where the scars took on a more ragged appearance. His skin wasn’t cut so much as torn.
Caught up in the pleasure of touching him, Iris dismissed it, “I’m guessing the tattoo is the second part of the story?”
“It is,” he replied, “as long as the first part didn’t gross you out,”
Iris continued to rub his bare back. “Ehem,” she cleared her throat, “quite the contrary.” She took her hand and lightly brushed it up his back to his neckline, “I’m enjoying your story, part two please.”
He turned, looking at her with a conspiratorial grin, “You have to promise never to tell this to anyone, not even my father knew for the first two years.”
She thought, at first he was kidding, but then went along with it, “I promise, Stefan, you can trust me.” She felt his back stiffen as she spoke and he sat up slightly and turned to her, “I do trust you, Iris. I want you to know that you can, going forward, trust me as well. Ok?”
“Of course, I will,” she said as she continued to massage his back, Going forward, she liked the sound of that. He reached out his arms and twisted his back in a stretch and then settled back down with a contented sigh.
“Ok,” he said, “it’s not that it’s weird or anything but it’s just sort of where my life got jumpstarted. It’s more personal, only my family knows this.”
She reached up and gave his arm a little squeeze.
“A couple of days after I woke up, my uncle came into my room with an arm load of books and set them on the table. He made me get out of bed and walk over to the table to see them. Some were old fables, some classic literature, but most of it wasn’t Norwegian. Some was Swedish, there were a couple of English books, it was quite an assortment.”
“That’s were your language skills started.”
He tipped his head to the side like he was gauging his answer, “Sort of. The next day, two of my other uncles showed up and they had me walk down to the barn with them. They had set four stone blocks outside by a fence post. One of the uncles, Lars, picked up the biggest stone and carried it down to the end of the fence line and then carried it back and dropped it at my feet. Sygni just pointed to the smallest stone and then to the fence post. From there it was up to me.”
Iris patted him on the shoulder playfully, “Ah, you’re in boot camp, now. How many stitches did you break?”
Stefan laughed warmly, “A bunch. I was a bloody mess the first day but there was no way I was going to let them down. I struggled for two hours the first day. When I was done, they cleaned me up and took me up the house. The aunts had been cooking all day and the feast they laid out was amazing. They fed me until I thought I would burs
t. It was that way for almost four months.”
“Wow, you did more than heal, didn’t you?”
Stefan chuckled again and turned to look at her, “I did. The end of the summer came and my father came to pick me up. I’d grown about five inches and put on about thirty pounds. He was shocked. My uncle downplayed the accident, but only said that I had been a good worker over the summer. It made me feel so strong. My father was very proud and after some discussion, he asked Sygni’s wife, Alexandra to start designing a tattoo with me. She started on it that fall and she finished it at the end of the following year. She blended it with the scarring. After the second year of working at the farm and eating like a horse, I was very much the man I am now.”
He sat up and then turned his body to face her, “So, like I said, nothing weird, more like a personal growth story,” he said with a satisfied smile, “with a little blood thrown in for effect.”
Iris smiled and brushed his hair off his face, “I’m not gonna lie. I am pretty turned on right now.” She put her hand behind his neck to draw him closer to her. She kissed him first on the cheek and let his stubble rake gently across her lips. Stefan moved off the sofa and knelt on the carpet to face her.
Stefan said nothing but looked her with a steady confidant gaze. The corners of his mouth tipped up in a half smile. She put her hands on his chest as he reached down and grabbed her hips with both hands and roughly pulled her forward to meet him. Iris gasped in delight as their bodies touched.
They were eye to eye as his hand reached up to her shoulder to slide one of her shoulder straps away to expose the delicate vine-like artwork that traced across her chest. “I’d like to hear your tattoo story as well, Iris,” his eyes were locked on hers. She raised up on her knees above him and leaned back from him, his hands still holding her hips. She reached down and pulled the layered tank tops over her head, her dark hair spilled around her shoulders. She put her arms around his neck and as she leaned in to kiss him, “Later.”