Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“I’d like a stencil of this, please.”
Her brows dipped together, and then her eyes went wide. “You’re going to tattoo the Tinder logo on Kaiden?”
I grinned. “He said anything I want...”
Justine cracked up. “You are so fucking insane. I love it! Can I video the entire thing, please? That shit will definitely go viral.”
“Absolutely. I would consider posting that on social media as a public service. Maybe it will make other men think twice about cheating.”
“What do I tell the women when they come in?”
“That’s going to be a little tricky. We need to keep them from talking. Why don’t you give them each a tattoo book? Tell them Kaiden called and said he would be a few minutes late, so they should look through and see if they find something they like. We must have a dozen portfolios between mine and Deek’s. Though you’ll have to talk quietly since the desk isn’t too far from the waiting area.”
“I’ll figure it out.” She shook her head and blew out two cheeks full of air. “This is going to be freaking epic.”
I nodded. “Oh, it’s going to be something, alright.”
***
Kaiden fell asleep.
It was laughable, really. People did occasionally conk out in the chair, but usually it was a woman nervous about getting her first ink who’d popped a Xanax before coming into the shop. I never thought the fuckwad birthday boy would take a nap. Though I was grateful he did.
When I first started pressing the pedal, he’d rested his free hand on my thigh. I’d managed to remove it, telling him he needed to stay in the same position I’d put him in. But I worried that next time his hand would find its way to my ass, and I’d wind up punching him in the face. Not having him watch my every move also made the job so much easier. I didn’t have to worry about him sneaking a peek of what I was doing in the mirror, and I was even able to bandage him up before he stirred.
For the last twenty minutes, Justine had been texting me from the lobby to keep me updated. Apparently eight women had showed up and were currently sitting just thirty feet away on the other side of my studio door, waiting to meet their handsome Tinder date. I swear, it felt like I had an electric current running through my body. I had to take a few deep breaths before waking Prince Charming.
“Hey.” I plastered on my best fake smile and nudged Kaiden’s shoulder. “Sleepyhead, it’s time to get up.”
His eyes blinked open. For a few heartbeats, he looked lost, but then he lifted his head and looked over at his arm. “Shit. I fell asleep?”
“You did indeed.”
“How long was I out for?”
“Oh…hours.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “You’re finished already?”
“Yep. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
He sat up in the chair. “You shouldn’t have bandaged it up.”
“I want to keep it a surprise a little longer. Justine’s still here, so I asked her to take a video of the big moment. I want to be able to watch your mind-blown face over and over.”
“Alright.” He smiled. “Thanks, babe.”
“It was my pleasure, trust me.”
My heart ricocheted as I walked toward the lobby. Kaiden followed. The moment I opened the door, Justine jumped up from her seat and blocked my path. “There’s a customer here. A real customer,” she hissed. “I was just trying to get rid of him.”
I looked around her toward the front. Sure enough, a random guy was standing at the desk. He was dressed in a suit, with the knot of his tie loosened. He looked sort of like a cute narc. God, please don’t let him be a cop. Beyond him, most of the chairs were filled with women, all of whom were now looking our way. One smiled and stood. There was no way I’d be able to stall the explosion about to happen, so this poor random dude was about to get a lot more than he’d bargained for.
Kaiden looked at the guy waiting at the counter and the people filling the lobby. “I thought you were closed tonight, babe?”
“I, uh, I invited some friends for the big reveal.” Grabbing his hand, I took one last deep breath and pulled him out into the lobby. Once I was in the center of the room, with all eyes on me, my legs started to shake. Kaiden looked around at all the women, his gaze snagging on one particular blonde as he seemed to work to place her face. This thing was going to self-implode if I didn’t detonate the bomb myself.
So I cleared my throat.
“Ladies, this is my boyfriend, Kaiden. Today is his birthday, and I wanted to do something special for him. Since he and I have such a wonderful relationship and share so much trust, he let me pick the tattoo that will forever grace his body. He hasn’t seen it yet, but I think all of you will agree that it’s the most fitting ink I could have given him.”