Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Taj started sketching as I talked, his brow furrowing in concentration.
“She sounds amazing. I bet you and her father are very proud,” he said, almost like he was testing the waters.
“Oh, he’s not in the picture. It’s just me and her,” I told him.
Taj paused for a second to look over at me.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said.
I shook my head.
“It’s for the best,” I assured him with a small smile.
“I’m glad you did what’s best for your daughter,” he replied before sketching again. “And I’m going to make sure that she loves this.”
“She loves everything,” I laughed softly as I watched the light, practised motions of his hand. I couldn’t exactly make out what he was sketching, but he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I was putting a lot of faith in him, but I hardly felt a speck of worry as we sat close to each other, listening to “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd play over the shop’s speakers.
Taj suddenly drew his hand away from the sketchbook and angled his body where I couldn’t see the page. A coy look spread across his face.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded excitedly.
Taj flipped the notebook around, and I couldn’t help the widening of my eyes and the dropping of my jaw. He had taken what I said about Chloe rooting me to the ground seriously and had drawn two figures, a taller one and shorter one, made of thin, delicate roots with their hands joined.
I found myself reaching out to take his sketchbook from him, feeling the crispness of the new pages as I pulled it closer to me.
“Oh… it’s perfect,” I murmured as I gazed down at it, able to picture it being me and Chloe.
Taj smiled and leaned closer, his body coming so close to mine. The air between us seemed to thicken, and I started to notice how good his citrusy cologne smelled. He didn’t even have to get that close to show me his sketch, which made me wonder if he just wanted to be that close to me. I certainly didn’t mind.
“What do you think? Good enough to put on your body?” he asked before a cheeky look filled his handsome face. “Not that it needs any improvement in the slightest.”
A bashful laugh broke from me as I lowered my head to hide my face momentarily. What was up with these charming, handsome tattoo artists? My eyes eventually shifted up to meet his over the top edge of the sketchbook.
“Absolutely,” I told him, feeling a lot of my wariness melt away. This was even better than what I pictured in my head.
Taj patted my knee and hopped off the table.
“I’d love to tattoo you myself, but I have another appointment soon. Don’t worry, you’ll be in good hands, though,” he said as he reached his hand out to me.
I took it and let him help me off the table, my skin warming up from his touch and kindness.
“Thank you so much, Taj,” I said sincerely.
Taj grinned in a manner that made heat churn in my lower stomach.
“Trust me, the pleasure was all mine,” he replied, his gaze lingering on mine for a few seconds before he looked across the shop. “Bryce! Come here.”
I turned to see a tall man with colorful dreadlocks and piercings on his nose and lip, wearing black cargo shorts with a chain attached to the right side, a black hoodie, beat up Vans, and white crew socks with slot machine cherries on them. By far, he was the most interesting looking man I had ever seen, but all of the unique details just made his clean-shaven face and green eyes look even better.
“This is Bryce. He’s great at what he does. Maybe not as good as me, but…” Taj joked, being cut off by Bryce giving him a playful push. “Bryce, this is Madison. She’s getting this tattoo to symbolize her relationship with her daughter.”
Bryce held his fist out for me to fist-bump, drawing a laugh from me.
“You have the best laugh,” he told me with a cheeky grin.
My cheeks immediately burned as I looked down, not expecting such a nice compliment. Honestly, they had both been so incredibly sweet to me, and they were both so attractive. I must’ve been dreaming.
“Thank you,” I said, fidgeting with the bottom of black, ribbed knit tank top I wore. Now that I knew how hot the tattoo artists were, I wished I had subbed out the tank top and denim shorts I wore with something nicer.
“I’ll leave you to it. It was nice meeting you, Madison,” Taj told me as his hand rested on the back of my shoulder. Before he walked off, he flashed me a wink that I swore I made up in my head.
“Nice meeting you,” I said, my voice coming out weaker than I intended. These guys took my breath away.