Four
Only witches play
Some time later
Serena
The morning began slowlyas coffee awakened my spirit. Unlocking the front doors to Vatican was always interesting to me. I loved the calm quiet moments I got right before the work day began. It would be a little while before Cruz and the rest of the guys rolled in. The peaceful stillness, the smell, the wonder, the excitement—it all seeped into my veins. I knew I had finally found my true calling and it liberated my soul.
About damn time.
I had craved this feeling for far too long and now I was grazing the surface with the slightest touch of my fingertips. I had been tattooing full time for nearly eight months, but I was still the new kid on the block, paying my dues. I flicked all the lights on, set up Cruz and Mason’s stations, and began to call clients to confirm their appointments for the next few days.
Right as I was putting the phone down, a new UPS driver strolled through the glass doors.
I hopped off my stool and went to grab the small box on top of the high stack of packages. “Lots of stuff today.” I giggled, just trying to spark up a conversation. “How exciting! I hope they’re all for me.”
The dude looked down and read my tank top while mouthing the words awkwardly as he stood in the reception area of the shop:Nerdy, Dirty, Tattooed, & Curvy.
“Tongue-tied?” I teased as I set the boxes on the counter, hoping my new ink had come in early.
“What?” The guy was just staring at me, the dumbest, most confused look glued to his face. “I, uh, do I know you from somewhere?”
I shook my head. He looked to be barely twenty with a patchy beard that was more akin to peach fuzz. Then it clicked. This shit happened all the time, but most of the time the dudes were too shy to ask, or already knew the answer.
I smiled sweetly as I started to cut open the boxes. “Do you watch lesbian porn?”
“Holy shit. You’re Honey Dixon, aren’t you?” The excitement in his voice was palpable as I tried not to laugh at my own stupid porn name.
“Fuck, I haven’t been called that in years!” I giggled and nodded as the kid’s eyes grew wide and red took over all of his visible skin.
“Well, it was nice to meet you.” He slowly started to back out the door, eyes glued to the floor.
“You too. See ya next time.”
He attempted a smile. “Yeah, this is part of my route now.”
I bit my lower lip and pushed my tits together just to watch the kid’s jaw drop as he practically ran back to his truck.
The rest of the day remained pretty uneventful. I tattooed a butterfly tramp stamp on a chick for her eighteenth birthday with all her giggling friends flocking around her, but that was pretty much it.
I was sketching out an eagle chest piece for Rodney when Cruz came up to the reception desk.
“You can get out of here a little early tonight if you want.”
I looked up at my boss who had a shit-eating grin on his face. “What’s up with you?”
He shrugged. “Oh, I just got a text from the misses and we’re finally having another baby!”
The excitement of the news coursed from Cruz right into my heart. I hopped off my stool and wrapped my arms around his neck. “That is so amazing! Congratulations!”
“Thank you. So, I think we’re just gonna close early tonight. Slow day, seems fine.” He shrugged and winked at me. “Go home. I am sure Colt will appreciate a little extra time with you.”
I finished up the drawing and checked the time; The Hysterics were probably still practicing over at Colt’s parents’ house. I folded up the eagle and typed Colt’s number into my phone.
“Hey babe,” he answered right after the first ring. “We’re working on a new song, might be here a while.”
“Need Chinese food? Help fuel the creative mind?”