Later in the day, Kill broke in his new guitar. My adorable misfit family sang along to Kill's strumming. He began taking requests, and we all tried to stump him.
While everything was cooking, Kill took the opportunity to pull me upstairs. “I have one more gift for you,” he said quietly after shutting my door. The skin was pinched around his eyes, making him look nervous. He ran his hands through his hair as he stared at me.
To ease his tension, I twined my arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. “You already got me enough. I don’t need anything else,” I said, kissing him again.
For a moment, he seemed to get lost in the kiss, and before I knew it, my knees were hitting the side of my bed. He fell with me, never breaking contact. I reached inside his flannel pants, but he stopped me before I could grip him.
“Damn, Slick. I can never think straight when I'm with you. Like I said, before you started attacking me, I got you one more present. I didn’t want you to open it in front of the others, just in case you didn’t like it. I promise you won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t, but I didn’t want you to feel any pressure.”
Curiosity put my lust on hold. My heart beat rapidly, trying to gallop out of my chest. He pulled out an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to me. I gave him questioning look.
“Just open it.”
Inside was a picture of a human heart in black and gray. Stitches marred the surface criss-crossing over the veins, a metal plate with four screws holding it in place covering the bottom corner. Kill seemed to grow even more nervous.
“When Taze and Stace came to the show the other night, they pulled me aside and told me about the conversation you had with Stace. She said you remind her a lot of herself, when she first met Taze. When you described your heart, I guess the image stuck with her. She told Taze about it, and he drew this up for you. He said he would put it on you wherever you wanted it, but thought this was something you should have.”
He reached over and brushed the tears cascading down my cheek away. “He said he would understand if you didn’t want to get a tattoo but wanted me to let you know this is your drawing, and that he won’t put it on anyone else. Don’t cry, Slick. You won’t hurt anybody’s feelings if you don’t like it.”
I shook my head, trying to form words. “I love it. It's perfect, and I would love for Taze to tattoo this on me. When can we get it done?” I asked, eager to get such a beautiful piece of who I was tattooed on me.
“He said he would come in tomorrow if you decided you wanted it.”
“Tomorrow-it’s a date!”
The rest of the day was spent eating way too much food, including dessert. We played the games I’d had gotten everyone, and somehow, they all morphed into drinking games, making me buzzed by the time Kill carried me up to bed.
I called my dad and wished him and Martha a great trip before going to sleep. I pretended to be sober long enough to tell him I wanted to hear about everything when he got back, then amended myself and told him I didn't want to heareverything.
I squeaked goodbye when Kill's lips latched around my nipple. “I love you, Slick. Merry Christmas,” he whispered into my hair.
“I love you too.”
“I love you more, Slick,” he replied.
“I love you the most.” I knew he heard me, because I felt his lips move into a smile against my hair.
The next day, Kill drove me over to Taze’s shop so I could get my new tattoo. I couldn't stop staring at the sketch as the excitement washed through me.
“I should’ve gotten you a tattoo sooner. I had no idea you were into pain,” Kill said, laughing at me as we parked in the back lot.
I smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Would you rather I be shrinking in fear, because I'm about to have a needle going in and out of my skin?” I asked, unbuckling my seatbelt.
“Nope, I like you just the way you are.”
My heart melted, and I leaned over and kissed him. He yanked me into his lap, and our kiss became more heated. I leaned back so he could have more access to my neck, and a loud honk sounded, startling us both. My cheeks heated red at the interruption.
“I guess that's our signal to get out of the car before we get arrested for indecent exposure,” Kill said as I slid off his lap.
We walked hand in hand to the door of the shop. I shrank into my Halestorm hoodie when the rain soaked it, making me shiver. Taze opened the door before we even reached it. We went around him, pounding our feet on the mat by the door to shake some of the water off.
“I thought I was going to get a show,” Taze said, laughing. “Damned horn.”
More blood rushed to my face when Taze pointed to the security camera perched in the corner.
Stace came over and pushed Taze playfully. “Stop it. I promise I made him stop watching as soon as you two started kissing. He’s just being a butt.”
Taze laughed harder, and I had the urge to hide behind Kill. “Sorry, Faith,” Taze said, trying to look contrite but not quite pulling it off.