Epilogue
Six Months Later…
Avery
“Are you sure about this?” I ask for what feels like the hundredth time.
Corbin rolls his eyes at me, but he’s smiling. He’s sitting in the chair before me with his shirt off and his arm raised as he waits for me to place the stencil on his skin. I let my gaze roam over all that bare skin and marvel over the fact that he’s all mine.
The last six months haven’t always been easy, but I’ve never been happier. Once we got past a few hurdles and went public with our relationship, things just seemed to fall into place. My mom still isn't thrilled by my career choice, but she's coming around. As for me dating a tattoo artist, she was surprisingly not bothered by the idea. Especially since she can see how happy Corbin makes me. I doubt she'll ever get a tattoo, but I'll keep working on her.
At Henley's insistence, Corbin started seeing a therapist who's been helping him work through a lot of his issues surrounding his family and his childhood. He doesn't talk much about his therapy sessions, but I can tell he's becoming more open with me since he started. He smiles more too.
“I’m sure, angel,” Corbin says, pulling me back to the present. “Do you think I’d let you permanently mark me if I thought you’d fuck it up?”
I sigh. “No. But it’s a lot of pressure.”
“Gotta start somewhere,” Jessie says from behind me. “Time to take off the training wheels.”
I wish the others weren’t here. I’d be nervous tattooing anyone, but the fact that it’s Corbin makes it even more nerve-wracking. I’d prefer to work without an audience. I’ve been practicing for months on fake skin, but even the really expensive stuff isn’t the same as real skin. I’m worried I’ll give Corbin a shitty tattoo and he’ll be forced to wear a reminder of my terrible skills forever. But somehow, surprisingly, he seems to be totally at ease. He’s not nervous at all, which somehow makes me more nervous .
“You’re going to do great, A,” Noah says from my left. “You’ve got the skills.”
“Thanks,” I mutter.
"And if you screw it up, I'll give him a really nice cover-up," Noah adds, making the others laugh and me roll my eyes.
"Not helpful," I mutter.
I finally lean forward and carefully place the stencil in the space Corbin indicates before peeling off the thermal paper. I stand back, studying the image to make sure the placement is correct. He designed the tattoo himself, and it’s a gorgeous piece.
“How’s it look?” he asks, trying to peer down at it.
I gesture toward the mirror. “See for yourself. Make sure it’s where you want it.”
He moves closer to the mirror, studying the stencil for less than a second before turning back to me.
“Looks great. “Let’s do it.”
I’ve watched Corbin and Noah do hundreds of tattoos by now. I’ve seen so many gorgeous works of art walk out of here, permanently inked into people’s skin. I knew I’d eventually be the one creating the tattoos, but I hadn’t considered tattooing Corbin. When he notices my hesitation, his gaze softens. He looks at Jessie and Noah and gives a little nod of his head indicating that they should step away. They both walk to the back to give us some privacy. When we’re alone, Corbin reaches for me, taking both my hands in his. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing that soft look in his dark eyes when he looks at me. It threatens to steal my breath every time.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice soft with concern.
I sigh, letting him see the worry I've been trying to hide. “What if I mess it up?”
“Then I’ll show you how to fix it,” he says simply.
He seems so unbothered by the possibility that I scowl at him. “Seriously? What if it’s not fixable?”
“It’s always fixable,” he says. “Besides, you’re not going to mess it up.”
“How do you know?”
He grins at me. “Because you were trained by the best.”
I roll my eyes. “How modest of you.”
His face turns serious. “Avery, I know you won’t mess it up because I trained you. Which means I know you’re ready for this. If I didn’t have absolute faith in your ability, would I be letting you tattoo me today? No. I’d let Noah go first.”
I laugh, as I’m sure he intended. Reaching out, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear before leaning down to lightly kiss my lips.
“I trust you,” he whispers.
Somehow, those three simple words ground me like nothing else he could have said. My gaze strays to the stencil over his ribs and I feel my heart swell with love. It’s an image of a dark-haired angel kneeling, her white wings outstretched behind her, and her hands clasped before her. I still don’t know when Corbin drew her, but she’s beautiful. I worry I won’t be able to do his artwork justice, but he somehow trusts me to do it. And I can’t deny I want to. Ever since he showed me the drawing, I’ve known that I want to be the one to ink it into his skin. I want to make this beautiful angel a permanent part of the man I love.
"You asked me once why I call you angel, remember?" he asks, pulling my gaze back to his face.
I nod. "Yeah."
"There's something I couldn't tell you then, because I didn't realize it yet myself," he says. "But you're my angel. You saved me." He dips his head in the direction of the angel on his ribs. "That's why I drew this. And I want you to be the one to make her a part of me. There's no one else who's going to put this tattoo on me. So, if you're not ready, I'll wait. As long as it takes."
I feel a sudden lump in my throat and my eyes sting.
"Don't cry, baby," Corbin whispers, cupping my cheek.
"Stop being sweet to me, then," I mutter, blinking away the threatening tears.
"Never gonna happen," he says. "Get used to it."
I smile up at this man who somehow manages to keep surprising me with the depth of what I feel for him. There are times when I marvel over all the things that had to happen just right in order for us to be together and it amazes me. I'm not sure if it's fate or destiny, or if I have a guardian angel looking out for me. But whatever it is, I'm grateful every day.
"I love you," I whisper, raising up on my toes to kiss him.
His arms come around me as our lips meet and the feeling of rightness nearly steals my breath. This. This is where I'm meant to be. Right here, with Corbin's arms around me. He's the home I've been searching for.
When I pull back, I look into his dark eyes. "Okay. Let's do it."
His smile is immediate and brilliant.
“That’s my girl.”