Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TWO MONTHS LATER
KASS
I haven’t heard from B since I left her apartment, heartbroken, two months ago.
I tried to call her and text her, but no luck.
Eventually, I got the message and gave up.
Chasing B was never going to win her back.
I’ve known girls like B before. The one thing I know for sure about them is that it would be a mistake to assume you know anything about them.
They’re always going to do what they want, and what they want is to remain unpredictable.
The idea of conforming or being like anyone else repulses them.
So here I am, trying to get her out of my head, trying to move on.
So far, it’s not going well. I’m currently tattooing a large piece on a client’s sternum, pretty close to where I was tattooing Blake.
This girl is similar to her in stature and almost as pretty, but I feel nothing.
I shouldn’t because I’m a professional and she’s my client, but a girl this pretty flirting with me should do something, right?
She winces, and I just barely save the line by pulling back.
“Would you like another break?”
“No, no, I’m fine. Keep going.”
“It’s really not a big deal if you need a break.”
“I’m okay. I just need something to distract me.”
“I can turn the TV on for you if you’ve changed your mind about that.”
“No, just tell me a story or something.” Her fingers graze down my arm. Okay, she’s definitely flirting with me.
The image of Blake lying under me like this, getting her tattoo flashes in my mind. The memory of her falling asleep makes me laugh internally and smile outwardly.
“Tell me what you’re thinking about that’s making you smile like that.”
“Uhhhhh. I don’t know that you want to hear about that.”
“I do. Just keep going with the tattoo and keep talking.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before I start again.
“I was thinking about a girl.”
“Oh no, don’t break my heart.” I can hear the sarcasm in her voice, but there’s also a hint of genuine disappointment.
“You said you wanted to hear what I was thinking about.”
“I do, I do. Keep going, this fucking hurts.”
I wipe her skin with my paper towel and start another line.
“We were sort of seeing each other, and now we’re not.”
“What did you do?”
“Oh, so it’s automatically my fault things didn’t work out?”
“Generally, yes, it’s the guy’s fault. Men kinda suck like that. No offense.”
I snort and glance up at her face, her eyes still closed. "Fair enough.”
“He told her he liked her and scared her off.”
I look up from my work and see Raina walking toward us.
“Hey, Raina.”
“Hey, loser.” She steps closer and hovers over me to inspect my work. “Oooo, that’s gonna look sick when it’s done.”
My client lifts her head and tries to look down at it, but her breasts partially block the view. “You think so?
“Definitely. Kass here may look like an idiot, but he does good work.”
I playfully swat Raina’s hand away as she tries to tousle my hair. “Get out of here.”
“I will. I was just running by to grab my water bottle that I left here. We still on for movie night with the girls?”
“Yep. I’ll be over once I finish up here.”
“Cool. See you later.”
She walks off, and I readjust myself over my client and get back to work.
“Sorry about that.”
“Is that the girl?”
“God no!” I laugh at the thought. “I’m not her type.”
“Oh? Is she single?”
“She is.”
With a big smile on her face, she closes her eyes. “Good to know.” Her smile quickly turns into a scowl as my needle runs across her skin. “Fuck.”
“What story do you want to hear now?”
“Keep telling me about your girl. What’s she like?”
What’s Blake like? “God, where do I start? She’s stubborn as all hell. Feisty. Funny.”
“Hot?”
“Of course.”
“Does she have tattoos?”
“A lot. That’s actually how we met.”
“So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
When I glance up at her face, she winks at me, clearly joking, before laying her head back down.
“Trust me, if anyone knew what was really running through my mind these days, nobody would want me right now.”
“Let me guess, it’s just constant images of her naked?”
“Not…all the time.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.”
“I think a lot about what I could have done differently, and wonder if it would have made any difference.”
“If she’s as stubborn as you say she is, I kind of doubt it.”
“Possibly.”
“Have you tried a big, romantic gesture?”
“I’m pretty sure she’d rather eat her own foot than have someone perform a big, romantic gesture for her.”
“Hmmm, I see the predicament you’re in.” A moment of silence passes as I concentrate on the final details of my work. “I would kill for someone to do a big, romantic gesture for me…”
“Done.”
“What? Really?”
“Yep. Let me just wipe it here.” I put the green soap on my paper towel and wipe the rest of the loose ink off her skin.
“Here...” I grab her hands and help her to a sitting position.
“Take your time getting up, you’ve been horizontal for a while.
When you feel ready, you can take a look in that mirror over there. ”
“Whoa, head rush. “
“Take your time.”
While I wait for her, I slowly start to clean up my materials.
“Holy shit, this is so fucking cool.”
A wave of emotion hits me as those words echo in my brain, but in Blake’s voice. That’s exactly what she said when she took her first look at the tattoo I did for her.
Fuck, I miss her.
“Glad you like it.”
My back is to her, so she can’t see the tears welling up in my eyes. I’m so pathetic. Is it always going to feel like this? Will everything remind me of Blake like everyone once reminded me of Daisy?
It dawns on me that Blake is the first girl since Daisy that I’ve compared people to.
People who never came close to making me feel what I felt for her.
My chest tightens at the realization that I’m grieving the loss of Blake.
Obviously, in a different way than I mourned Daisy after she died, but similar to how I mourned all of our lost potential every time she rejected me.
Why do I make a habit of falling for women who don’t want me? How fucked up is that…
As I lean with my hands on my bench, I glance down at the inside of my bicep.
Daisy’s tattoo has faded very little over time, much like her memory.
Some of my tattoos have deep meaning behind them, and some don’t.
It’s been a while since I had Raina ink my body, and I think it’s about time I let her do it again.
I just need to feel something other than this emotional pain that won't subside.