2. Tomorrow #3
After it was booked, she sent me a link so that I could do the intake process.
I was thoroughly impressed with how organized his process was.
You had to upload your design if you had one, as well as your state-issued identification.
August and I filled out all the required paperwork.
According to the terms, he would give a price twenty-four to forty-eight hours after we submitted the design.
The day after we submitted the designs, the price came back at $900 total.
Once we approved the price, the appointment was officially locked in.
“You ready to get tatted, Sis?” August asked. This would be my fifth tat and August’s third. It would be our first matching tat.
We were on our way to the shop. I was excited about the tattoo and the fact that I got to be a passenger princess in August’s car.
His junior year of high school, I busted my ass with commission pieces and illustrations so that I could save to buy him a car for graduation.
I made outstanding money and even had a client pay me $6,000 for a set of commissioned pieces for his family home.
When it was all said and done, I was able to get him a four-year-old cash car.
I was currently in the middle of the same process for Tuesday.
“I’m more than excited. Can we stop at Starbucks before we go to the shop?” I asked. I planned to milk this passenger princess thing for as long as I could.
August’s head slowly turned toward me after he stopped at a stoplight. “So, you just want me to drive you all around while I’m home. Is there something wrong with your car?”
The corner of my top lip rose with my eyebrow. “Yep, sure is. It knows that you’re home, so it can rest.”
Just as the light turned green, he erupted into laughter. “Yeah, okay.”
We stopped at Starbucks like I asked, then headed to the tattoo shop. “Wow! That logo is amazing. Do you think he drew it?”
The shop’s logo was mesmerizing. The center was a large heart that was half black and the other half red.
There were Korean letters painted in gold in the middle of the heart.
There was a golden bridge on each side of the heart that looked like it was coming out of it.
On one side, it was an urban city setting while on the other side was a Korean town or city setting.
The design was ingenious and gave what it was supposed to give.
We got out of the car and walked into the shop. The shop where I normally got my tattoos was one that was large with about eight artists. I always went there because it was known. They also took walk-ins, which was great. There were times when I wanted a tattoo on a whelm.
The inside of the shop was extremely nice. The waiting area was large and even had a gaming system. There was a refrigerator with drinks and a shelf with snacks. Sketches and photos of tats covered the walls. What caught my attention, though, was a mural.
My feet slowly walked to the mural that covered the entire back wall of the waiting room.
The grown man in the center of the mural was fine.
His neck and arm were completely tatted.
His head was dropped and leaned on his fist. The cherry blossoms that adorned his head as he looked to be in deep thought were beautiful.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” His voice was memorable. “I worked with my auntie on this. I sketched it and she painted it.”
My head snapped in his direction. “You sketched this? Wow, this is so amazing! The detail tells a whole story. Have you or Danielle ever been to Korea?” Oh, I didn’t mean to ask him that. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to assume because your—”
He said that he sketched this one, but in the mural that Danielle did, there was so much detail on the Korean side of it. In my opinion, it wasn’t the kind of detail that came from just seeing a photo. It was the kind of detail that came from an experience. Simply breathtaking.
His chuckles cut me off. “You’re cool. Yeah, I’ve been several times with my grandparents and parents. It was important to all of them that I knew both my Black and Korean side. My auntie has been there a couple times with us as well.”
My cheeks lifted. “That is so cool.” My attention left the mural and was given all to him. “I’m so happy that you had a cancellation. My brother told me that you are usually booked.”
He stood there with his hands in his sweatpants pockets. His T-shirt clung to his body. He wasn’t a big guy, but he was toned. Would it be ignorant to ask if he knew martial arts?
When he took a step closer to me, I didn’t move. I wanted him in my space. Plus, he smelled heavenly. “I didn’t have a cancellation. I canceled an appointment to get you in.”
“Oh my God! You didn’t have to do that. We could have waited,” I told him.
His eyes were so damn seductive. I could see myself lost in them. “I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. The sooner we get to know each other, the sooner we can decide whether we like each other more than a physical attraction.”
Oh, he’s cocky. My arms crossed over my chest. “Sir, what makes you think that I’m physically attracted to you?”
With a small step forward on his behalf, we were now face-to-face. If I bucked my neck forward just a little, my lips would be on his. In a sultry tone, he spoke. “Tomorrow, are you physically attracted to me?”
Before I could respond, a blocker came from the east. “Aye, we here for tattoos, not a love connection. What kind of professionalism is this?”