Chapter 14 #2
“That’s fine.”
Knowing my feelings for him are rapidly growing, I almost feel bad for taking his money. And if I didn’t need it so badly to run from Tito, I wouldn’t take it.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame was kind of boring to me. I’ve watched some movies, but I’m not obsessed. I don’t even know many actors. Plus, the area isn’t that nice. I guess the Chinese Theater is kinda cool. Julien likes it, and that’s all that matters. Mostly, it reminds me of work.
We explore the area for a while before he gets bored, too, and is ready for his tattoo and piercing appointment.
We’re a little early, and his artist is working on another client, so we look at a binder full of tattoo images.
“Let’s find you something,” he says.
“Okay.”
The art here is so good, it’s hard to pick something I like. There are a lot of beautiful pieces in all sorts of styles and sizes. It’s almost overwhelming. I love that Julien knows exactly what he wants, but I’m clueless.
I thread my fingers through his as he flips through another binder. “I don’t know… It’s hard to pick. You pick for me.”
He taps his forehead against mine. He seems to like my head for some reason, since he’s always kissing or touching it. Hell, I like him doing it, too. “It should be meaningful to you.”
“Yeah, I get that, but what?”
I rack my brain, reflecting on previous discussions with Julien.
I’ve only known him for three days, but everything we’ve done together has been meaningful.
So, I should pick something from our time together.
A seashell? Nah. The ocean? No. Maybe the Ferris wheel. I keep that one in the back of my mind.
As Julien flips to the next page, I gasp. “Wait!” I yell before slapping a hand over my mouth and wincing. “Sorry.” I flip back the page, and there it is. Just today, I was thinking about breaking chains. It has to be a sign. I point to the one I want. “This one.”
“A broken chain?”
I nod. “Yeah, I was thinking about what you said about being prisoners of our minds. When I woke up this morning, I felt like some of my chains had started breaking. Because of you. I want that.”
Julien grabs my face and kisses the hell out of me. He pulls back, his face full of smiles. “Oh my god. That’s perfect, baby. I love that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep. It’s fucking profound.”
“And I have money to get one now because of you.”
“No, you don’t. Don’t you dare spend that money. I’ll pay for it.”
“But—”
He presses a finger to my lips. “Nope, it’s on me.”
“Thank you, Sugar.”
He smiles, and right when he’s leaning in to kiss me again, they call him back for his appointment. Little did I know he’d set up an appointment for me, too.
Julien sits on a chair as the artist shaves the hair from his shoulder, cleans the skin, and places the stencil on his arm. Once he starts tattooing, Julien scrunches his face, so I know it hurts. He reaches for my hand, and I hold it for support.
After three hours, the artist is done. I take his arm and look at it. “Wow, it’s so pretty,” I say.
“I love it,” Julien agrees.
The artist takes a break before he starts on me, so Julien goes ahead and gets his piercings.
“Are you going to pierce your ears?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, I was never allowed to have a tattoo or piercings, so I’m getting them now. I want to get my nipples pierced, but what’s the point?”
“What do you mean?”
His smile is brief as he points at the hoops with a bead in the center.
“I want these. Three in each ear. Why the hell not?” he tells the piercer.
It’s not the first time he’s said something vague and then changed the subject.
I’m not the smartest person in the world, but red flags are starting to wave.
When the artist returns, I sit in the chair nervously. I’m afraid it’s going to hurt too much. Julien never complained, but you could see the pain etched on his face.
“Where do you want the broken chain?” the tattoo artist asks me.
I hold up my wrists. “I want one on each wrist, wrapped around like real chains, and breaking in the middle.”
“Cool, man. Color?”
I shake my head. “Just the black lines.”
“It’s going to look epic,” Julien says. “I love this idea.”
I gnaw on my bottom lip and smile. “Thanks.”
While he gets his ears pierced, I get my tattoos, which hurt like a bitch, not gonna lie. There were points I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin and almost asked him to stop, but when Julien made it back to me, he helped me push through it with distractions and sweet kisses.
“I like your ears,” I say. The hoops look so good on him.
“Thanks.”
I look at the art being stabbed into me. He’s almost done with one wrist. “This is about more than breaking my chains,” I tell Julien.
“I know it is. These are symbols of your freedom—a break from Tito’s hold. When you decided to get these, I knew right then you’d never go back to that bastard. You’re free, baby.”
He so got me. It’s like he can read my mind, but his words are so much fancier than mine.
My eyes water at the truth of his words. I feel freer already. Safer. These tattoos bring me a strange sort of peace and confidence. I hadn’t expected that.
“I’ve got a nice place for us to stay for the night, right near here. A little boutique hotel.”
I don’t panic like I did last time from being in such a nice place. Now that Julien’s set me up with some nice clothes, I feel better about it.
“Sounds cool.”
“I’ve also made reservations at a Michelin-star restaurant not far from here. I’m going to introduce you to a world of food you never knew.”
I smile and roll my eyes. “I don’t know what Michelin is.”
“It’s a restaurant recognized for its outstanding culinary excellence.”
“Sounds expensive.”
“It is, but I want to spoil you.”
“You already spoil me, Sugar.”
“And I’m going to keep spoiling you for the next eleven days.”
Why does Julien have to be so sweet and giving? I’m not sure I’ll be able to let him go after eleven days.
It’s almost five in the afternoon by the time we wrap up the art and pay for it. The artist gives us instructions on how to take care of our tattoos and keep them looking good, then we head to the hotel to check in and clean up.