Maddox
BEFORE
“Fuck!” I jump a little as coffee splashes on my pants. “The fuck, Anna?”
She grins wide, a little manic. She’s five feet of pure terror. Lucky I love her. “Sorry.” She snaps her gum, not looking sorry at all.
I wipe the coffee off my jeans then throw my arm over the booth watching her walk to another table.
The diner’s nearly dead, though I shouldn’t be surprised, it’s a Thursday morning.
I watch my friend come back around with a tray of food, balancing it with one hand and shoving her phone into her apron.
She’s almost done with her shift and then we’re going out tonight. She’s going to let me tattoo her arm. She hasn’t told me what she wants yet, but I’ll try anything. All styles. I want to be the best and I need hours. Good thing I have two very willing best friends to help me out—I need it.
No, what I need is a shop, but I’m years from that dream.
Anna slips out the back only to appear a few moments later, her black ponytail whipping with her quick movements. I know she hates working weekday mornings. Shit tips she says. She beelines to me after dropping off more plates. “You’re going to kill me.”
“What is it?”
“My manager asked me to stay and work a double. I need this, Maddy. At this rate I’m never getting out of my parents’ place.
” I want to be mad, but how can I blame her.
Anna’s a certain flavor of weird. Her parents don’t approve of .
. . well, anything she does, and I know how badly she wants out.
Once I get my shop going, I’m taking her with me.
I just need to get more hours in. Maybe I can find a shop around here to apprentice for. Then there are loans. Oh, and the fact that I’m dead broke. “I know, hey. No worries. Another night.”
“Thanks.” She kisses the top of my head. “I still want another tattoo. I just need this paycheck more.” Anna has five right now, but dreams of having more.
“I’ll call you tonight, alright?” I get up out of the booth to walk out of the diner, stopping when I see someone in another booth drawing.
I walk backwards, watching him, his head down in a sketch book.
“That’s sick.” He jolts, looking up, and a slow smile spreads on my face.
Cute. His auburn hair is a mess. Is he all alone? “Your drawing.”
“What—oh.” He smiles, looking down.
It looks fucking sick. The lion is done with such detail. Like a mix between cartoon and lifelike. “Thanks. Just killing time.”
I slide into his booth and watch his brows pull together. “Killing time until?”
“I have to go back home.” He looks down at his drawing and erases something he sees in the picture. “My mother has a new boyfriend. They’re fighting. I walked out a while ago.”
“You live with your mom?” He glares. “No, hey, no judgment. I do too. Just asking.” He looks like he’s in his twenties, but that doesn’t mean much. At twenty, I’m still stuck at home too.
Until I get my own shop.
“How old are you?”
“Why?”
I shrug. “I’m curious by nature.”
“I think you’re nosy.”
“Curious by nature sounds more whimsical.”
“Whimsical?” He shakes his head. “I don’t trust whimsical.”
“Pessimist.”
“No. Just . . . severely over everything and everyone.”
“At the ripe old age of . . .” I wait, smirking when I see his eyes give in.
He stares flatly. “Nineteen.”
Old enough for a tattoo. “Well, since you’re killing time and my plans just fell through, I have a proposition.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“Excuse me.” I scoff. “You can’t afford me, sweetheart.”
I expect him to scowl, but instead a soft blush sprinkles across his nose. Oh. Okay then. I look at the pale skin available to me and don’t see a tattoo in sight. “Dare to be a little reckless?”
“I don’t really do reckless.”
“Well, can I interest you in a dash of danger? I promise you’ll be back at your apartment in one solid healthy piece.” I look down at his drawing. “Have you ever tattooed before?”
“No.”
I smile. “I’m a tattoo artist.”
He looks at my arms. I have a few, but I plan to get covered. “Yeah?”
“Aspiring tattoo artist. And you see that Vietnamese girl over there with the black hair and scowl?” He cranes his neck and finds Anna.
“Yeah?”
“That’s my best friend, and she had to cancel her appointment with me tonight. Which means I’m free if you want to get a tattoo.”
“Are you high?”
“No. Unfortunately. Why, you got some?” I wink.
His dimples sink with his laugh. “Sure thing. I’ll just go with a stranger and get a tattoo. Real smart.” He shakes his head and goes back to his book. “How do I even know you’re any good?”
I lean in, smiling. “Oh baby, I’m the best.”
I watch his cheeks light up. “You’re an idiot. I meant at tattoos.”
I flip my wrist over. It’s small and not as detailed as I want, but it’s the first one I did on myself. “I did this.” He looks at the Puerto Rican flag on my wrist. “I also have a bunch on my legs. A unicorn, a rubber duck—”
“A rubber duck?”
I nod. “It’s for Anna. It’s a thing we do. Hiding rubber ducks in places each other will find later. I got it for her. I also have a jaguar. You know what, I can give you the full tour if you come with me.” I wink.
“I don’t know if you’re flirting with me or you really want to tattoo me.”
“Why can’t it be both?” I watch Anna walk toward us. I know she must want to peel off that uniform and burn it. “Hey, Grems. Come here.”
She scowls, the piercings in her brow moving with the motion. “What do you want?”
I wave a hand in his direction. “Tell him how amazing I am.”
“Like, in bed or?”
“No—”
“Because zero out of ten. I’ve seen pepperoncinis bigger.”
Oh, this little asshole. “Really!?”
She bends down to him, lowering her voice. “It’s not just that it’s small, and it is, make no mistake. It’s more the pigtail-like curve.”
“Oh, fuck off.” I shove her away from us as her laugh lights up the booth.
She giggles.
“She’s kidding, right?”
My brows rise.
She looks at this man. “Guess you’ll have to take his pants off and find out.”
“Anna! Tattoos. Am I good with tattoos?!”
“Oh, yeah, he’s kick-ass at tattoos.” She looks around then lifts her shirt, showing him the Japanese-style crane I did for her months ago.
The ribs sucked, and even with her extremely high pain tolerance it wasn’t a fun time.
Totally worth it, though. The way it flows on her body is brilliant.
Almost the whole piece is in black and gray, the crane’s wide wingspan flowing with the curve of her body.
The only shock of color is two of the six peonies around it, which are colored bright red.
There are two that are black and two that are white. I’m so damn proud of it.
“Holy shit, you did that?” The guy sits up, inspecting Anna’s ribs. Her boss comes out of the back and she shoves it back down.
“Anything else for you two?” She blinks, beaming the fakest smile I’ve ever seen as he walks by. Once he’s gone she sags. “Madd, I’m going to need you to get that shop set up fast. I hate it here.”
“Soon, Grems.”
“Grem?”
“Short for Gremlin.” Anna winks before ruffling my black hair. “Have fun, you two.”
“You have a shop?”
“Not yet. Soon. I need more practice. Oh, and money. I’ve tattooed her and one of my other friends, but he only comes up during June and July.
” Jamie went back home last week and I miss him already.
I met him last summer and we hit it off instantly.
In fact, I told him next year I plan to do a big piece on his arm.
Right now he just has a bunch of random shit I wanted to try.
“I told Anna she’s going to come work for me. ”
He takes his sketchbook and closes it. “Can I see?” I watch his eyes and watch him wrestle with it, but eventually he pushes it toward me. “I’ll be gentle,” I whisper with a grin. He folds his arms around his body as I open the book.
“They’re just random. They’re um—”
“Incredible.” I flip through the lifelike sketches. He captures reality with ease. “Amazing.”
“Not as amazing as that crane.”
I close his book and slide it back to him. “What do you say? Would you like a tattoo?”
“You want me to follow a stranger to their house in the hope of a free tattoo, and not expect you to murder me?”
I see Anna walk by us with a tray. “Hey. Quick.” She stops, facing me. “Tell him I won’t murder him.”
“Oh no.” She shakes her head. “He’s a big nut sack.”
“Nut—you mean pussy?” he asks.
Anna’s brows climb to her hairline.
Oh shit, here we go.
“You mean is Maddox the most majestic, powerful, strong, beautiful portal from which all life comes through?”
“You shouldn’t have gotten her started.” I shake my head.
“No. I meant what I said. A nut sack. Weak.” My best friend, everyone. “He’s a squish. He won’t hurt you. Pro tip—if he does somehow go manic and try to kill you, just pinch his nipple, really hard.”
He laughs. “Does he hate that?”
“No. Makes him come.”
“Okay, get the fuck out of here.” She winks and keeps going to her table. “I won’t kill you.”
“Or come.” He smirks.
“Mmm, that depends how much you like the tattoo.” His face brightens. “In all seriousness—”
“Are you capable?”
I look at him flatly. “In all seriousness, I won’t hurt you. I’m practicing and hoping to open my own shop. Free of charge. First tattoo free. As long as I can take a picture for my portfolio.”
He thinks a moment. “Okay.”
Damn, I’m excited, but I don’t know if it’s to tattoo or spend time with this guy. I stand, holding out my hand. “My name’s Maddox. I live down at Maple Ridge. I’ll drive us down.”
He smiles, taking my hand in his. “My name’s Ian.”