Page 99 of Fragile Lives

“No!” we cry in unison, and only then do I pull away. But not before I give her another squeeze.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“No,” her voice hitches, “thankyou.”

We understand each other, and I go to look up, finding Stephan with a small smile of satisfaction on his face.

As they chat business, I look at the pictures of the tattoos on the walls.

“Those are awesome. Who made them?” I ask to Cherry’s satisfaction, because her face turns into one of a cat who just ate a canary.

“Those are made by the very hand of your boyfriend.”

Boyfriend. We haven’t put any labels on our relationship, but after all the talks, I’d assume he is.

“All of them?” I ask with raised brows.

“Yep,” she pops the p, “all of them. He had style.”

“Had?” I ask in confusion.

“Yep, had.” She glares at Stephan. “Now he won’t ink anyone. Doesn’t even draw shit.”

I turn toward them. “I want you to ink me.”

Both of them look shocked. Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming either, but roll with me here, please.

“I don’t ink anymore.” He shakes his head vigorously, visibly slipping into the dark state of mind.

“Alright.” I shrug. “I’ll ask someone to ink me then. I want a tattoo on my ass.”

“Fuck no!” Stephan exclaims as his neck strains and turns red.Hook, line, and sinker.

Cherry snickers as she takes a step back. “Let’s ask Hulk. He lo-o-oves ass tats. Very good and,” she clears her throat, “hot blood. But his hands can do some real magic.” She takes another step back. Her face full of mischief while Stephan’s face turns redder.

“Who’s Hulk?” I play along.

“That young stud you saw when you walked in here.” She points her thumb behind her back, a wide smile on her lips.

“Cool,” I shrug, “let’s ask him.”

“I said fuckin’ no!” Stephan’s voice booms in the tight space, nearly deafening us all. Then he adds quieter, “I’ll ink you.”

“Sure,” I reply calmly, while sending Cherry, who’s trying to hold herself together and not burst into laughter, a grateful smile.

“Wait here.” Then he turns to me and adds, “Don’t come out.”

“I won’t,” I promise, widening my eyes innocently.

Once he disappears from the room, we start laughing. I’ve never seen him like that, nor did I know he could be such a caveman. Do I like it? No. I freakingloveit. I’ve always known I wanted a relationship to consume me. I wanted another person to breathe me, and I wanted to do the same. I just didn’t know it was achievable.

“I love it,” Cherry says between hiccups. “I’ve never seen him like that. Oh-h.” She grabs her side. “Ouch. Haven’t laughed like this for ages.”

“Thank you,” I say, knowing what she means.

“Thank you too.” She nods. “But we’ll never speak of it again, alright?”

I nod in return, happy that she chose this way. She worries about him, but she also knows and respects him enough not to talk behind his back. She just became one of my favorite people.