he
accept it if it was. With her it was different. He intertwined his fingers with
hers, unable to keep from touching her.
“I did the art for the piece, and then took it to this guy
outside of Houston. He was the best I could find and this had to be killer.
Sang Young ended up becoming my mentor and he taught me everything I know. He
was amazing.”
“You never got any others?”
“Tattoos?” Scott asked and she nodded. “It’s the only ink
I’ve put on my body and it will be until something else equally important comes
along.” He remembered and grinned. “Simon and I, we watched out for each other
growing up. We were kind of scrawny and got picked on for whatever reason kids
come up with in school. He was always there for me, even though he was ill. He
was younger than me but he was a fierce protector. I pictured him being my
guardian so that’s why he has a white robe and the wings that span my
shoulders.”
“How did he die?”
“He had a bad heart. Born with it, actually. I felt guilty
growing up healthy and he had so much trouble. He started having issues in
grade school. Doctors passed it off, and then they found this murmur. He
couldn’t have been more than ten. He had valve problems, and surgery wasn’t an
option because he was almost guaranteed not to make it off the table. My
parents were bound and determined to find something or someone to fix him but
it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“I like the name Simon,” Haleigh added when silence
stretched between them.
Nostalgia hit him square in the solar plexus. “We use to
play ‘Simon Says’ all the time. It was actually the last thing he said to me
before he passed. ‘Simon says, be happy’.”
Duke and his customer walked out of the back, thankfully
distracting both Scott and Haleigh. She discreetly wiped her eyes, and Scott
blinked away the emotion choking off any more words from erupting.
Duke’s customer sort of limped out. Duke shook his head with
a smirk distorting his normally serious mouth. He was a six-foot-tall badass
dude with piercings all the way up one of his ears, several in the other and
one in his eyebrow. He wondered what Haleigh thought as she saw him for the
first time. Tats ran up his arms and Scott knew he had quite a few on both
sides of his torso. They looked like prison tattoos but the guy was loyal,
showed up on time and did killer work. The fact that he could double as a
bouncer when things got rowdy was icing on the cake.
Another couple of guys came in and Duke greeted them with a
handshake. One of the guys took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded
it. They all bent over it, speaking about ink color and position.
“What does Kyle have? I couldn’t see anything on him. He
said he came in for some kind of pirate tattoo. What did you talk him into?”
Scott grinned. “He’s got a mosaic pattern on his left pec.
He actually let me draw directly on him before I inked him. It’s all black,
totally killer, but I’ve always wished he had a bit of color. He said I could
add to it anytime, but the right something hasn’t hit me yet.”
“Is that all he has, just one, like you?”
Scott weighed his next words carefully. “He has one more on
his thigh.”
“His thigh. On the outside?”
“Inside.” She scowled, making him want to kiss her mouth. He
ached to draw her close and cover her mouth with his own.
“But no one can see it there.”
“Exactly. He got it for someone he loved. If someone gets a
tattoo like that and hides it, it’s private. You’ll have to ask him about it
someday. Speaking of Kyle, do we need to wait for him to get here? I could call
his cell and tell him to hurry.”
He reached for his phone, but Haleigh stayed his hand. She
chewed on her lips and he bit his tongue to keep from offering to do it for
her. “I came tonight because I knew he wasn’t going to be here. I…I wanted to
talk to you alone.”
“Okay. Shoot. What did you want to talk about?” She
accept it if it was. With her it was different. He intertwined his fingers with
hers, unable to keep from touching her.
“I did the art for the piece, and then took it to this guy
outside of Houston. He was the best I could find and this had to be killer.
Sang Young ended up becoming my mentor and he taught me everything I know. He
was amazing.”
“You never got any others?”
“Tattoos?” Scott asked and she nodded. “It’s the only ink
I’ve put on my body and it will be until something else equally important comes
along.” He remembered and grinned. “Simon and I, we watched out for each other
growing up. We were kind of scrawny and got picked on for whatever reason kids
come up with in school. He was always there for me, even though he was ill. He
was younger than me but he was a fierce protector. I pictured him being my
guardian so that’s why he has a white robe and the wings that span my
shoulders.”
“How did he die?”
“He had a bad heart. Born with it, actually. I felt guilty
growing up healthy and he had so much trouble. He started having issues in
grade school. Doctors passed it off, and then they found this murmur. He
couldn’t have been more than ten. He had valve problems, and surgery wasn’t an
option because he was almost guaranteed not to make it off the table. My
parents were bound and determined to find something or someone to fix him but
it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“I like the name Simon,” Haleigh added when silence
stretched between them.
Nostalgia hit him square in the solar plexus. “We use to
play ‘Simon Says’ all the time. It was actually the last thing he said to me
before he passed. ‘Simon says, be happy’.”
Duke and his customer walked out of the back, thankfully
distracting both Scott and Haleigh. She discreetly wiped her eyes, and Scott
blinked away the emotion choking off any more words from erupting.
Duke’s customer sort of limped out. Duke shook his head with
a smirk distorting his normally serious mouth. He was a six-foot-tall badass
dude with piercings all the way up one of his ears, several in the other and
one in his eyebrow. He wondered what Haleigh thought as she saw him for the
first time. Tats ran up his arms and Scott knew he had quite a few on both
sides of his torso. They looked like prison tattoos but the guy was loyal,
showed up on time and did killer work. The fact that he could double as a
bouncer when things got rowdy was icing on the cake.
Another couple of guys came in and Duke greeted them with a
handshake. One of the guys took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded
it. They all bent over it, speaking about ink color and position.
“What does Kyle have? I couldn’t see anything on him. He
said he came in for some kind of pirate tattoo. What did you talk him into?”
Scott grinned. “He’s got a mosaic pattern on his left pec.
He actually let me draw directly on him before I inked him. It’s all black,
totally killer, but I’ve always wished he had a bit of color. He said I could
add to it anytime, but the right something hasn’t hit me yet.”
“Is that all he has, just one, like you?”
Scott weighed his next words carefully. “He has one more on
his thigh.”
“His thigh. On the outside?”
“Inside.” She scowled, making him want to kiss her mouth. He
ached to draw her close and cover her mouth with his own.
“But no one can see it there.”
“Exactly. He got it for someone he loved. If someone gets a
tattoo like that and hides it, it’s private. You’ll have to ask him about it
someday. Speaking of Kyle, do we need to wait for him to get here? I could call
his cell and tell him to hurry.”
He reached for his phone, but Haleigh stayed his hand. She
chewed on her lips and he bit his tongue to keep from offering to do it for
her. “I came tonight because I knew he wasn’t going to be here. I…I wanted to
talk to you alone.”
“Okay. Shoot. What did you want to talk about?” She
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