After 2

Chapter 199.

"The owner Drew seems like a dick but he's pretty cool." Hardin informs me as we approach the small brick building.

A bell sounds above my head when Hardin opens the door for me and we walk inside. Steph and Tristan are already inside. Steph is seated on a leather chair and Tristan is looking through what appears to be a book of tattoos?

"Took you long enough!" Steph kicks her leg out as Hardin and I walk by and he grabs her boot in his hand before it touches me.

"Already being annoying I see.." He rolls his eyes and attempts to lead me over to Tristan but I pull my hand from his and stand near Steph.

"She's fine with me." She tells him and he scowls at her but doesn't say anything in return.

Hardin stands next to Tristan about twenty feet away, grabs a black book like the one Tristan has in his hands, and flips through the pages.

"How was the dinner with his family?" I ask Steph quietly.

"It wasn't bad actually." She looks over to her boyfriend and back to me, "they were nice, much nicer than I thought they would be. The eating portion of our dinner was a disaster though, I ordered lamb chops on accident because I was so nervous and felt too stupid to correct myself after. Tristan traded me plates though, thank god."

"Well I'm glad you had a nice time, I told you they would love you." I remind her.

"How are things with your mom? Have you seen her lately?" Steph asks as a young guy with hair the same length as mine walks out from the hallway and over to us.

"You ready?" He asks her.

"Yep, sure am." She beams at him and lays back on the chair as it reclines.

She lifts her shirt up to expose her stomach, stopping just under her bra.

"I haven't seen you in here before." The guy looks up at me while he wipes the surface of Steph's bare stomach with a towel.

"I have never been here before." I reply.

"My name's Drew, I own the place."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Tessa."

"Are you getting any work done today?" He smiles.

"No, she's not." Hardin answers for me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"She's with you, Scott?"

"Yes, she is." He pulls me closer.

He's obviously doing this for show. Hardin said that Drew seems like an asshole but I don't get that vibe from him at all, he seems really nice.

"Cool. About time you got a girlfriend." Drew laughs.

Hardin relaxes a little but keeps his arm around me.

"So why don't you get something done?" A buzzing noise fills the space and I look down at Steph's stomach to watch in amazement as the tattoo gun drags slowly across her skin. Drew wipes the excess ink off with a towel and continues.

"I might, actually." Hardin tells him.

I look up at Hardin and his eyes meet mine.

"Really? What do you want to get?" I ask him.

"I don't know yet, something on my back."

Hardin's back is virtually the only part of his body that is completely ink free.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He rests his chin on top of my hair.

"Speaking of getting work done, where the fuck are your rings?" Drew asks, dipping the gun into a small plastic cup full of black ink.