chapter twenty-one

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MOM WASN'T EXCITED about me going to Australia for Christmas

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MOM WASN'T EXCITED about me going to Australia for Christmas. I knew she wouldn't be. The apartment was going to be extremely empty compared to what she is used to, but she was right. I am an adult now and I can make my own choices.

That's why I skipped into the tattoo shop with a grin. Cassie shot me a confused look but all I did was hand her the laminated piece of paper. She grinned at me and took it to look at it.

"Look at you. Once you get back from your trip you can start working with small tattoos on people," she told me before putting my tattooing license and health certification in a folder so she can get it a frame. Once I get my own spot in the shop I'll have them hanging on the wall.

"Thank you again for letting me go. I know it's such short notice," I said sitting down on the chair she had. She was getting things ready for a client and I would watch it for the first time. It was going to be so different than doing it on a grapefruit.

"Kaley, even when you are tattooing on your own you make your own schedule," she commented. "Besides, it's the holidays. We don't get much here aside from people coming in to get a gift certificate."

I wrung my hands together. "Yeah, but I just feel bad because I'm new," I commented, making her reach over and flick me in the middle of my forehead without looking away. She reminded me of my brother, hands down.

A man with a lot of tattoos stepped into the shop and she went over the basic procedure. I assume that since he has a lot she didn't really need to go over the entire thing step by step, but he still had to sign a waiver. He did grumble about it though.

"Getting them to sign that before you start is super important," she told me as the man got comfortable. "You could do it after but to cover yourself it's best to do it now."

I nodded in understanding, watching as she set everything up. The man was patient as she explained everything step by step. The worst part about the entire thing is having to watch the needle going into the skin, but it was something I surprisingly was able to get over quickly.

"Kaley," Owen called out, making me spin my chair around. It was so tempting to make myself dizzy but Cassie already yelled at me for that. "I have a simple tattoo. Do you want to do it instead of having to wait?"

I stared at him wide-eyed, only moving because Cassie kicked my chair over to him. "Uh, sure. Are you okay with this?" I asked the female who had her arm in position already. She had an outline of Stitch ready to be filled in.

She gave me a gentle smile. "Of course. You have to try someday," she told me as I began to prepare the items. Owen watched me carefully with his arms crossed and since he didn't say anything I assumed I did it right.

I stepped on the petal hearing the familiar buzz and took a deep breath before dipping the needle into the black ink. It hit her skin without hesitation otherwise, I would have never started.

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