The Intern

Chapter 40

"Does it sting?"

I shrugged as I fiddled with the plastic wrap on my left wrist, trying to decide why I thought this was a good idea in the first place. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had convinced myself that I would be in and out of the shop with a tattoo that matched Levi's and nothing more. I'd never even considered the aftercare involved, which was almost silly after all the kinky sessions I'd had. Every ounce of pain I experienced earned me just as much care afterwards, and this was no different. Even if it had been minimal compared to what I expected, it was pain nonetheless and I had to deal with it the same way.

Or risk winding up with a huge, ugly scab, and I knew Levi wouldn't let that happen. He would sooner tie me up and leave the bandages on my wrists until he was sure I was good and healed.

And that could take days.

As it was, I wasn't allowed to take the wrap off my wrists for another day and by then our night at The Wall would have passed. The night I had been looking forward to for weeks, and I had sufficiently ruined any chance of it happening the way I wanted it to. It wasn't as if Levi could tie me up this way without taking some risk to my wrists, and I knew that he wouldn't chance it even if I wanted him to. Which was honestly one of the reasons I hadn't even bothered to ask about taking the wrap off. When the artist had said it would be safest to leave the bandages on for a day, I knew I had no hopes in getting them off before that.

Levi wasn't about to take chances when it came to my body.

"Why do you look like someone shot your puppy?" Levi muttered, hooking his finger in the ring of my collar and turning me to face him. "Are you really that disappointed, kid? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"It is," I shrugged and dropped my attention back to my wrist. "I guess I just wasn't thinking about the fact that I would have to wear some ugly ass bandaid for a day."

"They put a needle in you over and over again, and you're surprised that it needs to heal? What the hell did you think they were going to do? Have your tattoo licked on by kittens?"

I rolled my eyes and tugged at the plastic once more. "I didn't know it could scab."

"It's a wound, Eren," Levi snapped, grabbing my hand before I could pull at the plastic anymore, "And it's going to scab if you keep picking at it like that."

"It's not going to scab over if I pick at the plastic," I shot back. The bite in my tone sharper than I intended it to be and I regretted it almost immediately.

Levi dropped my hand instantly and stood up from the bed, running a hand through his hair as he moved over to the dresser. I watched him walk away and felt guilt begin to churn in my gut, but it wasn't strong enough for me to say anything more. I hated to admit it, but part of me was mad at him for allowing me to get the tattoo just hours before we were supposed to go to The Wall. I had a feeling that he'd used my interest in getting a tattoo as an easy way out of tonight's trip, and now I was just waiting for him to use the excuse.

"Was there something special you wanted to wear?" Levi spoke up, his voice carrying an icy edge. His back was to me, but I didn't need to see his face to know I had pissed him off.

"What do you mean?"

"To The Wall." He turned to face me and folded his arms as he leaned back against the dresser, regarding me with annoyance in his eyes. "Did you have something special planned? Is that why you're being such a little shit stain about this right now?"

I felt confusion furrow my brow as I realized what an ass I was being. "We're still going?"

Levi cocked one eyebrow and the annoyance left his face. "So that's what this is about. Yes, we're still going. Did I say we weren't?"