The Player and the Tattoo Artist (New Hampshire Bears Book 8)

by Mary Smith

  When I turned fifteen, I started hanging around a local tattoo parlor. One of the artists was eighteen and the sexiest man I’d ever seen. He paid attention to me and soon I was in the back of his car losing my virginity. Nine months later, I had a perfect, beautiful baby boy.

  My parents couldn’t take it and sent me to my aunts here in Manchester. Mom always said Aunt Lois was the black sheep of the family. However, Aunt Lois saved me. She knew a lot of people in Manchester and was able to get me an apprenticeship at the top tattoo parlor. Soon, I honed my skills. Aunt Lois even co-signed for me to open my shop.

  She’s an amazing woman.

  After I finished my last interview, I check my emails until my next appointment arrives. It’s a back piece and the client’s third session. I shut down my computer and get my machine and ink set up. It’s hard to explain why I love tattooing. It’s the joy of a client’s face seeing their idea or a person they love on their skin. Not to mention my original ideas, such as Alden’s sleeves. When he came in here he had a couple of pieces and a few piercings. He told me his love for hockey, being outdoors, and having sex. It’s not the first time a guy has come in and wanted sexy tattoos. In a week’s time, I created his sleeves. There were pinup girls, the Bears logo, outdoor scenes, and I even slipped in the Canadian flag with maple leafs.

  As the day went on, I spend three hours on my client’s back piece. I schedule him for another follow up to finish it. I’m proud of the piece and even more excited to see the finished product. I call the three girls who I think will fit in well here and hope I’m making the right decision. No, I know I’m making the right one.

  I grab my purse and lock up the shop. It’s time to pick up Kace and go to Aunt Lois’ for dinner. Normally, I cook, but tonight she asked for us to come over to her place.

  “How was school?” I ask Kace as he climbs into the car.

  “I’ve decided I’m going to become President of the United States.” He announces.

  I hide my laughter. I love how he always dreams big and bold. I know he’s going to accomplish whatever he puts his mind to. This boy will rule the world one day.

  “I think you would make an excellent President.”

  “Thanks, Mom. You’ll vote for me, right?”

  “I promise. I’ll be the first one in line.” I vow. Of course, if it ever became true, I would be the first.

  “Are we heading to Auntie’s house?”

  “Yes, she’s making dinner. Tell me about the rest of your day.”

  Kace begins to go into details of the ins and outs of the fourth grade. He truly loves everything about schooling. I’m not sure where he gets it from. I barely graduated high school and his father never finished. He must get it from my parents, even though he has never met them. The last time I talked to them was almost six years, and I’m doing just fine without them. Aunt Lois and Kace are my only family and I’m glad for it.

  “Auntie! Auntie! We’re here,” Kace yells the second he goes bounding into her townhouse.

  “Stop hollering, Kace.” I shush him, but he loves his aunt Lois.

  “There’s my boy.” Aunt Lois comes out from the kitchen with her arms open. Kace is almost as tall as her.

  “I miss you, Auntie.” He hugs her tightly.

  “Kid, you saw me the other day.” She reminds him. “Are you having a short-term memory problem?”

  He laughs. “No.”

  “Good, then go set the table.” She orders him with a smile. He rushes off to do as he’s told. “Oh my Bay-Bay, you get more gorgeous every day.”

  “Ha.” I scoff. “I have bags under my eyes. My hair is flat, and I’m bloated.” I hug her.

  “You’re such a pretty liar.” She beams. “Now, let’s talk.”

  I knew there would be a talk. It’s why she’s cooking dinner and not me. “Okay, I’m ready.” We sit down on the couch. I’m suddenly more nervous than a moment before. “Am I in trouble?”

  Aunt Lois furrows her brow. “Is there a reason for you to be?”

  “I don’t believe so.”

  “Then be quiet and listen. Rocco called here.”

  I groan and throw my head back in frustration. “Seriously?”

  “He wants to see Kace this weekend.”

  “Fuck.” I breathe. “He hasn’t seen him in over a year. Why now?”

  “He’ll be in Boston. He said he lost your phone number.”

  I roll my eyes. “I guess the child support check got lost in the same place.”

  “He’s not Father of the Year, but he wants to see his son.”

  I sigh. “I never stopped Rocco from seeing him. No matter if he’s a deadbeat father or not.”

  “Mom.” Kace comes over to us. “I can’t see Dad this weekend.”

  “He wants—”

  “No.” He stomps his foot. “We’re going to a Bears game. We’ll be Alden’s guests.” He almost whines.

  “One, dial back the attitude.” I start off holding up one finger. “Two, I will text Alden and see what time the game is. We might be able to do both.” I wait for him to answer, but he looks as if he may cry. He’s not cried in years. “Honey, you’ve not seen your dad in a long time and he wants to see you.”

  Kace rolls his eyes. “Mom, come on. He hasn’t seen me since my last birthday.”

  I love how my son knows how his father is. I’ve never said a cross word about Rocco’s sorry ass.

  “I’ll talk to Alden.” I promise. “Now, let’s enjoy time with Auntie.”

  “Yes.” Aunt Lois stands and leads Kace to the dining room.

  I’m hoping Alden can accommodate us. I don’t want Kace to lose out on going to a New Hampshire Bears game. He loves hockey, and I know how much he wants to play on a team. I just can’t afford it at this time.

  I sigh and hope this all works out.

  I RUN THE mop one more time through the shop. I want everything to be perfect. The girls are going to be moving in their stuff today. Then I have a full afternoon of clients. Not to mention the INK America’s rep is supposed to call me about the date of the shoot.

  I need this to work out. I’ve known other artists who have been featured in INK America and their business has doubled. I need this. I want to pay off my house before I’m a hundred years old, and I want to make sure Kace goes to the best schools. I want to pay back Aunt Lois for all the times she’s bailed me out. I don’t know how I got so far into debt, but here I sit – in a pile of debt.

  “Hello.” A singsongy voice comes from the front of the shop.

  I stroll out of the office to see Destiny standing there with two rolling suitcases and a large box. She has the biggest breasts a doctor could create, and she is terribly kind. Although she cusses like a sailor. Along with her man-made breasts, her bright pink mohawk is the real eye catcher.

  “Destiny, I’m so glad to see you.” I smile. “I figured we would set you up here.” I direct her to the first station on the left. “You had commented on how you like the natural light and I thought the picture window would be perfect.”

  “I love you.” She squeals. “Thank you. I had eyed this spot during my interview.”

  “Is there anything else you need help with?”

  “No, thank you. But if you want to help I wouldn’t object.” She smiles.

  “Sure.”

  Together we unpack her box and chat. Destiny is recently married and has been tattooing for over ten years. She specializes in black and gray realism. Her work is breathtaking.

  Soon Starlight comes in. She’s almost six feet tall without heels. She has one arm blacked out and an amazing Milky Way system and the galaxy on her other arm. Her hair is long and in shades of the rainbow. The one thing I enjoy the most about Starlight is her deep southern drawl.

  “Oh my heavens, I’m so excited.” She bounces up and down hugging me.

  I introduce her to Destiny and we both help her unload her big ass truck. She recently had a baby and this is the first job she’s had since then. S
he is the best at Japanese tattoos.

  The last of the girls to arrive is Mags. She’s the eldest of us all with the most experience. She’s in her late thirties with platinum blonde hair. She’s new to Manchester, coming from the Boston area. She has a deep talent for new school tattoos. She has been featured many times and is going to bring a lot of clients with her. I’ve admired her work for many years and happy she agreed to join my shop.

  The four of us chat for a while and we all help each other set up. I give them each keys and codes for the alarms. I bring each of them—individually—into the office to sign their contracts I’ve drawn up. Each girl is happy to sign it and I’m ready for this new chapter to begin.

  The girls and I are sitting at my station when Destiny gasps and turns pale.

  “Holy fuck! Is that Alden Brockman?”

  I turn and see him walking into the shop. He makes my heart stop. I enjoyed our talks when I was doing his sleeves. His shameful flirting made me exasperated and turned me on more than ever I’ve been. When he asked me to pierce his dick, I almost fainted. Not from piercing his dick. I’ve pierced dicks, clits, and everything in between. However, when Alden dropped his pants, I almost had an orgasm. There’s average penises and then there’s Alden. I would describe his as world record penis. I don’t even see anything that big in porn.

  When he came into the shop a couple of months ago, I was beyond hornier than ever. Never in my life had I ever wanted a dick as much. I knew he had been around the block more than FedEx and UPS combined. Nonetheless, I craved for him to be in my mouth and inside me. His tongue sucking on my clit piercing caused me to melt into him. I had never been stretched or been so full by a man, except by him.

  When he came back for seconds, I told him no. Not because I didn’t want to have sex, but if I did I’d fall for his penis. Yes, I’d really fall in love with his penis and maybe him.

  “Well hello, ladies.”

  Damn him and his sexy French-Canadian accent.

  “Hi, Alden. Meet Destiny, Starlight, and Mags. They work here now.”

  He shakes their hands and a surge of jealousy hits me when Destiny seems to be a bit flirty with him. He’s not my boyfriend and I have no stakes on him, but it’s still pissing me off.

  “What do you need?” I ask him.

  “I got your text last night. May we chat?”

  “Sure.” I head toward my office. I still can’t look at my desk without blushing.

  “I really would like Kace and you to be my guest.”

  “Well, Kace’s father is coming into town.”

  “Okay, I got those details from the text. My main question is what day will he be here? We have a game Saturday and Sunday. Pick a day.”

  I push my hand through my hair. “I honestly don’t know when he’ll be here. Kace would much rather go with you, but Rocco hasn’t seen him in a year.”

  Alden frowns. “Is he in the military?”

  “No. He only comes around when he feels up to it.”

  Alden crosses his arms. His frown turns to pissed off. “Are you telling me Kace’s dad is a deadbeat?”

  I shrug. He obviously knows the answer without me having to say it.

  “Does he pay child support?”

  There’s no reason to lie. “He did buy a box of diapers – once.”

  Alden says something in French, which I don’t understand.

  “It’s okay, Alden. Kace is aware of how Rocco is. He was more upset about missing the game than anything.”

  “You tell Kace he can come any day this weekend and I’ll be there for him.” He gives me a quick kiss on my cheek and heads out.

  I go back to the girls and notice them ogling Alden as he leaves.

  “Please tell me his dick is as big as my imagination thinks it is.” Destiny begs.

  “I don’t kiss and tell.” I muse.

  “I knew it would be huge.” Destiny whines and we all laugh.

  Chapter Three

  Alden

  AMARA AND I stand next to each other as the yoga Blu-ray comes on. We both take our deep cleansing breaths to find our center and go into our first position. If the guys knew I did yoga with my sister every morning they’d make fun of me until they were out of breath. However, it’s something we’ve done since she moved in with me two years ago. At first, I laughed at her suggestion of us doing yoga together. But she pouted and she knows how much I’ll fold when she does.

  An hour later, I’m rolling up our mats as we finished our session. Usually the yoga helps me, but today I’m still pissed from yesterday’s encounter with Baylor. I’m not mad at her, but the prick who got her pregnant and then wasn’t there for her or Kace. As much as I’ve had sex I know the risks of fucking. But I’d be damned if I got a girl knocked up and I was not there for her or the baby. A real man doesn’t do that sort of thing. A real man is there no matter what.

  “Bro, are you okay? You look as if you can grind glass.”

  “I’m still thinking of Baylor and Kace.”

  “You’re a good guy. She’ll see it. Just don’t be a prick who thinks with his prick and you’ll be fine.” She pats my back.

  “Do you ever think about Jack?” I hand her a bottle of water.

  “Do you?” She quips back.

  I don’t answer her. Jack left Mom when I was ten and Amara was deep in the middle of her chemotherapy treatments. Mom kept it together even though I knew she fell apart in private. I can’t lie saying it didn’t hurt when everyone else’s fathers were around and mine never showed up for anything. I stopped inviting him. He did show up a couple of times when Amara was deeply sick. Soon, he stopped altogether.

  “No, I don’t think about him.” I answer. “Your turn?”

  “No.” She sips her water. “I only care about you and Mom.”

  “Are you planning on experiencing life sometime soon?” I’ve told Amara several times she needs to get out and experience life.

  “Studying is my first priority.” She glares.

  “Just saying life experiences will help you get out of the house.” I suggest this time-and-time again, but she goes to school and comes home. The next time Mom comes into town I’ll see if she can’t persuade Amara to go out more.

  “I’ve got to get ready.” I kiss her cheek and hit the shower.

  I RIDE THE elevator up to the Bears offices. I have to figure out something and talking to guys isn’t going to help. I make fun of them all the time and this will be their fuel to mock me.

  “Hi, Franceen.” I put on my flirtatious smile for Nova Long’s assistant. “You’re looking lovely.”

  The young female blushes. “Hi, Alden.”

  “Would I be able to see Nova for a few minutes? Please.” I bat my dark brown eyes at her.

  “Sure, go on in.” Her cheeks flush as I wink and stroll into Nova’s office.

  Nova Long just turned twenty and is Oliver Matthews the Bears owner right hand. She does everything around here lately. She and Janan are the future owners of the Bears. Not to forget she’s dating Teo and is the mother of his baby.

  “Hey, Alden.” She looks apprehensive as I sit down across from her.

  “You look beautiful.” I smirk. I’ve learned if you start with a compliment it eases the way for a favor.

  “Cut the crap, Alden. What do you want?” Nova glares at me.

  “I need a favor.”

  “Oh God.” She sits up taller. “Is this going to be a PR nightmare we’ll have to clean up? Is there some sex tape or something worse we need to be aware of? Shit.” She begins to rub her temples and I see how upset she’s becoming.

  “Calm down, Nova. I promise it’s nothing like that. I swear.”

  She takes a deep breath and looks to the ceiling. I think she’s thanking whatever duty she believes in. “Okay. Tell me the favor?”

  “The Bears still sponsor the kiddie league, right?”

  “Yes. It’s the Cubs pee-wee and junior leagues. Why?”

  “I need to get a k
id on a team, and I want to pay for all his equipment. The catch is – I don’t want them to know it’s me. Can we rig it so he’s chosen to be on the team?”

  Nova has a deeply perplexed look on her face. “What’s the real catch?”

  I stare at her for a few seconds before I tell her about Baylor and her son Kace. I laid it all out and hope she’ll help me out. When I finished she smiles.

  “Do you know which game he’s coming to?”

  “Not yet, but I can tell you the moment I know.”

  “Deal.” She holds out her hand. “I’ll make sure it happens.”

  Instead of shaking it, I kiss it several times. “Thank you, Nova.”

  “Alden, why are you kissing my girlfriend’s hand?” Teo interrupts us.

  “Nova just agreed to leave you and be my wife.” I pull her hand to my chest. “It’s because my penis is bigger than yours.”

  Nova gasps and yanks her hand away. “Get out, Alden!”

  “But our love is real.” I clench my chest in fake pain.

  “Alden, you’re such an idiot.” Teo rolls his eyes. “Get out!” He points to the door.

  “Fine.” I solemnly walk away. “I’ll be weeping away my broken heart.”

  Teo shoves on my shoulder and slams the door. This makes me chuckle all the way back to my car.

  “I’M HOME,” I yell coming into the house.

  “Come into the den. I have a surprise.” Amara answers back.

  I head toward her and I’m not shocked when I see her in the recliner. “What’s the surprise?”

  “I am.”

  I quickly turn around and my jaw drops. “Mom.” I wrap my arms around her.

  Mom is the most incredible female—besides Amara—I know. After Jack left us, she was Mom and Dad to us. She worked the late shift at the hospital in the janitorial department. Night after night, she broke her back at work to provide for us. I remember her losing sleep to be at my games, Amara’s treatment, and all our school functions. I hugged her first when my name had been called at the PHL draft. She argued with me when I received my first large endorsement check and paid off all her debt. She still works part-time since she won’t retire and move here with me.