by S Gonzalez
I turn around to see Dominic walking out of our room with our bags. Ryan grabs the bags form Dominic’s hands and leaves the bus without another word.
“You guys coming to the hotel or staying?” Dominic asks Chris and Justin.
“I am going with you. I need to go into town,”
Justin responds.
“Me and Rocco are going to meet up with the guys
from, Live Wire, we’ll catch you later,” Chris says as he
walks off the bus.
The three of us hop into the Black SUV and head
to the hotel with Ryan in tow. When we drive through
the parking lot I see a few more buses like ours. It is all
very exciting. There are people everywhere and some
fans have even camped out in the parking lot. Dominic
explains that this show is a pretty big deal. Lost, is one of
six bands playing. The shows start on Thursday and ends
Saturday, so we will be here until Sunday morning,
before heading to California.
I should know that, shouldn’t I? I really have to
look over the stuff Gabe sent me.
Dominic is sitting between Justin and me with his
hand on my knee, “I have to get back after we check in. I
have to meet with our manager to go over the set list, so
you will be on your own this afternoon.”
“No problem. I have to find a mall anyway. I
didn’t plan on being gone this long so I have to pick up a
few things.”
“As long as Ryan goes with you that’s fine,” he
comments giving me a sideward glance.
“Dom, I don’t need a babysitter. I live in freaken
New York City for God sakes. I think I can handle
myself.”
“I know where you live, smartass, but you have
gotten some attention lately and you need to be with
security. You have no idea how crazy some people get. I
don’t want you getting kidnapped or something.” “Why would anyone want to kidnap me? No one
knows who the hell I am,” I scrunch my face and throw
my hands in the air. He has got to be absolutely kidding
me. I know he is worried about me being alone but if I
can walk around New York without managing to get
myself killed, then I think I am safe in a town like,
Austin, full of good ol’ boys.
“No? You don’t think people know who you are?
Have you Google’d yourself lately? You are traveling
with an up and coming band that is gaining notoriety by
the day.” He ticks off on his finger each reason why I
need protection, “It is known from our performance on
stage that you are my girlfriend. And your family is
wealthy. You are every crazed fans trifecta. You are not
going out alone. End of story.”
Shit he’s right, as usual. That’s going to get really
old soon. I have to be careful. I didn’t realize how much
me being Dominic’s girlfriend would affect my privacy. I
don’t like being the center of attention. I have made it
this far in my life without paparazzi getting too much
dirt on my family but now I am free game. This is what
Gabe was warning me about since day one.
“Fine,” I sigh and turn to look out the window. “I’ll go with her,” Justin says as he wags his
brows. “I have to get a new barbell.”
Dominic scrunches his face in like he is in pain, “I
don’t know how you change that damn thing. Doesn’t it
hurt?”
“Na. Best thing I ever did. You don’t know what
your missing, bro,” Justin says and looks past Dominic
over to me. “Maybe you should reconsider, I am sure,
Emma, would love it.”
I look back between the two of them perplexed by
what the hell they are talking about. Dominic puts his
arm around my shoulder and pulls me tight to him then
places a kiss on my forehead.
“No, thank you. We are just fine,” he says to Justin
then looks back to me. “You stay with Justin. Ryan, will
be right behind you. What he says goes, got it?” “Yes, dad, I got it,” I tease.
“I’m sorry, Emma. I know it sucks, but it goes
with the territory, babe.”
I know he is just trying to protect me. He loves me
and he wants what’s best for me. I can’t fault him for it. It
sucks that I won’t have any free time to myself for a
while. The alternative being me sitting alone in my
apartment waiting for Dominic to call, sounds like even
less fun, so I give in. As long as I find a drugstore and a
clothing store I will follow Justin where he needs to go.
After we check in , Dominic gives me my, stay with Justin and listen to Ryan, speech again before we head off to town. We stop at a strip mall and Justin leads the way towards a tattoo parlor. I stop on the sidewalk outside and look up at the sign then back at Justin.
“What are we doing here? Are you getting a tattoo?” I ask.
“No. I told you I have to get a new barbell.”
I shrug my shoulders and shake my head, obediently following the men in charge. “They sell barbells at a tattoo parlor?”
Justin and Ryan laugh at me. Justin points to the piercing sign. “I have to get a new barbell for my dydoe. Do you know what that is?”
“No.”
“Oh god,” he laughs and puts his arm over my shoulder like he is talking to a small child. “Honey, a dydoe is a genital piercing. Come on. I am sure they have a picture book somewhere I can show you.”
“Oh.” My face is burning red. I really hope they don’t do that kind of stuff out in the open. I have never been to a tattoo parlor. This should be an interesting experience.
When we walk in, the place is impeccably clean and smells like disinfectant. The floor is shiny white and the walls are blood red. There are four stations, two on each wall. Toward the back and I can see a small hallway that leads to the back of the shop. There is a long black leather couch in front of the big glass window. There are flat screen TV’s on the front and back walls and pictures of tattoos in frames everywhere. At one of the stations there is a guy getting a tattoo on his back from a petite little redhead with dark eye makeup and blood red lips. She looks up and smiles at me before returning her focus on the guy in her chair. I follow Justin to the glass counter that has different earrings and piercing merchandise. I am not even sure where half of this stuff goes. Justin makes his selection and the guy behind the counter leads the way to a private area for him to change his, whatever the hell that thing is.
“How about you hot stuff? What can I do for you?” says a girl with short pink hair.
“Oh, nothing. I am waiting for my friend.”
“Ok. That’s cool. Do you have any ink or piercings?”
“Just my ears.”
“Really? Oh, I like virgins,” she winks at me. “So you from around here. I have never seen you guys before.”
The perky girl with the pink hair leans against the wall to face me as I look over the brightly colored tattoo designs. I am not against tattoos; it is just that there is nothing that I ever wanted bad enough to have it permanently etched on my body.
“No. I am from New York. My boyfriends band is playing at a show in Austin this weekend,” I remark as I look over the artwork on the wall. There is one frame with brightly colored musical notes that is absolutely beautiful.
“No shit. That’s cool. So you like that,” she says pointing to the wall. “Those are mine.”
“They’re beautiful.”
/>
“Thanks, doll. If you like it, I can have it done in no time. You said your boyfriend is a musician right?”
“Yea he is, but I don’t think I can get a tattoo. It’ll hurt.”
“Nah. It’s not so bad. You don’t have to get the whole piece. I’ll be around if you change your mind. Name’s Trix,” she says and hands me her card.
I look at the picture hanging on the wall then back at her card. Maybe if I get a small one somewhere where no one will see it, it won’t be so bad. When I look through Trix’s art, one piece inspires me. Don’t know if it is an incredibly stupid idea or not but I guess we’ll find out.
I call Trix back over and tell her what I want and where I want it. She goes off to draw it up and she’s back before Justin is even finished. Ryan shakes his head at me and reminds me for the fifth time that he wants no part of my plan. I assure him I will take full responsibility for getting a tattoo on my own body. After Trix preps me and starts the gun, Justin walks into the front.
“No, no, no! Emma, what the hell are you doing,” Justin yells, but Trix doesn’t even flinch.
“This the boyfriend?” she asks without looking
up.
“No,” I reply to Trix, and she chuckles. “I am
getting a tattoo, Justin. What does it look like I am
doing?”
“It looks like you are going to get my ass kicked. If
I bring you back inked up, Dominic is going to kill me.” “I tried to tell her,” Ryan reassures him while
holding up his hands in defense.
“What are you getting anyway?” Justin stands
above Trix to see what I am getting done. “Well…maybe
he won’t be so pissed after all. I mean, that’s kinda’ cool.
Very permanent. But cool.”
“Thank you. I think so too.”
After an hour of sitting in that chair my tattoo is done, and it is beautiful. Trix did a great job; it’s exactly what I wanted. She convinced me to also get my bellybutton pierced but before she could prep the gun, Justin and Ryan threw me out of the shop forbidding me to do it. Justin said he was already going to get shit for the ink. He didn’t want to give Dominic a heart attack when he brought me back.
Justin, Ryan, and I hit a bigger mall down the road. I shop at a few clothing stores before hitting a pharmacy to pick up some girly items. Justin and Ryan scrunch up their faces in disgust when I pay for my stuff. Being on a bus with four boys is going to be challenging enough without having to explain mood swings and tampons. I am also going to have to tell Dominic when my cycle starts; a conversation I am not looking forward to having. Since I’ve never had a boyfriend before, I never had to have that conversation. Girl problems might not be something he is familiar with. Justin has a sister and although he doesn’t seem squeamish he asked that I hint to him when “d-day”, as he likes to refer to it, comes so he can run for cover. I told him I don’t get moody but he told me that I was lying. He also said, and I quote, “My father told me never to believe anything that bleeds for seven days and doesn’t die.”
Interesting advice, I guess.
When we get back to the hotel, Ryan walks me to my room and drops all of my purchases near the door. When I enter the room, Dominic is fresh from a shower, wearing nothing but a smile and white towel. As he riffles through his bag he eyes me suspiciously. I try to act casual but something tells me my expression is giving me away. He narrows his eyes and saunters over to me as I study the water droplets rolling down his chest. His strong arms wrap me in a bear hug and straight off my feet. My denim shorts rub against my new tattoo causing me to wince, he notices.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothings wrong. Why do you think something is wrong?”
“Because you looked like you were in pain for a second.” I’ll have to show him eventually. I am actually pretty excited for him to see it, and nervous that he will hate it. It is not like I can keep it hidden for long.
I pop the top button on my shorts and shimmy them down my legs just enough to reveal the white bandage covering my tattoo. Dominic’s eyes shoot up to mine before he kneels down in front of me.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay? I knew I shouldn’t have let you go out without me. Shit.”
“Dominic, I’m fine. Nothing happened. I just…gotatattoo.”
He looks at my bandage then back at me with angry eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you go with Justin. I knew he would do some stupid shit like this.”
“Will you relax? He had nothing to do with it. In fact, him and Ryan were dead set against it. This was all me.” I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.
“Why? Why would you do this?” He frowns.
“Because I wanted to. Do you want to see it?”
“No. I would rather you didn’t mark your body,” he sighs and pouts like a child. I frown and drop my arms to my side. “But I guess I will have to see it eventually,” he groans.
I grab his hand and lead him to the bed. I kick off my shorts and lay on the bed taking him down with me so he is kneeling on the floor alongside me. Dominic gently removes the tape that is securing the bandage on my hip. When he pulls back the white gauze I hear a sharp intake of breath. He traces his finger around the outside of the image, never touching the freshly marked skin.
When I saw Trix’s artwork on the wall, a treble clef with musical notes of different colors all around, it popped out at me. I asked her to scroll out “Sweetness” using the treble clef as the “S”. She also drew some quarter and eighth notes in different colors around it. It is not a very large piece and it can only be scene if I am wearing my bathing suit or just my underwear.
Dominic hasn’t yet looked at me. He just keeps tracing a circle around my freshly marked skin with his finger. I don’t know if he is still mad or if he actually likes it. The silence is killing me. I try and sit up but he holds me in place with his arm before kissing my hip and trailing soft kisses up my stomach. Before he reaches my breasts he slides up to my lips and kisses me very softly. If his kisses tell me anything, he is pleased.
The look in his eyes, when we break our connection, makes me smile. “Emma, you are amazing. I love you so much.”
“You like it?”
“Like it. I fucking love it. You will be forever be marked as my Sweetness. This means more to me than…than anything.”
Dominic kisses me again and pulls me into a hug; I wrap my arms around his neck and pet the back of his head. When he hugs me with everything he has I know this is his way. He may be a great songwriter but he prefers to show his love through touch and tenderness. He has shown me more love in the short time we have been together, then anyone has…ever. If doing something like this makes him happy, then I am more than happy to do it. He means so much to me. I can’t imagine my world without him in it.
“I was scared you were going to be mad at me,” I admit.
“Oh, I was mad,” he sits up, taking me with him. “but once I saw it, how could I be mad. In fact, I am considering getting the same one.”
I inhale and shake my head in the negative. “You can’t do that. We have only been dating for what, a month. You can’t get my name on you. What happens if we break up? You will have to look at it all the time.”
“Break up? That’s not going to happen. You don’t have to worry about that because now that you are branded, I have to keep you.”
I laugh at him. “Really? You seem awfully confident. How can you be so sure we won’t break up? Things happen. People break up.”
Dominic’s face turns serious. “Not us. My heart belongs to you. You own me. Mind, body, and soul. This is it for me. You are it for me. Til’ death do us part, baby.”
He can’t be serious. I love him but those are some pretty serious words. I own him mind, body, and soul? Til’ death do us part? He sounds pretty sure of himself. Of us. Does this mean he wants to marry me? Surely not this quick. We haven’t been dating long en
ough to get married.
“That’s, uh-okay not going lie, that freaks me out a little.”
Dominic chuckles, “What does?”
“The ‘til’ death do us part’. I love you but we are not there yet.”
I don’t want to hurt him. He is so passionate and excited about his love for me. I share his enthusiasm but this is too fast. I want to be able to enjoy us being us, before we think about being together forever. We have to get to know each other first; he doesn’t know anything about me. Not really. He doesn’t know about my past or my family or how completely damaged I am. I feel closer to him then I have anyone before, ever, but marriage? The word marriage scares me more then any other in the English language.
“Relax, Emma. I am not proposing,” he snorts and pops off the bed. As he searches through his bag he adds, “not yet at least.” He shoots me a wink and saunters off to the bathroom.
I walk in behind him and watch through the mirror while he brushes his teeth. Our eyes lock and the intense glare he is giving me cause me to panic. I know I should give him some sort of indication why marriage freaks me out so much, before he starts thinking it’s him.
“Dom, its not you. I just want you to know that. It’s marriage in general that scares the shit out of me. My family isn’t exactly the Brady Bunch you know. My parents got divorced and as a result a lot of lives were,” I look down at my feet. “destroyed. I just don’t want that for us. I just want to take it slow. I don’t want to rush into anything and make mistakes that will effect us for the rest of our lives.” I wrap my arms around him from behind as he rinses out his mouth with water. After he spits and wipes his mouth clean, he turns around and kisses my forehead.
“Baby, I am not trying to freak you out. I know your family shit isn’t exactly easy. But that’s not us. They’re not us, Emma,” he puts his finger under my chin to tilt my it up. “You and me, we’re different. We are not your parents. You can’t think everyone is like that.”
I know not all people are as screwed up as my parents. I know there are couples that make it. Dominic was raised with parents who are still married and from what he tells me, very much in love. I don’t want to doom us before we start, but I can’t help be anything less then cynical. If this is going to work we have to ease into it. I mean, a lot can go wrong. Dominic’s band will be touring after the holidays and I will be in New York. After this month is over we will be apart more than we’ll be together. He may feel different after his band really starts getting the fan base they deserve. If I have any say in it, and it just so happens I do, they will be huge. They will blow up, then where does that leave me. I have to do this cautiously.
