Tattoos and Angels

by Casey McMillin

  That ended up being the next morning when I woke up. I had done some unpacking and organizing and been up till 2AM, and Megan still hadn't made it back. She'd been in touch to make sure that I was taking care of Thor, but I had no idea what time they got home. I walked into the living room at 10AM, and Megan was sitting on the couch holding a cup of coffee with Thor curled up next to her.

  "What are you doing up so early?" I asked.

  "Rory just left," she said. "He had to do something with his brothers."

  "Did you know Angel was a personal trainer?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "I don't know. That's just a weird piece of information. I thought he was a pirate with his dad and brothers."

  She shook her head. "No, he just moved here like a few months ago. He works for the fishing business, and they treat him like part of the family, but he's left in the dark about a lot of things, just like the rest of us." She took a sip of coffee before continuing, "Tom doesn't know this, but sometimes I think Angel's struggling for money. It surprises me because I think Tom's paying him pretty good and he lives at the house rent-free."

  "What makes you think he's struggling?"

  "I overheard a conversation he had one time where he told the person on the phone that he was trying to pay them as fast as he could."

  "You think he's in trouble?" I asked.

  "I don't think so," she said. "He's gotten close to Tom and knows that they'd do anything to help him." She shrugged, "It's probably nothing, and it's not really my business, but that could explain why he's working a second job."

  "He said he enjoys it."

  "He does. He talks about the gym when he's at home. I think he might want to open a gym one day. I'm sure of it, actually. That's another thing I've heard him talk to Tom about. He wants fishing to be something he does part time for fun and not the other way around." She smiled like she thought fondly of him. "I think he'll be great at it."

  "It sounds like you know him pretty well."

  "I do. I see him all the time. He's a player, but he's a super good guy."

  "Speaking of good guys, Connor is supposed to come by today," I said.

  "Oh, cool. Has he met your parents?"

  "At the party, but we weren't together then."

  "They'll love him," she said.

  I knew they would; they already did. With ambitions to run for political office, it was his job to make people love him. He was good at it too—I'd seen him in action. My parents were smitten, same as I was. "They already love him."

  "What time's he coming?"

  "Probably sometime this afternoon. I haven't heard from him yet."

  "What was wrong with his grandma?"

  "I'm not sure. I don't know if he ever said."

  There was a slight pause, and then she said, "Addie saw Angel kiss you."

  The comment came from out of nowhere, and the shock of hearing it caused me to gasp, which made me choke on my own spit. I coughed about ten times before my lungs had worked enough to get the liquid out.

  She made sure I was okay and then giggled. "I'm sorry he did that," she said. "I chewed him out for it after Addie told me she saw you guys." She shook her head absentmindedly. "I can't say I'm surprised, though, since that's how he is. I'll bet you were pissed."

  "What'd you say to him?" I asked, still coughing a little and clearing my throat.

  "I told him to keep his hands off you—that you were taken."

  "I told him that too," I said.

  "I'm sorry he did that. It won't happen again."

  "Was he upset about you confronting him?"

  She laughed again. "Not in the least. He was kissing some other girl by the end of the night."

  Chapter 4

  I just rolled my eyes when Megan told me Angel was lip-locked with another girl by the end of the night, but that bit of information annoyed me all morning and into the afternoon. It wasn’t that I wanted him, because I wanted Connor, no 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts' about it. It annoyed me because I'd been tricked so easily. When he kissed me, it really seemed like it meant something to him.

  I scolded myself as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Connor would be here any minute, and I needed to pay attention to getting ready instead of daydreaming about being duped by Angel. Who cares if I thought he meant it? I suddenly remembered the way I'd kissed him back—how I lifted onto my toes when he started to pull back.

  Just as I was fantasizing about it, there came a knock on the door, and I let out a startled, guilty yelp. Megan and Thor were at Tom's. They'd gone over there to give Connor and I some privacy. My parents were in the main house with Uncle Alan and Aunt Candice. I told them Connor and I would come over once we had the chance to catch up.

  I was so excited to see him that I could barely breathe as I made my way from my bathroom to the front door. I opened the door to the sight of him standing there with three daisies and a couple sprigs of something that looked like lavender tied together with a ribbon. He looked like an aspiring politician, dressed in a classic jeans and plaid button-up shirt combo. He was the definition of all-American, and in addition to his rugged, handsome looks, was well spoken and carried himself confidently. He was the picture of stability, which I found oddly comforting.

  He held out the flowers and regarded me with a sweet, regretful smile. "You're so beautiful," was the first thing he said.

  I smiled and reached for the flowers. "Thank you," I said, for both the flowers and the compliment.

  "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it last night," he said. "I was so pissed about that."

  "It's okay, I didn't end up staying long anyway. Is your grandma okay?"

  He let out a laugh. "She's fine. She's a tough old broad. My mom was probably overreacting when she first told me about it, because she didn't even have to go to the hospital or anything."

  "That's good," I said.

  He reached out and took a hold of me. "I can't believe I get to touch you," he said. "Skype just doesn't do the trick."

  I smiled up at him, breathing in the smell of his cologne. I let my eye roam over his jawline, to his mouth. I caught myself thinking about how thin his lips were compared to Angel's. Holy cow, was I seriously standing there comparing my boyfriend to that guy? How ridiculous.

  "You're staring at my mouth like you can't believe it either."

  "Can't believe what?" I asked, feeling guilty and confused.

  "Can't believe we can finally touch each other," he said. He leaned down to kiss me and I tilted my face up to meet his. I'd been anticipating this kiss for months… so why wasn't it working? I felt a slight surge of butterflies at the feel of his lips on mine, but honestly, I was preoccupied with comparing it to the kisses Angel gave me the night before.

  I had a lot of thoughts in a short amount of time. First I thought about how cold and sharp his lips felt compared to Angel's, then I mentally chewed myself out for not being focused enough to enjoy the kiss in the first place.

  "Is your uncle Alan home?" he asked, as soon as he broke the kiss.

  I gave him a slightly confused expression. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"

  He shrugged. "I was hoping we could go by there and say 'hi' to him while I'm here. He meets a lot of people through his business and it'll be good to have him on my side for future elections."

  "Oh, yeah, we'll go by there for sure. My parents wanted us to anyway."

  I knew he was focused on his career but I honestly never thought about all the networking he would have to do. I definitely respected him for being so driven. It made me feel slightly embarrassed that I had just graduated from college and had no real plan. Then I thought part of making a good plan is choosing a guy with one. Not that I didn't intend to set goals for myself, because I did. It's just that I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do yet.

  "I got your birthday present," he said.

  My birthday was coming up and he told me he was getting me a tattoo.

  "Did you already get me an appointment?" I asked.


  "No, I just got a gift certificate. I figured you'd want to make the appointment."

  "That's awesome, thanks so much."

  "I heard this dude Tim is really great. I got you a hundred dollars credit at his shop. That should get you a pretty nice piece."

  I almost laughed. It was actually really hard to contain my amusement. Did he really think I could get a significant piece for a hundred dollars? A hundred dollars was barely scratching the surface when it came to tattooing, but he was so convinced that it was an amazing gift that I went along with it.

  "Oh thank you! That's gonna be awesome. I can't wait."

  "You don't have to tell them I bought it for you or anything. I mean not that I'd mind if you did, but there's really no reason to bring my name up in a place like that."

  "Those guys are voters just like the people at my uncle's office."

  "It's not that, it's just that a lot of my voters are pretty conservative and I wouldn't want it to be overheard that I was getting that type of gift for my girlfriend. I don't care if you mention my name in passing, like what a good guy I am or whatever, but you don't need to tell everyone that I bought the tattoo for you."

  I started to let his statement rub me the wrong way but decided to just let it go. I was really excited to see him, and didn't want to spoil the moment.

  "Can I see the ones you've gotten recently?" he asked. He knew I had been collecting tattoos in areas I could hide from my parents. I turned and lifted my shirt. I had several pieces on my back and some script on my ribs. The script said, "Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." It was a Mark Twain quote that I identified with. I didn't necessarily think of myself as crazy, but there was something different about me, and I was okay with that. Obviously Connor was too, because he took a labored breath as he ran his hand over my ribs and onto the traditional tattoos on my back. "These things are so fuckin' hot, Charlotte. They make me want to tie you up and spank you for being a naughty girl."

  I smiled up at him and backed away as I dropped my shirt. Connor knew that in spite of my appearance, I was actually pretty conservative. Connor also knew I was a virgin. Yes, you heard me right. I was just about to turn twenty-two, and still a virgin. I didn't plan it that way, I just never really found anyone I liked enough. I'd done other things with guys, just never went there, and honestly, with the way my relationships had turned out, I was glad I hadn't.

  Knowing I was a virgin didn't stop Connor from saying hard-core sexual things like that. I guess he thought I liked it. "I'm not sure if naughty is what I'm going for," I said. "I just like the overall look of traditional tattoos covering skin."

  "I like the looks of it too," he said moving closer to me. "I can't wait till you're all tatted up."

  I smiled up at him. "Now you're speaking my language."

  "Maybe I'll get you another one for Christmas," he said tucking a stray hair behind my ear.

  "Can you believe I live here now?" I asked.

  "It's crazy," he said. "Did you decide what you're gonna do for work?"

  I graduated with a degree in history. The easiest and most logical job for me was teaching, but I'd have to go back to school for my certification. I was an excellent history student because my parents were both professors, but it wasn't my passion and I wasn't quite ready to settle into teaching it as a career just yet.

  "I might just get a random job while I decide what to do. I'll probably have to get about three of them to pay for all the tattoos I want. They're really expensive."

  "Well, it's a good thing you got a sugar daddy," he said, smiling and pulling me into his arms. I wanted to hint at the fact that a hundred dollars wasn't going to cut it but there was no way to do that without being awkward.

  "Maybe you can come with me to get it," I said, hoping he would be there to witness first hand how expensive it is.

  "Maybe so," he said. He raised his eyebrows seductively and I could tell he was going to lean in for another kiss. I tilted up to meet him and cursed myself as the thought of Angel crossed my mind again. If he hadn't kissed me the night before I reunited with Connor, there wouldn't be an issue. I was just thinking about it because it was so fresh. I made the conscious effort to enjoy my kiss with Connor rather than focusing on how mad I was at Angel for his bad timing. We ended up making out off and on for the next couple of hours.

  He didn't believe me when I told him I was a virgin, so we spent a good chunk of that time with him saying things like, "Really? You were serious?" and me saying, "Yes, I wasn't kidding. I'm really a virgin."

  I felt kind of sheltered and naïve saying that, so I told him I had done lots of other things, which seemed to relieve him. I could tell he was attracted to me in that way, and honestly, I was attracted to him too. I'd actually been planning on making Connor the one I gave my virginity to. I didn't tell him that, but I also didn't deny it. If he was upset about me being a virgin, he didn't show it.

  We stayed at my place for a couple hours before walking over to Uncle Alan and Aunt Candice's to speak with my parents. He had the four of them wrapped around his finger within minutes. I could really see where politics would be a natural career choice for him. He had a winning personality and people were instantly attracted to him. He told them about his work with a Republican Senator named John Briggs and said how he hoped to be the one who'd replace him once he retired. I didn't know much about politics and wasn't really the type of person who would talk about it in public, so it was a little bit awkward for me. However, Connor pulled it off quite easily. He was handsome and witty, and I just couldn't hold it against him that he was an aspiring politician.

  "Did Charlotte show you her little sewing nook?" my mom asked Connor during the first lull in the conversation.

  "Yes ma'am, you mean the sewing machine she has set up by the window?"

  "Oh, did she put her machine by that bay window?" my aunt asked.

  My mom nodded.

  "Maybe you can make me some curtains," my aunt said.

  "Oh, I don't really think I'm ready for that," I said. "I really don't even know how to follow a pattern. Everything I've made is just sort of sewing shapes together in a way that seems logical. I have no training, and probably wouldn't trust myself with your fabric."

  "Oh, I'll bet you'd do great," she said.

  I just laughed it off, knowing I would never really agree to do it once the time came.

  "Where's Megan?" Aunt Candice asked.

  I was relieved to finally stop talking about politics or curtains, so I smiled as I answered her question. "She's at Angel's," I said. I meant to say Rory but I didn't correct myself since technically that was the same place.

  Aunt Candice looked at me with a confused expression before remembering that Rory's brother was named Angel. "You mean at Rory's?" she asked, since she couldn't resist clarifying.

  "Yes, Rory's." I shrugged. "There are so many new faces and names."

  "That's right! Did you have fun last night?" Aunt Candice asked. She looked at both Connor and I when she spoke.

  "Connor couldn't make it and I only stayed for an hour or two," I said. Connor glanced at me like an hour or two was longer than he thought I was there, but he didn't say anything. I didn't mind seeing him a little jealous over me. Of course I would never tell him that I kissed another guy, but seeing him just a little jealous was fun. My mom asked why Connor couldn't make it and he told her the whole story about his grandmother and her heart palpitations.

  We talked with my family for about an hour before Connor said he needed to be going. I walked with him to the driveway, and he kissed me again before he got into his car. I went back into the house smiling at the thought of being a senator's wife.

  Chapter 5

  The next day was Sunday, and even though I should have been organizing my new room, I wanted to hit this really cool fabric store I'd read about in an art magazine. My mom wanted to go shopping and the fabric store happened to be close to the mall, so it was a given that I'd go with her
.

  I wasn't planning on spending a lot of money on fabric, but I took comfort in staring at a nice selection of it and imagining the possibilities. "I read about a fabric store down on Magnolia. I was thinking I could check it out while you did your thing at the mall." I glanced at my mom, who was sitting in the passenger's seat. "I could drop you off and come back and meet you in an hour or so. I think it's really close to the mall."

  My mom sighed, and I could tell, even without glancing at her, that she was disappointed.

  "I'm just gonna go for a few minutes," I assured her. "I read about this place a while back and I kept meaning to go, but never got the chance. You'll be fine and I'll meet you at the mall in a few minutes."

  My mom gave me a resigned sigh, and said something to the effect of being glad we could both look at things we liked, and it was okay for a person to go to the mall by herself.

  I laughed and told her I'd call her in an hour to see where we should meet. I dropped her off near Nordstrom, which was her first stop. My parents lived on a teacher's salary, and my mom was generally low maintenance, but she had a serious weakness for Jo Malone perfume and came to Nordstrom just about every time we were in Miami. I dropped her off and set my phone's GPS to take me to Magpie Fabrics.

  The section of Magnolia my phone directed me to was about a mile from the mall in what used to be a residential area. Magpie Fabrics, along with the other businesses on the street, were in old beach houses. The door made a soft dinging noise when I opened it, and several seconds later I heard a woman's voice.

  "I'm right in here on the staircase if you need me now, otherwise I'll be there in just a minute," I heard her say.