This Could Be All I've Waited For

I sat beside Jack in a booth with Zack and Vinny across from us while in the surrounding booths were the rest of the crew and guys.

“You’ll find a tattoo parlor,” Jack told me nudging my side, “Cheer up.”

I huffed choosing to ignore his comment and munch on my waffle that I’d ordered. I only got halfway through my waffle, but was much too full to take another bite. I sighed leaning back in the booth still upset about my lack of tattoo. I turned to look out the window at the passing cars, the bus had already gone to the hotel where we would be picking up our bags and checking in. My eyes wandered across the street where they landed on a bright neon sign that read “Psycho Tattoos”.

I could feel my lips pull into a wide smile and I began bouncing in the booth. I pushed Jack a little trying to get him out of the booth.

“What are you doing, Cady?” Jack whined at me not budging a bit.

“Get out!” I demanded as I continued pushing on him.

“You haven’t even finished your food yet,” Jack said pointing at my half eaten waffle.

I frowned at him, “I’m trying to get out of this booth and across the street,” I told him jutting my thumb back towards the window.

“For what?” he demanded grabbing both of my wrists in one hand making it impossible to push him out of the booth.

“I don’t know, the tattoo shop that would provide me with some ink,” I said sarcastically making my eyes wide to get the point across.

“Why didn’t you say so?” Jack asked jumping out of the booth and taking my hand pulling me up beside him. “Anyone else coming?” he asked looking around at the group.

Sure Jack go ahead and invite everyone to watch me cry my eyes out over a needle that would be great… nope I don’t remember saying that, but Alex and Rian got up to follow us out while I bounced around still senselessly excited to be permanently branded.

A bell chimed as I made my way into the shop and a very tattooed girl greeted me with a look of distaste. “We don’t do butterflies, sweetie,” she said in a clearly condescending tone.

I gave her a nasty face right back and leaned against the counter, “I’m not here for a butterfly, sweetie,” I replied coolly pressing my lips into a thin smile.

“Down, Cade,” Alex called from a few steps behind me.

I turned around frowning at him, “She started it,” I complained.

Jack was chuckling at me and pressing his hand to the small of my back while Alex gave me a pointed look at my eye. I narrowed my eyes to glare at him when the chick behind the counter decided to put her two cents into the conversation.

“Nice ink,” she said causing me to look back to her only to find that she was staring at Alex with one of the most disturbing looks I’d ever seen… though I’m sure she was trying to be seductive. She pointed to Alex’s hand and I could only assume that he had given her a questioning look.

“Thanks,” Alex said a smile apparent in his voice even without me looking at him.

“Ew,” I said putting my hand up relatively in front of her face interrupting whatever it was that the girl was about to say to him. “No,” I said looking at Alex. I turned my attention back to the girl behind the counter, “I am here to get my tattoo and so help me God I will be getting it,” I was definitely tired of all of this, “Not from you though,” I said pointing at her, “I do not trust you.”

“Shelly, are you trying to scare off customers again?” a burly looking guy asked coming from somewhere in the back.

“I was just explaining to this girl that we don’t do butterflies,” the girl that I now knew as Shelly said rolling her eyes and sounding uninterested.

The burly guy turned to me after rolling his eyes back at Shelly, he stuck his hand out, “I’m Josh,” he said. I shook his hand introducing myself. “We do anything you want,” he told me giving Shelly a pointed look.

“I wasn’t looking to get a butterfly if it’s all the same to you,” I told him smiling and deciding that I liked this guy.

“Well great!” he said, “Let’s talk.” He motioned for me to follow him towards a room in the back, “You can bring your posse too,” he called over his shoulder.

I smiled and started to follow but changed my mind and turned back to Shelly to stick my tongue out at her. The guys were laughing at me and when I turned back around I found that Josh had even turned around in time to catch me. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders at all of them continuing down the short hall to follow Josh into a curtained room.

Josh and I talked for a while Alex helped me describe the kind of thing I wanted and Josh helped to make it more artistic. We decided that we were going to replace the rod of the key with the words. I had to admit that I was very impressed with the way that he had transformed mine and Alex’s rough idea into something that so pretty that I was jumping out of my skin in anticipation of getting it permanently inked into my skin.

“So if I cry will you think less of me?” I asked no one in particular causing all of the boys including Josh to laugh at me.

“You would not be my first crier,” Josh told me smiling as he prepped the area where I’d be getting my tattoo.
I smiled back at him, “I don’t know; if Jack didn’t cry this shouldn’t be so bad right?” I asked the guys looking to each of their faces.

“I resent that remark,” Jack said pulling a chair over to my left side.

I chuckled at him and he offered me is hand, I took it happily doing my best to keep my eyes fixed on Jack instead of what Josh was doing on my right.

“I’m going to start now, if that’s okay,” Josh said with a whirling sound of the tattoo gun.

I nodded my head and gripped Jack’s hand tightly receiving a reassuring smile from Jack.

I won’t say that I didn’t feel anything because I definitely felt those needles, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was squeezing the shit out of Jack’s hand until Josh actually started on the tattoo.

“Well this isn’t so bad,” I said loosening my grip on Jack and relaxing into the chair.

“Really?” Rain said giving me a disbelieving look.

“That’s it?” Alex asked after Rian neither of them seeming to be very happy about my lack of pain.

Jack simply chuckled and kissed my hand. I smiled at all of them and looked over to Josh who was grinning.

“No tears?” Rain asked looking slightly hopeful.

“If I didn’t know any better then I’d say that you guys only came to see me cry,” I said eyeing the two boys across the room.

“It’s a good thing you don’t know any better, then, huh?” Alex asked smiling and giving me a silly look.

I rolled my eyes at them and turned to Jack, “You didn’t tell me that it wasn’t going to hurt that bad,” I accused trying my best to glare at him but my lips kept twitching up into a smile.

Jack’s thumb began rubbing circles into the back of my hand as he watched Josh’s movements like a hawk. I smiled at him not that he could see it. He was so overly interested in the tattoo as it evolved on my skin.

Eventually I became impatient with the slow process and decided to challenge Jack to game of tic-tac-toe on my iPhone.

“Quit doing that,” Jack whined seeing me win again.

“Sorry, I didn’t know that the goal wasn’t to win,” I teased him sticking my tongue out when he flicked my arm.

“Gah, you are so boring!” Alex complained from his seat.

“I’m sorry that I’m not more dramatic, Alex,” I said rolling my eyes, “I’ll work on it.”

“All I’m saying is that it would have been nice for you to fake pain for us or something,” he suggested shrugging his shoulders and returning to whatever he was doing on his phone.

“Usually my toughest clients are girls,” Josh threw in looking up from his work for a moment.

“I’m not buying it,” Rian said shaking his head from side to side.

“No one asked you, dipshit,” I shot back.

“Some one’s getting cranky,” Alex observed.

I frowned and made sure that Alex knew I wasn’t happy with him before I glanced over at my arm seeing that it looked nearly done and became a little giddy. I watched as Josh made a few quick strokes and wiped at my skin before leaning away from it and cocking his head to the side checking his work.

“All right Miss Cadence,” he said smiling, “It looks like you have successfully gotten your first tattoo.”

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Walking to the hotel with Alex and Rian complaining about how I wasn’t entertaining at all wasn’t really something I was interested in doing so Jack and I slowed our pace so we could get away from them.

“Are they trying to make this a bad experience for me?” I asked Jack looking down at my arm and smiling at the black ink that sprawled across my inner arm.

Jack chuckled and threw an arm around my shoulders pulling me against his side. “They’re just pissed because you’re showing us all up,” he told me kissing the side of my head.

“Hey Jack?” I asked getting his attention as the thought of his and Marie’s conversation played through my head.

“Yes Cady?” he answered mocking me a little.

“On a scale of one to ten how bad do you think eavesdropping is?” I asked hiding my face in his shirt.

“Depends,” he said I could feel him shrug his shoulders around me, “Who it is and what they heard.”

I sighed not really wanting to hear that. “What if I told you that I overheard your conversation with Marie?”

He stopped in his tracks pulling me to a stop with him. “Did you?” he asked sound slightly scared.

I sighed and pulled myself out of his grip so that I could face him. “I didn’t mean to,” I promised holding up my hands. “I had full intentions of going back to sleep when you got out of the bunk but then I heard Marie’s voice and you know how I feel about her so I freaked out a little bit and couldn’t sleep.”

Jack was chuckling softly at me now which caused me to frown. Suddenly I felt very sick as the gears slowly clicked into place.

“Oh God,” I said covering my face with my hands. The heat was rising in my cheeks and I couldn’t remember ever feeling like a bigger idiot.

“What?” Jack asked his fingers attempting to pull my hands from my face.

“You didn’t mean any of it did you?” I asked still not uncovering my face I felt like the biggest fool.

“What are you taking about? What didn’t I mean?” he asked sounding frustrated and still trying to pry away my hands.

“What you said to her,” I said bending over and trying to catch my breath, “You were just trying to get her to go away.”

I knew we were only a few quick strides from the lobby of the hotel that we would be staying in I could hear Alex’s voice ringing out above the rest of the guys’ voices not too far way where I guessed the bus was.

“Cady you silly thing what are you talking about?” Jack asked putting a hand on my back.

I took a deep breath and sighed standing up straight and turning back towards the bus now able to see it I started walking that way.

“Cady,” Jack called after me catching up easily, “What are you talking about?”

I shook my head, “When Marie said what she said and you told her it was over,” I laughed humorlessly, “You were just trying to get her to leave.”

I passed Rian who gave me a curious look and climbed onto the bus where I grabbed my bag and snatched my room key from Flyzik.

“I’m headed to the bar,” I called out, “Who’s with me?”

Vinny was quick to agree to follow me to the bar while Jack continued to try to get me to talk to him. I felt like such an idiot and I couldn’t imagine having the awkward conversation that was sure to follow as soon as I made it to the room so I would invade it for as long as possible.

I didn’t plan actually drinking at the bar but I was with Vinny, Alex, Zack, and Rian so who knew what would happen.