The Ink That Brands Us: A Colorado Ink Novel Read online

  I skipped making dinner to relax on the couch and read a book. I had only read a few pages when there was a knock on my door. I admit to being a little scared because I didn’t know anyone around here and I wasn’t sure who would knock on my door at nine o’clock at night.

  Cautiously, I tip-toed over to the door and peered through the peephole. There was a girl with startling pink hair standing on the other side. Slowly, I pulled the door open and I noticed that her pink hair wasn’t the only striking thing about her. She was in a tank top and shorts and every inch of visible skin was tattooed with different flowers. She was like a walking, talking flower garden. Her tattoos were beautiful.

  “Hi!” She exclaimed. “I’m your neighbor. I live right across from you.” She gestured to the door across the hall. “I’m Seraphine, but don’t call me that. Everyone calls me Saw.”

  “Hi,” I smiled, sheepishly. “I’m Freya. It’s nice to meet you, Saw.” I stuck my hand out, but she took me by surprise when she flung her arms around my middle and hugged me. She sure was a tiny thing. She couldn’t be over five feet.

  “Oh!” I said, awkwardly while patting her on the back.

  She pulled away, giving me a huge smile.

  “I’m a hugger,” she shrugged, not bothered by my awkwardness.

  “I noticed,” I chuckled, stepping back. “Would you like to come in?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  I pushed the door wide, letting her walk in ahead of me.

  “Sorry it’s so late,” she said, walking into my living room. “The shop I work at was super busy tonight, and I just got home. I saw your SUV packed to capacity when I left for work this afternoon.”

  “What kind of shop?” I asked, though I could guess.

  “A tattoo shop. It’s called Colorado Ink. It’s not far from here.”

  “That makes sense. Your tattoos are beautiful.” And they were. Who ever had done them had taken great care with detail.

  “Thanks,” she grinned, looking me up and down. “Do you have any ink?”

  “No, not yet. I want some though. My ex never would have approved, so I never got one.” It was true. Josh thought they were trashy, so I was too scared to get one.

  “Well thank God he’s an ex now,” she joked. I must’ve made a face because her smile faltered. “Oh, is it a fresh break?”

  I forced a smile. “Yea. He, um, he broke up with me right before I moved here. He wanted me to move back and live there, but I’m not sure that’s what I want to do, so..” I shrugged, hoping to look indifferent. I wasn’t sure why I was even telling her this, but she seemed like she genuinely cared and it felt good to get it out.

  “What a jerk!” She exclaimed, then changed the subject. “Well, if you ever decide to get ink, let me know and I’ll hook you up.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  “So, you moved here to attend school then?” She asked. “I’m a junior this year. Business major.”

  My mood brightened. Maybe I wouldn’t be so alone. “Junior, too. English Lit.”

  “Cool, cool. What are you doing tonight?” She eyed my PJ’s. “Surely you’re not going to bed already. Some guys I work with are coming over for card. You should come.”

  “Maybe another time,” I smiled sheepishly. “I got in this morning. I drove through the night.”

  “Oh. Okay, but we’ll definitely have to get together soon. I’ll show you around.” She climbed to her feet, grinning at me. “I work tomorrow, but maybe we can do lunch Sunday?”

  “Sounds great,” I smiled, getting to my feet too.

  I led her to the door and let her out, she turned to smile at me again.

  “I have a feeling we will be great friends,” she said, then strode across the hall and into her apartment.

  I closed my door and twisted the lock, a smile stretching across my face. I didn’t have any friends in Kentucky, but I was sure I had just made my first one here. It gave me a renewed hope that my choice to come here was the right one.

  Three

  To my relief Sunday was here in no time. I felt kind of ridiculous walking around the house trying to wait patiently. Saw didn’t say what time she wanted to have lunch, so I’ve been ready to go since nine.

  I’m pathetic, I know.

  Around eleven, I heard a knock on the front door. I rushed out of the bathroom, stumbling over an imaginary bump in the hallway. Catching myself before I hit the floor, I straightened and adjusted any clothing or hairs that may have fallen out of place, then continued at a normal pace to the door.

  “Good afternoon,” Saw grinned as I pulled the door open. “Ready to go?”

  “Yep,” I said, grabbing my bag and keys off the table beside the door.

  “Awesome! Let’s do this!” She skipped towards the stairs as I closed the door.

  She took me all over lower downtown showing me all the local hot spots, then she showed me the best route to the school and then a backup route in case that one was backed up. She was an amazing tour guide and didn’t miss anything. My favorite place was the public library and I couldn’t wait to be able to spend a few hours there. I had a feeling it would be my new getaway from reality.

  At the end of her tour she took me to her favorite diner, Jimmy’s. According to her, they had the best milkshakes and burgers. Which is what we both ended up ordering.

  “Did you have a lot of friends back home?” We’d been playing a game of one sided twenty-one questions since we started our tour. One sided because I couldn’t think of anything to ask, so she supplied most of the questions.

  “Not really?” I shrugged. “I talked to a few of the girls in my classes at Community, but we never hung out or anything. I mostly spent time with Josh, but he started UK last year and I didn’t get to see him much. Maybe every other weekend and on holidays.”

  She nodded and I could see another question on the edge of her lips, but her phone rang then, interrupting her. She glanced at the screen and rolled her eyes.

  “Hey Punk,” she said, greeting the caller. “I’m at Jimmy’s having lunch with my new neighbor.” She paused for a moment, then laughed. “What do you want?”

  I was trying and failing at not listening, but she was very entertaining to watch. Mostly because she talked with her hands and made funny faces.

  “Alright, Punk. You owe me, though.” She told the caller, then snorted. “In your dreams, fool.” She hung up, shaking her head. She put her phone inside her bag, then looked up at me grinning. “Sorry about that,” she said. “One of the guys from the shop I work at had an appointment today and wants me to bring him some grub. We’ll pop by long enough to drop it off, then we can head home.” She raised her hand, motioning for the waitress.

  “That’s fine. I’d love to see where you work,” I assured her and I really did want to see it. Mostly because I was curious and never been in a tattoo shop and I wanted to check it out.

  “Cool.” was all she said.

  When the waitress finally made it over, I insisted on paying for mine and Saw’s lunch. It was least I could do after she took me on a tour of Denver and not to mention she had been very kind to me. She tried to argue, but I just told her I’d never had lunch with a friend before. She didn’t argue after that.

  It turns out Colorado Ink was located just around the corner from Jimmy’s. I made it to the door before Saw and paused before trying the door. The sign on the door read closed, and I wasn’t sure if the door would be unlocked or not.

  I turned to let Saw go ahead of me.

  “Technically, we’re closed on Sundays, but we book special appointments sometimes,” she explained, unlocking the door and holding it open for me.

  “Oh,” I said walking passed her.

  Just as I stepped inside, a very attraction man was striding down the hall towards me.

  “Bloody hell, Sa…” He cut off when he saw me.

  I offered a polite smile as he stood frozen for a moment, just beside the receptionist desk. He didn’t say any
thing, he just stood there staring at me. The smile dropped from my face and I shuffled my feet uncomfortably.

  My mind immediately jumped to conclusions. There must’ve been something on my face or something. I mean I wasn’t nothing special to look at but he was staring at me like he was in a trance. I fought back the urge to wipe at my face to make sure there wasn’t any left over food hanging around.

  Saw stepped around me, saving me from anymore awkwardness.

  “Hey Punk,” she smiled at him.

  He stared at me for a moment longer before looking away from me to smile at Saw. She raised an eyebrow at him as she thrust the bag of food at him and he took it, placing it on the desk beside him, ignoring her look.

  Saw turned and gestured to me. “Jensen, this is Freya, my new neighbor. Freya, this is Jensen,” She said, introducing us. “Don’t let the good looks fool you,” she told me. “He’s a total wolf in sheep's clothing.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. “Nice to meet you.” I extended my hand to him and he took a step towards me, but instead of shaking my hand he raised it to his mouth and brushed his lips across my knuckles. That single gesture burned me deep.

  “Lovely to meet you , pet.” Oh, sweet baby Jesus, he had an English accent.

  “Ugh, you are so impossible,” Saw groaned behind him.

  Jensen winked at me before releasing my hand, stepping back. He growled at Saw playfully and she swatted at him. They were adorable together but I could tell it was in a brother and sister kind of way. Though they kind of looked like the Barbie and Ken of the tattoo world.

  He was just as tatted up as Saw though he had less visible skin. He was wearing a black short sleeved tee and his arms were covered in tattoos and I could see bits of tattoos peeking out from the collar of his shirt. I was dying to get a closer look, though my money was on his body being the real artwork.

  It was obvious he spent a great deal of time in the gym. The muscles on his arms were well defined, his sleeves strained around them. Seeing him standing next to Saw, was almost comical. She barely reached five foot and he stood well over six feet, dwarfing her in size and height. He had long, brown hair pulled into a messy bun and a perfectly sculpted beard that most men only dreamed of. But those eyes. Those eyes were what dreams were made of. They were such a perfect shade of green, they almost seemed unreal.

  “You’re drooling,” Saw laughed, shoving me lightly. Startled, I looked away quickly.

  I had gotten so lost in observing him, that I hadn’t noticed that they had stopped talking and were both grinning at me. Heat crept up my neck and I looked to the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow me whole.

  “Sorry,” I murmured to the floor.

  Jensen chuckled. “Look all you want, luv.” He said it in a way that clarified that he was very much aware of how women saw him.

  I cleared my throat, looking to Saw. “Well then, I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day. You ready to go?”

  Saw nodded and looked to Jensen. “All right punk, I’ll see you Tuesday. Be a good, yeah?” She wrapped her arm around his middle, barely coming to his waist. He hugged her back, lifting her off her feet.

  “You got it, pet,” he said, sitting her down on her feet, then ruffling her hair. She slugged him in the arm and laughed. She turned towards the door and opened it for me.

  “I’ll see you around, luv.” I turned to see him grinning at me, so I just waved like an idiot and quickly exited.

  The cool air hit me in the face and I let it clear my head. The last thing I needed was to be lusting after the first hot guy I came across. That would probably lead me into more trouble than I could handle at the moment. Not to mention, a guy like Jensen was way out of my league.

  “Sorry about him,” Saw smiled apologetically. “Jensen can be hard to handle at first.”

  “I think that’s an understatement,” I laughed. “We don’t have guys like that in Kentucky.”

  She choked on a laugh. “We don’t have them in Colorado either. He’s from the UK. He’s a really great guy once you get to know him.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “You’ll see.” was all she said.

  I couldn’t help but think that if she thought that he was so great why wasn’t she with him then and when we were almost to our apartment complex, my curiosity got the better of me.

  “So,” I began, trying to sound casual. “If Jensen’s so great, then why aren’t you with him.” Saw barked out a laugh.

  “Well, first off he’s like my brother.” This answer was expected. “Second, even if he wasn’t like my brother, I’m not into heartbreak and that’s all a guy like him can offer a girl like me.” I’m not sure what she saw on my face, but she was quick to add, “trust me, you’ll want to steer clear of him.”

  “Don’t worry,

  i’ve had enough heartbreak to last me a long time,” I chuckled, halfheartedly. “But there’s no harm in looking, right?”

  “Right,” she chuckled.

  Four

  I opened my backpack, double checking to make sure I had all the right book for today’s classes. The last thing I wanted was to be unprepared for class. I hated that, but luckily everything was there. I slung the bag over my shoulder and headed for the door. I grabbed my bag and keys off the table beside the door and headed out. As turned to shut the door, I heard Saw’s door open.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” I turned to find her arching an eyebrow at me, leaning against her door frame. Her arms were crossed across her pajama clad chest.

  “For a run,” I said sarcastically, but she just stared at me with an amused smile on her face. “School obviously and you are going to be late.” I shifted my backpack on my shoulder.

  It wasn’t like Saw to skip school or be late.

  “Freya, do you know what day it is?” The amused smile never faltered.

  I was getting annoyed with her. “October 10th,” I said impatiently.

  She just stared at me like she was waiting for something. I gave her a confused look, I knew for sure I was right. I looked at the date last night as I set my alarm. I knew for a fact that it was October the… The backpack slid from my shoulder and landed on the ground with a thud as the realization hit me. It was the first day of fall break. I had been in Colorado for over two months and I hadn’t even realized it, but that wasn’t why I freaked out.

  “Shit!” I groaned, pulling my phone out of my pocket to check the time, though I knew it was too late.

  “Figured it out, did you?” Saw snorted and my eyes went to her.

  “My flight left an hour ago. I was supposed to go to my parents for fall break.” The amusement left her face, and she straightened.

  “Ah, hell, I’m sorry, sweetie.” She pushed her door open wider. “Come in and call your folks and I’ll cook you some breakfast.”

  “Yea, okay.” I bent down and picked my backpack up, slinging it back over my shoulder. I ambled into her apartment and over to her couch where I took a seat, dialing my mother’s number.

  “Freya?” My mom answered, sounding flustered. “Have you already landed? We were just headed out to get you.”

  “No. That’s why I’m calling. I missed my flight, mom.”

  “You what?!” she exclaimed, disappointment colored her tone.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I just lost track of time and didn’t realize what today was,” I confessed.

  “Oh, Freya. What are we going to do with you?” She chuckled.

  “I’ll see if I can switch my flight to tomorrow or something.” I wasn’t sure if that was possible on such short notice, but I could always try.

  “Oh sweetie, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get something so soon. Just have it switched to your Thanksgiving break and we’ll see you then. Maybe set and alarm next time, hmm?”

  “You’re not mad?”

  “Of course not. I know how busy you’ve been,” she assured me. “Call me later and we’ll catch up, oka
y?”

  “Okay.”

  “I love you,” she said.

  “Love you too.” I hung up and laid my head on the back of Saw’s monstrous couch and tried to figure out what I was going to do. Saw would pick up hours at Colorado Ink and I wasn’t sure how I was going to spend my week now that I wasn’t going home or to school.

  “Maybe I should get a job,” I wondered out loud as Saw flopped down on the couch beside me, sitting a plate down on my lap. I looked down to see my favorite, Southern-style omelet.

  “Maybe you should what?” she asked with her mouth full. I shot her a disgusted look before answering.

  “I was just thinking that maybe I should get a job,” I took a bite of omelet and couldn’t help the moan that escaped me. Saw made the best omelets.

  “I bet Mack would hire you to run the front desk,” she suggested. “He’s been saying for a while that he was thinking about putting in a part-time receptionist. I’d put in a good word for you.”

  “Actually, that sounds perfect.” And it really did. I had been thinking about going back to waitressing since it was all I had experience in but I hated waitressing and didn’t particularly want to go back to that. I didn’t have experience in being a receptionist, but how hard could it be?

  I admit to being a smidge nervous about working at Colorado Ink. I hadn’t been back since I had embarrassed myself and I also, hadn’t seen Jensen and I wasn’t sure if working with him would be a good idea. He had proven to be quite the distraction.

  “You could come in with me today and talk to Mack. If he agrees to hire you, then you can hang out while I show you the ropes.” She stood to take her plate to the kitchen, grabbing mine as she passed.

  “What if he doesn’t hire me? I mean, I don’t have any experience.”

  She just shrugged. “Then you can hang out anyways. Either way he won't mind.” Her grin was infectious and I couldn’t help but grin back. Ignoring the uneasy feeling in my stomach, I stood and picked up my backpack.