The Friendship List(48)

“I forgot to ask Ellen if it’s going to hurt,” she said as he pulled away from the curb.

“It’s going to hurt.”

She glanced at him. “You don’t have to sound so cheerful about it.”

He smiled. “I don’t think the news comes as a shock to you.”

“No, but you could have pretended it would be fine. Do you have any tattoos?”

“No.”

“But everybody’s doing it.”

He glanced at her. “Everybody isn’t and I was never interested. Still, I will be your tattoo wingman for the evening.”

They arrived far more quickly than Unity would have liked. After going inside, she explained what she wanted. The young man at the counter showed her several different peace symbols.

“I didn’t think there would be a choice,” she said, flipping through the pages before picking a simple design. “That one.”

“Where do you want it?” the guy asked.

“By my shoulder blade.”

That question she’d planned for. While waiting for Thaddeus, she’d put on a plain, modest sports bra with a T back, giving the artist plenty of room to work.

She filled out the forms, handed over her credit card, then signed the receipt.

“Give me about ten minutes,” the guy said. “You can have a seat over there, or wait outside. We have a table and chairs right in front.”

“Thank you.” Unity turned to Thaddeus. “Can we wait outside? I’m a little nervous and I’d like to pace.”

He held open the door.

She stepped into the warm afternoon and sucked in a breath. “I feel sick.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?”

He smiled. “You’ll be fine.”

“You don’t actually know that.”

“You didn’t like it when I said it was going to hurt and now you don’t like me saying you’ll do great. I don’t see a win here for me.”

“Sorry. I don’t mean to be difficult. Maybe we should change the subject.” She sank into one of the chairs at the small metal table, then sprang to her feet. “So, you went to see Dagmar. How is she?”

“Her usual self.” His expression turned rueful. “She had me meet her at the community center, where there was a rumba class going on. I got roped into being a partner.”

“You know how to rumba?”

Something flashed in his eyes. “I do.”

“How can you possibly know that? It’s so random.” She thought about what she knew about him. “Oh, the girlfriend. The one you followed to Vegas. She was a dancer. You must know a lot of fancy steps.”

“It makes me popular with Dagmar’s friends.”

He was saying all the right things, but Unity couldn’t help thinking there was something he wasn’t telling her. She couldn’t say exactly why she thought that—maybe it was the way he was standing or how he wouldn’t quite meet her gaze.

Or she was just on edge because she had no dance secrets in her past.

“You were very sweet to indulge her,” she said.

“She’s my family. It’s what I do.”

“I know what you mean. Ellen and Cooper are my family. I would be lost without them.” She smiled. “I guess we have that in common.”

“Ellen and Cooper? I don’t think so.”

She laughed. “That we would do anything for the people we love.”

“Like the challenge?”

She groaned. “Yes, like the challenge. Although I’m starting to think it’s good for me to stretch myself.”

The door opened and the guy from behind the counter stuck out his head. “I’m ready for you.”

Unity’s stomach lurched. She grabbed Thaddeus’s hand. “Stay with me?”

“Promise.”

They went into the back room. Unity was directed to sit backward on a straight chair, her arms folded and resting along the back.

“Once we start, I need you not to move,” the guy told her.

She nodded and pulled a clip from her bag. She pinned up her hair, then hesitated only a second before pulling off her T-shirt. As she felt herself flushing, she told herself she was perfectly covered and no one cared about her boobs anyway.

Thaddeus politely looked away until she was seated, then pulled a chair close to her and met her gaze.

“You can do this,” he told her.

“I hope so.”

“I’ll distract you with stories about my misspent youth.”

She had the brief thought that he was a really nice man and that she had no idea why he was taking so much time with her, then she felt something cold and wet on her back.

“Disinfectant,” the guy said. “As this is your first time, I’m going to do a test run so you’ll know what to expect. There’s no ink in the needle. Try not to jump.”

She nodded before sucking in a breath. Thaddeus put both his hands on her forearms and leaned close.

“The gang I joined had an initiation,” he told her. “You had to kill someone and you couldn’t use a gun.”

“What?” she asked, wide-eyed. “You’ve killed someone?”