People know better than to fuck with
me or mine. Trust me when I say I can take care of myself.” She lifted an armrest,
and locked it into place. “Put your arm up here.”
He did as she asked, and waiting as she put
new rubber gloves on. “How did you do it?”
She stopped what she was doing and looked up.
“Do what?”
“This,” he said, gesturing around the room.
“Get back to normal.”
She cocked her head to the side and raised a
brow as she sanitized the area on his arm where she would place the ink. “You
call this normal?”
Feeling like he’d found someone who
understood what he was going through, Dare glared at her impatiently. “You know
what I mean.”
“You don’t get it yet, do you, Doc? Normal is
relative. People like us can never go back to what we were. This is our new normal. You need to accept
that so you can learn how to deal with the now.”
“That’s...pretty fucking depressing.”
“It is what it is,” she said with a shrug. “You’re
a doctor. What would you tell someone who has lost an arm or a leg?”
He blew out a breath as he considered what
she said. “Logically, I know what you’re saying. It’s a different story getting
myself to believe it at this point. And frankly, it fucking sucks.”
“Buddy, you need to learn to embrace the
suck. If not, you’ll never be able to move on with your life. It’s good you
came here. To Breakers, I mean. It’s hard enough dealing with this shit, but at
least here there are other people who know what you’re going through. I can
tell you from personal experience that it makes it easier.” Nikita picked up
the mechanical needle, then dipped the tip into the black ink. “I’m going to
start now. Let me know if you need a break. I’ll give it to you, but I can’t
promise I won’t tell your friends you cried like a baby.”
Scowling again, he said, “You’re all heart.”
“Aren’t I just?”
Dare let his mind drift as he listened to the
mechanical buzzing as she worked on him. He forced himself to relax despite the
pain of getting the tattoo, and used the time to reflect on what they had
talked about. Dare didn’t know if Nikita was right or not, but he did feel
better being able to speak to her about it. It wasn’t easy for him to talk
about this shit, but perhaps he had been avoiding dealing with everything by
keeping to himself.
The tattoo didn’t take long and he was
pleased when he saw the finished product. Despite Nikita’s somewhat abrasive
manner, he felt easy around her. Talking to her had been like talking to one of
the guys, not that he was stupid enough to say that out loud. She was a beautiful
woman, but he had a feeling she was just as deadly. Like a viper waiting to
strike, and Dare felt sorry for whatever man took her on. Regardless, he knew
without being told that he was lucky a woman like her considered him a friend.
Feeling slightly foolish with a paper towel
taped around his arm, Dare decided against going to the gym for a workout like
he’d originally planned. Instead, he got back on his bike and went for a drive.
There was only so much he could take, and he’d had enough self-torture of socializing today.
Being a doctor, he knew he should wear a
helmet when riding. He had one, but he enjoyed feeling the wind on his face at
the moment too much to wear it. He opted to go slower and just enjoy the drive.
He drove for about an hour before he began to head back to Breakers. It was a
good area, and he could see why Hammer had chosen to come back to the area when
given the choice.
A man could find peace here, Dare thought. He
hadn’t had a home since he’d left his family when he joined the Army, and it
hadn’t even been a real home back then. Considering settling down somewhere made
him feel a good amount of anxiety, but he also felt a little bit of longing,
which surprised him. It left him feeling conflicted about whether or not to put
down roots just yet.
Hell, there was a lot he
me or mine. Trust me when I say I can take care of myself.” She lifted an armrest,
and locked it into place. “Put your arm up here.”
He did as she asked, and waiting as she put
new rubber gloves on. “How did you do it?”
She stopped what she was doing and looked up.
“Do what?”
“This,” he said, gesturing around the room.
“Get back to normal.”
She cocked her head to the side and raised a
brow as she sanitized the area on his arm where she would place the ink. “You
call this normal?”
Feeling like he’d found someone who
understood what he was going through, Dare glared at her impatiently. “You know
what I mean.”
“You don’t get it yet, do you, Doc? Normal is
relative. People like us can never go back to what we were. This is our new normal. You need to accept
that so you can learn how to deal with the now.”
“That’s...pretty fucking depressing.”
“It is what it is,” she said with a shrug. “You’re
a doctor. What would you tell someone who has lost an arm or a leg?”
He blew out a breath as he considered what
she said. “Logically, I know what you’re saying. It’s a different story getting
myself to believe it at this point. And frankly, it fucking sucks.”
“Buddy, you need to learn to embrace the
suck. If not, you’ll never be able to move on with your life. It’s good you
came here. To Breakers, I mean. It’s hard enough dealing with this shit, but at
least here there are other people who know what you’re going through. I can
tell you from personal experience that it makes it easier.” Nikita picked up
the mechanical needle, then dipped the tip into the black ink. “I’m going to
start now. Let me know if you need a break. I’ll give it to you, but I can’t
promise I won’t tell your friends you cried like a baby.”
Scowling again, he said, “You’re all heart.”
“Aren’t I just?”
Dare let his mind drift as he listened to the
mechanical buzzing as she worked on him. He forced himself to relax despite the
pain of getting the tattoo, and used the time to reflect on what they had
talked about. Dare didn’t know if Nikita was right or not, but he did feel
better being able to speak to her about it. It wasn’t easy for him to talk
about this shit, but perhaps he had been avoiding dealing with everything by
keeping to himself.
The tattoo didn’t take long and he was
pleased when he saw the finished product. Despite Nikita’s somewhat abrasive
manner, he felt easy around her. Talking to her had been like talking to one of
the guys, not that he was stupid enough to say that out loud. She was a beautiful
woman, but he had a feeling she was just as deadly. Like a viper waiting to
strike, and Dare felt sorry for whatever man took her on. Regardless, he knew
without being told that he was lucky a woman like her considered him a friend.
Feeling slightly foolish with a paper towel
taped around his arm, Dare decided against going to the gym for a workout like
he’d originally planned. Instead, he got back on his bike and went for a drive.
There was only so much he could take, and he’d had enough self-torture of socializing today.
Being a doctor, he knew he should wear a
helmet when riding. He had one, but he enjoyed feeling the wind on his face at
the moment too much to wear it. He opted to go slower and just enjoy the drive.
He drove for about an hour before he began to head back to Breakers. It was a
good area, and he could see why Hammer had chosen to come back to the area when
given the choice.
A man could find peace here, Dare thought. He
hadn’t had a home since he’d left his family when he joined the Army, and it
hadn’t even been a real home back then. Considering settling down somewhere made
him feel a good amount of anxiety, but he also felt a little bit of longing,
which surprised him. It left him feeling conflicted about whether or not to put
down roots just yet.
Hell, there was a lot he
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