Permanent Ink (Something to Celebrate #1) by Laura Simcox Page A

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    Grizz. Shit.
    A wave of adrenaline coursed through Ben. It didn’t matter that he was in his own studio, inking his own client. Grizz had been an intimidating teacher, and Ben didn’t know if he would ever get over the feeling of wanting to please him. But right now, midtattoo, was definitely not the time to give in to nerves.
    Ben glanced toward his office door again. Blair stood there, a brochure in her hand and a question in her eyes. With a jerky movement, he gestured at Grizz. “I have company.”
    Blair craned her neck, and when she spotted Grizz, her eyes widened for a second. “Hi, there.” She hesitated but then popped back inside the office.
    Ben suppressed a chuckle and waved at Grizz.
    “Hey, man.”
    “Hey, son.” Grizz cleared his throat.
    Ben grinned and patted Crystal’s knee. “Be right back.” He pulled off his surgical gloves, got up, and walked to the front of the room to give the older man a bear hug. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    “Told you I’d drive over,” Grizz responded, thumping Ben on the back. “Brought all the paperwork for Ink Fest.” He patted the front of his leather vest, which almost covered his stomach.
    “Good timing, because Ink Fest got approval from the mayor yesterday.” Ben pulled out a stool next to the counter. “Make yourself comfortable.” He started to walk back to Crystal, but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his mostly blank appointment book sitting next to the cash register on top of the counter. Shit . With a casual smile, he closed the book and stored it in a drawer.
    Grizz sat down heavily and scratched at his gray moustache. “Thanks. I didn’t think you’d have trouble getting the green light, so I’ve already got some plans in the works for you.”
    “Yeah? Still need to get it past the town council, but that shouldn’t be a problem.” Ben put on a fresh pair of gloves. “The color will go quickly, Crys.” He sat down, changed his setup, and dipped into a small cap of orange ink, giving her a reassuring smile.
    She winked at him. “Okay, Ivy League.” The smile fell from his face and he shook his head. “Keep that on the DL,” he whispered. Crystal raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else.
    “What’s going on, Grizz?” Ben bent over Crystal’s arm and began to work on leaves, trying to ignore the fact that his teacher was watching. He also tried to ignore the worry that began to creep in on the edges of his mellow mood—Grizz never did anything half-assed and if Ink Fest was going to be his swan song, then he was probably planning something big. Something that Ben might not be able to handle.
    Grizz shifted on the bar stool. “Damn. This chair is made for a butt about a quarter the size of mine.”
    Ben changed colors again, this time to yellow. He began to blend it into the orange. “Then haul my office chair out. I don’t care.” He paused. “Actually, the woman in there—you ought to meet her. She’s a professional event planner, and I hired her for Ink Fest.”
    “Oh yeah? You’re not fucking around then, are you?” Grizz chuckled and headed for the office.
    Ben almost called out to Blair but stopped himself. He needed to play it cool. He was her…assistant. And she was his. With a grin, he turned back to Crystal, who let out a cough.
    “What was all that about?” she asked in a whisper.
    “Nothing. I mean, Grizz doesn’t know much about my background. He never asked, and I never offered.”
    They were silent for a while as Ben worked, listening to the muffled voices from the office. Blair seemed to be asking a ton of questions, and more than one time, Grizz’s voice split the quiet with a barking laugh.
    A few minutes later, Ben glanced up at the office doorway as Grizz rolled the chair out. Blair was right behind him, a tenuous smile on her face. She stopped halfway across the floor, glanced at Crystal’s tattoo.
    Ben winked at her, and then she crossed her arms. Finally, she