Tattoo

Cassie

It’s been a month since I've been working with these rock stars but up until now, I still haven't gotten used to all the ruckus they make. For one, the pounding and strumming seems to be getting louder each day but my eardrums have luckily adjusted.

If only these people would be a little more serious, I thought as I watched Landon jump up and flail all around the room. It's obvious the kid was playing around.

"Here, water," I said tossing each one of them a bottle. They instantly gulped mouthfuls before putting down the now empty bottle and wiping their sweat. The room was fully air-conditioned but moving around so much must have caused them to sweat a lot that they started stripping off their soaked shirts before I knew it.

I really don't mind seeing half-naked guys, not as much as they wanted to show off. I think Clark's got the best build among the four of them, maybe because he often plays the bass without a shirt. He's tall and lean. Not much tattoos either.

Landon, on the other hand, is small and has most of his tattoos scattered on both of his arms. No offense but I really think it looks dirty though his chest was pretty clean.

Kasey. I can say that among the three, his tattoos are my favorite. He's got one near the collarbone, like Clark, but the one his back was the best. His back was pretty much covered with ink. I wonder how long it took to finish that.

"Like what you're seeing?" Matthew said out of the blue. He must have seen me staring at the others and decided to tease me about it. He probably expected me to blush and be coy about but those kinds of things don't work on me.

"Just admiring the view," I said looking at him. He was already wearing a sleeveless shirt, which shows how worked out his biceps are. Too bad I'm not too fond of biceps. He's quite lanky compared to the others. I wonder if he's got any tattoos, too.

"Don't you have any tattoos?" I asked him since I'm already on the topic of it. Might as well satisfy my curiosity.

"Matthew's afraid of needles," Kasey answered for him.

I snorted. Such a big guy like him...afraid of small needles. Pfft.

"Yeah, Matthew. So not cool," Landon teased seeing my reaction.

"I don't need tattoos to be cool," he said. I think they've had this conversation a couple of times.

"I think so too," I said. Landon looked at me like I've grown two heads and Matthew looked quite relieved. He must have thought I was taking his side. Not really. "That was before I've seen Kasey's."

"Your tattoos are so cool!" I shouted to Kasey and gave him a thumbs up.

"Really?" he said, coming closer.

"See this," he said pulling his shirt down and pointing to the tattoo on his collarbone. "These were made by the monks, like in a ritual. They’re really painful."

"That's even cooler!" I said and he beamed at me. He looks like a child after the teacher praised him.

"How about you, Cassie? Do you have any tattoos?" Clark asked.

To be honest, I'm also afraid of needles. I've frequented hospitals when I was a kid but I never got used to them. And even if I wanted a tattoo, my father won't allow it.

I shook my head. "But I'd love to," I said.

"Then why don't you get one?" Matthew asked. "That way you'd be cooler," it sounded more like a challenge.

Why not?

"Okay," I simply said. I can see that Matthew was taken aback. He must have thought he's taken his joke too far. Or that I'm stupid enough to take it seriously.

"You don't have to comply with Matthew's whim," Clark said giving Matthew a scolding look. Matthew just mouthed an inaudible 'what' at him.

"You know it's just a joke right?" Landon said kicking Matthew in the shin. Matthew dodged it just in time.

"I've wanted one for a while. I just needed someone to provoke me to do it," I explained. I don't want them picking on Matthew for telling me to do what I wanted. I'm tired of people telling me to do the exact opposite.

"Let's go," Kasey said. "I know a good place where you could get one."

"Oh, one thing," I said. "Matthew gets to pick."

I said and stuck my tongue out at him

That's what you get.