Free Perfect Collision by Lina Andersson Page A

said as she carefully peeled the stencil from his chest before answering her own question. “That's not my job. My job is to give them the tattoo they want and make sure it looks good.”
    After trying to find a retort, he gave up with a laugh just as she pointed towards a mirror.
    “Have a look, and see if you're happy with it there.”
    He stood by the mirror. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to decide it was perfectly placed, but he still didn't move. Instead, he watched her through the mirror. She was wearing worn cut-offs, black biker boots, and a t-shirt with the Wicked Ink logo. The arms had been cut off, and it looked like the neck had been widened as well. In short, she looked the same as always. Lisa'd been the fashionista, and Vi'd dressed like this, with hoodie and jeans for colder days. When she leaned forward to adjust the settings on the ink machine, he could see right down the neck of her t-shirt. Black bra. She wore a black bra, and he swallowed a groan.
    Sami and one of the other guys, he introduced himself as Joe, sat down to supervise the work. That was relief. Someone would be there to stop him from doing something epically stupid.
    Once they got started, Sami and Joe started talking, but on occasion Sami leaned over to comment on her work. When he told Vi the lines looked great, she looked like he'd given her a million bucks.
    “Don't think I've ever seen you look more pleased,” Mac said, and she blushed.
    She didn't answer, just shrugged. “Let me know if you need a break,” she said instead.
    “It's not a bad thing that you're pleased. You should be.”
    She nodded, closed her eyes for a few seconds and seemed to be listening to the music. This time it wasn't country, more of a folk rock thing.
    “What is this music?” he asked, and Sami answered him instead of Vi. She seemed completely focused on inking again.
    “Mumford & Sons. I needed a country-free week.”
    “Some artists talk when they do this,” Mac said, and this time Vi looked at him.
    “Do you want a nice tattoo or a nice conversation?” she asked.
    “Fair enough,” he mumbled.
    “I told my girl no customer comes back because you're good at chatting, they come back because you do good ink,” Sami said. “It's better to let her ink do the talking.”
    “He's got a point,” Mac admitted, but Vi was already leaning over him, lost in her work. He turned to Sami again. “Don't you need a license to work as a tattoo artist?”
    “No, not in Arizona. And technically she's still practicing, since she's not charging for them.”
    “No one pays you?” he asked Vi.
    “No. Not yet. Dad's paying for the equipment, and I work here for free to pay for them teaching me. But Sami did pay for my NSC Training.”
    “Just bad fucking business to have people working who haven't done that,” Sami muttered.
    “What?” Mac had no idea what they were talking about.
    “It's a certificate. You take a class about blood-borne pathogens and cross contamination,” Vi explained.
    “How long will you work for free?”
    “Probably for a while longer, and I'll be an apprentice for a few more years. Sami says I have to have a high school diploma. And I've promised Dad that I'll finish high school, too.”
    “Why do you care about a diploma?” Mac asked Sami.
    “The girl should get her diploma,” he smiled. “And it's easier for her to get a license in another state. It's good to have a license even if it's not required here in Arizona. Having one makes it easer to get temporary licenses when we work tattoo conventions—shit like that.”
    “Still, you're working for free?” Mac said to Vi. “And from what I've heard, you're working a lot.”
    Sami laughed. “I'm not charging her for the teaching, that's something. It's not uncommon that guys charge apprentices a lot of money. I can't imagine all that many of them taking on a sixteen-year-old, either.”
    Vi just smiled at that, then leaned over Mac to start working