Disclaimer: I only own Tara, Hope, and Oz.
----------
Chris woke up early the next morning. He was about to move when he glanced down. Tara was still asleep. She was curled up next to him, her head still resting on his chest, an arm draped over his stomach, and her knees tucked up to her chest. He smiled, brushing a piece of honey brown hair off of her forehead.
'She's so pretty,' He thought to himself, not taking his eyes off of her. He thought her face was flawless. She had a natural light tan from living close to the beach, a few freckles across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. A small, slightly button like nose that he thought was incredibly adorable, almond shaped bright green eyes, and full rosy lips.
"See something you like? He heard her quip. She grinned and opened her eyes.
"Yeah, the beautiful girl beside me." He replied, kissing her forehead. She moved up next to him, running her fingertips down his chest and stomach. After laying there for a few minutes, Tara got up and stretched.
"I'm gonna go take a shower." Chris said, also standing up.
"Okay. I'm going to fix breakfast." Tara said.
"You don't have to." Chris said, walking over to her.
"I know I don't have to, but I want to." She smiled. He returned the smile and bent down, placing a soft kiss on her lips.
"If you want." He grinned, before grabbing a change of clothes and heading into the bathroom. Tara walked into her kitchen and pulled out a few things from her fridge. Chris walked into the kitchen about twenty minutes later, just as Tara was sitting a few plates on her kitchen table.
"Just grab a plate and dig in." She said, before disappearing into her bedroom. She reemerged a few minutes later, an ink pen and a stack of envelopes in her hand. She sat down across from Chris, with her legs crossed underneath her. She grabbed a plate, stacking a waffle and a few slices of bacon onto it. After taking a bite, she opened the first envelope and looked over it, before pulling the checkbook out of her purse that was on the floor and wrote out a check. She put it and the paper back into the envelope and sat it to the side.
"I swear, I could kill my boss sometimes." Tara said, shaking her head as she wrote out another check. "He waited to pay me because I was five minutes late to work. Five minutes!" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I am so behind on my bills."
"How much does he pay you?" Chris asked.
"Not nearly enough." She sighed. "Just enough to get me by every month."
"Why don't you get a job at one of the other parlors? I know there are tons around here." He said.
"None of them are ever hiring. I've asked about positions a number of times at a few different ones, but I never get the call back." She shrugged. He nodded. A plan was already forming in his mind. As soon as he had a moment alone, he'd be calling Vince.
----------
"Vince," Chris spoke into the phone. Tara had gone to the store to pick up some drinks and cat food, and Chris seized the opportunity to make the call.
"Hello Chris." Vince said.
"I have a favor to ask of you." Chris said. "I want to bring my girlfriend on the road with us."
"Chris, you know that I don't have a problem with the employees bringing close friends or family on the road with us. Significant others fit that category."
"I know...but I also want to get her a job." Chris replied. "She could be my PA. She's a tattoo artist here in Florida, and she has her own equipment, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind inking up any of the roster if they wanted a new tattoo. That way they wouldn't have to break their necks looking for a clean, sanitary place in whatever city we're in." They were silent for a moment as Vince contemplated the idea.
"Alright." Vince said finally. "That could work." Chris grinned.
"Thank you, Vince." He said. He hung up just as Tara walked back through the door, two brown paper bags in her hands. Chris stood up and took them from her, sitting them on her kitchen counter. He then took her hand and led her over to the couch.
"I want to talk to you about something." He told her.
"Alright, shoot." She said, turning her emerald green eyes towards his blue ones.
"I just got off the phone with Vince." He started. "I asked him if he would give you a job." She looked at him, an almost confused expression on her face.
"You did that without talking to me first?" She shot at him, jerking her hand away from his.
"I know I should have, but I needed to see what Vince thought about it." He pleaded, looking into her eyes. "I'm really sorry I didn't. But Vince said that he would give you a job as my PA. He also said that you could do tattoos for the roster." She looked down, considering the offer.
"Wow, Vinnie Mac putting out for his own tattoo artist." She grinned. "Alright. It's a done deal." She looked back up at Chris. He smiled and leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips. "I'm going to have to ask Hope if she'll keep Oz while I'm away." She stood up and walked over to the phone. She picked it up and dialed Hope's number.
"Hey, chick." She said after a moment. "Guess what?" A pause. "I'm going on the road with Chris!" Another pause. "Seriously! I was wondering if you could watch Oz while I'm away." She held the phone with her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. "Thank you! I owe you so much! Oh, and sure we will. What time do you want us over?" She picked at her nails. "Alrighty. See ya then!" She hung the phone up.
"I told Hope we'd go over to her house for a cookout tonight, I hope that's okay." She told Chris, walking back over to her couch. She sat down beside him, kicking her flip-flops off and swinging her legs over his lap.
"Sure," He said. "Fine with me." She smiled.
"I told her we'd be over about seven, so I have to get a shower and everything."
"Maybe I can get you drunk again tonight," He joked, grinning. She stood up and made for her bathroom, before turning around and looking at him.
"Maybe you won't have to get me drunk." She replied, also grinning, before walking into her bathroom and closing the door. She took a quick shower and returned to her bedroom, wearing only the short, silk bathrobe she kept in her bathroom. Her honey brown hair was damp and hanging down beside her face. She rummaged through her drawers, finally pulling out a pair of well-worn denim jeans and a black tank top. She changed and dried her hair, not bothering to flip it out or apply any makeup. She walked back into the living room, where Chris was watching some random program on the TV. Tara sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes traveled up to the clock on her wall that read 6:15. Chris slipped an arm around her slender waist, tugging her into his lap. They sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, until Tara stood up and slid her flip-flops onto her feet.
"Ready to go?" She asked. He nodded. She grabbed her messenger bag and car keys and they walked out to her car. It was about a twenty minute drive to Hope's house, and it was nearly seven when they arrived.
"Hey hun!" Hope said, walking out of her front door as Tara parked and turned her car off. "Hey Chris." She smiled, giving Tara a small hug. "Come on out back! We have food and alcohol." Hope laughed. Tara grinned and followed the tall girl around to the back of her house. She could see a few burger patties and a few tin foil packages on the grill and a cooler that was on the ground beside the brown wooden picnic bench that was in her back yard. John was sitting on the bench, drinking a beer as he watched the food on the grill.
"Hey Chris, Tara." He said with a nod as they came around back.
"Hey John, how's it going?" Tara asked. She walked over to the bench and crouched beside the cooler, taking out a peach flavored wine cooler. She popped the top off and took a drink of it before taking a seat on the bench.
"Great, I'm having a blast here." He smiled. Tara returned it as Chris came over and sat next to her, slipping an arm around her waist.
"Yeah, being at Hope's is always fun." She said with a grin. John laughed as Hope came over and sat down beside the two.
"Did I hear my name?" She said in an amused tone as she squeezed in between John and Tara.
"Yeah, I was telling John about how big of a loser you are." Tara said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, he already knew that." Hope grinned.
"Not surprising." Tara laughed, poking her tongue out at Hope. Hope laughed and rolled her eyes before jumping up onto the bench beside John.
"So, I hear you're going on the road with Chris." John said, taking a swig of his Corona.
"Yup, I sure am." Tara replied. "Vince said that I could be Chris's PA and that since I have all of my own equipment, I can do tattoos for the roster."
"That's cool, I've been thinking about getting one." John said.
"Awesome, if you do decide to get one you know who to come to." Tara grinned.
"I'll think about it and give you a call." He grinned. Tara nodded and took another drink of her wine cooler. Hope got down off of the bench and checked the food on the grill, before turning to the others.
"Foods ready, come and get what you want." She grinned, taking one of the foil packages off of the grill. She laid it on her plate and unwrapped it, revealing a large piece of fish with peppers and a lemon slice on top.
"Is that catfish?" Tara asked, standing up.
"Yep." Hope nodded.
"I love you to death, Hopey." Tara then took one of the foil packages for herself and sat next to Hope, digging into her food. Both of the guys fixed themselves burgers, and all four of them ate and talked until about eleven that night.
"I think we're gonna head out now, I have to pack tomorrow." Tara said, hugging Hope and John goodbye.
"Alright chick, call me, okay?" Hope said.
"You know I will." Tara smiled before both she and Chris got into her car and drove off.
----------
Once they arrived back at Tara's apartment, she immediately opened her closet doors and took a suitcase out. Chris stood in the doorway, silently watching her as she looked through her clothes, selecting certain items she wanted to take with her.
"How long are we going to be gone?" Tara asked as she folded some of her clothes and placed them in her suitcase. Chris walked over to her and rested his hands on her upper arms.
"Well, we're going to be on the road for about a week and a half, and then I have three days off." Chris said before placing a soft kiss on the side of her neck.
"So we're coming back here?" She assumed.
"I was thinking we could go to my house." Chris said, rubbing her upper arms.
"Alright." Tara said, turning around to face him. He smiled and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on her full lips. She returned the smile before turning back around and finishing putting her clothes in the suitcase. After doing that, she walked over to a box that was resting on her dresser. She took the box and sat it on her bed next to her suitcase, before returning to her closet. She came back with another bag, but this one was a small duffle bag. She unzipped it and opened the box. Inside of the box was her tattoo gun and packages of needles. She placed everything in the box inside of the bag, before going and grabbing bottles of ink. After getting all of her tattooing things into the bag, she zipped it up and placed it on top of her clothes. She then zipped the suitcase and sat it on the floor at the foot of her bed.
"I'm gonna have to buy an autoclave to take with me." She said. "We can order one tomorrow and I can have it sent to Stamford, it would be the easiest way for it to get to me." She smiled. Chris nodded, before returning the smile and leaning in to kiss Tara. She giggled after they broke the kiss, then yawned widely.
"Gah, I'm tired!" She stretched. She then got into her closet and dug out some pajamas, consisting of short silk shorts and a sports bra. She changed with her back facing Chris, and then the two climbed in bed.
"Night, babe." He muttered as she turned out the light. He kissed her temple and the two drifted off to sleep, Chris holding Tara in his arms.