LITOST

“Thanks! I designed a lot of them myself,” Tae smiled wide. Art was something he loved with a passion, and when someone complimented it, well. He got the warmth that spreads through your chest and outwards and makes you glow. “Thank you,” he said again to the little girl. “Here, I think I even have one in my pocket…” Tae fished around in his pockets for the extra press on tattoos from the machine at the shop. “Aha! Here, you can have it,” he said, holding it out for the little girl to take.

“You’re an artist,” he brightened. “That kind of talent does not go wasted. Is that something you do professionally?” Nev asked. Clover squealed and reached for the temporary tattoo. Those bright blues widening as he showed Nev with excitement. “What do you say?” He asked. “Thank you,” Clover cooed and grinned up at Tae.

“Three?” Hart pretended to have more astonishment than he really had at the girl’s revelation. “Really? You’re a mighty impressive three year old. I’m thirty- four and I don’t think I was that impressive when I was three. You must have some pretty awesome parents.” Hart looked back up at Nevada. You could clearly tell he was thinking ‘cute kid’ in his head. “She take after her mom?” He meant in looks. Hart’s son took after him when it came to his looks. The only thing the boy was given was his mother’s eyes.

Clover giggled and kicked her feet with excitement. The little girl smiled up at Nevada when Hart mentioned having awesome parents. Earning a chuckled from the man, mostly from Hart’s question. “Yes, she takes after her mom in every way. Though, the only thing she got from me is the eyes. Beautiful and a spitfire, just like her momma. Isn’t that right,” he cooed, bopping Clovers nose with his finger.

“Yeah, but you know little kids,” Tae shrugged, hoping the other wouldn’t ask him to elaborate on that. An only child, Tae’s experience with little kids came from his cousins that he’d only known a few years. He hadn’t seen them since coming to Louisiana. Vaguely, he wondered if they were alright, but surely he would’ve heard if they weren’t. Tae smiled down at the little girl, who seemed a bit unsure. “I like to wear mine loud and proud, personally. My sleeves are among my favorites.”

“They’re pretty cool,” he added. Clover grinned from ear to ear, “They are pretty.” She cooed. “So many,” Clover chirped again. “I wanna have them too, daddy.” Nevada snorted, “We’ll start wtih press on tattoos.”

Honestly Clover could have been pointing at Piper for a solid minute and the woman wouldn’t have noticed since she was so intently focused on the shelf of food before her. Scouring each shelf trying to find what she was looking for. “Hmm?” Piper glanced in their direction and immediately smiled once her eyes landed on the girl, “Well if it isn’t my favorite little reader in the making.”

“Hey, Piper.” Nevada greeted the librarian. Clover immediately wanted out of the cart in order to give Piper a hug. Reaching to pick up up the little girl to set her down. Watching as her small arms wrapped around Piper’s legs. “How are you doing?”

“Well enough cut it. Trust me. I’ve got the nieces and nephews to prove it.” Emory was mostly pulling Nev’s leg, but he was also partially serious. His nieces and nephews had him thinking he was out of shape sometimes. It left him wondering how his brothers did it. Yet at the same time a part of him wanted it. 

Emory threw his head back and laughed. “Not that evil. You know I’d tell her the truth eventually,” he admitted as he stood and walked over to where Nev was lying. “I thought you didn’t need a spotter Mr. I-Keep-Up-Well-Enough.”

“Hey, I don’t come to the gym every day like you. Plus, you should always have a spotter no matter what when benching.” Nevada stated, poking at the man. “There was a kid in my 8th-grade class who died because he was bench pressing and the weight was too heavy for him.” 

[TXT] …I’m rather sure you and Doutzen can read each other’s minds. She just said you’d say pretty much exactly that when I saw her. [TXT] Come over to our house, the baby goat is heading over there to play with the dogs. So drag your ass over there. And don’t forget to take Clover with you.

[ text ] see, we’re soulmates. We can both read each other’s minds.

Tae had been rushing a bit, trying to get his few essentials so he could take a nap before going to the booth for the night. Since he was rushing, he wasn’t paying attention to much of anything around him. So when he heard a laugh and an apology, he looked over, seeing the little girl first and smiling at her and then looking up to her father. 

“Don’t worry about it! A lot of little kids get curious about my ‘pictures’,” he laughed. “I’m used to it by now.” It was a pretty common phenomenon since he got his sleeves finished. Honestly, Tae thought it was cute, so he didn’t mind anyway.

“She shouldn’t be too curious, I have plenty of tattoos. Just not as many as you do, or many that are visible.” Nevada gently tugged at one of the curls on top of his daughters head. Clover just smiled and kicked her small feet back and forth. “Do you like the man’s tattoos, Clove?” The little girl nodded her head anxiously, giving him a toothy grin.