Bo was finishing his cup of black coffee early on Sunday morning and looking forward to the ride he had planned. The week had been busy and left little free time. Therefore, today he decided to head to Bang Kachao park, dubbed the "lungs of Bangkok", to complete a long running stretch. Running always left him feeling refreshed, and it especially helped clear his head and relieve stiffness after a long session with a client.

He put the empty cup in the dishwasher, pulled on gray joggers and a white cotton t-shirt featuring a cat drawing in Gilby style, and headed out with a light step. Nothing woke him up better than the fresh air that rushed through his body as he set off on his Honda into the warm morning. Early Sunday morning the city streets were quite peaceful compared to other days of the week. He arrived at the destination a bit earlier than planned, which he took as a sign of good luck. The day was threatening to be even warmer than usual.

He started running his usual route through palms, bananas, and mango trees, and within a few minutes, he developed a good rhythm. As it seemed to happen often since meeting her, his thoughts turned to Nina. He liked her idea for a tattoo and her concepts for the website. He liked how her blond hair kept falling into her face as she was looking at the computer screen. He even liked her futile attempts of keeping it tucked behind her ear. He liked how she smiled confidently while explaining her ideas and how she seemed to enjoy and master her work. There was no denying it - he liked her.

After running the trail along the river, he turned into denser vegetation and gratefully welcomed the shade the trees provided. The trail was almost empty in the early morning, but every now and then, he would pass by the occasional cyclist. His watch had just marked a distance of five kilometers when he thought he heard barking. As he continued running, the barking grew louder. Bo briefly wondered if he should have brought pepper spray. He had heard about rabies cases from acquaintances, and it was not something he wanted to encounter. He noticed that the barking was mixed with pleading whining, which made him push forward.

Following the sound, he knew he was getting closer to the dog, but had to veer off the trail to reach the animal. Since he preferred single-track trails, Bo was glad to have a reason to explore the forest a bit more. He soon spotted the small noise maker. A medium-sized dog with long gray fur was tied to a banana tree, and when it saw Bo, it stood up on its hind legs, waving its front ones in the air trying to get closer to him. Then, it obediently sat down and looked at him with the most imploring gaze. Bo immediately felt sorry for the abandoned animal. No longer worried about the possibility of rabies, since the dog seemed quite well cared for, he approached and unchained it. The dog immediately ran and began circling around Bo.

"Hey there, little one, you're lucky I came by. I'm not sure how many people would have heard you in the afternoon crowd. What kind of merciless fool left you here, I wonder."

He took a water bottle from his belt and offered the dog a drink from his hand. The little dog didn't take long to figure it out, and Bo was sure it was a trained animal that had lived in an apartment with its owner. He couldn't understand how someone could share their living space with an animal one day and leave it in the middle of the forest the next. As the dog eagerly drank, Bo pondered what to do with it. For starters, how would he even take it anywhere on his motorcycle? He also wondered if he should finish his run or head back immediately. Petting the dog to check if it was injured he quickly determined that after a good drink, the dog appeared quite healthy and content. He decided to see if it would voluntarily follow him if he continued to run.

"Okay, buddy, let's finish the workout, and then I'll take you for a check-up and some food. How does that sound?" The dog looked at him, tilting its head.

"I'll take that as a yes," Bo laughed at the one sided conversation he was having and started heading back to the trail. The dog hesitated at first, but after a few seconds, it appeared on his left side and didn't leave it until they circled back to Bo's motorcycle seven kilometers later.

"We had a good run, didn't we? Want some more water?" Bo was in a great mood, enjoying the post-run high, and noticing that his average pace was slightly better than usual. "Man, you can run! I mean, dog haha. Dog, you can run! You're a good dog, you know?" he said, to which the dog looked at him again, tilting its head, barked once, and wagged its gray tail swiftly.

"Okay, I know what we'll do, I'll call Shampoo, she has a Vespa, I think you'll be able to ride on it," Bo said, pulling out his phone from the motorcycle's seat. "Hope she's awake."

By the sound of her voice, Chompoo hadn't been awake but when she heard what was going on, she quickly agreed to help. Twenty minutes later, Bo was stretching next to his motorcycle when he saw her approaching on an olive-green Vespa. Chompoo parked, took off her helmet, and immediately threw herself at the dog, showering it with affection and cooing to it in Thai. Bo let them get acquainted for a few moments.

"What do you think, can she ride on your bike?"

"Absolutely, this is a domesticated dog, I'm betting we won't have any problems. Where are we going?"

"I want someone to confirm she's okay, and then I don't know. I thought she could stay in the studio for a few days until we found her owner?"

"I don't know, would we leave him alone overnight? Poor puppy. Btw, is it a female or a male? Did you check?"

"No, I didn't check, thank you very much. But judging by how she pees, I'd say it's 99% female or a very young male. There's a vet quite close by and on the way to the studio," Bo said, looking up from his phone. "I'll go ahead, and you two follow me, okay?"

"Okay, female or very young male, let's see how you ride," Chompoo smiled and headed towards the Vespa, calling the dog with her. The dog hesitated at first looking at Bo, but when Bo walked towards Chompoo and gestured to the footboard between her legs, the dog quickly understood and obediently jumped onto Chompoo's bike and settled between her legs.

–

"Is Nina coming for her tattoo today?" Chompoo asked as the three of them entered the studio an hour and a half later. The dog seemed cheerful and immediately started exploring every corner by sniffing around. Hopefully, she won't knock anything over, Bo thought, watching her roam.

"Yes, we've scheduled her for two. Make sure the print is ready on time."

"I've had it prepared ever since she approved the last modifications," Chompoo scoffed. "You can pick it up at the reception. So, how about a new bet?"

Bo chuckled. "You really think she won't show?"

"No, no, she'll definitely come. What I propose is a bet on how long she'll last. Like this: if it's under an hour, I win; anything over, and I owe you a beer."

"I don't know, Chompoo, Nina is full of surprises. Are you sure you want to part with your hard-earned cash that quickly?" he teased.

"The lady has great design ideas, but as far as pain tolerance goes, I'm pretty sure I haven't misjudged her."

"Alright, you're on," Bo was confident of victory. "By the way, what are we going to name the dog?"

"How about Silver?" Chompoo suggested.

"Silver? I like it, but it doesn't seem easy to shout out. Silver! Silver!", he tried. "I'm not sure. I like the color reference. What do you think about Ash? Or Storm?"

"Storm, for that sweetheart? No way, too serious. Maybe Stormy?"

"Stormy. Cute, OK, that works. Stormy it is. Where did she go? Stormy! Stormy?" Bo called out.

"Hmm, I don't know how to tell you this, but I doubt Stormy realizes that's her name since we've just decided on it!" Chompoo grinned.

As if she wanted to prove Chompoo wrong, Stormy appeared from the next room, ran up to Bo, and sat in front of him, looking up expectantly.

"Well, I'll be damned. Whatever. I'm off to work. Bye, Stormy. Boss," she said, heading to her work desk. Bo briefly petted the dog.

"How about that promised lunch, Stormy?" he asked, starting to think about filling his own stomach.

Several hours later, Nina was lying on a comfortable table that reminded her of the ones used for massages. She was dressed in a navy-blue tank top and dark linen shorts that she strategically chose as she could easily lift them up to expose her thigh. She hoped that she wouldn't have to take them off. Bo was at the other corner of the room, preparing his tools by filling tiny bottles with dark liquid. Pleasant sounds of a piano piece filled the air, but Nina could hardly hear anything over the sound of her heart threatening to burst through her chest.

A few moments earlier, Bo had skillfully transferred the design that Chompoo prepared onto her left thigh. Nina felt her skin tingling still in the spots where he touched her.

"How long do you think this will take?" she ventured to ask.

"It depends," Bo replied without elaborating further.

Nina fell silent. She tried to remember the diaphragmatic breathing techniques she had learned in yoga classes. A deep breath in through the nose all the way to the stomach. Hold for two seconds. A deep exhale until it felt like her body contained not a single atom of oxygen. Then a deep breath in again, focusing only on the breath. Inhale. One. Exhale. Two. Inhale. Three. Exhale. Four.

"You're turning blue," Bo commented, approaching the table again with a needle in hand. "I have a trick that might help," he said, taking her forearm and gently pulling Nina to a sitting position.

"Wait here," he said and left the room. She couldn't imagine what he could bring back that would help her relax at that moment. Briefly, she thought it might not be wise to proceed with the tattoo when she was so clearly filled with nervous dread. Over the last few days, her feelings about the tattoo had swung like a pendulum from excitement and positive anticipation to terror and the desire to cancel. She didn't even know how many times she had composed a message to Bo that said she was backing out. Yet, some inner defiance prevented her from sending those messages.

"...to help someone," Bo was explaining as he opened the door and reentered the room. Stormy followed closely behind him, her tail fluttering through the air rapidly. She immediately approached Nina, her nose touching her bare knees, gathering information.

"I thought you might be a dog person," he said to her. "And even if you aren't one, I don't think there are many people in this world who can resist Stormy," he went back to the table with tattooing liquids and brought them over to Nina's side. Nina hadn't even noticed him, still busy greeting Stormy and cooing at him in Croatian:

"Where have you been, little one? Oh, aren't you a sweet little nose?"

"Looks like you've relaxed sufficiently. Let's strike while the iron is hot," he said, and nudged Nina's shoulder, prompting her to lie back down on the table. With his left hand, he lifted the linen shorts from the upper part of the tattoo outline. Nina shut her eyes forcefully.

"Okay, this is going to sting a bit. The more you relax, the less it will hurt." Bo warned her. Nina's hand still rested on Stormy's head, and that helped. The animal brought her back to a more positive mood. The first sting of the needle frightened her, but soon she realized she was relaxed enough to talk.

"When did you get your first tattoo?" she asked.

"My first?" Bo paused briefly. "I think I was about thirteen."

"Thirteen? Please. Who would let a thirteen-year-old boy get a tattoo?"

"My friend Li Jun. I did have to persuade him for a few days. Especially since I didn't have a penny to my name. But after I threatened to tattoo myself when he wasn't around, he relented and agreed. In return, I had to clean the studio for two months."

"What did you get? Can I see?" Nina was curious.

"Maybe, one day," Bo chuckled but did not elaborate. Instead, he gently grabbed her leg and repositioned it so her foot hung off the table. He leaned over her again, and with its new placement, Nina's bare foot was now resting against the middle of his stomach. She looked up and realized Bo had started working on the inner side of her thigh, which made this position the only way he could support his elbow on the table. His stomach provided a firm resistance. Before thinking it through, Nina lightly pushed her toes in Bo's direction. Not an inch of his flesh gave way to pressure. Bo detached the needle from her skin and stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Does it hurt? You need a break?"

Nina couldn't believe what she dared to do. She laid her head back on the table's headrest and willed herself to be as still as a mummy for the rest of the session.

"No, sorry, all good, we can continue," she muttered, embarrassed.