“Fuck no, girl. This is brilliant. I love the fact you put this much thought and creativity into it, and honestly, I love when people choose things that has meaning behind it. You want it to stay black and white with just the red in there like that?” Lux was itching to start drawing, adding her own little details on the design.
When Nora nodded her approval, Lux pulled a clean drawing book out. “You can have a seat over there or sit on one of the stools here.” Lux was already sketching as she spoke.
This, drawing images felt normal to her as she lost herself to the craft that she’d done many times before. It didn’t matter that the design wasn’t hers originally.
With her lip between her teeth, Lux made the heart appear 3d, giving it more detail. Once she put the piece on Nora, she’d add the shading and hopefully the other woman could handle a little pain ’cause this was going to be fucking epic once it was done.
“Here you go. What do you think?” Lux turned the pad around, showing what she’d come up with. Essentially it was Nora’s vision.
Nora placed one finger on the ribbon flowing off to the right, then looked up at Lux. “You’re a genius.”
Lux shook her head. “Hey, you did all the work. I just tweaked it a bit.”
Ember leaned over her shoulder, staring down at the paper. She’d felt his presence but didn’t think anything of it since all of the artists at Twisted Ink were always up in each other’s business. Nora’s eyes went wide as she stared at her co-worker, clear interest shining in her blue eyes. Ember was a gorgeous man who seemed to have women, and even men falling at his feet. Yet he was careful not to allow them to get attached. She waited for him to comment on the artwork in front of her. He wasn’t one to make blithe remarks or false compliments.
“Damn, baby girl, this is fucking killer. Not that the original wasn’t a good starting point, but you rocked this shit. Where you putting it?”
Lux figured he was staring at Nora since the other woman appeared to be in a trance or some shit. Ember had that effect on most women. Well, all the men she worked with did since they were all tall, tattooed, and gorgeous. Too bad she thought of them all as brothers even though none of them shared an ounce of DNA. “Ember, quit flirting with my friend and get to work or diddling with whatever you diddle with.”
“That is so rude, Lux. I’d ask you to help me diddle, but like you said, that would be like incest or some shit. Besides, I’m done for the night unless you need me to stick around?”
She looked over her shoulder to see he had already shrugged into his leather jacket, clearly ready to head out. For a second, she almost fucked with him by asking him to stick around, but she shook her head instead. “Get outta here. I got shit to do, and it ain’t you, boy.”
The sound of his laughter was followed by the clanging of his chains attached to his wallet when he made his way to the back door. Of course, he was a big man, which meant he couldn’t truly slip out without making a sound unless he wanted to. She rolled her eyes as she noticed Nora staring toward the way Ember had left.
“Here,” Lux said, ripping a tissue out of the Kleenex box.
Nora blinked twice, taking what Lux offered. “What?”
Lux nodded once. “You gotta a little drool there.”
“Oh shut up. I mean, have you seen that man’s ass? And holy shit. That is one heck of a buldgingcrotch. I swear, if you tell me he stuffs a pair of socks down his jeans, I’m going to be one sad chick tonight.”
She held her hand up, a snort escaping her throat. “Um, I’m pretty sure that’s all real because he has a lot of women who swear they can’t walk after a night with him. And that is why I’m gonna warn you to steer clear of my friend. While I love him, he’s a manwhore, and girl, you might need to get back on the horse, but not a bucking bronco like that one.”
It was Nora who snorted this time, yet she didn’t disagree. Smart chick. At least she learned from her mistakes, unlike Lux who was always looking at the wrong man to fix her. Of course, looking and trying to ride ’em were two totally different beasts.
“Come on, let’s get this started. I think we can at least get the outline done, maybe more, depending on you.” Lux never pushed a client to sit and grin when they couldn’t handle the pain of the needle digging into their skin. She loved the bite of pain, it helped her feel grounded and offered her an escape, kinda like the girl she’d recently tattooed from the Royal MC. Tiana had been a young girl who had been through a lot more than she’d told her family. How she’d hidden the truth from the ones who loved her the most was a mystery. Well, not really a mystery since Lux had done the same. The truth, when it was horrific you had to shove it into a box in the back of your mind where nobody could see it, hear it, or feel it, or you’d go crazy, was the worst. Yet you did what you felt was best. Lux had a couple of boxes that were like Pandora’s little curses locked within her.
She hopped down from the stool she’d been sitting on, taking the drawing with her. “I’m going to scan this into the computer and get a printout of it.” Lux explained her process, figuring she could transfer the design onto Nora’s skin, then she’d have a base to start. After she got going, she always filled in with more detail depending on the client’s body and needs.
“I was going to have you put it on my chest, but I think I want it on my arm. Everyone always says I wear my heart on my sleeve. I figure this is going to be symbolic in many ways. He, my ex ripped away many things, but he didn’t win like he thought.” Nora brushed her hands down her thighs again, nerves making them sweat more than likely.
“You’re right. Standing here, taking control of any aspect of your life is your prerogative. Just like if you decide you don’t want to go through with this.” Lux let her words trail off in case Nora was having a change of heart.
“Hell no. I want to do this. I need to do this. Okay, where do you want me to sit or lay?”
After pointing out her station, Lux moved over to the computer. In a matter of seconds she had the stencil printed out on the special paper, hoping she’d judged the size right. If not, she’d adjust it and redo on a new sheet.
Three hours later, she sat back and admired her work. Well, the combination of hers and Nora’s work. “Damn, you did great. Wanna see how it looks?” Lux asked, wiping off the last bit of ink from Nora’s bicep.
They’d started with Nora sitting up and her arm braced on the armrest. After an hour or so, she’d noticed her client slow breathing like she was going to fall asleep on her. Hell, if she kept it up, she was going to start charging for naps and tats. The thought had her chuckling.
“Oh god, did I drool or something?”
Lux tossed the paper towel she’d been using to wipe off the ink and blood as she went, into the trash before she responded, “Only a little bit, but I won’t charge you this time for the nap.”
Reaching behind her, Lux grabbed a mirror allowing Nora to see the artwork. She was still surprised she’d been able to complete the entire thing, color and shading in one session. “In six weeks, if you want or need me to touch anything up, you can come back in. Of course, I will also do a touchup within the first year if you need me to.”