“Stop being so grumpy and just enjoy yourself for once. That's why we're doing this you know. If you can let loose tonight, then maybe while I'm gone you'll learn to live a little.”
A deep cough echoed through the room. My neck snapped up, eyes steady and wide. “Alright, Red, you're first.”
“My name's Beth.” Popping up from the chair, she walked towards the back. “Lo, you coming?”
“I don't know, can I?”
The bearded man nodded. “Absolutely.”
Following him down a narrow corridor, he turned into a small room. One wall was filled with tiny bottles of different colored ink, more paintings crowded the remaining blank space.
“Have a seat,” he said, arm fanning out towards the black leather chair in the center of the room.
“How should I sit?” Beth asked, eyeing the seat.
“Well, you want the tattoo on your lower back right?” Beth nodded yes, flashing an excited grin. “So straddle the chair. I'm sure you know how to do that.” Chuckling to himself, he squirted an array of colors into tiny cap-sized cups.
“I'd call you an asshole, but I don't want you to fuck up my tattoo on purpose.” Throwing a leg over the cushion, Beth shot him a nasty glare.
“I'm sorry, Beth, but no matter how much you might get on my nerves, I would never deliberately fuck up your picture. That's just wrong.”
“Good, I'm glad we don't need to pretend to be friends, and you still respect your job enough to try.”
“You don't have to like me, but you'll love your tattoo when I'm done, I promise.” Holding a hand to his heart, he bowed his head.
“So what's your name?” Beth asked, turning to roll her eyes at me. She was just as annoyed with him as he seemed to be with her.
So why are we here again? Why get stamped by a guy you don't like?
This was a first for me. Most guys loved Beth, and all of them tried to get in her pants at some point. For me to watch this guy blatantly shooting her down from the start, it sent shivers down my spine.
“The name's Kash, how about you? What's your name, Princess?” His gunmetal stare froze me in place.
“That's Lo, she's really shy, so don't be surprised if she doesn't say more than two words the whole time we're here.” Beth smiled at me, winking as she adjusted her dress to wrap her legs around the chair.
I expected his eyes to fall to her waist, follow the thin line of her thong over her ass cheeks. But he didn't, he just examined the placement of the picture.
His eyes fluttered over the dip in her spine, thumbs resting on either side as if measuring to make sure he knew where the center was.
Seriously? Not a single glance at her ass?
Maybe there was an attraction between us, maybe he wasn't as shallow as every other guy in this fucking universe.
“Well, she already said more than two words when you guys first got here. Maybe she'd talk more if you gave her the chance, and didn't answer for her immediately.” Lifting up a waxy piece of paper with a purple image in the center, he let his eyes fall back on mine. “So, tell me your name.”
“Didn't you hear her? It's Lo.” Setting my heels down on the floor, I finally settled my stomach enough to sit in the rickety folding chair beside Beth.
But I was by no means still. My muscles were trembling, foot patting the floor like a jackrabbit sending a warning through the dirt. And my heart was in overdrive, careening my ribs like a prisoner trying to break free.
“Lo? That's it? It's not short for something else?”
Inhaling a heavy breath, I closed my eyes and let my fingers tighten around the weak frame. “Willow, my name's Willow. Happy?”
“I sure am.” Biting his lower lip, his attention fell back to his current client. “How's this?” He asked her, holding up the Lily etched across the paper.
“That's perfect. You just drew that now?” Beth asked, twisting her brows up in amazement.
“Yeah, that's kind of what I do.”
“I love it.” Beth's teeth bared, the bright white filled her mouth as she let out an excited squeal. “What do you think, Lo?”
“It's pretty, what color are you going to make it?”
Tilting his head to his shoulder, Kash lifted one brow. “It's going to have a lot in there. With the shading, I'll add depth and dimension to the picture to make it really pop. I'll use a whole bunch by the time I'm done. But the main color will be a nice bright orange.”
Shading? Depth and dimension? In a tattoo? No way.
There was no way he could bring any realism to that image. He was using needles and skin, not real paint and a white canvas.
I didn't know that much about tattoos, but I couldn't even fathom he'd be able to draw anything more than a one dimensional cartoon flower on her back.
When I pictured a tattoo, the only image that ever crossed my mind was my grandfather's smeared, meshed together anchor he had on the center of his forearm.
It didn't even resemble an anchor anymore, it was more of a large blob, a picture from an ink blot test. The anchor had morphed into a half crab that was squished.
“Really? How the hell are you going to do that?”
“Just sit back and watch. And when it's your turn, I have something very special I drew up for you.”
“What is it?” My curiosity came clawing out like an eager kid on their birthday. I wanted to know what it was, where he wanted to put it, and what his mind could have even possibly created for me when he knew nothing about me at all.
“Patience, Willow, you'll see. And I guarantee you'll love it.” Spraying Beth's back, he rubbed the image onto her skin, and peeled away the stencil. Kash's foot tapped the pedal on the floor, a high pitched buzzing radiated through the room.
“Is this going to hurt?” Beth asked.
“I'm not going to lie, it might. Everyone is different, I guess it really depends on your threshold for pain. Some people say it isn't bad, others say it's the worst feeling they've ever experienced. I don't mind the pain, as you can tell.” Holding his arms out, he twisted them around.
I could see the tempting lines peaking out from the top of his shirt. Their thin fingers called to me, waving in my face as if to say, “There's more under here, come peel this cover off.”
Kash had ink that decorated him in areas I couldn't see. But wanted to see.
If his chest was as muscular as his arms, then the images could have a whole different dance of their own.
My body started to warm, stomach rolling to life with butterflies that suddenly turned into caged crows. Their wings slammed my insides as they flew around my gut, the intense torrent whirling in my core.
But I wasn't afraid anymore, I was excited. Pure adrenaline in the most innocent form; desire.
What the hell has come over me? Running a hand over my hair, my fingers smoothed the frayed edges.
The feeling hitting my chest was bizarre, an out of body experience. I spent my time running from people, not falling into them.
And Kash had me burning, from the way he looked at me, to the idea of him touching my skin; it gripped my muscles, puncturing my nerves.
“Alright, here we go,” he said, feathering the pedal. The buzzing seared my ears, bringing every piece of my body to life.