Body, Ink, and Soul

by Jude Ouvrard

  I was flattered that they thought I could sing at a professional level, but I definitely didn't want it. Having an agent ordering me around, travelling all the time, and the crazy lifestyle definitely wasn’t my idea of fun. I changed the subject. ''Ok girls, I’m starving. Let’s eat."

  I put two pancakes onto my plate and drizzled maple syrup over the top, and decided after a mouthful, it was heaven on Earth. The best thing about Bekka’s scrambled eggs were the shallots she added - so simple, yet so incredibly delicious. Our mood improved as we ate. We laughed and gossiped about the things we’d witnessed at the club. There were the regular customers - the same guys we saw almost every night, and then there were the new people, on their first visit. We could spot them as soon as they stepped in, uncertain about where to sit, or where to buy a drink. They were the ones who usually got drunk before the end of the night. Everyone just seemed to be looking for a place to have fun, and the club provided for their needs.

  In the afternoon, we helped Val pack her belongings. We stuffed everything into her large suitcase - clothes, shoes and the huge amount of perfumes she’d collected. There was no doubt she would be paying extra fees for overweight luggage. We could barely lift the suitcase when it was packed. The empty walls in her room and the barren wardrobe were the final proof that she really was leaving. The space, which had looked so feminine this morning was now reduced to an impersonal bedroom with bare white walls. I silently warned myself to stop over-analyzing everything, firmly reminding myself I was going to see her again and besides, I should be making the best of what time we had together before she left.

  ''Girls, I’ve got a crazy idea! I don't know if you’ll be in for it, but I have to ask,'' Bekka exclaimed, obviously thrilled with her plan. Knowing some of Bekka’s ‘crazy ideas’ from the past, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. ''What about a tattoo? It’ll be a friendship pact, among the three of us. Something which will unite us forever.''

  Excitement rolled off Bekka in waves. Val was enthusiastic about the idea, but I wasn't convinced. I hated to be the party pooper though, so I cautiously agreed. ''Something small and it has to be somewhere I’ll be able to hide it.'' I was trying to be a grownup, but all I could think about was Mom’s reaction if she ever found out about this little adventure.

  ''So, what will we get? A heart? A star? What about a flower?'' Val was bouncing around the room, totally ready to do this.

  ''I think I’d be willing to go with a star on my hip,'' I suggested.

  ''Ok. So, we go for a star, what color?''

  ''Pink!'' Bekka shouted. ''We all love pink. I think it would suit all of us.''

  ''Deal!'' Val agreed.

  And before I knew it, we had a deal, one which made me extremely stressed.

  Chapter Three

  We all jumped in Bekka’s car and drove to the most renowned tattoo parlor we’d heard about. The tattoo had to be done right away. With Val leaving the next morning we didn’t have long to get it organized. None of us had any idea what we were doing, and all I knew was the tattoo parlor needed to be clean and we needed to confirm they always used fresh needles. It obviously wasn’t the type of place where you would find diplomas framed on the walls, but we were looking for professional tattoo artists, not doctors. Universities didn’t offer this kind of art class and I saw a program on TV which said tattoo artists learned their trade by practicing on orange skins. Not the most informative source of information to go on, but it was all we had. I could only hope we chose a reputable one, who wouldn’t make a disaster out of this crazy idea.

  Feather Ink Tattoo Studio had a nicely decorated front window and it looked clean. It was also conveniently open. Their banner was eye catching, with a purple and black background and pink neon writing. Bekka parked the car and we walked quickly to the studio. My hands were already trembling and my anxiety levels were rising rapidly.

  A tall guy welcomed us into the store. He had tattoos all over his arms and even some covering his neck. His ear lobes were stretched to the size of a beer cap, which I was pretty certain must have hurt. I wasn't sure if I liked so many tattoos on a person, but they were pretty amazing. The intricacy and depth of the designs made them breathtaking.

  While I stared at him, Val explained what we wanted. He chuckled and offered his services with a warm smile. While we watched, he drew a little star on a sheet of paper and asked if it was what we were after. The design was small and perfect - exactly what we were looking for. He added some kind of sparkling effects to it, which made it special – really made it ‘us’.

  My anxiety started to rise again. I wasn't afraid of regretting it – I wanted to share this special tattoo with my two best friends. But I was scared of the pain I knew was coming.

  Val volunteered to go first, having decided to get her tattoo on her ankle. She sat on the black leather chair and placed her leg as the tattooist instructed. I watched as he carefully shaved and cleaned the small area on her ankle, prepping it for the ink.

  He placed the stencil on her ankle and once it was transferred onto her skin, he asked if she was happy with the placement. Val nodded, so excited that she kept bouncing around in the chair. The tattoo artist had to remind her to stop moving before he began to work, warning her he couldn’t tattoo on a moving subject.

  My hands were trembling and my spine was so stiff, it seemed like a rod was rammed through it. I was scared shitless. I knew Mom would kill me if she ever found out - this was everything she warned me to stay away from. Despite my misgivings, I wanted to do it because the meaning behind it meant so much to me. My two friends were everything to me and the tattoo was tiny, so I had nothing to worry about, right?

  The tattoo guy was being very gentle with Val, so I wasn't worried about him. It was the unexpected I was afraid of, while I knew there would be pain involved, I didn't know how much I was going to suffer. Val had winced a little at the beginning, but now she seemed perfectly fine. I took a deep breath and told myself to chill out. It seemed to work, as I was finally able to breathe normally again. While I was sitting in the waiting area, with an album of tattoos on my lap, I realized the tattoo guy’s name was on the cover, so I was pretty sure they were all his designs. He was quite talented, with a wide range of creations. Our simple little star, in all likelihood, was boring him out of his mind. He apparently did much more complex designs on a daily basis. He was done with Val in less than twenty minutes and he wrapped her ankle in a bandage, telling her the rules she had to follow to care for her tattoo.

  Bekka took the seat next, leaving me to go last. She wanted it on the front of her shoulder, thinking it would look sexy when she wore a tank top. I guessed she was right - she knew her thing, although I had my doubts about having a tattoo in such a visible position.

  Bekka slipped her t-shirt off on one side, displaying part of her lilac lace bra. She was very confident and showed no signs of being intimidated at all. I thought I might have seen the tattoo artist blush a little, but I was certain it was probably just my imagination. He’d probably tattooed every part of a woman's body. He did smirk at her – that reaction was obvious to all of us.

  He began the procedure for the second time - the stencil, followed by the questions. Just as he readied himself to begin, the front door bounced open and two guys came in, carrying brown paper bags full of take-out food. I was starving and my stomach growled in anticipation of being filled, even though the food wasn’t for us. I didn't pay any attention to the two guys, turning back to the photos instead. A low murmur about their food reached my ears, but I kept my attention focused on the album, fighting a return of nerves about having the tattoo done.

  After a few seconds, a strange sensation started spreading through my body. I lifted my eyes from the photos and my heart stopped. The blood drained from my face and I was pretty certain I was going to pass out. Ink boy was standing not three feet away from me. He had that perfect, sexy grin on his face and he was obviously happy to find me here.

  ''Are you
stalking me now, princess?''

  ''Princess?'' I repeated, with a quirk of my eyebrow.

  ''I know, I know. Geez, I’m sorry. What are you doing here...? Phoenix?'' he asked in an alluring voice. The sound of his voice was so different here, without the club music pulsing in the background.

  ''What do you think I'm here for, Levi?''

  ''Are you always so feisty?'' His voice sent shivers all over my body.

  I nodded. ''My turn to say sorry - I never know how to act around you. You’re so... different.''

  ''Different? Is that all?'' he asked cockily, his lips turning up in that damn smirk.

  ''You have the worst pickup lines I've ever heard.'' I tried very hard not to, but I smiled for a split second. It didn't matter that I tried to suppress it - he saw me.

  ''Was that a smile I saw on your lips?'' he grinned, stepping closer.

  ''What do you want from me?'' I asked. Why did we pick this shop? Of all the tattoo shops we could have gone to, we had to pick the one place where he hung out? What were the odds?

  ''You're the one who's here, in my shop, so I should be asking you what you want. Are you here for a tattoo?''

  ''They're all here for a tattoo. Stop harassing my client, jackass.'' The tattoo artist who was prepping Bekka turned to grumble at Levi.

  Irritated, Levi looked at the tattoo artist. ''No,” he began, shaking his head. “This one is mine, Kyle. I’ll be the only one marking her.'' Levi turned back to me. ''What are you getting tonight? I’ll be taking care of you.''

  I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. ''A star. A pink star. He has the design,” I said, my voice trembling slightly, as I nodded toward Kyle.

  He marched over to Kyle, got the design, and looked at me again. He seemed disappointed. ''Well, I was hoping for something a bit bigger. It’ll only take fifteen to twenty minutes. Are you a virgin?''

  What? Was he seriously asking me such a private question in the middle of a shop? ''Hummm...''

  ''Tattoo virgin, I meant. Have you ever had a tattoo before, Phoenix?'' he asked, obviously amused by my flushed face. I shook my head and he glanced down at the design again. ''Are you sure you don’t want your star to be filled in with red? It kind of suits your skin.''

  I shook my head, not certain I wanted him doing my tattoo. I didn’t want to know the artist. It would be a lot easier, a lot less intimate, a lot less personal. Not that I knew Levi well, but I was nervous around him, and factoring in the location of where I wanted the tattoo – my nerves reached an all-time high.

  ''Are you sure you don’t want something a little bigger? It’s a pretty small tattoo.''

  ''It's the only tattoo I’m ever going to get and I don't want it any bigger. This is perfect.''

  ''We’ll see about that. Where do you want it?'' he asked, his eyes roaming across my body.

  I pointed to the exact spot where I wanted the tattoo, my eyes never leaving his. Being so close to him was challenging. My stomach was filled with butterflies and the need to touch him and get a closer look at his ink was driving me crazy.

  His gaze lowered to where I was pointing, a position just above my pubic bone. ''Okay, I see,” his voice sounded husky “You’ll have to lower your pants or I’ll get ink all over them.''

  ''Don't worry about it. It's alright.'' I wanted to shake my head at my own stupidity. I’d already admitted he made me nervous, I didn’t need to sound like such an idiot!

  He smiled and it’s beauty surprised me - it was like seeing him for the first time. This was a glimpse of the real Levi – not the tatted up bad boy with cheap pickup lines. My cheeks grew hot as I blushed at this latest discovery.

  ''Are you ready?'' He offered me his hand and I took it, not knowing why. It was almost an involuntary reaction. Val was sitting next to Bekka and they both stared at us in disbelief, their gaze taking in our joined hands. This wasn’t normal behaviour for me and both of my friends knew it.

  He led me to his work area. ''I’m Levi, by the way.''

  ''I know, you told me your name last night. I'm Nix.''

  ''I know. You can sit down here and lower your pants for me. Don't worry, I’ll be gentle.'' He was trying to hide a smile, but I wasn't stupid. I knew there was a double meaning behind his words and his smirk was due in part to my obvious discomfort.

  He put latex gloves on and I noticed his fingers were trembling. It seemed he was nervous too and I wondered why. He fiddled around with the cords for a minute, and attached a needle to the tattoo gun.

  The needle came from a sterilized package, so that was one less thing to worry about. I was still incredibly nervous - my hands sweaty and shaking. Levi sat a few feet away from me, preparing his tools silently - far different from the joking guy who had been smirking at me only a minute before.

  I lowered my pants as much as I could, without showing too much. Thankfully, I’d worn stretch yoga pants, so it was easier to slip them down without embarrassing myself.

  ''Show me again where you want it,'' he asked, startling me.

  I pointed to the area on my bare skin and he smiled and nodded.

  ''It’s a cute place to get a first tattoo. You'll be the only one who get to see it. Well, you and Tristan...'' His voice cooled as he trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

  ''In that case, it’ll only be me seeing it," I admitted.

  ''It seemed you liked him well enough the other night.''

  ''I do. He's great guy.''

  ''I guess I see things differently,'' he responded as he cleaned my skin.

  ''Why would you say that? Do you even know him?''

  ''I wouldn't have said something if I didn't. You may think I’m an ass, but I'm not.'' He got up and walked behind me. ''Watch out, I'm about to lower the backrest. I’ll need you to lie flat on your back,'' he instructed, his voice cool.

  He placed the stencil where I’d pointed and ordered me to stand up and look in the mirror to see if it was correctly positioned.

  ''Yep, that's it. Let’s do this!'' I was excited, adrenaline overtaking my earlier jitters.

  He held the gun as he prepped himself to permanently etch the star onto my skin. ''Ready?'' His voice startled me again. There was something sensual about it and the heated look he was giving me. I always seemed to pick up double meanings around him.

  ''Yes,'' I whispered, chewing on my lip anxiously.

  As soon as the words left my mouth, his hands were on me as he started working. He went slow and stopped after a couple of seconds. ''Is everything okay? Not too painful?''

  ''No, no... I’m fine,'' I muttered.

  He continued placing ink on my hip. There was pain, but it wasn't anything I couldn't tolerate. His soft touch over my skin helped negate the discomfort he was inflicting. The needle pierced my skin, filling it with black ink in a very methodical, repetitive movement. After two or three minutes, my skin began to numb and it became easier to deal with.

  ''So you know my boss, Tyler?'' I said.

  ''Yeah, I do. We go way back. He's a good friend.” He smiled to himself. “You like working at the club?''

  ''Yes, it's fun and the paycheck is great.''

  ''And you're not quite done with school?'' He was so close, it was almost arousing. It was wrong of me to be affected by Levi when I was interested in Tristan, but I couldn't help myself. The vibration of the machine, his hands on my skin - it was having an amazing effect.

  ''No. I have one more year to go,'' I murmured, trying to settle myself.

  ''What are you studying?'' The breath coming from his lips danced across my skin. What I’d thought would be painful was becoming agonising in a totally different and slightly erotic way. I could hardly think with his eyes focused on my hip, let alone answer questions.

  ''Journalism.'' It was all I managed to blurt out. I was studying more than journalism, but I didn’t have the control to explain any more right now. ''What about you?''

  ''Well...'' he chuckled. ''I'm done with school. I completed law s
chool, but I work as a full time tattoo artist.''

  ''A lawyer? Aren't you supposed to wear a suit and work in a skyscraper somewhere downtown?'' I asked in disbelief.

  ''I guess I should, but I'm not into it. I changed my mind.''

  By the tone of his voice, it was obvious my questions weren't welcome and I decided against asking anything else.

  ''The outline's done. Let’s start with the color now.'' He looked up into my eyes. ''Are you still doing fine?''

  ''Yeah, sure I am.'' I forced a smile. ''It’s not too bad.''

  He wiped a cold wet tissue over the tattoo and blew over it. Goose bumps broke out across my skin. His warm breath against my sensitized skin was marvelous. Did he do this with every female client? Somehow, I doubted it, but damn, I loved it.

  I avoided any further eye contact. I knew why he was doing this; he wanted to affect me and I couldn't let it happen. This wasn't a game. Things were happening between Tristan and me and Levi knew it. If I looked at him, there was a good chance I would fall for him and who knew what would happen next? I kept reminding myself he was trouble, but I’d never felt like this around a man, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it.

  I closed my eyes, doing my best to ignore the tension building between us. I wasn't the type of girl to play with two guys at the same time and, to be honest, Levi wasn’t the type of guy I would normally go for. The tattoos and the bad boy allure seemed like a heartache waiting to happen. He was totally inappropriate and I knew it. Mom would hate him the instant she saw him, and I could hear her voice warning me to stay away from him.

  I was normally attracted to guys like Tristan - serious, studious and gentlemanly. Tristan was everything I wanted in a guy, and thankfully, he seemed to like me as well.

  My thoughts about Tristan were interrupted when Levi started adding color to the tattoo. He didn't give me any warning – he just started and it startled me. I thought he did it on purpose. ''Thanks for the warning - I appreciate it,'' I spat out.

  ''Well, it's not like we were taking a break. What did you expect?'' he grumbled.