by Amiee Louise
“Do you flirt with every woman you meet, Nick?”
He throws his head back and laughs, attracting the attention of his entourage and piquing the curiosity of the camera crew.
“Just the beautiful ones, love!”
He smirks.
“You’re a charmer, I’ll give you that,” I joke.
I look up at him and my blue eyes lock with his deep brown ones.
“People say the eyes are windows to the soul, and yours say a lot about you, even the things you don't say out loud. I can tell just by looking at you.”
He cocks his head to the side and regards me intently. We sit in silence for a moment before he speaks again.
“I can tell that you were quite different before the light was extinguished from those stunning eyes. Sam was quite smitten with the feisty hell cat he met when you tattooed him, but this girl facing me is someone completely the opposite of what Sam told me of you.”
He leans back in the chair and folds his muscular arms across his chest, watching me with great interest.
“Whatever happened to you changed you completely, and I’m sensing that you’re craving desperately to be that person again.”
I look up at him open mouthed. He definitely has an uncanny knack of reading people and seeing into their very souls. He smiles his dazzlingly bright Hollywood smile, and from across the room, Seb catches my gaze. He frowns and narrows his eyes, mouthing, “Are you ok, babe?” I nod and smile a fake smile. Nick chuckles softly.
“If you want people to actually believe that you’re ok, you have to be a little more convincing than that.”
I narrow my eyes at him, and he sweeps his tongue across his bottom lip.
“Do you have a filter?”
His brown eyes sparkle with amusement and he laughs throatily.
“It seems to be broken, love.”
I spin around to my desk and pull out my sketchpad. I don’t have to turn around to know that Nick has moved to stand right behind me. I can feel his warm peppermint breath close to my ear.
“I’m an actor, love, a bloody good one; I know how to manipulate people into believing whatever I tell them. I can teach you, I’m a master at what I do.”
His voice is a low gruff whisper. The camera crew, Seb, and Nick’s entourage are watching our every move with a piqued curiosity. That's all I need.
“We’re going to be front page news tomorrow, Mr. Slade,” I say with a hint of annoyance to my voice.
“I’ve told you, it’s Nick.”
I spin around, and he leans down, resting both of his hands on the armrests of my chair, trapping me beneath him.
“You know, that annoyed tone you used back there, is the most believable feeling I’ve heard from you since I stepped in here. Good girl, I’m impressed.”
I lift my chin in defiance.
“Have you quite finished analysing me, Nick?” I snap, and he smirks, subtly changing the subject.
“Directors love to work with me, because I bring out the best in the other actors, especially the ones who have to work closely with me. I can definitely see what Sam sees in you.”
I roll my eyes.
“Did Sam send you here to plead his case? If he did, you’re wasting your time, Nick.”
He smiles and nods.
“I merely came here because I want a new tattoo. I heard you had returned from your...hiatus and word on the street, as the kids these days say, is you’re the best in the business, so here I am. I did speak with Sam about my visit, and he did nothing but sing your praises as regards to your work. He didn’t mention anything of your relationship, or lack thereof. I know Sam, I know he’s hurting, and I chose not to push the issue. If he wants to tell me then he will, in his own time.”
He straightens himself and stands at his full height, then moves to the leather chair and sits himself down. All the time, the camera is trained on the situation unfolding between us.
“Do you have a particular design in mind, Mr. Slade?”
He throws his head back and laughs.
“So, we’re back to the formalities, Miss Harper? As you wish. I want a pin-up girl, full colour, to represent Lady Luck and to match the theme of the rest of my tattoos. I was thinking of a brunette, tattooed, blue eyes, large breasts, stockings…rather like yourself,” he says boldly, and I cock my eyebrow as I pick up my pencil.
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Nick.”
I bite my lip to hide my smirk.
“I want her to represent luck, beauty, and everything Hollywood. Think Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, and Elizabeth Taylor, but with a modern twist for the twenty-first century. I want her holding playing cards, aces, and I want the phrase ‘Luck Be a Lady Tonight’ incorporated into the design.”
As he continues to speak, my pencil dances across the page and it’s times like these that I absolutely love my job. Sketching, drawing, creating, and then finally getting to tattoo it onto someone’s skin as a permanent reminder. For me, it’s art in it truest form.
“You’ve got this adorable crease right between your eyes when you’re concentrating, it’s really quite charming,” Nick says softly, and I smile at his compliment.
“Hair up or down?” I question, and he reaches over to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“Definitely down, love.”
Nick Slade is definitely a natural flirt. Everything he says sounds so smooth and charming.
Enough Harper, you’ve had your fill of famous men.
Half an hour passes, and after some idle chit chat with Nick, I am finished sketching his tattoo. I turn the sketchpad round to show him and he cocks his eyebrow.
“This is exquisite; if I could draw, this would be exactly what I would have drawn.”
My eyes widen, and my mouth forms a perfect ‘O’ shape.
“You mean there’s something that the great Nicholas Slade isn’t good at? Alert the press!”
We both laugh, and I find myself totally relaxed around this man.
“Yes, unfortunately, I’m a stickman kind of guy. Although I make up for it in other activities.”
He winks cheekily.
“Where on your body is this going, Nick?”
He lifts his shirt up and points to a blank space up the right side of his ribs. I nod and try to hide the pink flush on my cheeks.
“I won’t be a sec.”
I move across the shop towards the thermal copier machine, and I put my design onto the glass. Seb comes over and brushes my arm.
“Everything alright, babe? I forgot to mention that Slade is a shameless flirt, but you seem to have him under control,” he says suggestively and smirks. I hit him playfully.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Henry! He’s just another client. Besides, I’m totally off men!”
Seb nods.
“We’ll see about that, babe. That’s exactly what you said when you tattooed Sam.”
He winks, and I narrow my eyes at him. I hate it when he’s right.
“Give me a shout if you need anything, babe?”
I nod, and he walks away, leaving me to punch in the correct size on the thermal copier. I wait for the stencil to come through the machine and take it back to my station where Nick is talking in hushed tones to the woman who came into the shop with him.
“Where are my manners, Peyton? This is my agent, Chastity Evangelina Chamberlain, she travels with me sometimes, to keep me out of trouble,” he says with an amused tone to his voice.
I shake her hand as she regards me intently.
“You can call me Chas. Pleased to meet you, Peyton,” she says in a prominent American accent.
We both smile, and I pull away from her firm handshake.
“Likewise, Chas.”
She gives Nick a knowing look as she makes her way across the shop.
“Sorry about her, she’s a tad protective. Likes me to steer clear of unsuitable women, but she’s a pussycat really. She reins me in when I need it,” he explains, and I
nod.
He begins to unbutton his shirt and removes it, revealing his tanned, tattooed torso. His abs are covered in fine dark hairs, forming a trail down to the top of his boxers. I try not to stare, but he really is the whole package, good body, great personality, not to mention a great actor, which I found out after I watched the film that shot him to stardom last night on Netflix.
I move towards him and clean the area with antiseptic before I begin to place the stencil on his ribs. I pat his ribs and peel off the stencil with a steady hand, leaving the outline there for me to follow.
“Do you want to look in the mirror to see if the positioning is good?”
He looks at me and then looks down to check it.
“Perfect, love.”
He winks, and I roll my eyes. Shameless. He stands up, and I fold the chair down flat, so it looks like a leather bed. I lock it into position and pat the bed.
“If you could lay down here for me?”
He grins wickedly.
“I didn’t know you felt that way about me, I’m flattered.”
He gets up onto the bed and turns on his side. I shake my ink bottles, set up my inks in small plastic pots on the table, pull on my black rubber gloves, and clip my hair away from my face before I begin. I start the tattoo machine and begin tattooing him.
After a few hours of tattooing, Nick steps outside the back of the shop for a break. I use the bathroom to freshen up, grab a bottle of flavoured water from the fridge, and check my mobile. I have a text from Sam.
We need to talk about what happened the other night, angel
Call me
S x
I sigh, ignoring the text, and tuck my phone back in my bag while I step outside to get some air. I stand back, observing Nick as he lights a cigarette. He inhales deeply and blows out a plume of smoke.
“Do you make a habit of ogling handsome men, love?” he says with a hint of amusement to his voice.
I chuckle softly and step outside next to him.
“Do you make a habit of charming the pants off tattooed women in back street tattoo shops?”
He laughs.
“You’re quite the woman, Miss Harper.”
I sigh.
“I’m glad someone thinks so.”
He inhales on his cigarette deeply, and he looks at me with concern in his eyes.
“Those things will kill you, you know?”
I swiftly change the subject, before he gets to voice his concerns, and he chuckles softly.
“So, I’m told, but we’re all allowed our vices, love. Mine happen to be a good smoke, a fine wine, and an extremely handsome, muscular man at my beck and call.”
My eyes widen and I’m not sure if Nick is joking. He laughs and cocks his eyebrow.
“Lift your jaw off the floor, Miss Harper. Before you jump to conclusions, not just any man, one man in particular.”
He emphasises the word 'particular' piquing my curiosity. I look at him, regarding him intently.
“Let me guess? I don’t look the type to have...dabbled? I’m an actor, I’m extremely good at laying on the charm and convincing people of whatever I want them to believe. That’s why they pay me the big bucks, darling,” he says as he discards his cigarette and crushes it under his shoe.
“I have to say, I can see why Sam is quite smitten with you. You're ballsy and you're...beautiful. I would definitely be into you to, if you were my type.”
He winks, and we both laugh.
“What is your type then, Nick?” I say sassily, and he cocks his eyebrow.
“Feeling brave, Miss Harper? If you're really interested, my type is tall, brunette, not fussy on eye colour, but I also have a soft spot for a muscular, American male...I'm not gay, if that's what you're thinking. I'm...not bi sexual, call me curious...actually, I'm not even sure what I am. It's just him, Lucas fucking Landon.”
My eyes widen at his admission. It explains why Lucas is such a private person and keeps his business to himself.
“One night with him had me questioning fucking everything I ever believed in. He made me believe I was worthy of being loved, just like you made Sam believe he could love and be loved in return. Don't get me wrong, I love having a beautiful woman beneath me. What red blooded man doesn't? But he did something to me, and I can't get that night out of my head. I wake up with a painful erection, panting like a desperate fucking dog, wanting more, wanting him...Just him, only him.”
He sighs and leans heavily against the wall.
“All these women, I bury myself in them, but all I really want deep down is Lucas. I need him like I need the air to breathe. My agent and my P.R team are pushing for me to do this fucking awful reality T.V show to find me a wife, but I can't. I just can't.”
In the way he speaks, I can see the pain his eyes as he speaks about his feelings for Lucas. I wouldn't call it love, but there's definitely something there and my heart breaks for him.
“Don’t pity me, love, I can see it in your eyes.”
I shake my head.
“It’s not pity, it’s...beautiful, poetic, like star-crossed lovers.”
He laughs.
“I’d hardly call it that. Is that what you and Sam are? Star-crossed lovers?” he asks curiously and my smile fades.
“Me and Sam are over,” I say matter-of-factly and he nods.
“It’s over when he says it’s over, love. He’s a man not to be crossed, and he always gets what he wants, always.”
Suddenly, I start to feel curious.
“How did you meet Sam?” I ask inquisitively, and he smirks, as if remembering the day he met Sam.
“Ah, the day I met Sam. Kind of a strange day, if I'm honest. Rancid Vengeance were doing the soundtrack to the movie I was in at the time and just after we’d finished filming, my agent got a call from J.D. He had this idea that the boys could shoot a music video, without having to star in it, that's where I came in. He wanted me to star in the video, think Robert Downey Jnr. in that famous Elton John video. Although, this video featured me running naked down a train track to a pre-recorded version of a Rancid Vengeance song, in near dark, in January. It was fucking freezing. The boys were holed up drinking hot coffee in a toasty warm trailer, watching on a monitor and I was jogging along a train track, stark bollock naked, freezing my nads off, listening to J.D order me around like I was nobody. After the tenth take, my teeth were chattering, my feet were killing, and I felt like I was going to die of hypothermia. I was so close to walking off the set, and I was starting to lose the will to live. Either that, or I was going to be put in prison for murder. That's when Sam stepped in; he roared at J.D for treating me like a dog, gave me his coat, and dragged me into the trailer. He introduced himself and the boys and went to deal with J.D personally. He was so angry, I could see just by the look on his face. I hardly knew him, but I already knew we were going to be friends, all of us. I'd never met such down-to-earth men like that before. I'd been around over privileged rich kids who had no sense of entitlement, and who thought the world owed them a living. But these boys, they were solid, friends, brothers. They had each other’s' backs. It was...refreshing, new.”
He gets this faraway look in his eyes, and I can tell there's more to his story than what he's told me so far.
“We chatted, we got to know each other, and we bonded, even after those few hours. They couldn't stop apologizing for J.D's awful behaviour, and we reshot the video. Ever since that day, we've kept in touch. Whenever I'm in town, we always make time to catch up, or when the boys visit L.A, they always come over to my place for beer and BBQ. It's become a thing for us. I feel like I belong, like I'm part of something…something good.”
He smiles a genuine smile, and I regard him intently.
“Something wrong, love?” he asks softly, and I shake my head smiling.
“It just reminded me of the day I met Sam. He came in looking every bit the rock star I'd read about. He had this...air about him. He wore sunglasses and leather, it was all about the lea
ther!”
We both laugh.
“As he walked into the shop, everything just...stopped for a few seconds. I couldn't believe that someone as...beautiful as him existed!”
I chuckle softly, and Nick brushes my arm.
“It was love at first sight, I can tell. I don't usually believe in all that crap, but I can see it in your eyes.”
I smile shyly and drop my gaze to the floor.
“Don't be embarrassed, love.”