1Kyrone
The best thing about working at the Heaven and Hell Club was that the tips from private dances helped to pay for the fun extras in life, like new tattoos. Kyrone had had his appointment booked at Ink Envy for a couple of weeks, so by the time he walked through the door, he was buzzing with excitement. The owner, Faye, was chatting with a client as she took their payment. She was a petite woman with electric blue hair, amazing ink, and several piercings. She was wearing a bright yellow vest top, which showed off her brightly coloured, three-quarter-length sleeve tattoos, featuring large flowers and mandalas in hypnotic designs. She wore a nose ring and had at least ten piercings in each ear, running from her lobe all the way up the cartilage. Kyrone could tell that she had a large chest tattoo, although he could only see the very top of it above the neck of her vest.
“Kyrone,” Faye said cheerfully once she’d shown her customer out. “Right on time.”
“I wouldn’t want to keep the best tattoo artist in town waiting,” he replied smoothly.
Faye rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were flirting with me.”
Kyrone pressed his hand to his chest. “Me?”
“Or trying to butter me up because I know I don’t have the right tackle. You’re not getting a discount, you know.”
Kyrone laughed. “Not even for your best customer?”
Faye gave him a scathing look. “Honey, I’ve got plenty of customers who I see more often than you.”
Kyrone twisted his face into a hurt expression. “But are they all as entertaining as me?”
“Probably not,” Faye conceded. “Nor are they as full of themselves.”
Kyrone gave her puppy dog eyes. “No discount, then?”
“No.” Faye folded her arms, signalling a clear end to the not-serious conversation. “Have you got a design with you?”
Kyrone grinned and pulled out the piece of paper he’d been carrying around since he had the idea for the tattoo, several weeks earlier. He always gave himself some thinking time before booking an appointment. He unfolded it and put it on the counter, turning it around for her to see.
“Adonis?” Her mouth quirked into an amused smile as she stared at the chunky text.
Kyrone stepped back and spread his arms wide. “Well, I am, aren’t I?”
Faye arched an eyebrow.
“You should come down to the club one night. Ask the punters or even my boss. They’llalltell you I’m one of the most popular dancers.”
“Hey, it’s your body. If you want to put something so big-headed on your…” She tilted her head, waiting.
“Chest.” He ran his fingers over his pecs. “Right here.”
Faye looked down at the text again, tapping her finger against the paper. “Is this the size you want it?”
“Yup.”
“You’re not planning on dancing for a week or so, are you?”
Kyrone shook his head. “My boss is letting me do bar work until it heals.”
Faye clicked her fingers. “Darn. I guess I’ll just have to wait to come and watch you in action.” She hesitated, drumming her fingers on the counter. “I’ve got an apprentice working with me at the moment. Would you mind if he watched and maybe did a bit of the work?”
“An apprentice?” Kyrone asked uncertainly.
“Relax, Kyrone. He’s a good kid. He has a very steady hand and an eye for detail.” She lifted the piece of paper. “I’ll do the outline, and then he can fill it in. It’ll be child’s play for him.”
Kyrone scrunched his lips up. “About that discount… I shouldn’t have to pay top rate for an apprentice to do half the work.”
“Ten per cent off.”
Kyrone grinned. “That works for me.”
