Scott styled it out by pretending to trip on the kerb. “You’re really into me. That’s the brief, now help me sell it.”
He pulled a reluctant Thomas into the shop and smiled at Russell and his two friends.
They didn’t smile back.
“Which one?” Scott asked, pointing at the examples of tattoos covering the walls. He shot Thomas a flirty wink. “And where do you want me to get it?”
Thomas looked as if he wanted to strangle Scott there and then.
“Hey, pretty boy.”
It wasn’t Russell who spoke but his friend with the red mohawk and biker jacket. His ears were more metal than flesh, and one of the piercings in his lobe appeared to be weeping yellow fluid.
Scott turned to him. “Glad you noticed.”
“I think you took a wrong turn; the beauty salon is across the street.”
The three of them exchanged smirks and nudges.
“Oh, I know,” Scott replied, fluttering his lashes. “We just came out of there. My crack is now ready to be used as a slip and slide.”
All three men grimaced.
“Zara is an expert on waxing,” Scott said. “She’ll be able to sort your monobrow out in no time.”
“Monobrow,” Mohawk replied, slapping a hand up to cover his forehead.
“That’s the least of your problems. Your ear appears to be infected.”
“You’re infected.”
Again, it wasn’t Russell who had spoken. It was the other man, shorter, skinnier, with piercings down his nose. He wore demonic red contact lenses and wrinkled his nose at Scott like he was the shit he’d stepped in – because there definitely was an odour in the air to suggest he might’ve done.
“Yes,” Scott agreed. “Infected with love for this guy.”
He squeezed Thomas’s arm.
Thomas gave himnothingback.
Scott carried on regardless. “And what better way to express my love than a tattoo?”
He dragged Thomas over to the books of designs on the table and started flipping through. Thomas remained as stiff as a board, but he was breathing harder, and faster from his nostrils, like he inched towards detonation. Scott knew he didn’t have long until Thomas bolted, and he needed to wrap things up quickly.
“There really are so many to choose from,” Scott murmured, flicking through the twenty pages of skulls. “Shall we go home, find a design online?”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Thomas said through his teeth.
Scott slammed the book shut and turned around.
Russell blocked the door. “Tell you what, pretty boy, you pick a design today and I’ll pay for it.”
“That’s kind of you, but –”
“I knew it.” Russell laughed. He sucked in his cheeks, and his piercings scraped against his teeth. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle a little pain.”
“Pain?” Scott replied. “I just had my arsehole waxed…”
Russell’s glare softened when he looked at Thomas. “What the hell are you doing hanging around with someone like that?”
