“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a maybe. What if I don’t get any bookings?”
Brix grinned as the back door to the studio opened and a statuesque woman with electric blue hair let herself in. “Morning, Lena. This is my mate Calum from London. Can you give him a butcher’s at the waiting list? He’s worried we won’t have any work for him.”
By Lena’s smile, Calum got the feeling he was about to be shown up. He shook her hand and followed her to the reception desk. She powered up the sleek iMac and opened the appointments system. “Brix is booked out until early next year. Only Jory has slots in the next six weeks. This is the waiting list.”
Calum stared. He’d had a waiting list of his own back in Paddington, but nothing like this. “Are they waiting for a particular artist? Or just to come here?”
“Everyone wants Brix, but he only has appointments four days a week. He does drop-ins on Fridays, but only in the off-peak season. It would be mental if he did it over the summer. For guest artists, I offer them up as a drop-in for the first few days, until word gets out and I’ve publicised them a bit. It doesn’t usually take long for their list to fill up after that. How long are you around for? I can probably have you booked for the next eight weeks if you’re up for it.”
Calum shrugged. He hadn’t actually given it much thought, but with a minus balance on his bank account and fuck all else to his name, a month or two of solid work sounded almost too good to be true. “Let’s give it a week to start with. I might be the exception to your success.”
“I doubt it. Do you have an online portfolio?”
“Nope. I ain’t got nothing. Haven’t even got a phone with any pictures on.”
Lena raised an eyebrow, looking briefly beyond Calum to where he imagined Brix was standing.
“I did the wolf on Brix’s neck, if that helps.”
“You did?” Lena’s expression brightened. “That’s my favourite. Brix! Come here.”
Brix appeared from nowhere. “You rang?”
“Shirt off.”
“Already?” But Brix obeyed, pulling his long-sleeved T-shirt over his head to reveal his long, slender torso, almost every inch of skin covered in ink, including a large, dot-work wolf that stretched up his spine and curved around his perfect neck.
Calum swallowed. He’d etched the wolf on Brix years ago but remembered the sensation of Brix’s warm skin and the throb of his pulse like it had been yesterday. His low chuckle as he’d no doubt realised the effect his close proximity was having on his newbie protégé. “It’s held up well.”
“Course it has,” Brix said. “It was done by the best.”
Calum flushed and looked away as Lena snapped a picture with an iPad. He’d once been proud of the piece, but it meant nothing to him now—not much did.
“All done.” Lena set the tablet down and tossed Brix his shirt. “Now piss off, both of you. I’ve got work to do.”
Lena struck Calum as a woman not to be messed with, so he trailed Brix back to Lee’s workstation and studied the ink and stencils that littered the cluttered shelves. “Scruffy one, eh?”
“The worst,” Brix confirmed. “But when you kick out the best watercolour work I’ve ever seen, I let it slide. Have you seen these?”
He pointed to a series of photographs on the wall, all watercolour pieces of various animals and plants. Calum traced one with his finger. He’d seen plenty of watercolour tattoos before, but none quite like these. He tried to picture the delicate art flowing out of his own gun. Failed, because they looked like they’d been drawn by a fairy rather than inked into flesh. Curious. “What’s he like?”
“Who?”
“Lee.”
“She’s fucking awesome.”
The new voice in the room startled Calum. He spun around to find another woman with neon hair—pink, this time—had joined them, this one complete with lip and septum piercings. “Erm, you’re Lee?”
“Yup. What are you and Brix doing messing up my station?”
Beside Calum, Brix chuckled. “Couldn’t mess that shit up with a cluster bomb. How do you find anything?”
“Easily, ’cause it’s exactly where I left it if no other bozos have been farting around with it. Go on, piss off.”
“Watch your mouth,” Brix said with a grin that told Calum he and Lee talked this way all the time. “I was just showing Calum your stuff.”
