“How long have you been a tattooist?” the girl in his chair asked as Elias removed the transfer from her arm.
“I’ve been licensed for almost seven years.”
“Does it take long to achieve?”
“It depends on the route you take,” he responded, turning on the gun. She jumped before laughing.
“Sorry. It’s my first one, so I’m a bit nervous.”
Elias paused and looked at the piece she was getting on her lower bicep down to her forearm. It was large for a first tattoo. He hadn’t done her initial consultation because he hadn’t been in the shop when she’d come. It had been done with Nesiah, and she’d chosen to book with him from his portfolio. Since he only did specific hours in the shop, he’d given the other three free rein to set appointments for him, if he had them available. Even when she’d come in a few days ago for him to draw what she wanted, she had said nothing about it being her first.
“I’ll be fine. I have a few piercings, so this should be a piece of cake once we get started.”
Elias understood her logic, but that wasn’t always the case. While piercings were a quick pain. This would be continuous until he finished, and where she was getting it was a sensitive area, but he would play it by ear.
He was a third of the way through the design, with minimal twitches on her end, but he could tell she was uncomfortable.He figured when they got to the halfway point, he’d give her a minute if she needed it, unless she asked for a break before that.
“This might be uncomfortable,” he informed her some time later, before he began tattooing over her inner elbow.
She hissed and jerked a bit, her free hand attaching to his bicep and squeezing. Elias turned the gun off as he pulled his arm from her grasp.
“Sorry. I felt the need to grab something,” she told him with a smile.
He refrained from pointing out that she could have grabbed the chair or one of her own body parts. Instead, he rolled over to one of his drawers and pulled out a stress ball, passing it to her. She could squeeze it to her heart’s content.
“Thanks,” she said, with an air of disappointment in her voice, and Elias knew it was because she now had no reason to touch him under the guise of reflex.
He continued the design over her inner elbow, and the soft music Nesiah played as she worked on a design filtered through the space, matched by the humming of the tattoo gun. The peaceful atmosphere persisted as he finished all the black sections of the tattoo. It was when he started shading in the color that she spoke again.
“Any plans after this?”
“More sessions,” he responded, and from his periphery, he saw Nesiah turn to look at them.
“No rest for creativity,” she responded. “What time will you be finished?”
“Late.”
Conversation again ceased as he continued to shade in her tattoo.
“Well, if you’re free. There’s this place on Eleventh that stays open until one a.m. if you want to go. I wouldn’t mind waiting.”
Elias removed the gun from her skin and looked up to find her batting her eyelashes. Before he could respond to her last statement, her face was closer to his, and instinctively, he leaned back. She laughed.
“Sorry. You just have such pretty eyes.”
“My girlfriend thinks so too,” he responded, figuring that would be enough to stop her not-so-subtle advances. When he’d drawn her tattoo, she hadn’t attempted flirting with him, but maybe she'd decided she’d go for it today.
“Of course, you have a girlfriend. The attractive ones always do.”
The rest of the tattoo was done with no conversation between them. When he finished, he sprayed it, then went through the aftercare steps with her as she looked it over in the mirror. She’d already paid him, so Elias cleaned his station, then wrapped her arm.
“Well, if you find yourself single—”
“I won’t,” he responded, cutting her off.
“Right. Thanks for the amazing tattoo.” She was gone a few seconds later.
“If you find yourself single,” Nesiah mocked. “I’m telling Eri,” she teased.
