Page 17 of Aries

“No,” I said before she could finish her thought.

“But he doesn’t have any clients to tattoo.” She looked right at him.

“He’s not here as an assistant, he’s just—” I looked at Ash as he went red. “He’s here to see what I do, and if you’re lucky, you might one day see what he does. He’s talented. You could learn something.”

“Meow,” she chuckled, gesturing with a scratch to the air. “But please, no sex while we’re here, you know it’s a touchy subject.” She walked off.

I informed Ash of her situation, and his solution was masturbation. I didn’t know how Kelly and her wife did things, but I knew as a guy, masturbation solved a world of problems. Sexless? Masturbate. Tired? Masturbate. Sad? Masturbate. It was at least my solution to most things.

7. ASH

I’d never been around so many tattooed people before, I felt like I was in some biker bar, except it didn’t stink of beer and in fact, didn’t make me want to go hide in a hole scared that I’d be beaten. Gael introduced me to everyone who worked at the shop, they were all so nice, and all very much covered in tattoos. I suppose they had to be; you wouldn’t really trust someone to tattoo you if they were like me.

I sat out in the shop with everyone as they were all working on something, either a tattoo or a drawing. The buzz of the tattoo gun was actually quite relaxing, but I knew from the occasional ouchand suck back of breath that it wasn’t.

“Where does it hurt the most?” I asked Gael, as he prepared his tattoo chair for the client. They were getting the dragon piece on their back finished. It was currently a lot of lines without much color or rendering.

“It all depends,” he said. “Pain isn’t always the same in everyone. There are sensitive areas, but to some people, any area is the worst. And some people get numbing creams now. Not here, I like to make sure people can tell me when they need to take a break.”

“But like, on you, what was the worst?”

“Take a guess.”

“The bits around your dick,” I said in a whisper, looking around to see if anyone was listening.

“Yes, and armpit area,” he said. “When Ricardo comes in, any minute, you can ask him too. He’s got more than me.” Gael continued preparing a small tray with his tattooing kit and inks.

Ricardo was a six-foot-something, beefy man with a shaved head and an extremely loose tank top like he’d just been to the gym. His arms, from his hands all the way up to his shoulders were covered in art. I knew my art would live forever on canvas, unless destroyed, but more often than not, well protected. The art I saw on skin would only live as long as the person. It was fleeting on the grand scheme of the universe.

“He your new plaything?” Ricardo asked, his wrist flopping around in gesture to me. “Nice to meet ya, I’m Ricardo.”

“Oh, I—”

“Yes, honey,” he said. “I’m a Queen, we come in all shapes and sizes. Soak it up, baby.”

Gael chuckled to himself. “I’ve known Ricardo for a long time.”

“He gave me my first tatt back in—what year, it must’ve been—”

“Don’t even,” he said.

“I hope he’s treating you well,” Ricardo said. “And make sure he gets a hot dinner once in a while.”

“I cook,” Gael said. “I’m gonna cook for him.”

“Not him, stupid. You. You look like you’ve been chomping around on his neck. Vampires are out of fashion now, darling.”

He was quite funny. I didn’t think Gael would’ve had friends that acted feminine but looked like they could be hired as an enforcer for a criminal gang.

“I’ll make sure he eats,” I said. “And I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“So,” Ricardo said, removing his tank top. “Is he an intern? Is he going to be tattooing me?” He scoffed. “No offence, sweetie, but we’ve been planning this back piece out for years.”

“No, no, I’m just here to watch. I don’t have any tattoos,” I told him. “I’m actually an artist.”

“A successful one,” Gael said. “Right. On your front. Let’s see where we got to.”

I was prompted to ask him my question about the pain. “Collarbone,” he said. “Vibrated through me like a bitch.” He turned his head to look at me over his shoulder. “What are you thinking of getting?”

---