Page 42 of Love Punch

Sophia interrupted us by pulling on the latex glove and then letting it go so it smacked against her wrist. “Right, you two. I want to get to work. Arthur, if you can take what I’ve shown you here and create something for Sebastian. I’m not saying I’ll use it, but I think you have the talent to create something beautiful. And Theodore is going to lay very still as I tattoo. You’re welcome to observe as you draw.

“Thank you,” I said. I lowered the opacity of the photo on the iPad and created a drawing layer over Sebastian’s chest. Right away I could tell that his dark hair would cover more sins than Theo’s sparse spattering of pale body hair, but equally the new tattoo could look a bit of a mess if it just sat under the covering of hair.

“What’s the nickname they give him on the grid? The Lion?”

“The Mountain Lion,” Theo corrected, wincing as Sophia traced dark lines of ink into his skin. Already, Sebastian’s name was almost unrecognisable underneath the beginnings of thetattoo. I was fascinated by her precision and care as she drew. It was almost indistinguishable from how I would draw, as she increased pressure to thicken lines and eased up to taper off. Theo winced, but to be fair to him, he stayed mostly silent.

“When do you next race?” I asked him.

“There’s a one month break between races, I’m going on holiday next week to try and get some much-needed rest in,” said Theo. I nodded at his words as I grabbed a picture of a mountain lion from Google and added it as a reference to my drawing, starting its torso on Sebastian’s shoulder and having it seem to leap across its chest. Before my eyes, I was creating a piece of art in a way I never had before - trying to match it to the counters of a body, not have it be too difficult or ostentatious.

“Are you taking Mr García with you?” I teased.

“Ha, very funny. I would rather poke my eye out with a rusty nail than go on holiday with that man,” said Cory.

I smirked. “But you got matching tattoos? One about the size of your penis?”

“It’s not like that!” Theoprotested.

“Don’t move,” warned Sophia, one hand gently on his shoulder.

“It’s not like that,” Theo said again, quieter. “He and I…I don’t like him, OK? Not at all. He’s spoilt, and stupid, and he makes me do stupid things…”

I just let him witter on about his hatred for Sebastian García as I drew a tattoo on the chest of the man he hated. I was curious, but if I knew the Tylers, it would all come out in the end with minimal pushing from me or anyone else. Bradley quite literally wore his heart on his sleeve, as I’d discovered.

The outline took a good hour and a half of work from Sophia, and when she was done she leaned back with satisfaction. She took off her gloves, disposed of the needle from the gun, andsmiled at her handiwork before passing Theo a mirror. “What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s beautiful,” he said breathlessly. “It didn’t hurt as much as I thought.

“Talking dulls the pain, and you certainly know how to do that,” muttered Sophia. “Anyway, it’s not done yet. But I wouldn’t be willing to work on it any more in one session. This is just the outline, and it covers up most of your issues. But you can come back in a month for the shading.”

I listened as she wrapped up the tattoo in a special breathable plastic, passed him a tub of moisturiser and explained the proper care. And then she turned to me. “What have you done in the time I’ve given you, then?”

I suddenly felt very shy. What if what I’d drawn was absolute crap? I wasn’t expecting Sophia to use it, but I was certainly hoping she would like it. “I don’t know if it’s too ostentatious,” I stammered, “but…I thought I’d draw something that represents Sebastian. From what I’ve seen of him.”

I turned the iPad around so that they could both see my work. The mountain lion seemed to leap from Sebastian’s shoulder onto his chest, and around it I’d drawn in leaves that alternated between dark and light to add some depth and dimension, as well as to hide the words written across his chest. I wanted to make sure that even after the body hair grew back, it would be visible, and not too out of place or tacky.

“Wow,” said Theo. “That is exactly as ostentatious as the man himself.”

“How much?” asked Sophia a little abruptly.

“What?” I replied.

“How much do you want for the design? Anything I draw now is just going to rip that off, so I may as well ask you if you’re willing for me to use it,” said Sophia.

I passed the iPad over. “Have it. It’s nothing.”

Sophia looked torn. “It’s certainly notnothing, Arthur. It’s beautiful. And I think my client might just take it. And if he’s seen with this on his chest in paparazzi photos for years to come, you might just make my business boom.”

“Well, I’m grateful for the opportunity you’ve given me,” I said. “But I can’t take money for it. It’s just a drawing.”

Sophia took in a breath. “Just a drawing? Arthur, this is beautiful. I cannot believe you’ve allowed yourself to devalue your art so much.”

I felt a blush creep through my cheeks. “Seriously, Sophia. Have it.”

Sophia gave me a weak smile. “In that case…” She walked over to a cupboard and rummaged through it, and then pulled a book from a drawer. When she returned, she was holding a small cardboard box as well as the book. “This,” she said, “is a book on Health and Safety in the tattoo parlour. And this box here has one of my old tattoo guns, some fresh needles and a pot of black ink. I want you to practice on an organ, or a grapefruit. It’s no real substitute for skin, but it’ll do the trick until you’re willing to give it a go.”

“You want me…to tattoo?” I asked.

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