A girls gotta do...

scarlett let out an all but subtle laugh. she was interested — in the tattoo and in the girl. mostly, her laugh — a SINGLE noise — matched dae’s giggle. “ lucky for you, i know a lot about tattoos, “ she played, leaning down to put the end of the cigarette out on the street. “ i’ll draw some stuff up for you, yeah ? you can stay here, if you want, but it’ll take me a minute. “ it was something for flirting. usually, she just let them go home. but why not try ?

“That’s good,” Dae smiled, before nodding. “If you don’t mind, I’d love to stay. I don’t have to be at work for another... six hours.” It was a Thursday anyway, not many people went to a strip club on a Thursday.

the idea didn’t appeal to scarlett particularly, because she’d read catcher in the rye in high school and didn’t get the hype. she didn’t understand, at all, what big lesson it was supposed to teach her. why choose that for a high school book ? but if other people liked it, then that was the beauty of literature. besides, holden caufield didn’t speak for forgive me, leanoard peacock. still, she likely wouldn’t seek it out. but she liked that the other made it her own and a positive message seemed behind it, so who was she to care ? “ okay, cool. you got any edit specifications ? — like, line breaks, font format, stuff like that. “ she took two more, quicker puffs from her cigarette, then leaned down to put it out, carrying it between her fingers until it found the trash can inside the shop. she wanted to destroy herself, not the everyone else.

scarlett nodded. she liked the quote. she’d never heard it before, but it seemed meaningful. she was hesitant to ask for the CONTEXT, of course, because if it was something that personal, maybe she didn’t want to share it. but usually, in order to get it right, she needed the whole story. she had to be able to relate to make it a good piece. “ so what’s the context ? “ she finally asked as she took another drag of the cigarette.

Dae’s smile got wider. She knew she was about to go overboard, but she usually did when someone asked her anything about something she loved.

“So it’s from the book ‘Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock,’“ she began, her hands already moving expressively. “I like to think of it as the modern ‘Catcher in the Rye.’ It’s about this guy, Leonard Peacock, who’s bullied by his ex best friend, so he decides to kill him and then himself? But he’s writing letters to himself from the future? Like from his future wife and daughter and father in law, and in his ideal future, most of the world is underwater because of global warming, and the family mans this lighthouse? They do it for oncoming boats, but they have never seen a boat besides their own, so no one is looking. Then, when Leonard is about to kill himself, he explains to his favorite teacher about the letters, and the teacher asks ‘Do you ever feel like you’re sending out a great light, but no one is looking?’ And it just...”

Dae realized that she had been talking for way too long and chuckled nervously before saying “So, yeah, there’s the context in a nutshell.”

     “ yeah, sounds fair to me. “ the man nodded his head as he walked behind the counter, grabbing a small towel from the nearest cabinet. kaiden understood that accidents do happen to everyone, he just hated cleaning up messed that could’ve been easily avoided. he bent his legs && squatted down onto the floor, wiping the liquid off from the ground.

     “ right.. so, what are you taking ?? “ he asked as he get up from the floor, making his way back to the bar counter. he still had to clean up the glass pieces but he assumed he’d have the time to serve the girl a quick drink.

“I’ll have...” Dae started, thinking about what she was in the mood for. Right now, she was in the mood for something to sip in that was sweet and delicious. “A strawberry daiquiri please.”

scarlett brought her cigarette up to her lips, eyes locked on the other. there was a safe enough DISTANCE that she felt comfortable, and it was respectable. the girl was e a s y on the eyes, too. always helped when hours were spent between the customer and the artist. she nodded as she exhaled the smoke. ah, calligraphy. she took a class on it, but dropped it half way through. didn’t come back after academic probation. “ depends, “ she responded. “ what’s the quote ? “

Dae lit up before saying “’And man the great light, even when no one is looking.’” She felt herself about to gush, so she tried to hold it back, but some of it leaked through. “It’s the last line from my favorite book, and in context it’s even more beautiful, but even out of context it hits home, so I want it on my body forever.”

scarlett let out a short laugh when the other mentioned she was a ‘ morning person. ‘ she hadn’t been a morning person at any time in her life. “ you got an appointment or are you just browsing ? “ she asked, wondering if she’d been scheduled to TATTOO the girl. 

“Just browsing,” Dae admitted. “There’s a quote I was hoping to get on my shoulder, and I’d love to see what fonts you do. Are any your favorites?” This quote was really important to Dae, and she wanted it to look nice, but also be legible and have an impact.

“ it’s cool, “ scarlett shrugged, cavalier to ease the girl’s mind of the unpleasantness of the situation. she stood outside her parlor, cigarette between her lips and lit it. they weren’t open for another fifteen minutes, and that was all she’d mentioned. “ if you can wait for me to FINISH this, i can let you in a couple minutes early. “

“You totally don’t have to if it’s gonna get you in trouble,” Dae assured her. “I’m just a morning person, I didn’t even realize what time it was when I showed up. Please, enjoy your cigarette, I can just wait until opening.”

“Oh fuck!” Mickey couldn’t hold in the word as the hot coffee spilled all over her top. And she had liked that one too– it was a shame and of course it had to be destroyed eventually. “No, no. It’s fine. Just a bit of a burn.”

“I’m so sorry, can I buy you another drink?” she asked, running over to grab a handful of napkins. “And another shirt? There’s a Macy’s down a few blocks?” She could tell that the blonde woman was angry, and she wanted to make it right.

     kaiden glared at the girl tiredly as he murmured in a low tone, his eyes staring at the mess she had just caused. a broken glass on the floor, mixed with some liquid that had spread across the floor. “ yeah yeah.. accidents happen so don’t worry about it princess. “ he sighed heavily before he rubbed the back of his head. “ can i make you another drink ?? maybe you won’t drop it next time. “

Dae’s head tilted a little at the word “princess,” but she decided to ignore it. She honestly felt terrible about making such a mess, she didn’t want to cause any more of a scene. 

“Sure, but I insist on paying for it again, it was my fault I dropped it in the first place.”