#jul 13

“And then I told the man he can bug right off!”

“Mm,” Satya hummed, entertaining her client as she inked the other woman’s arm. Many people preferred the end product to the process, and talked their way through the minute pain. Satya was a good listener, though. Lena was a repeat client, too, and told the most interesting stories.

The bell at the front door of Satya’s shop chimed and she allowed herself a brief glance up to greet her new client, only to almost choke on her own tongue.

“Hola, are you Satya?” asked the gorgeous woman now standing in the shop.

“Ah- yes,” Satya answered. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to get a tatt, my friend Jesse recommended you to me?” Satya nodded, the cowboy had been an... interesting client. “Do you have any openings today?” she asked, index finger curling a piece of dyed purple hair.

Satya gave a smile. “I’m almost done here, so if you wouldn’t mind a short wait I can see to you soon.”

“Sweet.” The woman took a seat at one of the shop’s waiting chairs and pulled a laptop from her bag, tapping away as she waited.

Satya’s eyes grazed back down to her work in progress and, while her art hadn’t been messed up by the blunder, Lena was training a knowing gaze in the tattooist’s direction.

“You- hush.” Satya’s face grew hot and she continued inking the young Brit’s skin.

“Didn’t say anything, luv,” Lena replied with a hum.

—

Her new client’s name was Olivia. Satya thought that was beautiful too.

“I was wondering if you could do something like this?” Olivia asked, showing the artist an intricate hexagonal pattern, shapes interlocking with lines and having a digital sort of theme to it.

Not only did Satya think the piece was a wonderful rendition of geometry, but that sort of design was right up her alley. “Of course. It’s a lovely design. Where are we putting it?”

“My back,” Olivia answered, and when the artist and her client settled down to start and Olivia removed her shirt, Satya swallowed the lump in her throat. The woman’s skin was beautiful, too. Unmarked until now save for the sparsest freckle or two, Olivia’s skin was smooth and soft.

The perfect canvas.

Despite how much of a lesbian she felt in this moment, Satya was an expert in her craft, and began to ink the design with a steady hand. Olivia didn’t chat much, but instead opted for humming a songless tune under her breath.

“Is this your first?” Satya asked softly after completing one hexagon. She didn’t want to startle the woman with the question after the stretch of silence. “You’re taking it very well.”

“Yeah, but, ah- It doesn’t really hurt. Kind of tickles, really.”

Satya hummed in reply. “I’ve found that some people really enjoy the process, find it addicting.”

“Makes sense,” Olivia chuckled. “Do you have any?”

The outfit Satya wore obscured her tattoos, so she laughed softly at the question. “I have a full sleeve, yes. My colleague, Hanzo, set me up to the idea. I did his, too, it’s a storm with dragons.”

Olivia hummed. “Sounds hot. Not for me, but, well. You know Jesse.”

Both women laughed and Satya made a mental note to introduce the two men sometime.

“What made you get into the business?” Olivia asked after a beat of silence.

“I used to do henna as a teenager, just like every other girl,” the artist replied with a fond smile at the memory. “But people would always say how good I was at it, and, well, I loved to do it.”

“That’s so nice, getting to do what you love.” Olivia sighed happily. “I’m in IT and I would kill to choose another career.”

“It’s never too late to try something new,” Satya advised.

Olivia hummed at that. “You’re right.”

The conversation lulled after that, picking back up a few more times but not breaching anything more than small talk. Eventually, Satya pulled away and removed her ink-stained gloves. “We’re all done here.”

“That’s it?” Olivia asked, craning her neck to try and see the art.

“Mm. Keep it wrapped for now, sleep on your stomach, and when the skin heals make sure it’s kept clean and moisturized,” the artist instructed. “Come back to me if it starts getting infected.”

Olivia put her shirt back on with extra care. “Can do. How much do I owe you?”

As Satya rung the other woman up, she leaned on the counter. “So, when are you free?”

Satya’s fingers stuttered and she almost added an additional zero to the bill. “Sorry?”

“I mean, kick me if I’m overstepping a boundary here, but was that as intimate for you as it was for me?”

The artist blushed. “Ah. You’re not wrong.” She looked down at her desk and the calendar that was displayed there. “I’m not working on Friday.”

“Sounds good to me,” Olivia gave the other a cheeky smile as she signed her receipt. “Maybe then you can show me your tattoos.”