"Queens of Darkness Gallery and Tattoos" Emma squinted in the sun to read the sign above the door. The lettering was a thick script outlined in black with bright fill of various colours. The place looked clean from the outside, white woodwork and big shiny windows. She could see there were no tattooing stations near the entrance, another good sign. So far so good on her mental checklist.
The dark wooden floor boards creaked a little as Emma entered. It was brighter than she expected. The walls were white and adorned with art. The furniture was mostly dark antiques, the intricacies of which were highlighted by the sunlight pouring through the large window. A blonde woman sat at a mahogany desk strewn with artwork.
"Good morning" she said without looking "I'll be right with you"
She was concentrating hard on the computer screen in front of her. Emma glanced over her. Her blonde hair trickled in neat victory curls into a bun. She wore a white blouse with puffed sleeves and gray braces. The sleeves was short enough to show off a beautiful black and gray lilly that decorated most of her upper arm.
Emma turned, not wanting to get caught looking and perused the artwork on the walls. There were Traditional style carp in bright, non-traditional colours, old school pin ups of women with prosthetic limbs, subversive Disney characters and intricate dot art and abstract geometric shapes.
"Sorry about that" the woman got up and strode over to Emma. She was taller than she had expected. Emma thought she had walked straight out of a Vin Packer novel.
"Mal, nice to meet you" she held her hand out
"Mal...the dragon?" Emma asked, taking it.
"That's the one" answered another woman, appearing from the back and ducking behind the counter to find something.
"Oh, sorry" Emma apologised for the shock on her face "I just...thought you'd be a guy"
"At a studio called Queens of Darkness?" Mal asked, leaning back on her desk. Emma shrugged
"I thought you'd be a gay guy" she said. A deep laugh spilled out into the reception from behind the counter.
"That's a new one" the other woman said. She stood and smiled. Emma's breath almost caught in her throat. She had dark hair tied up with a red bandana. Her lower lip was pierced in the centre and sported a silver stud. Her eyeliner was perfect and her smile was red and wide.
"Regina" she said as she snapped off a black latex glove and offered her hand, leaning over the counter. "Mal's partner"
"Emma" she took it, trying desperately to keep her eyes on Regina's and not let them wander down. Regina's handshake was firm but brief. She released Emma, probably just in time, and disappeared behind the screen again. Emma turned back to Mal who watched her with folded arms.
"So what can we do for you, princess?" She asked, heading around the other side of her desk. She stood leaning on her fingertips. Mal looked Emma up and down and she suddenly felt out of her depth, like her ponytail might be too high, her dress too white, her voice too chirpy.
"Hey Sula, you still taking bets?" Mal called.
The buzzing behind one of two painted silk screens stopped and a woman rolled out from behind it on a wheely chair. Her black dreadlocks were woven with green. She peered over her glasses at Emma.
"What do you think, Mal?" she asked
"I'm not sure. Stars? Or maybe something from a Chinese take away menu" her eyes glinted with malice
"Nah" Sula replied "I'm going with name cover up" and with that she disappeared and the buzzing restarted.
"Regina, are you playing?" Mal called
Emma looked into the back. She could see Regina talking to someone, though she stopped to glance over Emma again.
"No" she answered "this way, David". The client she had been talking to appeared from behind the other screen. He had wavy blond hair and a charming smile. Regina followed him into the reception.
"Happy?" she asked
"I'm in love with it" he said
"Let me see" Regina looked down at the pinup girl on his right calf. After a moment she realised it was a racey take on Snow White. Regina frowned at her work, taking it in from a few angles before eventually smiling her approval.
"Yeah, I'm happy with that" she smiled dazzlingly at him. "You want the artwork too?"
"You bet!" He made his way to Mal to settle up and smiled at Emma on the way. She approached Regina while she wrapped up the drawing.
"Can I see it?" Emma asked quietly. Regina unwrapped it and held it up. Emma leaned into it, studying the use of colour, the detailed ruffles of fabric, the attention given to the small details like a beauty mark and her delicate fingers.
"Wow, I saw some of yours on the Facebook page but the pictures don't do them justice" Emma said
"Thank you" Regina replied with another smile and a look that Emma couldn't quite place. She wrapped up the drawing again, taped it and put it in a bag for David.
"Thank you" he held his hand out and Regina took it. He kissed her on the cheek and waved his way out of the shop.
"So what'll it be then, princess?" Mal asked, seated at her desk again. Emma felt her eyes bore into her. She knew she was known as the dragon for the incredible creatures she produced on canvas and skin, but at that moment Emma thought if she could breathe fire she might.
"A cover up" Emma replied.
"Yessss!" Sula laughed from the back. Mal rolled her eyes.
"Let's see it" Regina said, approaching Emma with a manner that made her far more nervous than Mal did. Emma pulled off her jacket to reveal a number on the inside of her bicep. Regina turned her arm over to expose the number completely and ran a thumb over the ink. She hummed while she looked.
"The line work isn't bad" she said "you want it covered completely?" She asked
"Yeah" Emma replied
"What's the number?" Regina asked
"Something really meaningful, like your birthday?" Mal interjected, sourly. Regina scoffed.
"Ignore her, you don't have to say" Regina said, her attention going back to the ink.
"It was my prison number" Emma said in a tone that she hoped was nonchalant. Regina's eyes flicked from Emma's skin to her face.
"Yeah?" Emma felt her searching, not just her eyes but something far deeper. What was Regina seeing in her? She felt exposed but she nodded. There was noise around them, the buzzing of machines, Mal angrily moving papers around, the sound of cars and people outside, but all of it seemed to drain away as the understanding in Regina's dark eyes overwhelmed her.
The phone rang and Emma jumped. Regina's eyes stayed on her as she watched Mal answer it. She could feel Regina's gaze on her skin.
"So" Regina begin and let go of Emma's arm "what do you want to cover it up with?"
Mal left a while later and they sat on deep Chesterfield sofas discussing everything Emma wanted. Books of Regina's artwork lay open on the table along with old fashioned natural encyclopaedias and lists of books Emma had brought. It took up the entire coffee table, along with two tall glasses of apple juice. Emma wanted a half sleeve so packed with symbolism and literary references Regina stopped Emma mid sentence and held up her hands.
"You've obviously thought about this a lot and you have space for a lot of detail but the bigger you go the better it will look." Regina said
She drew her index finger down Emma's arm again, studying its contours with professional intensity. Involuntary goose bumps tickled over Emma's skin. Regina's eyes widened. She dropped her hand and cleared her throat. Emma rolled her eyes at herself.
"We can't pack all this into a half sleeve so I suggest you start cutting things out of saving them for another tattoo"
The door opened and a woman with a sharp white bob entered. Emma barely registered her as the interruption gave her a moment to stare at Regina unnoticed.
"Lunch, darlings" she said leaving a large bag on the counter and heading into the back without looking. Regina went back to looking at Emma's arm, though her mouth twisted to the side.
"You can probably have half of what you want" Regina said
"Half?!" Emma asked, her heart sinking in disappointment.
"Trust me. I'll draw some sketches, different combinations...come back and we'll talk about what you like" Regina said. Emma bit her lip.
"Yeah?" She asked and glanced down Regina, thinking what she liked was right in front of her. Regina raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah" she replied
"Such a shame, but she's taken darling" the white haired woman strutted past them and out of the door.
Emma looked up this time and followed her with her eyes.
"Mal" Regina said, drawing her attention back. Emma took a deep breath and looked at the big wooden desk.
"I assumed she was your business partner" she said. Regina smiled knowingly
"No you didn't" she with a barely detectable smile in her voice. Emma smiled cheekily and her eyebrows bobbed up in acceptance.
"A girl can try" she said
For a moment their eyes locked. Emma grinned, now outed and only a little embarrassed. Regina held her lips in a neutral expression but her eyes gave all of her thoughts away.
Regina broke away first and got up to lean over the desk for the appointment book. Emma hated herself for checking her out, but couldn't help the feeling Regina had intentionally given her the opportunity. Her black tank top rode up enough to expose a little skin, her black skinny jeans were pretty tight and her heels were the colour of her lipstick. God damn, Emma thought.
"Ok" Regina flipped the book open "when's good for you?" she skimmed the pages. Emma moved to her side but didn't look at the book.
"Tomorrow?" she asked
Regina looked up in surprise and laughed. Emma wondered if you could get goosebumps on your brain, because that's how she felt right now.
"You wanna give me a chance to draw these?" Regina asked
"Oh yeah. A week?" Emma asked
Regina's smile stayed painted across her face as she flicked the diary page over. Three of the days had "Mal in Chicago" highlighted in purple. Emma leant over her shoulder. She smelled like apple blossom.
"These days are good for me" she said with a grin
"Ha" Regina didn't look up this time "I bet they are". She put the book on the desk and wrote in Emma's name. "You have a last name?"
"Swan" Emma replied
"Nice" Regina said. She drew four lines on the page next to Emma's name that turned into an unmistakable, elegant swan.
"See you next week then" Regina said. She held out her hand but there was so little space between them she could barely extend her arm. Emma took her hand again.
"Awesome" she smiled brightly. As her hand slipped away she could have sworn she felt Regina's follow it before it dropped. The door of the shop swung closed behind her and Regina watched her go.
"Damn, Regina" Sula said, leaning on her screen "you still a bad girl?"
Regina gave her a lascivious smile "the worst"