Stephenie Meyer owns all TWILIGHT characters.
The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25[dot]com
Prompt: 19 – tingle
Pen name: IngenueFic
Characters: Bella, Edward
Rating: PG-13
All prompts can be found here:
www[dot]thetwilight25[dot]com/round-five/prompts/
"So, wait," Bella says as she slides a ten-dollar bill to the cab driver before ambling out onto a snowy curb. "Tell me this again – you just happened to meet a guy and he just happens to be one of the most well-known tattoo artists in the country?"
Alice laughs as she jumps over a bank of snow. She makes a face when her foot falls through the white stuff into a dirty puddle hiding beneath it. "Do you not listen to anything I say? I met a guy who is a piercer at the same place of this so-called well-known tattoo artist."
The wind blows harshly against them and Bella looks back to check how Rosalie is doing in the cold weather. She had come in the day before from California and wasn't cut out for the snow at all. When Bella sees her shivering, even with the parka she borrowed, she hurries down the street.
"And then? I mean, did you meet him at all? Or did this piercing dude just say, 'Okay, yeah, I'll make sure he puts her in even though his waiting list is seven months out. He won't mind.' I mean… That doesn't even make any sense."
"Of course not." Bella rolls her eyes as she pauses on the corner of Avenue B and 4th Street. "I knew that you knew about him so I mentioned it to Jasper who asked to see a picture of you which I had on my phone so I showed it to him and he asked me to send it to him so I did and he sent it to Edward who said he'd fit you in, no problem."
"Excuse me while I attempt to unravel the drivel you just spouted," Rosalie interrupts in a flat tone. "Basically, this Edward guy sees B's picture and wants to fuck her so he's gonna do her tattoo?"
"Rosalie Hale, I said nothing about fucking!" Alice actually sounds shocked.
"Not like I wouldn't mind," Bella mutters. She'd seen pictures of Edward Cullen on the Internet and had seen him on a few television shows and specials about the art of the tattoo. He was hot and she wouldn't say no if he asked her. "Oh, hey, is this the place?"
The storefront is plain. A black awning comes out just a little bit and B-SIDE INK is printed in white letters across the fabric. There are large glass windows and the inside looks empty, save for the tall, skinny, blond guy behind the counter.
Alice pulls open the door and bounds inside. The guy immediately looks up and grins. "Hey, Al," he greets her. He stands and walks out from behind the counter. Alice wasn't kidding when she had told her friends her new guy was hot. Jasper is all thin muscle and lean cords and he's wearing jeans that he may as well have been poured into. He turns to me. "Hey, Bella."
"How do you – oh, right. My picture."
With a smirk, he winks at Bella before he glances at the clock that says it's only 9:30. "Edward's in the back finishing up with a client. He's supposed to be out of here by 10 but he said he'd stay late for you. You know what you want or do you need to look at some samples?"
"Um," Bella fumbles over her thoughts. "I think I know what I want."
"And where she wants it too," Rosalie says with a snicker.
"Yeah?" Jasper sounds intrigued. "Where are you thinking?"
When Bella doesn't answer, Rosalie rolls her eyes. "She wants it down her ribcage with the top curving over her boob."
"Rosalie!"
"What? It's true."
Jasper laughs and shakes his head. "I'll go let Edward know you're here. Feel free to look at those books. Some of his best work is in there."
He disappears and Bella immediately grabs one of the big books. She flips through it slowly, in awe of the tattoos in the photos. Though it seems Edward's done everything from words to black and white to faces, his best work seems to come from his color work. She pauses at a photo of a girl's back. Between her shoulder blades are three flowers – two hibiscus flowers and a water lily. The colors pop out at her and she can't help but trace over the art.
"Lauren Mallory, about three years ago." Bella looks up and sees Edward standing behind the counter, staring down at the book with her. "One of the pieces I'm most proud of." He holds out a hand. "Edward Cullen."
"I know," Bella breathes out. She shakes her head and chastises herself for sounding like a wanton teenager. "I mean, hi. It's nice to meet you. Will you really do my tattoo?"
Edward's laugh is rich and boisterous with just a hint of teasing. "If that's what you want. Jasper mentioned you're a fan of my work."
"Yes!" she blurts out. "I saw this special once on TV and you were visiting some shops and it was just awesome the way you spoke about tattooing and then you got all pissed at that one dude who refused to give himself a tattoo but wanted to work on… other… people…"
Bella trails off. Her eyes dart around the room in embarrassment. Both Alice and Rosalie are looking at her like she's gone a little crazy.
"Sorry," she practically whispers. "I get excited about tattoos."
"I can see that." His grin widens. "So you know what you want?"
"I think so. I mean, I know the idea and where," she pauses to shoot an annoyed glare Rosalie's way, "but it doesn't look exactly right."
"Do you have a picture?"
"Uh-huh." Bella rummages through her bag and produces a white piece of paper. In the center is a writing quill, the feather only going up about three-quarters of the way before it splits off into a flock of birds flying to the right.
Edward stares at it, tilting his head thoughtfully. He lays it flat against the counter and taps his finger on it. "Tell me about this."
Bella swallows deeply. "I'm uh, I'm a writer. That's the quill."
"And the birds?" When Bella doesn't answer, he looks up. "It's visually stimulating but I bet you have a reason for it."
"My mom didn't think I could do it," she says quietly. "My dad was supportive but she… She thought I was wasting my time so it just sort of… It shows how I got past all of that and went out on my own with it. It's sort of dumb."
"No, it's not," Alice hisses with a jab into Bella's side.
Edward is quiet for a few minutes before nodding. "Where were you thinking of putting it?"
"Um." Bella turns to her side and lifts her left arm up. "Down here," she says, indicating her left side. "With the top curving right here," she finishes while tracing a curve over her left breast.
"That would look good," Edward muses. He nods his head a few times. "Okay, I'm just finishing up with someone so give me some time and I'll start designing it on paper for you. If you want to head out for a bit, we're not locking the place up until about eleven tonight. Just make sure to come back by then."
"O-okay," Bella stutters a bit. She's a bit in shock that it's actually going to happen – Edward Cullen's work will be on her body and the art will be something she's been thinking of getting for over a year. She pauses. "Thank you," she says sincerely. "For squeezing me in. For doing this."
A wicked grin appears on Edward's lips. His eyes move down Bella's body and back up where her own eyes have widened in realization. "You're welcome."
As Bella walks out of the shop with her friends for some food, her head is pounding faster than usual. She didn't imagine the look of appreciation in Edward's eyes when he looked over her and Alice already said he said he'd take her in after he saw her picture.
Rosalie might actually be right.
Bella lets out a small burst of laughter. She glances back to peer into the windows but Edward is nowhere to be seen. As she races after Rosalie and Alice who are about a half-block ahead of her, she has only one thought.
God, I hope Rosalie is right.
Thanks to oOza for the beta work!