J.
..
"This is so cool," I repeated for the one hundredth time.
Lisa laughed.
"How naïve am I that I've never actually set foot inside one of these places?" I mused as I looked at the hundreds and hundreds of photos that lined the walls of the tattoo artist's studio.
This woman had done more tattoo jobs than I'd had hot dinners.
She was the best in the country – or so Lisa told me. And I was inclined to believe her. There were a ton of well-known celebrities and sports people on these walls… the kind of people who wouldn't trust just anyone to ink them – people like Lisa. Every single one of these tattoos was flawless, done with absolute precision and skill.
It was obvious this wasn't the kind of place just anybody could walk into. This joint was exclusive. Even Sammy trusted it – he was hardly ever content to stay home when Lisa went somewhere public, but Lisa had told me that he hadn't even complained about it once.
"What are you getting this time?" I called over my shoulder to Lisa.
She'd removed her shirt, and Asha, her tattoo artist, was busy drawing something freehand onto her left pectoral. The front of her torso was some of the only clean skin she had left. Her abdomen was more or less bare, but her arms, some of her sides, parts of her chest, most of her back and even some of her legs were all covered in ink. Lisa even had a couple of tattoos on her hands… and her neck, while not entirely covered, wasn't left untouched either.
"You'll see," she answered. "But not until it's done."
This piqued my interest.
I turned to face her. "Are you worried I'll talk you out of it?" I teased her.
I peeked my head around further and Lisa shot me a 'stay where you are' look.
I was just messing with her. I couldn't see a thing from where I was standing, but I couldn't deny that I was curious – her reluctance to let me see was only making me want to know more.
"Why can't I see?" I asked more genuinely this time.
"Because, woman, it's a surprise, just let me surprise you for once."
"Ha! For once? You're obviously forgetting the time you pulled me out on stage and serenaded me in front of thousands and thousands of people." I pointed my finger at her.
"She's not wrong," Asha mumbled as she drew a few more sweeping lines onto my girlfriend's chest.
"Oh, I see how this is gonna go down, you two stick together, huh?" Lisa grinned with a shake of her head.
Asha winked at me before going back to her work.
..
"Does that hurt?" I asked curiously. I was fairly certain it would have – having a needle scratching a picture into your flesh and all. But it can't have been too bad… Lisa certainly hadn't been put off coming back again and again.
She tilted her head in the direction of where I was sitting, on the other side of the room, far enough away that I couldn't see what was happening.
Asha had been working on her for two hours solid now, and I didn't know how the hell she managed to concentrate for that long.
"Nah, not really," Lisa answered. "I mean, it's not like it's enjoyable, but I wouldn't say it's too painful either."
I watched carefully as Asha grabbed the little pot of red ink she had sitting on the small table next to her.
Black, White and Brown.
Those were the only colours she had set out.
I was dying to see what was going on that chest of hers.
"About another hour and we should be done." Asha spoke to no one in particular.
One more hour and I get to see.
..
"Oh my god," I breathed.
It was Little Bear. Well, a version of Lisa. — The picture was of a scene, with a figure in the middle, its back facing the viewer.
The background was all in black and white, and was kind of blurry, like it didn't really matter where it was, but it was clearly surrounded by people.
It was beautiful.
It was me. Little Bear.
"I don't understand," I whispered as I reached my hand out towards the picture, stopping short of actually touching her reddened skin.
"It's you," she replied softly. "I know you're not thrilled about being called 'Little bear' but it's not a bad representation."
My heart thumped so loud in my chest that I could hear it pounding in my ears.
"Why?" I asked, bewildered by the fact that she wanted a permanent depiction of me etched into her skin.
"Because no matter where I am, no matter who's around, all I see is you," she told me.
Holy. Shit.
"And I got it over my heart, because my heart belongs to you, legs."
"Oh my god," I repeated. "It's… it's…" I stuttered. "I can't believe you did this for me," I finally managed.
Her eyes blazed. "Of all the things I'd do for you, this here is nothing."
I felt like I was going to pass out. She was so intense, and I was so in love with her. It was overwhelming.
"I love you," I whispered. "God, I love you."
"I love you more, legs."
Normally I would have argued that point with her, but seeing her standing here, proudly displaying a symbol of me over her heart, I decided to let her have it this time.
"So, what do you think?" Asha asked me as she came back into the studio.
"It's incredible," I praised her. "Your work is amazing."
She smiled as she wiped down the small table she'd sat the ink on. "You know where to come if you ever decide you want some ink then."
I gaped at her in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
She laughed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You thinking of getting some ink, legs?" Lisa asked curiously as she shrugged her shirt back on.
I blushed. "Oh, no… I mean, I don't know… I haven't really thought about it. I'm just surprised you'd let me in to this place." I gestured around the space.
Asha laughed again. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I'm not famous or anything… I'm totally not a big deal."
She raised her eyebrows at me. "Hun, Lisa Manoban just got a picture of you tattooed right onto her chest… you're a bigger deal than you think, at least in her eyes." She winked at me as she went back to her cleaning.
I was stunned into silence. I'd obviously never been one to fall into the trap that fame and fortune created, and this wasn't about that at all, but the fact that my girl was willing to make a gesture this grand, told me that I was about as high as it got on her list of priorities.
And damn it feels good…
..
..
..