I was going to do a big chapter for chapter 50 but I found that I just didn't have a lot of time to work on it and I wanted to get something out to all of you. So I think I will save that chapter for 100 or something haha. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter :)
Flora and Helia- Inked
"Really, Flora? Are you sure?"
Musa looked over to Flora after she had just called her boyfriend's tattoo and piercing shop. Musa had been scheduling an appointment for herself when she was interrupted by Flora saying that she wanted a tattoo.
"Yes, I am sure. Can I come with you?" Flora timidly asked.
"Of course, Riven would be stoked to give you your first tattoo. Let me just ask him if he has time in his schedule."
Musa pulled out her phone and began sending a text message to her maroon-haired boyfriend. The phone dinged as Musa sent more messages, letting out small giggles, rolling her eyes, and shaking her head at whatever it was that Riven was messaging back.
"What did he say? Can he do it?" Flora asked as she sat on the edge of Musa's bed.
Musa turned off her phone and placed it on her desk.
"Well, Riven said that he couldn't do both mine and yours because he has an appointment right after," Musa replied. Flora's hopeful look fell as she lowered her head, "But I said that I could take an appointment with their new artist."
"You didn't have to do that, Musa. Riven has done all your tattoos."
"Nah, it's okay. I have seen the new guy's work and it's pretty good. I have no problem with getting my tattoo from him."
Flora sighed, "Are you sure? I really don't mind."
Musa pursed her lips and quirked her mouth to the side as she thought.
"How about I give you the new artist's portfolio and you can decide. You gotta make sure that your first tattoo is done by the right artist. I know that Riven's work is a little bolder, but I have been told that this new guy takes a more delicate approach to his artwork."
"Okay," Flora smiled, "I would love to look at what he does."
Musa picked up her phone from her desk and turned it back on to scroll through her social media. Landing on the shop page, Musa found the artist and sent Flora the link to his portfolio.
"Sent it."
Flora's phone dinged and she opened the link to be met with a black screen filled with pictures of former tattoos that the artist had done.
"Helia Saladin?" Flora asked as her eyes remained glued to her phone.
His work was good, really good. Great even. Flora did not know much about tattooing, but she knew when something looked beautiful. Everything looked so clean and precise. He even had a few floral pieces that were done so beautifully that Flora felt that they could be put in a gallery or that the flowers could come off the skin; they looked so lifelike.
"Yeah," Musa spoke, "Riven met him at a convention a few months back. Riven found out that Helia was moving to Magix and asked him to join his studio. Riven says that he is quiet but he does amazing work so he can't complain."
"He sure does." Flora whispered under her breath. She looked up from her phone, "If you don't mind, I would love to have Helia do my tattoo."
Musa smiled, "Sure thing, Flora. I will let Riven know."
The bell on top of the shop door dinged as Musa and Flora walked into the shop. Flora looked around as Musa went to the back to get Riven. She marveled at all the artwork on the walls and smiled at the receptionist at the front.
"Hey there," a man with braids greeted Flora, "you must be Musa's friend Flora."
"I am," Flora took a deep breath as she smiled.
"The name's Nabu. I'll be getting you set up." Nabu reached down and pulled out a clipboard and pen. "I just need you to fill out these forms, standard procedure. I will need your ID as well."
Flora nodded as she dug in her small, pink purse and pulled out her ID. She swapped the ID for the paper and pen and sat down at the row of chairs. She began to fill out her information, answered the medical questionnaire, and signed off on the knowledge that she was going to be getting a tattoo. A permanent marking on her body.
"Hey," Flora looked up to see Nabu looking at her from the copier/scanner as he was scanning her ID, "you'll be okay. What are you getting?"
"Um, some flowers on the back of my arm."
Nabu nodded, "You'll be fine. Arm tats just hurt a bit but look awesome. Just be glad you aren't Musa. Riven tells me that she is getting her ribs tattooed finally. He's been asking her for years to let him tattoo her there but if you ask me, I think he kept asking because he just wants an excuse to have his hands all over her sides."
"It's not like they are always together at our apartment," Flora let out a giggle.
Nabu shook his head and laughed before taking Flora's ID off of the scanner and handed it back to Flora, taking the signed forms in exchange.
"Alright," Nabu said as he looked over the paperwork, "are you ready to do this?"
Flora silently nodded.
"I'll go get Helia then," Nabu looked back down at Flora, "just remember to breathe. Helia is a great guy, super accommodating. If you need a break just let him know. Also, everyone who has worked with him has said he has gentle hands."
Flora stood up from her seat as Nabu went to the back to get Helia. She had talked to him over his professional page, sending him her design ideas and he seemed to be very easygoing. But still, he was just some faceless artist that she didn't know anything about. Of course, this was purely business but still, Flora felt more secure around people she knew. Maybe she should have kept Riven as her artist. She knew more about him than she probably ever wanted to know, especially after an unfortunate night when Flora walked in on Riven and Musa and saw more of her roommate and her boyfriend than she ever wanted to see.
"Flora?"
A deep voice called out as a tall, pale man with dark hair and tattoos emerged from the back. Flora turned around and couldn't help but to marvel at all the beautiful and intricate black and gray tattoos that were uncovered on his body. His arms were covered with artwork and Flora was curious to see if the tattoos just stopped at his arms. Riven was covered but Flora didn't see any tattoos on his neck or hands like Riven. He was wearing long pants so maybe he had tattoos on his legs that she couldn't see.
"Flora?"
He asked again as Flora snapped out of her minor trance. She smiled at the man as she made her way over to him. He gave her a smile as he led her back to the chairs where Musa had already taken her place on her side on a black, padded table. Riven was chatting with her as he was setting up.
"If you want to have a seat, I can bring over some of the drawings that I came up with based on the information that you gave me."
Flora sat down in one of the black chairs as Helia made his way over to grab his sketchbook. The sound of a tattoo machine began whirring as Riven began working on Musa's tattoo. Flora gulped as she saw Musa wince as the needle hit her skin and Riven stared down, focused on the work that he was doing. Still, Musa and Riven talked as Riven worked and Musa laid on her side and took on the pain.
"So," Flora's attention snapped back to the long-haired artist as he came back to sit down next to her, "here is what I have. Now, we can change anything that you want, this is your tattoo and you are going to be the one to live with it so you won't hurt my feelings."
Flora nodded as Helia began to show her the sketches of small bundles of flowers, each tied together with a delicate ribbon.
"Now were you thinking color?" Helia asked, "We kind of talked about it but I just wanted to ask again."
"No, I like it how it is." Flora smiled down at the sketch, running her fingers over the delicate artwork. She was in awe of the realness of the sketch. "It's beautiful. I love it."
"I am glad. But you aren't telling me that to make me happy, are you? As I said, anything that you want to change, I will be happy to do so. I don't want you to be unhappy with your tattoo."
"I really do love it; I wouldn't change a thing." Flora looked up at Helia and smiled. He smiled back as he took back the sketchbook and Flora felt her heart begin to flutter. His blue eyes were absolutely breathtaking, and she couldn't help but take pleasure in the way his eyes wrinkled in the corners as he smiled. "It's amazing."
"Then I will get this on a stencil, and we can get started."
Helia stood up and left Flora's side to make his way over to a closed-off part of the shop that Musa had told her once before was an office space where they kept the machine where they made stencils and other business things. As Helia disappeared into the back, Flora wiggled her feet and twiddle her thumbs as she looked around. She took in more of the artwork that was on the walls, she took stock of all the colors of ink on the shelf by Riven's station. She found it humorous that Riven's station was filled with colorful ink whereas Helia's station carried large bottles of black and white ink.
Flora looked back over to the chatting Riven and Musa as Riven kept working on Musa's tattoo. It was a large dragon that crawled up her ribs. It was perfect for Musa and Riven sure seemed to be enjoying running his hands over Musa's sides. The whole scene looked like one that she shouldn't be watching. It looked intimate, as if she was intruding on a special moment. Would it look that way when Helia tattooed her? No. It was just her arm and she didn't know Helia. This was just professional. An artist and his client. All she would get from him was a beautiful tattoo.
"Okay, the stencil is all ready to go."
Flora turned her attention back to Helia as he walked back to the chair. Helia held out the stencil for Flora to look at.
"I made the design a few different sizes so you can pick which one you like best."
"Which one do you think would look best?"
Helia smiled, once again sending Flora's heart into a rapid flutter, "They would all look great on you."
"Really?"
"Of course, you're a beautiful woman and with this being your first tattoo we can play around with the size."
Beautiful? Flora thought. Does he think I'm beautiful?
"How about you stand up and we can make our way to the mirror to see what might look best."
Flora stood up from the chair and followed Helia to a large, floor-length mirror where he instructed her to turn around, her back facing the mirror. He stood to the side and held up the different-sized designs up to the back of her arm.
"They are all great," Flora remarked as she looked at her arm in the mirror, focusing on the pros and lack of cons in the different sizes.
"How about this," Helia held down the designs and focused his attention on Flora's face, "I will put the middle size on you, and then we can go from there. If you want it smaller, we will then go to the small size and then if you would like it bigger, I'll put the bigger one on you."
Flora nodded as Helia gave her another smile. He needed to stop doing that or she was going to pass out.
"Let's head back to the chair."
Flora followed Helia back to his station where he cut out the design and put on a pair of black, latex gloves. His hands flexed inside and Flora found herself turned on. She hadn't even noticed his hands and the way that they stretched the black across his skin was more than she could handle. She looked away, hoping to regain some composure.
What the Hell was wrong with her? Was she that starved for some sort of contact? She and Karel had broken up over a year ago and she hadn't been with anyone since. She was too focused on her schoolwork, not focused on entering another relationship or even hooking up with anyone. But when she looked at Helia and saw the way his hands moved and his eyes wrinkled when he smiled, she was suddenly hit with the reminder that she had been alone for over a year.
"Can you stand up straight, arms to your side?"
Flora did as Helia instructed but she tensed up Helia's arm touched hers.
"Relax for me," Helia instructed again and Flora bit down on her bottom lip. She never thought that she would be so turned on by such a simple command.
Helia reached behind him to the counter of his station and grabbed the disposable razor and a bottle that was filled with something Flora didn't know. She flinched as something cold hit the back of her arm and Helia grabbed her wrist. With his other hand, he began to rub in whatever it was on the back of her arm and she soon felt the razor go up and down over the back of her arm. The movement stopped and Flora soon felt paper hit her skin and peel away,
"Go look in the mirror and tell me what you think."
Flora stepped away from Helia as he began to set up the rest of his station. He wrapped his machine in a dark blue gauze tape, grabbed a few plastic caps and began to fill them with black ink. Flora turned away from the focused artist and focused her own attention on the small bunch of flowers on the back of her arm.
It was better on the skin than on paper and she did not know that it was possible. She had fallen in love with it already and could not wait to have it on her skin.
"Does it look alright?" Helia called out from his chair, "Let me know if you need to change the size, placement, anything. You will not hurt my feelings."
Flora turned back to Helia and gave him a large smile, "No no, it's perfect."
"Then are you ready to get started?" Helia asked.
Flora nodded before making her way back over to Helia.
"Would you rather lie down or straddle?"
"Pardon?" Flora asked, her eyebrows rising at Helia's question.
"Would you like to lie down, or would you rather straddle the chair as I tattoo you?" Helia asked again. Flora gave a soft sigh as the innuendo quickly left her head, though she really wanted to straddle something-someone- else.
"What would be easier for you?"
"Either," Helia chuckled, "that is why I asked you." '
Well, the chair was right there, and Flora wasn't one to inconvenience anyone.
"I can sit in the chair."
Helia gave Flora a smile and nod as he motioned for Flora to sit in the black chair.
Flora spread her legs and straddled the back of the chair as she sat down. Hearing the wheels of Helia's chair move closer towards her and Helia's hand on the sleeve of her pink shirt, rolling it up her arm, Flora began to tense up once again.
"Hey," Helia's voice came like a whisper behind Flora, "you'll be okay. Just tell me if it is too much and we can stop and take a break."
"I'm sorry, it is my first tattoo."
"Don't apologize." Helia chuckled, "I'll let you in on a secret, I was nervous when I got my first tattoo."
"You?" Flora turned her head to look back at Helia, her green eyes running up and down the length of his tattooed arms.
"I obviously came back for more, so it wasn't a super traumatic experience," Helia's chuckle turned into a laugh, calming Flora's nerves, "Just think, a few minutes of an annoying pain for a tattoo almost as beautiful as you are."
She turned her head away, shielding herself from Helia's gaze as she felt a blush stain her cheeks. He really needed to stop saying those things or she was going to lose it, and she couldn't do that in public with a person that she only met a few minutes ago. Musa would never let her hear the end of it.
But when she felt Helia's hand brush her hair to her shoulder, letting the brown locks fall in front of her, Flora was finding her resolve quickly falling.
"Are you ready?" Helia asked for the final time as he picked up his machine and turned back to Flora.
Taking in a deep breath and slowly releasing it, Flora nodded her head.
"Then let's get started."
The machine whirred as Helia dipped the needle into the ink. Placing his other hand on Flora's arm, Helia put the needle to her skin and made a small mark, letting her get a feel for the sensation.
"How was that?"
Flora raised her head and looked back at Helia, "Fine."
It really was just fine. It was like Helia said, "an annoying pain". It stung and burned a bit, but she had felt worse. Plus, she was more caught off guard with how gentle Helia's hands felt on her skin. Sure, they had been covered by black latex gloves but every time he touched her or wiped the paper towel over her skin, he did it with such a gentleness that she was curious to know what his bare hands might feel like on her skin.
"See, I told you it wasn't so bad." Helia's breath hit the back of Flora's arm, his head close to her arm so that he could see what he was doing, "It's like a thousand scratches from the world's angriest kitten."
Flora giggled in reply. He definitely had a way of making her feel more relaxed, even if he was the same person who was making her feel so nervous.
"I'm glad that you found that funny."
"Was I not supposed to?" Flora turned her head to the side to better speak.
"I'm not really considered to be all that funny. Funny looking maybe, but not funny. Nabu is the funny one, Riven is the charismatic and scary one, and I am just the one who doodles in my sketchbook all the time."
Flora looked back at Helia, her eyes meeting his as he backed away from her arm to dip the needle back into the black ink.
"I don't think that you are funny looking, and I can't say much about the time that you spend with your sketchbook but what I have seen of your artwork, it is very beautiful."
"You flatter me, but don't think that you aren't getting out of paying full price." Helia responded confidently, seemingly not affected by Flora's compliment. Why would he be? He probably heard that his work was amazing all the time and Flora was just another paying client.
Flora nodded as she turned her head back to look in front of her. Best to stay focused and let Helia finish the tattoo and then she could wait for Musa as Helia continued on with his day.
"Thank you," Helia's voice was quiet underneath the loud buzzing of the tattoo machine.
"For what?" Flora asked, keeping her head forward.
"For what you said about my art…and about me," Helia replied softly. "I don't get a lot of compliments on my work. Most artists prefer bolder designs and find my approach to be too delicate. I had one artist tell me that I should design romance novel covers and not tattoos. Until Riven, the only other person who took a chance on me was the artist that I apprenticed under."
"Really?" Flora looked back at Helia as he ran the needle over her skin, "Well, I am glad that Riven took a chance on you."
There was a brief silence as Helia and Flora looked at each other in gratitude and admiration. Helia grateful for Flora's kind works and Flora in awe of both the artist and his art. However, that contact was broken when Helia returned to his work and Flora brought her head back down to the headrest of the chair, working her way through the pain.
"So, what prompted you to get your first tattoo?" Helia asked, hoping to make small talk. Flora was thankful for the question, not being someone who enjoyed awkward conversations. Plus, the more silent it was, the more that she would think about the man permanently marking her body and his soft hands, long hair, sharp jaw, deep-blue eyes, tattooed muscles…
Talking was preferable.
"I thought that it was time for a change. I needed something different in my life."
"You know, most people go on a weekend vacation." Helia chuckled, "Not get a tattoo."
"I'm a student so it is hard for me to go on a vacation."
"Oh really?" Helia raised an eyebrow as he continued working on the tattoo, "So you're smart and pretty?"
Flora was glad that she was facing away from Helia as another blush exploded onto her cheeks.
"I study biology at the university."
"And what do you want to do with that?" Helia asked.
"I want to become a doctor," Flora replied. "A pediatrician."
"Hard not to feel jealous of some children who get to have you as a doctor."
Flora rolled her eyes, "Now who is the one flattering who? Do you think that you will receive some sort of discounted care if you ever bring your children to me?"
Helia was silent and Flora couldn't help but to feel a little smug that she had thrown Helia's previous taunts back in his face. But as the time passed on and Helia remained quiet, Flora was questioning if she had said anything wrong.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Flora said timidly.
"You didn't." Helia replied as he kept his eyes focused on his work, "Just thinking."
"Oh…okay…"
"So why flowers?"
He changed the subject. While Flora was thankful for the change in subject and glad to have moved on from that mildly awkward encounter, she was wanting to know why Helia had become so silent. If she really had offended him, she was hoping that he would have told her.
"Um, I just like them." Flora replied, "My family has a garden behind our house that my sister and I would play in."
"Not many gardens here in Magix."
"I'm from Linphea."
"No kidding?" Helia chuckled, "My girlfriend is from Linphea."
Of course he had a girlfriend. Why wouldn't he? He was kind, artistic, gentle, gorgeous, and as far as Flora could tell, he was perfect.
"Krystal talks about Linphea all the time. I think that she is homesick at times."
Flora sighed, "Linphea is lovely but of course I am biased. I do miss the tall trees, the flowers that bloom in the spring, and the fresh air. My father would wake me up in the morning on the first day of spring and take me to the market where we would eat fresh fruit and honey. It was our tradition."
"You speak fondly of your time in Linphea and of your family." Helia smiled as he continued to focus his attention on the tattoo.
"Maybe you and your…girlfriend," that was hard to say, "could visit sometime. I recommend going in the spring when the flowers are in bloom or during the autumn when the wheat fields become a golden amber right before the harvest and the trees seem to be ablaze under the fiery glow of the sunset."
"I will have to bring it up to her, thanks for the suggestion."
Flora took in a deep breath, trying her best not to sound too disappointed. "Of course."
The rest of the appointment carried on with Helia asking Flora more questions and Flora answering them as nonchalantly as possible. She didn't know why she was so upset by hearing that Helia had a girlfriend. She didn't know him; they had only met an hour ago. Was she really that desperate for some kind of affection? Why did it have to be with him? She had no reason to be upset and she needed to get over it. She was just a client, and he was just giving her a tattoo.
This was all professional.
"Alright," Helia said as he backed away from Flora's arm, "I think that's it. Go look in the mirror and tell me what you think. I can always add but sadly, I cannot take away."
Flora got up from the chair, her legs sore from how long she had been straddling the chair. She stumbled but was equal parts thankful and surprised when Helia sprang out of his chair to catch her.
"Thank you."
"No problem," Helia replied with a smile, "I forgot that you might be in a bit of pain from sitting like that for so long."
Helia helped Flora over to the mirror and she did her best not to stare at him. But she couldn't help it. Krystal sure was a lucky woman.
"So," Helia's voice once again brought Flora out of her stupor, "what do you think?"
Flora turned her body, her non-tattooed arm still linked with Helia's though she wasn't sure if it was because she needed his assistance standing up or if it was because she liked being linked to him. As she looked at the small batch of flowers on the back of her arm, she desperately wanted to reach up and touch it.
"Don't touch." Helia commanded as he tightened the link that he had with Flora's arm, pulling her closer to him.
Flora just stared. Everything looked amazing. She could not ask for anything better. She loved the tattoo when it was just a stencil, and she was now enamored after it had been permanently inked onto her skin.
"Oh, Helia," Flora's face lit up as she looked at the tattoo, "it is wonderful! Thank you."
"You're more than welcome, Flora."
Flora continued to look at the tattoo and took in every petal, every stem, and every leaf that had been marked onto her arm. Her tan skin had become a light pink around the black ink and her skin started to raise as it had already begun to heal.
"If everything is to your liking, why don't we go back over there and get you wrapped up and I can go over the aftercare with you."
Flora nodded before she walked back to Helia's section, still arm in arm with the gorgeous tattoo artist.
Helia let go of her arm as he grabbed a roll of plastic wrap and began to wrap Flora's arm in the cool plastic.
"Now, I want you to wash your arm at least three times a day with antibacterial soap. I know that it will be tempting to scratch but don't do that. After a few days, you can start to put on some non-scented lotion to your arm. Keep this on for a few hours and if you suspect an infection, go to the doctor. I have seen some pretty weird reactions to tattoos, even after proper care. But you seem like a smart woman so I am sure that you will do what you feel is right." Helia gave Flora a playful wink and it took everything in her not to melt onto the floor. "You have my contact information, so you message me with any questions that you might have."
"Yes," Flora nodded, "thank you."
Helia began to take apart his machine, disposing of the needle and ink caps in the proper receptacle before taking off the black, latex glove.
"If you want to sit here while you wait for Musa, it looks like Riven is almost done." Helia motioned to the chair that Flora had been sitting in while she got her tattoo.
"I can wait out in the lobby." Flora pointed in the direction of the lobby of the studio.
"Nah, it's okay," Helia replied as he began to put the bottles of ink and prep solution back onto the shelf, "I could use the company. Plus, if I let you sit out there, I will have to endure the mindless chatter and potential bickering of those two when I would rather be talking to you."
"I have ears, ya know!" Riven exclaimed from his station, his eyes never leaving Musa's side.
"I won't be too much of a bother?" Flora asked.
"Of course not." Helia smiled as Flora sat down, "You were my last client of the day, and being around beauty always helps my art.
Three weeks passed and Flora's tattoo healed nicely. It was itchy and she had never felt the urge to scratch something so badly. Musa had given her some ointment that helped but the itch still persisted. Flora was also thankful for the fact that it was winter and she had begun to wear sweaters, blocking her access to scratch the back of her arm.
"Ready to go, Flora?" Musa asked as she grabbed her coat.
Flora nodded, ready to head back to the tattoo studio with Musa. Riven had completed the outline of the dragon on Musa's ribs and after allowing for the lines to heal, Musa was heading back to have some of the color added in. Flora had asked to go with her under the guise of becoming curious about the process and wanting to catch up with Riven but Flora could only admit to herself that she asked to go with Musa because of a certain dark-haired artist.
Grabbing her pink coat, Flora threw it on her arms and buttoned it up before heading out of the door with Musa, anxious to see Helia once again.
If Flora didn't think that Helia was attractive before, seeing him with his hair pulled back definitely would have changed her mind.
As she sat in the corner of the tattoo studio, all Flora could look at was him. He was currently tattooing the back of a man's calf and Flora couldn't peel her eyes away from his concentrated face. His eyebrows came together, his mouth formed a stern and straight line, and his jaw was clenched as he focused all of his attention on his work. A small section of hair fell in Helia's face and he did his best to blow it away but it kept falling.
"Hey, Flora," Helia called out, causing Flora to jump slightly in her seat, "can you come over here for a second?"
Flora slowly rose from the chair she had been sitting in. Making her way over to Helia's station, she gulped as she took a stance beside him.
"Yes?" she asked, trying to keep her voice still.
"Can you tuck in this piece of hair? I would do it myself but if I did, I would have to re-sanitize." Helia asked, looking up at Flora.
Flora would have laughed for feeling so nervous at such a simple request but Helia had asked for her to touch him. Sure, it was just putting a section of hair back in its place, but it still meant touching him and Flora didn't know that if she started to touch him that she would be able to stop.
Still, Flora reached out her hand to touch the smooth lock of hair that fell in front of Helia's face and gently brushed it back to join the rest of Helia's soft hair. Her hand trembled as her fingertips brushed momentarily through his hair and her thumb grazed the smooth skin of his temple. Karel's hair had been smooth and soft too but Helia's was like fine silk. Flora knew that if Stella had been here that she would have asked for his hair care routine.
"Thanks, Flora."
Flora removed her hand from Helia's head as he thanked her.
"You're welcome."
She turned on her feet as she made her way back to her seat beside Riven but was stopped when Helia called out to her yet again.
"Oh, how did your tattoo heal up? Can I get a look at it?" Helia asked as he looked up from the calf that he was tattooing, giving both himself and the man on the table a quick break from the tattooing.
"I'm wearing a sweater," Flora replied.
"Yes yes," Helia shook his head, "sorry, forgive me. I was eager to see how your tattoo turned out I didn't realize that you were wearing a sweater. I guess I will have to see it when it has warmed up a bit. But it healed alright? No trips to the clinic?"
Flora let out a soft giggle, "No," she shook her head, "the tattoo is still as beautiful as the day that you put it on my skin."
"I can't wait to see it."
Flora turned around and resumed her walk to her seat but stopped once again as she turned back to Helia.
"I was wondering if you might do another tattoo for me sometime," Flora asked. She didn't know where she had gotten the initiative to be so bold.
"Of course, I'd love to." Helia gave her a heart-warming smile. "Just let me know what you want, where you want it, and when you want it."
"I was hoping that you would do whatever you wanted." Flora looked timidly down at her hands. She had no idea what she wanted when it came to another tattoo but all she knew is that she wanted Helia's hands on her again, even if it was just to tattoo her. She knew that he had a girlfriend and any girlfriend that Helia had was bound to be just as kind and wonderful as he was but Flora seemed to crave the feeling of his hands on her skin again.
"Seriously?" Helia asked in disbelief. He let out a surprised scoff, "You'll let me do what I want?"
"In reason of course. Nothing that would put me on any watch lists or bar me from seeking employment."
"Damn," Helia chuckled, "I had always wanted to do a huge face tat on someone."
Flora rolled her eyes at Helia's sarcasm, "On second thought…"
"No no, I'll be good. No face tats but you have a nice neck maybe I couldn't convince you to-"
"Absolutely not, Helia." Flora interjected, "You don't even have any tattoos on your neck."
"That's because I don't have a neck like yours."
Flora felt her cheeks heat up from Helia's compliment. She looked down at her feet, hoping to avoid Helia's gaze.
"I am about done here and we can talk about ideas. Does that sound good?"
Flora nodded her head.
"Great, I'll get with you soon."
Flora finally returned to her seat, her hand still tingling with the feel of Helia's hair and skin and her mind reeling with the idea that she would soon have Helia's attention on her once again.
She was going to let him tattoo whatever he wanted on her. Was she crazy? The realization was starting to set in that she was putting her body in Helia's artistic, strong, gentle, soft…
Snap out of it!
Flora looked ahead at Riven as he was still hard at work on Musa's rib tattoo. Through the pain, Musa winced before looking up at Flora.
"Are you seriously going to let Helia tattoo you wherever you want?" Musa asked.
"I really like his work," Flora replied, not really giving Musa an answer.
"Oh, I just bet you do." Musa teased through a hiss as Riven hit a tender spot.
"I do," Flora protested, "I love the tattoo that he gave me."
"And I bet you are hoping that he gives you much more than a-"
"Musa!" Flora exclaimed, "It isn't like that. Not at all. Besides, he has a-"
"No, he doesn't." Riven cut in.
Flora turned her head to Riven as her eyebrows raised up in shock."
"What?"
"A girlfriend." Riven finished Flora's earlier sentence. "I am telling you he doesn't have a girlfriend anymore. They broke up."
"Really?" Flora asked.
"Yeah," Riven replied as he turned in his chair to dip the needle into some red ink, "Helia didn't say what happened other than he and Krystal are no longer together. I saw Krystal the other day at the gym and I tried to ask her but she was pissed, didn't want to talk to me."
"Nobody wants to talk to you, Mr. Grumpy." Musa teased.
"You talk to me," Riven replied.
"And you would do well to remember that." Musa giggled.
Flora couldn't believe it, Helia was single. Maybe she didn't feel so bad anymore for wanting Helia to tattoo her again. She wouldn't feel so bad if she enjoyed the feeling of his hand on her skin and she wouldn't feel terrible for imagining that he was touching her outside of the context of getting a tattoo. Then again, just because he was newly single didn't mean that he liked her or wanted to be with her in the way that she wanted to be with him. She thought about him at night and the magical things that he might be able to do with her with his hands but Helia probably thought about other more important things. Not her.
"Regardless," Flora crossed her arms over her chest, "I honestly just want another tattoo and I have no ulterior motive. Besides, are you two the ones always telling me to live a little? This is all professional. Helia doesn't seem to be the type to go beyond the bounds of professionalism."
"Sure, Flora," Musa sighed, "whatever you say."
"I'm serious." Flora pouted.
Flora looked away from her friend and snuck a glance towards Helia who was still hard at work on the calf tattoo he was doing. Single? Flora wondered what happened and what could have happened to make Krystle so upset. It wasn't any of her business.
"I say go for it."
Flora's attention was brought back to the maroon-haired tattoo artist, his voice low and deep.
"Pardon?"
Riven rolled his eyes, his attention still on the tattoo, "I haven't seen Helia smile much, and he sure does smile a lot when you are around or when your name is mentioned. I think that he likes you."
"But he-"
"It is obvious that you like him too. Just go for it, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Flora, do you want to head into the backroom to talk about ideas?" Helia asked as he returned to the workspace after walking the previous client out.
Flora slowly rose to her feet and couldn't help but to sneak a glance down at Riven and Musa who were both smirking in her direction. She rolled her eyes before following Helia past the curtain into the back room.
It was larger than she expected but smaller than she had hoped for. She was close to Helia and while her body definitely enjoyed the proximity, her brain was screaming to be fifty feet away lest she completely loses it. There were file cabinets filled with who knows what, there was the stencil machine, and there was artwork hung on the walls. In the corner, there was a medium-sized round table with two chairs next to it.
"Go ahead and have a seat and we can look through some of the designs that I have drawn out." Helia gestured to a chair, "I know that you said that you were wanting me to do whatever I wanted but I also want to make sure that you are happy so I will make whatever adjustments-"
"No," Flora interrupted, "I said that I would let you do whatever you wanted, do whatever you want."
Helia stifled a nervous cough as he sat down in the other chair next to Flora. Pulling out his sketchbook, he gave it to Flora. She flipped through the pages and Helia found himself becoming more and more nervous about what she would say. He had posted his portfolio to the studio's website, but nobody had ever seen his sketchbook before. They were just ideas in his head that he would like to one day put on skin, but he never felt confident enough to show anyone. Not until now.
"So," Helia leaned forwards, "what do you think?"
"I think that they are lovely, Helia. I would be happy to have any of these on my body."
Helia smiled as he took the sketchbook from Flora.
"None of these will do." Helia shook his head, "I want to give you something special."
"Special?"
"All of these sketches came from random concepts that I had in my head. I want to design something with you in mind, something perfect for you. Tell me where you want the tattoo and I will design something special for you. Just for you."
Flora had to fight the urge to jump on Helia right then and there. She wanted to beg him to rip off her clothes and fuck her on the table, but this was all professional and her attraction for him was unrequited.
None of this meant anything.
"Where do you think will be best?" Flora asked.
Helia rose to his feet, "Stand up," he commanded, "and stand over there."
Flora did as she was told and stood in one of the only clear spots in the small back room.
"Slowly turn around," Helia instructed as he made a spinning motion with his finger and Flora once again did what she was told.
After making a few turns, Helia knew.
"Okay, you can stop turning." Helia smiled and Flora was thankful for his instruction, "Come here."
Flora walked back to the table and returned to her seat.
"No, stand in front of me." Helia chuckled, waving Flora to him. Flora felt her body shake as she came closer and closer to Helia. She was now mere inches away from him before he placed a hand on Flora's left hip and sat down in his chair. Flora did her best to remind herself to breathe as Helia turned his head and with his other hand, grabbed a marker.
Uncapping the marker with his teeth, Helia looked up at Flora, his hand still on her hip. Flicking the cap of the marker onto the table with a flick of his lips.
"Do you mind?" Helia asked and Flora had no idea what he meant but she would let him do anything that he wanted.
Flora shook her head but found herself frozen in place as Helia grabbed the hem of her sweater and lifted it up, exposing the tan skin on the side of her body. A shiver went down her back as Helia gently tucked the material under the band of her bra. He didn't look nervous though she supposed that she was plenty nervous for the both of them.
This was all professional.
"Perfect," Helia smiled as he ran a hand down Flora's side, "can you slide down the side of your jeans for me?"
"Excuse me?" Flora's green eyes widened in shock.
Helia looked up at Flora in mild horror, realizing how absolutely creepy he had come across.
"God, I'm sorry. I just have a thought and I just wanted to see what I was working with. I was thinking of a piece on your hip that goes down the side of your upper thigh. You have great hips, Flora."
"Um, thank you."
Helia placed his hand back on Flora's hip, "But we don't have to do it there if you don't feel comfortable."
"No no," Flora quickly brought her hands to the button of her jeans, "I was just caught off guard you know. I haven't been asked to pull down my pants a lot."
Flora gave a nervous chuckle as Helia looked up at her and smirked.
"Shame."
This was all professional.
Lowering the thick denim of her blue jeans, Flora brought the side down to expose the side of her hip to Helia.
"Yes," Helia remarked as he began marking small lines on Flora's hip with the marker, "this will work wonderfully." He grabbed the waistband of her jeans and pulled them down even further, obviously lost in making markings on Flora's body.
"What are you doing?" Flora couldn't help but ask.
"Just mapping out where I will place the tattoo. I apologize, you are going to look like a little tiger when you walk out of here. It's just a washable marker and should come off easily in the shower."
Flora nodded her head.
"Are you sure that you are okay with this placement? I can move it if you would like?" Helia looked up at Flora, waiting for her response.
Flora looked down at Helia, her eyes locking with his, "I told you," Flora's voice was no louder than a whisper, "whatever you want."
Helia swallowed a wad of saliva that had built up in his mouth. With a deep breath, he removed his hand from Flora's hip and turned away in his chair. He placed the cap onto the marker and grabbed his phone. Turning it on, he opened the camera app and began taking photos.
"For reference," Helia remarked, as he brought down his phone.
"Of course." Flora nodded.
"You can readjust your clothes," Helia said as he put his phone on the table, "I am done."
Flora pulled up her pants and fastened them and pulled down her sweater. She looked over at Helia, an obvious tension now between them. Did she do something wrong?
"I will get started on the drawing and we can discuss a time for you to come in and begin. I am expecting a few sessions. Did you want color?"
"No." Flora loved his black and gray work.
"Good," Helia smiled, glad that he did not need to work with any color, though he would if a client asked for it, "I will go over this when we get closer to the date but be sure to moisturize this area well in the days before coming in but don't put any lotions on the day of. If you would like, wear some sort of string swimsuit bottom when you come in. I say string because I will need the whole area exposed and a string will allow me to work freely in the area and for you to still be covered. I mean, I have had some clients come in and just lay on the table with nothing covering them but just giving you an option."
Flora nodded.
"Does that all sound okay?"
She nodded again.
"Well, then I guess I will get started on the sketch."
The day was here. Flora once again walked into the tattoo studio for the third time in her life. It had been another two weeks and she and Helia had been talking back and forth about the impending tattoo appointment. Though sometimes, the conversation did stay on the topic of tattoos.
He had told her a bit about his past and how he had gotten into tattooing. She had told him more about her family in Linphea and what they thought about tattoos. He asked her how she had met Musa and became friends with her and Riven. He told her about his life growing up in a military family and how his father had expected to follow in his footsteps, but that Helia decided to be the "family disappointment" and followed his dream of creating art, not fighting in wars.
Flora didn't think that it would have been even more possible to be attracted to Helia but with each passing moment that she spent chatting with him, the more she was falling for him. One topic that they never touched on was the topic of relationships. She was too nervous to ask him about it. She didn't want to come off as too presumptuous. Sure he was single but that didn't mean that he was ready to talk about the breakup or any kind of relationship at all. She had heard from Riven that Krystle was upset so Flora assumed that the breakup was not amicable. She had a hard enough time with the clean and friendly breakup with Karel, she didn't want to reopen any wounds that might have been there by asking Helia about his past relationship.
"Flora!" Nabu greeted enthusiastically, "Great to see you again! Helia is setting up in the back but if you want to give me your ID and I will give you the paperwork, I will let him know you are here."
Flora took the clipboard from Nabu and handed him her ID. It was the same form as before and nothing had changed. Though she was inclined to mark yes for fainting because she definitely became lightheaded and short of breath when she was around Helia. But she filled out the form the same way that she had done before.
"Flora?" Helia stood at the entrance of the back workroom where he would be tattooing Flora. His arms were crossed over his chest and his sleeves rolled up to expose the black and gray ink decorating his arms. Once again, she was curious to know what else was tattooed.
"Hi," Flora gave him a warm and toothy smile, excited to see him but also nervous to get started. The tattoo on her arm wasn't painful to get but it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.
"Is she ready to go?" Helia asked Nabu.
"Yup, I just scanned the ID and if I can get the paperwork back from Flora, you can take her back."
"Thanks, Nabu," Helia turned his attention back to Flora, "are you ready?"
Flora stood up and placed the clipboard onto the counter and nodded her head.
"Ready."
"Let's head back then."
Helia led Flora to the back where his station was already set up. Riven was at his spot of the studio, working on a large and colorful piece on a man's arm. It was an explosion of color but Riven's color work was some of the best in the city. She remembered how angry Riven used to be before finding his outlet of tattooing. He created amazing work and all of his extra energy was better focused on creation than destruction.
"You can go ahead and get undressed in the back if you need to." Helia pointed to the back room, "I will just finish preparing out here and I can show you the drawing."
"Okay," Flora took in a deep breath before walking to the back room and began to slowly take off her jeans. She slid them down her legs to expose the black string bikini bottoms that she went out and bought. Unfortunately, given the fact that it was winter and her more curvy frame, Flora was unfortunately short on options. She looked at herself In the mirror and focused on her hips and thighs. She could see the stretch marks from growth and wondered how Helia could find her hips anything close to ideal.
She shook her head, banishing the thoughts from her head. Soon, her hip would be adorned with Helia's art and soon, it would become her favorite part of her body.
Picking her jeans up from the floor, she folded them in her arms and made her way out to the main studio, trying her best not to run back into the back room to hide. When Helia looked up at her, Flora wanted to shield herself from his assessing eyes.
This was all professional.
But why did he have to stare so hard?
"Hop on up," Helia smiled as he placed his hand on the padded table.
Helia took Flora's jeans as she sat on the table. Her legs dangled as she watched Helia grab his sketchpad. He had pulled back his hair, exposing more of his strong face. His jaw was clenched as he appeared to be focused on the task at hand. Turning around, Helia exhaled and gave Flora a smile.
"So this is what I have come up with." Helia gave Flora his sketchbook, open to the correct page where an array of flowers formed in an arched shape adorned the page. Flora scanned the page and took in every petal, leaf, and space in between. She even noticed a small bee nestled in one of the flowers.
"A bee?" Flora asked as she looked up at Helia who stood right beside where she sat, leaning against the padded table.
"During your first appointment, you said that you would go to the market with your father and eat honey on the first day of spring."
"You…you remember that?" Flora asked in bewilderment.
"Of course I do." Helia shot her a soft smile.
He had paid attention to that? She was just rambling then. Partly to distract herself from the pain and to make her feel better after Helia had dropped the bomb that he had a girlfriend.
"I can always take it out, I just-"
"No," Flora placed a hand over the bee, "please, keep it in. Keep it all in. I love every bit of it. Thank you. Nobody has ever done something like this for me."
"Well," Helia cleared his throat, "it's my job."
Flora handed Helia back the sketchbook.
This was all professional.
"If you like it, I will go back and make a stencil. We will then put it on and get started."
Helia stood up from the table and made his way back to the back room but tripped over his feet on the way there.
"You okay, man?" Riven asked as he stopped tattooing to make sure his co-worker was okay.
"I'm fine," Helia replied as he scurried back into the back room.
Flora looked from Helia to Riven who was staring at Flora, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
"What?" Flora asked through gritted teeth.
"Oh, nothing." Riven smirked, "Helia is usually much more graceful than that. 'Nobody has ever done something like this for me.'" Riven teased before chuckling to himself.
"Shut it, Riven." Flora turned her nose up.
"I am leaving after I finish with Bishop here so if you two are going to get nasty in the shop, I beg of you, please sanitize when you are done."
"RIVEN!" Flora exclaimed.
"Hey," Riven held up his hands, "I'm just sayin'. I don't care if you two fuck, we have plenty of bare body parts lying around here while they get tatted, but please sanitize after."
"That isn't going to happen." Flora folded her arms across her chest.
"Sure…" Riven rolled his eyes as he returned to his work on Bishop's arm.
As if on cue, Helia reemerged from the back room, his eyes focused on the stencil in hand. He smiled at it, knowing that his artwork would be on the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen and would probably ever see.
"Here it is." Helia removed his eyes from the stencil to look up at Flora as he made his way closer to her. She looked at him with nervous anticipation.
"Can you stand up for me?" Helia asked as he set the stencil down on the counter. Flora stood up and Helia crouched down.
Flora could have sworn time stood still as Helia's hands shook as he reached up to the smooth black strings of her swimsuit bottoms. He pulled on the sting slowly as Flora held on to the rest of the suit. She stared down at him and he slowly looked up at her. They held each other's gaze for longer than what might have been normal between a client and artist and shorter than either of them wanted. Helia was the first to turn away as he cleared his throat and grabbed a bottle of the solution that he used before when he had shaved the back of her arm.
The liquid was cool to the touch, and Flora did her best to stand up as Helia began to rub the solution on her leg. Once again, he rubbed longer than what might have been considered appropriate but shorter than what either of them wanted. Flora let out a breath that she had been holding as Helia began to rub the plastic disposable razor over her leg.
Helia rose to a standing position momentarily as he grabbed the stencil solution and the stencil.
"Alright," Helia sighed, "stand still but remember to relax while I put the stencil on."
"Easier said than done," Flora replied.
"Why is that?"
Had she said that out loud?
"Um, just hard to hide the nerves. You know, the anticipation of a bunch of needles puncturing my skin." Flora said to cover up the real reason why she couldn't relax. She couldn't tell him that she shook in anticipation because she was excited under his touch.
"Remember, it wasn't that bad," Helia dropped back into a crouch, "and we can take breaks whenever you want. You tell me what you want."
"Y…y…yes…" Flora stammered as she looked down at Helia as he began to line up the stencil with the side of her thigh. He was slow and methodical with his placement, making sure that everything was perfect. Once again, his hands lingered on her thigh as he rubbed down the stencil.
"Helia…" Flora's voice was soft as she continued to look down at Helia.
"Yes?" Helia asked just as breathlessly as he looked up at Flora.
Flora took in a deep breath, "Nothing."
"If there is a problem with the placement, please tell me."
"No problem at all." Flora replied, "I just…"
"Just what?" Helia asked as he pulled away the paper, "Please tell me what you want."
You.
That was what Flora wanted to say, but she couldn't say that. She needed to get a grip.
"I was just wondering how long this was going to take." Flora sighed.
Helia let out a deep chuckle, "Not too long. I can get the outline done today, depending on how you sit." Helia rose up to his feet, "And then if we finish the outline today, take about a week to heal, and then we can start on the details."
Flora nodded, "I will do my best to sit well."
"Don't push yourself," Helia placed a hand on Flora's shoulder, "tell me when you need a break. It's better for you to tell me to stop than sit in pain. Besides," Helia smiled, "if you take breaks, the more time I get to spend with you."
Flora blushed.
"Go check it out in the mirror." Helia gestured towards the large mirror.
Flora tightly gripped the strings of her bikini on the side of her thigh, careful not to smudge the stencil.
"Damn, girl," Riven exclaimed, "come here."
Rolling her eyes, Flora made her way over to Riven and Bishop. Riven squinted his eyes as he did his best to make out the details of the stencil.
"It looks hot," Riven remarked as he backed away from Flora's thigh, having taken in the design, "fits your leg nicely."
"Do you think so?" Flora asked as she looked down at her leg.
"I would never lie to you, Flora," Riven smirked, "plus, I know what looks hot and it looks hot. What say you, Bishop?"
"So sexy." Came Bishop's reply.
Flora blushed as the man with purple hair gave her a wink.
"You can come back over here," Helia called out to Flora, his voice cool as he glared at Riven and Bishop. Riven was not oblivious to the look that Helia was giving him. If there was one thing that Riven had learned about his fellow artist was that Helia was one of the calmest people he had ever met but getting him worked up was very easy. All he had to do was say something about Flora.
"Go ahead and hop up on the table," Helia placed a hand on the padded table, "and lay on your side."
Flora did as he said and took her position on her side. She watched as Helia put on the black, latex gloves and once again, she felt her thighs clench as he wiggled his slender fingers. She snapped out of it when Helia grabbed the tattoo machine and made his way over to her.
"Remember to keep breathing and let me know if you need anything. Water, a break, a joke," Flora giggled which made Helia smile, "anything."
Flora nodded and looked to see that a small section of hair fell out of Helia's bun. Without thinking, she reached forward and tucked the hair behind Helia's ear, brushing it away from his face. Helia stared at her in shock and Flora slowly lowered her hand, her fingertips slowly caressing the soft skin of his face.
Helia shot up to his feet and set the tattoo machine down onto the counter. He quickly took off his gloves and stormed off to the back room.
Flora had really stepped in it this time. She shouldn't have done that. Why did she do that? She was so stupid. There is no way that he would want to tattoo her.
She looked towards Riven who had merely just shrugged. She hopped down from the table and slowly walked to the backroom, her hands still on the string of her bikini bottom. She needed to apologize. She needed to let him know how sorry she was and how she understood why he didn't want to tattoo her anymore.
"Remember to sanitize…" Riven smirked as Flora walked past him and Bishop.
"I told you to shut it!" Flora snapped her head towards Riven.
"Well, I am done with Bishop here so if you are going to do it, give me like five minutes to wrap up here."
"Nothing is going to happen!" Flora groaned, "I am pretty sure he hates me."
"Nah, just super horny."
Flora ignored Riven and made her way to the back room where she saw Helia standing in the corner, leaning against the file cabinet.
"Helia…" Flora carefully called out his name, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"
"You didn't do anything wrong so don't apologize." Helia rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"But you-"
"If I tell you something, promise that you won't get mad."
Flora nodded her head.
"I broke up with my girlfriend because of you," Helia said as he looked at Flora. Her eyes widened in shock.
"Me? Why-"
"When I saw you, I knew that I wanted you. I didn't even know you and I knew that I was meant to be with you. Even if nothing ever came of it, and I am sure nothing will, Krystal deserves to be number one and to me, she wasn't. You started to invade my dreams and she was nowhere to be found. When I sketched, your face popped up in my head, not hers. You consumed my thoughts from just one encounter more than Krystal had in the past year that I have known her. In one moment, I knew that I wanted you."
Flora looked at him in silence as Helia confessed to her. He felt the same way that she did? She didn't think that it would be possible.
"Helia-"
"I know, I know. Weird right?" Helia rubbed the back of his neck, "But then you asked me to tattoo you again and we started talking and I thought that maybe you liked me too but what's to say that you just didn't like my art. I am just a tattoo artist and you are…then you came out in that swimsuit and your legs…and then you brushed the hair out of my face…"
"I feel the same way." Flora softly said. Helia turned towards her in just as much disbelief that Flora showed him when he had told her how he felt. Now she was telling him that she felt the same.
"You do?"
"Yes," Flora took a step towards Helia, "I do."
Helia smiled as he met Flora, his body so close to hers. They were just a breath away and Flora was desperate for him to close the gap. Or maybe she should take the initiative?
But she didn't need to as Helia raised his hand and placed it on Flora's cheek. Lowering his head, he brought his face down to Flora's and their lips met.
His lips were just as soft as she had imagined them to be. She was kissing the man who had consumed her thoughts for the past two months. He told her that he liked her. There was no way that someone like him would ever like someone like her but she was, kissing him in the back room of the tattoo studio. Maybe it was just a dream, but if it was, she never wanted to wake up. Never.
Nothing about this was professional. But she didn't mind at all.
Flora's hands placed her hands on Helia's chest and was very pleasantly surprised to feel hard muscles hidden under the soft fabric of his shirt. She was desperate to touch them without the cloth barrier.
Her hands dipped lower and under the hem of Helia's t-shirt to feel the smooth skin of his torso. Helia had touched her skin before, why couldn't she touch him? He let out a deep moan into her mouth and Flora took that as a sign that he didn't mind.
"I have always been so curious," Flora said through the kiss, "if you had more tattoos beyond your arms."
Helia backed away from Flora to reach down and remove his shirt from his body, revealing his chest and ribs were covered in intricate black and gray tattoos. She couldn't help but to stare.
"…anywhere else?" Flora asked as she let out a deep breath, trying her best not to jump on top of him.
Helia smirked, "I usually ask for dinner before I show the rest of my tattoos."
"Oh…"
"But for you, I will show you anything," Helia replied as he turned around and began to undo the button of his jeans. Flora could now see the large tattoo of a serene forest scene. Once again, she reached out her hand and touched his skin. She ran her hand down the soft trees and flowing stream.
"Wow." Flora whispered.
"Do you like it?" Helia chuckled as he kept his back turned. Flora kept running her hands over his back and Flora found herself becoming more and more entranced with the tattoo on Helia's back.
"It's amazing."
That was all Flora could say.
"My grandfather did it for me."
Flora dropped her hand, "Your grandfather?"
"He was the one who got me into tattooing. He was a master back in his home country but when the war broke out, he had to give it up to fight. He was then asked to be a teacher at the military school and my father followed that path and I went back to our roots with tattooing and art."
Helia turned around, his eyes now back on Flora, "It was his last piece before he died. It's my favorite tattoo."
"I can see where you get your talent from."
Helia gave Flora another kiss but she held up her hands and gently pushed him away from her.
"I thought that you were going to show me your other tattoos." Flora placed her hand on the waistband of Helia's jeans, once again not knowing where the Hell this boldness was coming from, "I promise to buy you dinner afterward."
Helia replaced Flora's hand with his and pulled down his dark blue jeans. She watched as more dark ink was exposed on his legs. She could see that there were some spots that could be filled with more ink but she never would have imagined that he was so tattooed. Flowers, a tiger, geometric designs, and a plethora of other subject matter and designs decorated his legs. He was a walking work of art.
Flora wanted to reach out and touch them but this was not his back, chest, or face, this was somewhere more intimate. Her hands trembled at the thought of touching his thighs.
"I have some on my upper thighs but-"
"Show me," Flora commanded breathlessly.
"Flora…"
"I want you to show me, Helia." Flora took a step closer to Helia and placed her lips on Helia's, "show me."
Helia wrapped his arms around Flora's waist, pulling her closer to him and pulling her off of the ground. He carried her to the table in the backroom and placed her on top. She had long dropped the strings to her bikini and now she was grabbing the edge of her sweater and pulling it above her head. Helia marveled at the woman on the table, and both knew that they needed each other more than they needed to breathe. It was kind of desperate, but both were easily willing to admit that they were desperate for one another.
Removing his black underwear, Helia was now completely naked in front of Flora and was itching to make sure that she was in the same state of undress.
Flora couldn't help but stare at the tattoos on Helia's legs, doing her best to not stare at the true 'object' of her desires. She couldn't come across as too lewd. Her mother taught her well to be a lady and she couldn't let her mother down. But if things went the way that Flora anticipated, she didn't know what her mother would have to say to know she had sex with a tattoo artist in the backroom of a tattoo studio.
In a blink of an eye, Helia had removed Flora's black, bikini bottoms and the cream-colored bra, She was just as naked as he was and Helia had to do his best not to pass out. Instead, he grabbed her arm and looked behind her.
"What are you doing?" Flora asked.
"Admiring my work," Helia remarked as he looked over the tattoo that he had done on Flora nearly two months ago. "You are right, it did heal nicely."
"You should be proud, it's a great tattoo." Flora smiled.
"Not as great as the woman that it is on." Helia placed a kiss on the back of Flora's arm.
Helia returned his attention back to the rest of Flora, "Nothing I could come up with could ever match how beautiful, wonderful, and inspiring you are."
Flora blushed as she reached up and pulled Helia's head down to hers so that their lips could meet once more. Falling back onto the table, her back hit the cool surface of the table and she pulled Helia on top of her. She moved her hips to get more comfortable on the table and felt Helia's erection between her legs. Flora could already tell that he was going to feel so good inside of her. She needed him now.
"Flora, are you-"
"Yes," Flora interrupted, "whatever you were going to say the answer is yes."
Helia smiled as he gave Flora a deep kiss before backing away to pull Flora's hips to the edge of the table. Flora did her best to catch her breath as she watched Helia line up his hips with hers. She felt the tip of his penis at the entrance of her vagina. She could tell how wet she was and from the deep breath that Helia had released, he could feel how wet she was as well. With a gentle push of his hips, Helia entered Flora, his nails digging into the soft flesh of Flora's hips.
As Helia's hips moved, Flora raised her knees to the sky, her heels finding their place on the edge of the table. Helia had other plans in mind when his hands left Flora's hips and lowered down her legs. He grabbed her calves and lifted them so that they were now flush on his chest, allowing him to go deeper and harder.
Small pants escaped Flora's mouth as Helia continued plowing in and out of her. It was music to Helia's ears. He had dreamt about this moment but he didn't exactly picture it happening in the back room of the tattoo studio. The health code violations that were occurring were more than enough to get them shut down and if customers found out what happened, nobody would ever want to come. Well, maybe people looking for a good time but Helia didn't want that reputation for the shop. But when he looked down at Flora, her tan skin flushed red and her breasts moving with every snap of his hips, Helia didn't care if he never tattooed again.
Flora bit down on her bottom lip and tightly shut her eyes as she felt the pleasure of her impending orgasm begin to build. Her mouth shot open as she felt Helia's hand connect with her clitoris, quickly sending her to the edge.
"Helia!" Flora exclaimed as she sat up and threw one arm around Helia's neck and her other hand helping to prop her up. Thank goodness for Aisha's insistence of a 30-day ab challenge with her friends.
Flora brought her legs down from Helia's chest and wrapped them around Helia's waist, feeling much more comfortable and she was able to pull Helia in closer.
She looked up at Helia's face and saw that he was just as concentrated now as he was when he was tattooing. However, he looked to be enjoying it a little more. A thin sheen of sweat covered his body and she was sure that she was just as sweaty as she felt her body heat up as she threatened to topple over the edge into a mind-blowing orgasm.
Her pants turned into moans and Helia brought his lips down to hers, kissing her as he continued to rub and piston into her. She wanted to be connected with him in any way possible. But she had to throw her head back and let out a loud moan as she exploded inside with intense pleasure.
"That's it, Flora," Helia talked her through her orgasm as he was coming to one of his own, "God, you feel so fucking good."
As Flora rode out her orgasm, her head fell onto Helia's shoulder. He kept moving but Flora had become numb to what was going on, her head still filled with bright stars and fuzziness. She had missed it when Helia's hands returned to Flora's hips and with one snap of his hips, he came and filled Flora up with his hot cum.
"Shit, Flora," Helia gasped as he too tried to come to his senses, "that was…"
"Yeah…" was all Flora could say as the euphoria set in.
"I came in-"
"I'm on birth control."
"Good to know." Helia smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead.
Flora pouted as she felt Helia slip out of her. Placing another kiss on her cheek, Helia made his way over to the corner of the backroom and grabbed his clothes. Flora reached over to the other end of the table where she saw her bra, bikini bottoms, and sweater. They were silent as they redressed, and Flora was worried that she had made a mistake.
"Hey Flora," Helia turned back to Flora and gave her a smile, helping to banish the negative thoughts that began to creep up in her mind, "just because you gave me some of the greatest sex of my life doesn't mean that you are getting out of that dinner. Or paying for your tattoo."
Flora rolled her eyes as she hopped down from the table and made her way over to Helia, placing a kiss on his cheek.
"I'll pay full price," Flora smirked, "especially if I keep getting that."
"Think of it as a special service reserved only for you," Helia replied and that made Flora's heart soar. "Now, come on, I have to redo the stencil," Helia looked down at Flora's thigh, the stencil smudged from their tryst on the table, "but we have a tattoo to do."
Flora nodded as she followed Helia out of the back room and to the empty tattoo studio, Riven having left much to both Flora and Helia's content. Hopefully, he didn't hear what happened in the back room.
As Helia made his way to his station, he looked down on the counter and saw that there was a bright pink sticky note with the word SANITIZE written in large, black letters.
"What?" Helia looked down at the sticky note, confused at what that could have met. He was always clean, sanitizing after every client. Riven never had to tell him to sanitize.
Flora looked over Helia's shoulder and upon seeing the message on the sticky note, yanked the pink paper out of Helia's hand.
"What was that about?" Helia smirked as he began to wet a paper towel so that he could begin to wipe away the smudged stencil from Flora's leg.
"Nothing," Flora huffed, "Riven just said…"
"Said what?"
"He said that if we…you know…that we needed to sanitize."
Helia chuckled, "I'm glad I wasn't the only obvious one. Makes me feel better that Riven teased you as well. He's been teasing me ever since I told him that Krystal and I broke up."
"Really?"
"It's Riven." Helia lowered himself back down into a crouched position and began wiping away the design from Flora's leg.
Flora didn't know if her legs were weak from Helia touching them or from the sex in the backroom, but all she knew was that she was having a hard time standing up. Helia was quicker this time and in no time, had the stencil on her. It helped that the sexual tension was gone and his hands no longer trembled as he touched Flora's skin.
"Do you want to take a look?" Helia asked as he returned to a standing position.
Flora leaned up and placed a lingering kiss on Helia's lips, "I already know that it is perfect."
"On you, it always will be."
Flora blushed as Helia placed his hand on the padded table, motioning for Flora to assume the position. She laid down on the table and watched again as Helia put on his gloves and grabbed his tattoo machine. He placed a small bit of thick moisturizer on the top of her thigh and gave her a smile.
"Ready?"