Chapter 16 #2
An image flashed in Jess’s mind—Vivienne lying in tangled sheets, moonlight slicing across her naked body. Her hair streaming across the pillow, back arched and eyes closed in passion—fuck. Jess’s cheeks heated to a thousand degrees as she almost dropped her cupcakes.
“You okay there, Jess?” Tania asked when she noticed the wobble.
“I’m fine,” Jess said with an embarrassing scratch to her voice. “I just felt … dizzy for a second.”
“Oh no!” Chrissy eyed her with concern. “Are you nervous about getting a tattoo?”
“Er, yeah,” Jess lied.
“There’s really nothing to be nervous about.” Chrissy smiled brightly. “This will be my third one and it’s not that bad … mostly.”
Shay unlocked the door when they saw them coming and waved them inside past the CLOSED sign. “Welcome, everyone! You can put the food on the counter over there.… And this is my partner, Locke.… I think you’ve all met her before?”
Locke—with olive skin, a purple pixie cut, a lip ring, and covered in beautiful, delicate nature-inspired tattoos—was fiddling with a tray of supplies next to a tattoo chair. She hugged everyone as Shay refreshed her on their names.
Vivienne looked around approvingly. “Thank you so much for doing this for us after hours. Very VIP.”
“This is going to be so fun!” Chrissy agreed.
Two more people joined from the back of the shop.
Locke introduced them. “This is Shelly and Lewis, the other artists who are working with us tonight.” Shelly was in her forties, with pink hair, and Lewis looked young, maybe twenty, with more tattoos than even Locke.
He was also quite petite and had to tilt his chin up to look at the volleyball players.
Locke surveyed the group. “Who are the first-timers again?”
Jess, Tania, and Vivienne put their hands up.
For some reason, Jess was surprised to see Vivienne was new at this.
She seemed like the type to have tattoos.
Then again, Jess had seen Vivienne in a bikini a thousand times, and had glimpses of more in the locker room, so unless the tattoo was in a very private place, she would have noticed it before.
“We’ve taken a look at the designs you chose. They’re all fairly simple, so each tattoo will take probably an hour or so. Which three want to start?”
“Me!” Chrissy jumped forward.
Lee also put up her hand.
“I’ll go,” Jess said.
Locke paired each of them with an artist and they sat to finalize their designs.
“So…” Locke slid a folder over to Jess. “I looked at the samples you sent me and read your ideas. What do you think about this?”
Jess had found a cool crescent-moon tattoo design, then had the idea to turn it into a crescent volleyball instead, with maybe a few stars sparkling around the outside.
Jess gasped when she saw Locke’s drawing. “Locke! Oh my God, it’s perfect.” It was even better than Jess had imagined—shaded and textured, a beautiful combination of crescent moon and volleyball. Goose bumps sprung up on her arms.
“Are you sure? A tattoo is forever. We can make any changes you want.”
“I absolutely love it. You’re brilliant.”
Vivienne had come over to check out Locke’s drawing. “Wow! That is gorgeous!”
“Isn’t it?” Jess couldn’t stop staring at it.
“I’m glad you like it. And do you still want it on your outer forearm?” Locke asked.
“Yes.” Jess showed Locke right where she wanted it to go, close to her left elbow. She chose the spot so she would see it when she steadied her telescope.
“Okay. I’m going to make up the stencil. You can grab a few bites of food while you wait. Have some soda, get your blood sugar up. It’ll keep you from feeling faint.”
Jess headed over to the food and snarfed some spinach dip and a couple tacos, then selected a can of Coke from the mini fridge.
Vivienne had wandered over to a display of jewelry near the till. She crossed one leg over the other and gripped the counter. She was shaking.
Jess set her empty plate down and eased over to her. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly, almost reaching out to put a hand on Vivienne’s arm.
Vivienne gave her an unconvincing smile. “Fine.” Her knuckles were white. “Just a little nervous.”
“Oh. Yeah, me too,” Jess lied again.
Vivienne didn’t buy it for a second. “You’re not nervous.”
“I am! I’m totally nervous about the…”
“The needle,” Vivienne supplied.
“Yes! The needle. Hate needles. They’re so … needly.”
Vivienne huffed a small laugh. “So needly.”
Jess wanted to say something helpful. “You don’t have to go ahead with this if you don’t want to.”
“I know … I do want to, though. I’ve always wanted a tattoo.”
“Just tell Locke that you’re feeling nervous. I’m sure it’s totally common and she’ll know how to help you.”
“I will.” Vivienne nodded, then tried smiling again. “Thanks.”
Jess smiled back at her, adding this information to her mental Vivienne file. Afraid of needles. Kind of adorable when she’s scared.
“I’m ready for you, Jess,” Locke called.
Jess gave Vivienne an encouraging nod, then went to sit in Locke’s chair. She placed her arm on the table.
Locke prepped the area, then placed the stencil on Jess’s forearm. “Here?”
“Perfect.”
Jess was pleased to discover it didn’t hurt too badly, more uncomfortable than painful, and it was pretty magical watching the design be permanently etched onto her skin.
The time passed quickly. Vivienne seemed to relax in the background. She collected a plate of food and chatted with Shay and Tania while the artists worked.
“I think we’re done,” Locke announced. “What do you think?”
Jess studied her new tattoo. Her two great loves, space and volleyball, there forever. Jess’s eyes stung. “It’s incredible, Locke. Thank you so much!”
“You are so welcome.” Locke wiped the area again and took a picture for her portfolio. Jess snapped a few pics, too.
The girls who weren’t currently getting tattooed came over to admire it.
“It’s gorgeous,” Vivienne said. “Really beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Jess smiled, warmth running through her body.
Locke covered it with a clear protective layer while she gave Jess some aftercare instructions, then looked up at her next customer. “Your turn, Viv!”
Vivienne gulped and nodded.
“So you want just a simple volleyball, like Lee’s?” Locke confirmed.
“Actually…” Vivienne chewed her lip. “Jess, I’m sorry if this is crazy, but I really, really love the design you got. Would you be mad if I got the same tattoo as you? On my back though, not in the same spot.”
“Oh, um…” Vivienne would have the same tattoo as her? Was that weird? Or … was it weirder that she really liked that idea? “Yeah, that’s fine, of course.”
Locke frowned at Jess. “Are you okay, Jess? Your face is really red.”
“Uh…” She put her hands to her cheeks. “Yeah, maybe I’m feeling a bit lightheaded.”
Tania took hold of Jess’s elbow and steered her toward another chair. “Here, sit down and finish your Coke. I’ll bring you some more food.”
Jess ducked her head and sat without protest.
When Locke was ready, Vivienne pulled off her tank top, revealing a very small bikini top underneath, and lay down on the table. Her eyes were wide and wet and her limbs were shaking as Locke prepped the area and stuck on the stencil.
“Take a deep breath,” Locke soothed her.
Jess hesitated for a second, then pulled her chair up next to Vivienne, took her hand, and squeezed. “You’re okay. You can do this.”
Vivienne squeezed back and blew out a breath.
Locke paused with the tattoo gun hovering over Vivienne’s upper back near her right shoulder. “I’m going to start with a small line so you can see how it feels, okay?”
Vivienne twitched when the needle touched her skin.
“Easy…” Jess soothed. “You’re okay.”
“Will you distract me?” Vivienne whispered.
“Sure … Actually, I have a funny story I was going to tell you anyway. You know what Fleming did yesterday? When we got back from our walk, he had something in his mouth. But he wouldn’t show me.
I kept saying ‘Fleming, drop it’ but he’d just look at me, wagging his tail, with this piece of hot pink plastic sticking out of his mouth.
So I finally grabbed his jaw and pried it out of his mouth … and it was a fucking mini vibrator!”
Locke lifted the tattoo gun as they all exclaimed.
“No way!” Vivienne said through her laughter.
“Swear to God!” Jess said.
“What did you do?”
“Well, I screamed and dropped it … and Fleming picked it up again and ran to try to hide it in his bed.”
“Oh no!”
“I had to wrestle it away from him.… Then I washed my hands a hundred times.”
“What about Fleming’s mouth?”
“He’s a dog, he eats garbage … or worse. I think he’ll survive. But wait, I haven’t told you the worst part yet.…”
“There’s more?”
Jess nodded. “Mm-hmm. Later on, I saw my neighbor Mrs. Horowitz pacing around outside like she was looking for something she had dropped.”
Vivienne cackled. “Noooo. Poor lady. I hope she has a backup. Or are you going to return it?”
Jess face-palmed. “It had teeth marks in it.”
“Bad Fleming. You gotta be careful with your teeth.” She raised a knowing eyebrow.
Jess snickered. “So true.”
“Okay, no more funny stories, Jess!” Locke admonished. “Vivienne has to stay still.”
“Sorry!” They were still holding hands. She updated Vivienne on the scores from the California leagues from the weekend, showed her a reel of cute dachshunds wearing hats, and summarized the plot of Queen in Shining Armor. The time flew by and, before they knew it, Locke was done.
Jess grinned at her. “You did it! And it looks amazing on you.”
Vivienne sat up and looked in the mirror that Locke held up. “Oh, I love it. Thank you so much, Locke.” Her gaze swung over to Jess. “And thank you. I don’t think I would have been able to go through with it without you.” Her voice was low and smoky and traveled through Jess’s body in a shiver.
Jess’s tongue was heavy in her mouth. “Sure you could have. You’re the most confident person I know.”
Vivienne studied Jess’s face for a moment. “I’m really not.”
“Well…” Vivienne’s hair fell loose on her shoulders, highlighting her long, elegant neck. A hint of vanilla reached Jess’s nose. She cleared her throat. “You fake it pretty good.”
A small smile ghosted the corner of Vivienne’s mouth. “‘Fake it till you make it,’ right?”