Hot For Sensei

Chapter Twenty-Nine

 Ivy met Eli at the tattoo parlor as planned. It was a smaller shop, and she was a little skeptical, but she was willing to give it a shot. Moon had exited the Sentra with Eli, and Ivy was only a little surprised, because why wouldn't she be there? For a second, Moon's presence made her question her tattoo choice, but she quickly shook off her doubt. Whatever happened, she knew the tattoo would always be special and that she wouldn't regret getting it.

"Nice hair." Ivy quipped as she joined the pair, politely waving at Moon as she addressed Eli.

"I know right? Totally my color." He gave her a wink, "So, you ready for this?"

"Let's do it." Ivy smiled confidently.

Eli held open the door and they all stepped inside.

It looked exactly like Ivy had expected. There were two stations with red padded chairs, a waiting area with a couch and an album of tattoo designs, a front desk covered in stickers you would slap on a skateboard, and framed pictures of tattoo designs covering every inch of the wall space. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but the more she looked around the more quaint it became.

"Hey, Ricco! We're here!" Eli announced.

A guy with long brown hair stepped out from one of the stations. He was wearing a plain black tee shirt and jeans, his body covered in tattoos and piercings. He certainly looked the part.

"Hey, Hawk man!" Ricco did some sort of high-five handshake combo with him, "I'm all ready for ya."

"Cool." Eli nodded, "So, you think you could hook up my friend, Ivy, too?"

"Sure thing, man, as long as she's got the cash."

"I do." Ivy nodded, starting to get nervous.

"Cool, let me set you up with my boy." Ricco clapped a hand on her shoulder and turned, "Emilio! I got a fresh one for ya!"

A stockier man with black hair and face tattoos appeared from the other station. He looked frightening, and Ivy's knees started to feel weak.

"Well, come on, girl!" he called to her.

"Go on, I'll see you when we're done." Eli whispered to her and pecked a kiss on her forehead.

He then placed an arm around Moon, and they walked to Ricco's station, leaving Ivy behind. Emilio gave her a look and she quickly moved to him, not wanting to waste his time.

"Have a seat, relax a little. You're in good hands." Emilio smiled to her, his voice kinder than his appearance, "So, what would you like?"

"Well, it's a little rough, but I was hoping you could refine it." She mumbled.

Pulling out her wallet, she grabbed a folded piece of paper and opened it to reveal the rough sketch she had been working on all night. It was a pair of simple hawk wings, and in the middle was Eli's name, drawn out in the prettiest loops she could muster. Emilio took it from her to look it over.

"Yeah, I can work with this." He nodded, "How big and where do you want it?"

"About this big if you could." Ivy showed him by squaring her fingers, "On my chest over my heart, please."

"You got it, chickie." Emilio patted her leg before he stood, "Let me make a stencil real quick and then we'll get started on this bad boy."

In less than fifteen minutes, Emilio had come back, placed the stencil and started on the tattoo. It hurt, but not nearly as much as Ivy thought it would. The buzzing from the machine bothered her more than the actual pain, and before she knew it, Emilio was done. He wiped it down before handing her a mirror.