Hold Up

Chapter 5

THE TATTOO SHOP

MAX AND TAYLOR

Max walks over toward his sister where she sitting drawing on a sheet of transfer paper and he can see she is in the zone, he knows he shouldn't bother her art process but he's so curious he can't help himself.   He sits down carefully at the end of the couch she is on and with a sigh, Taylor stops drawing and looks up at him.

"What is it, Max? I'm busy." She asks then looks back at what she just drew. She always draws carefully, because she still needs to prove herself since she works with a bunch of guys and she wants to prove herself.  She can outdraw her brother and that is one of the reasons she was hired and it also helps that she has steady hands.  She can tattoo with the gun with the best of them, but she still has the status of apprentice and she's been tattooing since she turned seventeen and was drawing for them two years prior now she has something to prove so she can make the kind of money they all are making.

She's been with her brother ever since she got kicked out of their parent's house for coming out as a lesbian.  She was sixteen when they kicked her out and since then she's been living with her brother and drawing for the shop. Her art has been making him so much money, she also makes pretty decent money that she's been saving or using to get more tattoos, but she's mostly been saving so that she can move away from all the bad memories.  She just hasn't come up with a place to move to yet because she wants out of Arizona if she can get so lucky.

"I wanted to see if you were okay and ask what you thought of them. Do you remember her from school?" Hearing this she rolls her eyes and knows if she doesn't answer him he will keep nagging until she does.

"I'm fine. I think they're nice and no, I'd remember her if I had seen her before." She tells him and it's an honest answer and she thinks it's too bad she got her G.E.D now, but that was out of her control because at sixteen her parents kicked her out. They didn't give her a choice, she had to finish school fast and get a job so that she can fend for herself and not rely on her brother so much. Her brother co-owns the shop but she knew she would have to earn her keep to move out once she has saved enough.

"Come on Tay, you know what I meant." Max says when she got stuck in her head and he knew it because she didn't start drawing again except she was just staring at what she drew so far.

"Ugh. I know what you meant but you heard her, she's leaving tomorrow." Taylor states lifting the hectograph pencil so as not to mess the drawing up.

"Maybe you could change her mind. I saw the way she checked you out and she even eyed your gold star tattoo which means she knows what it means."

Sighing she finally looks at him. "It doesn't matter." She getting a little agitated now and she goes right back to drawing.

"Bullshit, I say go for it. You know her mom was grinning back and forth at the two of you. You would've seen it if you'd looked up at them. You know for a baby dyke she had so much confidence. Where were your big panties huh?"

Taylor sighs and stops herself before she messes up the paper. "Fuck! I can't work like this. I'm going upstairs." She says then she grabs her stuff and walks away.

"Fine, but will you at least think about it?" Max says putting his hand up in prayer but she doesn't look back or say anything she just flicks her hand up in a gesture to let him know she heard him. Max takes that as a yes, and silently he mouths yes then fist pumps the air.

Taylor didn't need her bother telling her anything, because she was already thinking about the brunette's beauty and she was so curious as to why they never met until now. She also can't help thinking of her smile and how she called her hot.