Angustifolium

CH-2

*Ding Ding Ding*

Lingling heard her 5 am alarm ring. She was up before it. As always. She turned it off and rose, freshened up, got into her tracks and left for a run.

This was her peace. Her time. Nothing could take this part of her day away from her. She enjoyed it, the rush in the silence of the morning. She could think. Or choose not to. She could do whatever she wanted to. This was her therapy. Anything else would pale in comparison.

Today, she chose not to think. She focused on the feeling of the ground beneath her shoes, and the way the air hit her face, and the way her heart pumped with her pace. This was her way of practicing mindfulness. And honestly, even though she loved her job, she loved her art, she loved that her clients trust her, and she loved sex, but none of those could give her this level of peace.

Just as she was returning home, her phone buzzed with a new text.

Lily : Hey, I think I left my watch at your place the earlier night. Can I come by tonight to pick it up?

Lingling cringed at the text. She hated this part. The aftermath of her little weekend activities. Having to let someone down easily. It surprised her how some women could get their emotions tangled up with just one night of sex, even after telling them this was casual. But she'd done this quite a few times now, she knew how to handle the situation.

Lingling : Hi, I'll do you one better, I'll get it to the studio today, you wanted to get the tattoo checked anyway, I'll give it to you then.

Lily : Oh.. alright.

She left it at that. No need to say anything more. No need to give the woman any idea that this needs to go any further than their one night of fun. It's the middle of the week, Lingling truly had no time or energy to be dealing with this part of her life.

She got home, took a shower, got dressed, picked up Lily's watch from where she'd left it, put on her jacket, picked up her helmet, got her keys and headed to her garage.

There she was. The one woman Lingling loved beyond measure. The one woman she chose every single day ever since she came into her life. Her motorcycle, korn.

"Hi beautiful" she says, putting her helmet on, "we've got a long day ahead of us"

Lingling took off to her studio. She indeed had a long day ahead. 3 clients, one wanted a tattoo of her late dog, one wanted a Taylor Swift lyric, and the other the beginning of what will become a sleeve of Marvel superheroes. That one's gonna need sittings over a few weeks but she was excited for each of them.

"Hey guys!" she greeted the others when she entered.

Jaja and Nene had been working with her for 1 year now. One year into working the studio herself, she knew she could use extra hands, and was able to pay them reasonably too.

"Hey Kwong" they greeted in Unison.

"Got any clients coming in today?" Lingling asked them as she put her stuff down

"Yea, Lily called, she wants to get a name tattooed on her arm" Nene said nonchalantly

"A name? Whose?" Lingling asked, while readying a station for her client who would be in soon.

"Maya Bishop" Bow said with a serious face.

Lingling starred at her , her face showing utter terror.

"I'm kidding" Jaja and Nene burst out into laughter.

Lingling picked up a roll of paper napkins and threw it at Bow, "Asshole. Don't do that."