By Now

Tattoos and the Bahamas

1 Year Ago

"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch!! Stop making it hurt!"

"I'm not doing anything that I don't normally do. Tattoos usually hurt. Everybody knows this." I said rolling my eyes.

"Is this really how you treat customers?!" She demanded angrily.

"No! Now stop fucking moving and it might not hurt so bad. You're going to make it look terrible and that'll be your fault, not mine!" I said getting pissed.

"Whoa bro! Chillax. No need to flip out on a pretty lady like her." Nathaniel said, strolling in and flashing her a grin. She smiled back and fluttered her eyelashes. Nathaniel was about 5'8" with black hair cut closely to his head. His face was troll-like.

"Maybe you'd like to finish her tattoo then?" I sneered at him.

"Oh would I." He held his hand out to her. I glanced at her half finished tattoo. I had done the outline of the dolphin and was starting on the rose vine that it held in its mouth before she started squealing about the pain and making me move the needle by moving.

She took his hand and he led her into his tattoo room. I chuckled shaking my head. Nathaniel had gone to classes about tattooing but that didn't change the fact that he absolutely sucked. He was never in the lines and he botched up the color everytime.

As I was putting my things back where they belong, Zayn walked in. "So what'd your boy toy say?"

As I look over my shoulder to reply back, Anthony walked in. "Who's your new boy toy?" He asked grinning widely. Anthony was a short, wide man. He was in his mid-50s and practically like a father to me.

"He's not my boy toy. He's just this guy I've been talking to." Anothony and Zayn share a knowing look.

"What makes him different from all the other guys?"

"I don't just want to fuck Louis. That's what." I sneered back.

"Don't use that attitude with me."

"Sorry sir."

"If he's the real deal I expect to meet him, ya hear?" I nodded to show I understood. He nodded in satisfaction before walking out. Zayn geld up five fingers, slowly putting one down every second. As he was putting the last one down, Anthony walked back in. "I forgot to ask, why in the hell does Nathaniel have a customer? He's going to ruin my fucking business."

"She kept moving and moving the needle on me. When he decided to butt in I let her go with him. If she wants to be bitch with me, then she can deal with having a fucked up tattoo." I said crossing my arms over my chest.

"Next time that happened, don't let it happen! I will not let my business be ruined because he suck at tattooing, ya hear?"

"Yea. I hear."

"Good. Paychecks are up front."

"But it's not payday?" I say in confusion.

Zayn hops up and sits in my tattoo chair. "He's the boss, you moron. It's payday if he says it's payday." I reach over and slap the back of his head.

"The boy had got a point." Anthony said winking. "But it's payday this week, because I will not be here next week. I'm going to the Bahamas with my girl."

"Oh. Well have fun."

"It's the Bahamas, of course I'll have fun!" He calls over his shoulder as he walks out.

"I think he might propose on this one."

"You say that everytime he takes her on a trip." I say looking at Zayn, who's sprawled out lazily in the tattoo chair.

"That's cuz he's going to do it one of these times. I can feel it."

"You're gonna feel my fist in your face if you don't move your fuckin ass."

"Where's the love?" He says, clutching his chest dramatically.

"In your ass." I say grinning.

"To be fair I have a lot of things up my bum." He sasses back.

I roll my eyes, "Whatever. Let's go. I wanna go get ready to meet up with Louis."

"Oh Louis! Louis! Louis! Wherefore art thou Louis!" He says in a high voice, batting his eyelashes.

"Shut up. That doesn't even make sense. You're basically asking why is he Louis." I say as I knock my shoulder into his, sending him stumbling.

"What the fuck ever!" He says as he walks backwards into main room.

"Watch out!" I call out before cringing. He had just ran into the girl from before. I rush over and help them both up, Zayn brushing it off and laughing. She, however, looks like she going to be in tears. "Are you okay?" I ask her.

She shakes her head furiously while wiping tears from her eyes. "No! It's messed up."

I glance down at her tattoo. The vine of the rose is crooked and barely in the dolphins mouth. The dolphin itself has a messed up tail making me furrow my eyebrows because I had done the outline and it had not looked like that. It only meant that Nathaniel had redone my outline. The inside of the dolphin is unevenly colored.

"Would you like me to fix it? I can't guarantee it'll look absolutely amazing but I can guarantee it'll look better." She nods her head and let's me help her up. I take her back into my room and grab the necessary colors and my needle.

I try to fix the tail as much as I can by evening out the left side. I make the dolphin a dark blue instead of a light blue and I had two rose vines instead of one. As I'm wiping down and cleaning up her tattoo she keeps thanking me. After I get her directed to Zayn to pay for it, I, once again, start to pick up my things.

As I'm putting away the needle, Zayn comes in, "You ready to go?" I nod and we head out, paychecks in hand, ready to get drunk off our asses.