Primo Ed Ultimo - Chapter 3

3

            “Okay then, which Tattoo would you like to start with?” Simon asked. He flashed Ryu his usual grin, leaning back against the counter of his tattoo room.

            “Does it really matter?”

            “It does when it comes to pain tolerance,” he said with a nod. “The one you want on your arm is going to hurt more because it crosses onto your underarm. That’s one of the areas that seems to have more pain receptors. At least, that’s what I’ve noticed over  the years.” He gave a small shrug. “The one you want on your lower left back will hurt less because you’ve got more fat there.”

            The girl’s expression fell flat. “Are you calling me fat?”

            “N-No! Not at all!” Simon held up his hands in defense. “I…If anything I was saying you have curves! Nice curves!” He stopped, feeling heat rush to his cheeks.

            Ryu was a bit surprised, but she couldn’t help but give a small laugh. “I was joking,” she said, reaching to flick the man’s forehead. “Couldn’t you tell?”

            “Not really,” he admitted. “Are you an actress or something?”

            “No. I’m a Barista,” Ryu answered with a shrug. “Glamorous, isn’t it? But I did mess around with some acting classes in High School.”

            “I see.” Simon gave a soft laugh. “So which tat will it be, missy?”

            “Let’s go with more pain,” Ryu said with a shrug.

            “Don’t tell me you’re a masochist…”

            “Hell no. I just want to get it over with.”

            Boy did she regret that statement. Once the decision had been made, out came the tools and the process began. The pain on her upper arm was tolerable. Really it was nothing more than just annoying. However, when he reached her underarm the girl actually found herself in tears. Ryu bit her bottom lip to keep in the whimper that so longed to escape. That was the moment the man stopped.

            “Ryu, you okay?” He asked, concern rushing to his face the instant he saw her in such pain.

            “Don’t stop,” Ryu begged in a whisper. “Get it over with.”

            “If you want, we can stop and finish it another day,” he offered. Though pain came normally with tattoos, the last thing Simon wanted was to actually hurt his clients.

            “Please? I just want to finish it.” The girl begged once more.

            The man hesitated before he finally gave a nod. “Alright… But I won’t start the color today, ‘kay? Just the outline.” Once the girl approved, he continued. As the needle  grazed across her skin, seeing the pain in those deep blue eyes was enough to make the man feel intense guilt. He tried to be as quick as possible while still being accurate; a sigh of relief leaving his lips when he finally finished. Though he wasn’t looking forward to coloring in the Celtic armband. Ryu wanted it black, and the coloring process was always more painful than the outlining.

            He reached forward, letting his fingers brush against Ryu’s cheek to wipe away the last of her tears. The girl flinched before she relaxed. Once more she was surprised. Did Simon get this friendly with all of his clients?

            “How about during our next session we focus on outlining the other tattoo?” He asked, caressing her cheek lightly. “Maybe it’ll build up your pain tolerance and you’ll feel the needle less when we color in this one.”

            Ryu’s voice was gone. For some reason it simply would not work as she commanded it to. Rather than speaking, all she was able to do was nod. Her hand moved to touch his own as she leaned into the touch. Their eyes locked, and before Ryu knew it, she felt Simon’s lips pressing against her own. It was hard to tell whether her body stiffened or melted, but she knew for sure that she leaned into the kiss to return it. Everything felt strange… Her cheeks felt like they were on fire while her heart felt like it were about to burst. Only one thing was positive in her mind:

The pain was well worth this moment alone.

Later that night when her brother would question her never-ending smile, Ryu would simply shrug her shoulders, show him her tattoo-in-progress and continue on with her business. She’d tell him eventually.