A Tattoo for Lex - 5. Chapter 5

Tuesday morning dawned gray and cool. David called and told him he had the parts for the Chief and it would probably be done by tomorrow. Lex thanked him for the update and asked him to let him know when it was ready and he would head over.

Lex had a video conference call scheduled at 11:00 and had to deal with a pompous CEO who wouldn’t take no for an answer. As soon as Lex has seen the multiple shades of brown that shimmered around the man who obviously felt that everyone around him should bow down before him he knew he would not be working with him. Those brown colors indicated conceit and contempt towards others. He had discovered early on and had been amused by the fact that true assholes were literally covered in shit brown. After firmly and not quite politely refusing the executive’s request to overhaul their system’s security, he only half heard the threats that he would never work in the computer industry again. ‘Nice try dickwad’ Lex thought as he ended the call. His reputation as being one of the best legal hackers trumped the empty threats the idiot had spewed forth.

Lex decided to head back over to Jake’s for a quick lunch before his appointment with Ian. He needed to get into a better frame of mind if he was going to handle having his back touched for two hours. Just thinking about it made him slightly nauseous. He gave skipping lunch a brief thought and then heard Cassie’s voice in his head yell “Fucking wuss.” He once again gave himself a mental smack. He figured he was probably going to end up with a mental concussion pretty soon.

He pulled open the door to the bar and grill and found a seat at the counter. Jake was once again behind the bar and gave him a quick hello and said he’d be over in a minute. Lex looked over the menu again and decided on a chicken parm grinder and chips. After he ordered his food and a glass of water he sat back and looked around. He saw several of the tables occupied and glancing towards the back he saw Jarren and Mazen sitting with a couple of other guys who he guessed were part of their crew. Mazen saw him and motioned for him to come over.

Lex grabbed his water and made his way to their table. Jarren smiled and moved down so Lex could sit.

“Hey Lex, good to see you again!” Mazen smiled as he greeted him. Mazen introduced him to the other three guys at the table. Sure enough they were part of the crew Jarren and Mazen had working on the house they were renovating.

Jarren spoke first, “Hey man, thanks for the pizza the other day. You didn’t have to do that.”

The three other guys and Mazen added their thanks as well, each talking over the other.

Lex laughed and replied, “Yeah, I did need to. You guys didn’t need to stop for me and the pizza was my way of thanking you.”

Jarren gave him a grateful look and asked, “So I take it David is still working on your bike seeing how you’re still here?”

“Yep. He called me this morning and said it should be done tomorrow. He had to have the parts shipped in. It was the alternator that shit the bed.”

Mazen looked over and inquired, “So where are you headed to next once you get the bike back?”

Lex looked down at the table to hide the blush he could feel creeping into his cheeks and said, “Actually I’m sticking around for a while. I decided to get a tattoo done on my back and it’s going to take a few weeks so Ms. Helen has agreed to put up with my sorry ass for a while.”

Both boys whooped their approval. Mazen let go with a long “Swwwweeeeeeetttt! You’ve gotta take this meathead for a ride on your bike. He’s talked non-stop about it since last week.”

It was Jarren's turn to blush as he turned to the three guys on his crew he gushed, “This dude has a ‘53 Indian Chief Roadster, mint condition, pretty turquoise blue with gleaming chrome pipes and wicked leather saddleseat. A-mazing!”

The three workers looked at Lex with admiration. Just then their waitress came over with the food including Lex’s sandwich. He just sat back, ate, and listened as Mazen and Jarren bitched about the homeowners and how their expectations didn’t match their budget.

Mazen explained to Lex, “So this young couple, artsy, kinda earthy crunchy type, bought one of the old Victorian houses on the other side of the park. They got it for a decent price in my opinion. They knew going into this the house needed a major overhaul. I know the realtor who sold them the house and she wouldn’t try to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. Anyway, they’re new to the area, he just got some executive position over at Tanglewood. She grew up in some ritzy suburb outside of Atlanta, Daddy is some bigwig at International Hotel Group down there. So they’re under the impression that we can tear down some walls, slap some paint on and throw new cabinets and appliances in the kitchen and they’ll have their dream home. Even though they were warned before buying the house that there were going to be some major repairs, they seem to think that we are trying to swindle them out of all of their money.”

“Far be it from me to try to explain it to them one more time that this house was built at the end of the 1800’s. Plumbing wasn’t put in until the 1940’s. Electrical hasn’t been touched since the early 70’s and the kitchen and main living room scream 1983. You try telling some spoiled princess that the entire house needs to be rewired and repiped so it’s up to modern code and then listen to her be surprised and shocked when she’s told it’s going to cost $10k AFTER knowing it was in the initial renovation budget!” Mazen bounced the back of his head off of the wall behind him.

Jarren smirked and added “Not to mention the $6000.00 sub zero walk in refrigerator/freezer that makes ‘artisan’ ice cubes or whatever?”

Mazen moaned. “No shit, right? She wants top of the line appliances and fixtures and wants to cut corners on wiring and plumbing. Her husband just lets her go off. I just don’t get it.”

Lex nodded and sympathized “I know what you mean. I had to deal with an pompous fool this morning who couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t work with him. I’m my own boss and if I think you’re an asshole, guess what? I don’t need the hassle or your business. You guys seem to be stuck with Princess Picky and Prince Pathetic. More fun than normal people I guess.”

He glanced down at his phone and told the guys, “It was good seeing you again. I’ve gotta head over to Ian’s Ink. He’s starting the tattoo today.”

One of the guys on the crew, Chase or Chance or something like that remarked, “You’re having Ian McColm do your ink? Good choice. He’s the best I’ve seen. He covered up a scar for a buddy of mine.”

Lex looked over and questioned, “Forearm tat, fireworks design?”

Chase/Chance nodded.

“That artwork blew me away. It’s part of why I decided to get one. Hey, I hate to eat and run but I’ve really gotta get going. I’ll catch you guys later.” Lex went over to the bar to take care of his tab. He took care of the rest of the table as well figuring the guys could use a little break considering what they were dealing with back at the work site.

Lex was glad he ran into Mazen and Jarren. They were good guys and he was glad he wasn’t the only one dealing with a melting pot of idiots in their work world. Although as he approached Ian’s Ink his anxiety level started to rise again. He took a deep breath and wondered when he would stop doing that everytime he opened the door.

Casey was manning the front desk and was talking to someone on the phone. She shot him a quick smile and waved her hand toward the chairs. He ignored them and wandered over to the photo he had admired the other day. He was still amazed at the fine details. After several minutes of looking at the other photos he flipped through a design book on the table. It was filled with what at first glance looked like your standard typical tattoo designs. There were dragons and wolves, chinese characters, hearts, butterflies and the list went on. As Lex study the drawings closer he could see the finer details that highlighted Ian’s talent. The fine shading and use of colors seem to be his signature. Lex knew his tattoo would be worth every penny spent and every stab of pain from the needles.

Casey had finished her call and came over to stand next to him. “He is incredibly talented isn’t he? I keep telling him he needs to submit some of these for recognition consideration at one of the conventions. He’d probably take top honors. He’s too modest and can’t admit to himself how good he is.”

Lex looked around and then looked at Casey and commented, “It’s a shame. Art like this is meant to be seen and not just on skin.”

Casey agreed wholeheartedly. “Come on back. He went to get his phone that he left in his truck. He needs his music while he works.”

She led him to the now familiar room and then went back to the front of the shop. The mold of his back was still on the workbench only it was covered with a sheet. The table that had been in the center of the room was gone and in its place was a convertible chair that looked to be a cross between a massage chair and a dentist chair. It was configured so that the person sitting would be straddling it as if sitting backwards with his chest against the backrest. There was a rolling table next to it where various bottles of ink colors stood in a well organized rack. Something that looked like a giant pen was also laying on the table. Lex assumed it was the tattoo machine. The table had a few other items he didn’t recognize as well.

Just then Ian stepped into the room and seeing Lex a broad grin broke out on his face. “Ah! You’ve seen my instruments of horror!. Are you ready for your torture?” he joked in that sexy voice of his.

Lex merely chuckled and looking over at the small tattoo machine he retorted “If that’s the best that you have then bring it on!” not letting it show that just being around the gorgeous man for the next few hour was going to be the true torture. Little did he know Ian was thinking the same thing.

Ian became a little more serious and explained to Lex what he was going to do.

“OK, when you’re ready you need to take off your shirt. I’ll wipe down the area I’m going to work on to clean it off. It helps if there aren’t any traces of sweat, dirt, or oils on the skin. I’m going to start up at the top of your back on your right shoulder. The mold of your back has the completed design on it in a custom ink. I’ll use a special transfer paper to pull the ink off of the mold and transfer it to your skin. This acts as a stencil for me. From there I can fill in the colors and do the shading directly on your skin. It’s going to hurt. These are needles that are going to be puncturing your skin rapidly and injecting a foreign substance into you. If you need a break just say so. I listen to music while I work. My playlist is mostly classic rock, 70’s and 80’s, If you don’t like it I can put my earbuds in, otherwise I’ll put my phone on the speaker dock. Your choice. Any questions?”

Lex looked over and said with determination, “Dock the phone and let’s get started.”

He pulled off his shirt and as he straddled the chair he heard Ian don a pair of surgical gloves and the sound of plastic packaging being ripped open. A moment later he felt a cool sensation on his upper back as Ian cleaned off the area he was going to work on. A slight shiver at the touch flowed across his body. While the skin dried off Lex could hear Ian getting his equipment ready. A couple of minutes later Lex heard as well as felt Ian roll his stool up close to his right side. Ian stepped on the small pedal near his feet and Lex felt the chair move down a few inches.

Once Ian had him in place the way he wanted he warned Lex, “Here we go.”

Lex heard the tattoo machine start buzzing, reminding him of a dentist’s drill and then he felt the first sting of the needles. He hissed at the sharp pain and then settled in for the long haul.

After several minutes Ian paused and asked how he was. By this time he was getting used to the stinging sensation and it wasn’t all that bad and he told Ian so.

Ian settled into a rhythm that was so familiar to him. He was in a zone and completely focused on the skin in front him.

Lex focused on the music playing. He was surprised when Ian told him he listened to classic rock. Lex grew up listening to his mom belt out the lyrics to U2, Queen, INXS, the Stones, Journey, Billy Joel, Elton John and various 80’s one hit wonder bands every time she was in the car or cleaning the house. Lex let the familiar songs soothe him as his skin was ravaged by the sharp needles. He could still feel the sharp stinging and the feel of Ian’s hands as he worked, filling in color and wiping away the blood as necessary, but it became a muted feeling as he found his own zone to settle in.

Before he knew it, the sound of the tattoo machine stopped. Ian scooted his chair back assessing his work. Lex glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the look of concentration on the other man’s face.

Ian caught his glance and his features relaxed. Smiling he remarked, “It’s a good start and you seemed to tolerate it well. I think two hour sessions are just about right. What do you think?”

Lex held his gaze for a moment and then looked away, not wanting to get lost in its deep blue depth.

“You’re the driver of this bus. I’m just along for the ride. Two hours at a time works well for me. You were right, it hurts like a bitch, but it’s not the worse I’ve ever felt. It’s doable.”

Ian didn’t say anything as he wiped down Lex’s skin one more time and covered it with plastic. He then gave him instructions for aftercare. Lex listened as Ian told him he may be a little sore but if he felt any sharp pain or the area started feeling hot and inflamed to get it checked.

Lex pulled his shirt over his head and down, covering his torso. He didn’t see the look of disappointment that flashed across Ian’s face. Ian didn’t let on how much the quiet man in front of him affected him. Being so close and touching his skin even with gloves on and smelling that unique scent that was a blend of spice and Lex’s own muskiness drove him nuts.

He popped the used needle cartridge out of the tattoo machine and dropped in in the sharps container mounted on the wall near the door.

He turned to Lex, stating, “I’ll put you on the schedule for the next few days at the same time. If you need a break or can’t make it just let me know. We can take it from there and see how things progress. If we can keep to this pace it should take about five or six weeks if we factor in a few days off here and there should other things come up.”

Lex nodded his agreement and replied “Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow.”