Tits for Tats

As I clutched at her through my mind ran the thought how soft her breasts was against the side of my face. I felt angry with myself for thinking that when her she was trying to comfort me. Yet, at the same time, I couldn't stop that thought from filling my perspective.

When the tears subsided Sara let me go, and stepped back. She smiled at me. Kind and sweet at the same time. "It's okay." She brushed a tear from her eye and taking my hands pulled me up. She hugged me tightly once more then smiled up at me. She winked. "Get out. I need to pee!"

Laughing, I left her to it and went out into the kitchen. Getting a sip of water, I looked out the window, watching the neighbors moving out to their cars.

Moments later, Sara came out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. "If I had known I was going to be in a wet T-shirt contest this morning I would have worn something thinner."

Look at my sister, I saw how wet with tears her shirt was. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I've had far worse things on this shirt." Laughing, she started making coffee.

We had breakfast together not saying much just enjoying each other's company. Then, I watched her start getting ready for work. When she came out of her room a slight frown started to form as I saw her clothing choices.

"Sara, what do you do for a living?"

She looked up from buttoning a tight lace top over an even tighter satin shirt. "I work in a strip club."

"What?" My jaw hit the floor.

She started to laugh at me. "I'm the bartender." She giggled at the look on my face. "Like anyone would pay money to watch me take my clothes off."

She grabbed up her purse and stuck her feet in a pair of comfortable looking shoes. "Get your stuff. I'll drop you off on my way. You're going to Hell today right?"

I thought about what I had done the night before and my thoughts this morning. "If I don't change my ways there's a good chance of it."

She laughed at that. "Get your shit!"

As I gathered up my shoes, I felt Sara watching me. When I glanced up she nodded towards me with her chin.

"Nice ink."

I looked down at my arms. The webbing and spiders were all done photorealistic and seemed to ride on my arms and veins. I knew when I moved they seem to have a life of their own.

"Thanks. I did a lot of the left arm myself. Ink did what I couldn't reach and all of the right." Leaning down, I slipped my shoes on.

"Is that all of them?"

Shaking my head I reached over my shoulder and caught the back of my shirt. I pulled it up and over my head. Turning, I showed Sara my back where the tribal goes into the Celtic knotwork.

"Wow!" Her finger touched my back and ran down, following the lines by my spine. It sent a shiver through me. Sara took that to mean she had tickled me. Which prompted her to tickle my ribs. Pulling my shirt back down I stepped away from her. She laughed and moved to the table to get her keys.

"Ready?"

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Ink threw me to the wolves on my first day with back to back clients for the whole day. I seemed to only have time to clean up my station before the next was sitting down. I completely lost all track of time, I forgot to eat. Forgot everything but the hum of my machine.

Near the end of the night, I was finishing up some color work on a back piece that Ink had already done the outline and shading on months ago. At first, I didn't notice that Sara was there but then her perfume drifted over to me. Glancing up, I smiled at her. She smiled back but she looked as tired as I felt.

I shook the cramps out of my hand, wiped down the client's back and called Mary over to help wrap him up. Tossing the needle into the sharps box, I stripped off my gloves. I cut the power supply. I reached back and dug my fingers into my back.

"Long day?" she asked.

Nodding, I held up my hand showing her the blisters.

She winced. "Ouch. Well if you're done I'm starving and dinner is in the car."

"Yeah, I'm done." I shut off the light above my station. "Hey, Ink?"

He looked up from the sketch he was doing.

"That was my last," I told him picking up my empty soda can and tossing it in the trash. "Same time tomorrow right?"

"Oh, yeah." He nodded grinning. "I have a two-month waiting list of people I haven't had time to get to. Most will be coming in this week to see you."

Mary chuckled and swore. "Damn he will have to ice down that hand between clients before the week is out."

Sara chuckled with Mary in sympathy.

"Maybe, but I have little pity for him," Ink said, "He will need an armored car when he goes to get his check cashed! I'm billing him out at one hundred and twenty dollars an hour."

I saw Sara's eyes go wide. "Really?"

Ink nodded.

Grabbing the last cup of coffee from the pot, I headed towards the door. "Come on sis. Food, food!"

She laughed and followed me out. Sara caught up and linked her arm through mine as we crossed the parking lot. "Damn I didn't know I had such a money maker sleeping on my couch. I should have asked for something for rent." She winked to show me she wasn't serious.

I ignored the wink. "Come Friday I'll take care of as many of the bills as I can, and I'll stock the kitchen."

She shook her head. "I was kidding." She left my arm and moved to the driver's side of the car.

"I wasn't," I told her going around to the other.

Sara paused for a moment, then shrugged and got inside. The motor cranked as I opened my door. For once in her presence, I couldn't smell her. The car was almost overpoweringly full of the smell of dinner.

Pizza!

** ** ** ** ** ** **

I had to eat left-handed that night. Holding hot pizza in my blistered right hand was not possible. After dinner, she went to her room and came back with a jar of cream. She took my hand without asking and with a gentle touch began to rub the ointment into my tired fingers. The cream had a cool numbing feel that soon had me drifting in a soft relaxed haze. Half-awake, I felt my sister's hands move up to my forearms, then to my biceps. Then my shoulders. Sara came around behind me and worked sure fingers into the muscle strands of my shoulders.

My back stiff and sore from hours spent leaning forward, silently begged for a similar treatment. I didn't have the courage to ask her, though. I wish I had, though. She stopped. With a yawn, she walked into the kitchen, washed her hands and then shut off the light. Sara looked back at me. "Go...goodnight, sleep tight."

"Goodnight Sara." As I watched her walk to her room I thought about the catch I had heard in her words and wondered what it meant. She had never been one to stutter.

She looked back at me from her door, paused then shook her head and smiled. "Night, night Kevin."

"Good night, Sara. Sweet dreams."

The rest of that first week of freedom would pass in a blur of ink and skin. Faces would merge into one another, with the only constant being the hum of my machine. I would think I was tattooing a woman look up to see it was a man, or that the blond guy had become a redhead girl. My line work, always good, now became top quality through repetition. Not having to be on constant edge for the guard coming to catch us left me free to excel. Although Ink did scare the hell out of me by shaking some keys behind me on my third tattoo for the day.

On Saturday night Ink and Mary left an hour early when his last client canceled. I told him I would lock up when I got done. My client happy, sore, and on his way home, I was just getting my station cleaned up when Sara tapped on the glass door. I unlocked it to let her in. Always lock up your tattoo shop when you are alone.

"Won't be long," I told her as my sister stepped inside. "Just got to finish cleaning up. Then I've got a few things to stick in the autoclave and I'll be done."

"Take your time. So long as I can set down my tired feet I'm in no rush." Sara plopped down on the long couch and picked up one of Ink's portfolio folders. He keeps a few on the table at all times.

As I was wiping down my station, I heard her flipping through the pages.

"Ouch!"

Looking up, I walked over and saw what she was looking at. A woman with zippers tattooed around her nipples.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be a fun spot to get a tat."

She looked up at me grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Be fun for you, though."

I shrugged, grinning a little. I had sat with more than one boner trying to work this week. I went back to work. I was in the back putting things in the autoclave when I heard her call from the front.

"Hey, I want this."

Looking back at the front of the shop, I saw Sara holding up a picture. Walking over, I saw it was a photo of a girl with rose vine tribal. It had been done with deep red flowers and a small dragon was hidden in among the roses. It was on the girl's ribs! The vines went from by her hipbone, across her ribs with the dragon peeking out from behind a rose near the woman's nipple.

"You have no idea how bad that would hurt." I traced the vines across the photo with a finger. "Right here there isn't a lot under the skin but bone and anywhere near bone hurts like you wouldn't believe."

Sara shook her head. "I don't care. This is sexy as hell. I love the way the dragon looks ever so naughty."

Taking the photo from her, I looked it over. "You're looking at two sessions. Maybe three, it really depends on how much pain you can take. Call it about four to five hours to do this outline; it's all fine line work. And then it will need under shading. A few weeks later you will have to come back in to have the color work done. This is a lot of pain in some very sensitive spots."

"For something that sexy I can take a bit of pain," Sara answered without giving it any thought. My sister took the photo back and looked closer that before.

I shrugged. Tattoo virgins never listen. "Ok, well I'll tell Ink to add you to his work list. Even with all I'm doing, it may be a month till he can get to you." I walked over to shut off the lights at my station.

"Could you do it?"

My hand stopped on the switch. Thoughts of where and what I would have to see and touch to do that tattoo on my sister skipped through my mind. Looking back at her, my eyes went from her eyes down her neck, across the soft rise of her collarbone to the gentle swell of her left breast. Down her ribs to her inner hip where the rose vine would come from. "I don't --"

"Please." She looked down at the photo, then back up at me. "I would rather it was you. Your friend is nice but he scares me a bit."

Sitting my butt on the edge of my counter, I just looked at her for a moment more, then down at my hands. I flexed the ache from them before I looked up.

In her eyes, I saw the raw desire for this strong and shining out from her.

"The shop is closed tomorrow and Monday. I'll give Ink a call tomorrow afternoon and see if he would mind me using the shop Monday to give you a tattoo. He gave me a key this morning so as long as I pay for the supplies I use ... he may not mind."

"Oh, thank you!" She hopped up and rushed into my arms.

I had to suppress a shiver of pure lust that tore through me at her touch. Damn it! This is my sister! She hugged me tightly. Sara felt so wonderful against me. I wrapped her in my arms, my face buried in her hair.

Ink was still half-asleep when I called him and I heard Mary's equally sleepy voice in the background, confirming a theory of mine.

"Sure, Kev. Don't worry about the supplies, use whatever you need. That's why I gave you a key. I want you to think of it as your shop too. Okay?"

I choked up a bit at that. "Yeah. Thanks, Ink. It means a lot to her."

"No problem, I'll see you Tuesday." He went to put the phone down then I heard him call out "Don't forget to get a picture; we're still building your portfolio."

"Sure"

I started sketching at the tattoo in my art pad. I added in everything that I could remember from the photo, making some improvements. Just a few flourishes of my own.

Sara was in the bathroom taking a shower.

Listening, I could hear the sound of the shower running. I could hear the water changing tone as she moved under the showerhead. Knowing that a beautiful woman was less than a dozen feet from me, naked and wet, was almost maddening. I shook my head and found it harder to focus on the drawing.

I knew she hadn't locked the door.

Draw a line, shade a curve. I felt myself getting hard. Damn it!

Getting up, I left the drawing on the table and went to get a soda from the fridge.

I heard the water shut off. Now I could picture her reaching for her towel. Sara would dry first her hair, then the cloth would move down her body, terry cloth touching her ....

I took a deep breath and tried to banish my evil thoughts. She's your sister you sick bastard!

Sara stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her drying her hair with a second. Looking over at me, she stopped. "Are you okay?"

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded and sipped my soda. She walked over and took the can from me and took a long sip.

"So what did he say?" she asked, handing me back the now half-empty can.

"He said it wouldn't be a problem"

She nodded "Cool." My sister looked down at the sketch. "You are so talented. I can't wait till tomorrow."

Finishing my soda, I made myself look only at her eyes, not at all that pale skin peeking from around her towel. "It's really going to hurt Sara."

She shrugged and went back to drying her hair. Wrapping the towel up like a turban beehive, my sister went to her room to get dressed.

I couldn't keep my eyes from her ass as she walked away. Then I saw a thin white line of scarring down one of her thighs. That was like a glass of cold water on my spine. Maybe it was the intensity of that terrible day but I have, over the years, tried not to think about my father. The beatings. When we were younger he traveled a lot, when we got older he was home a lot. When the work was slow his belt seemed to swing more often.

Like on that day, when he....

Picking up my sketchpad, I went back to work.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

I drove my sister's car to the tattoo shop even though I haven't gotten my license yet. Sara slept the whole way. I don't think she was used to being up much before noon.

We got there and I followed Ink's detailed instructions for opening the shop. Put the key in the lock, turn the lock, and opened the door. Have I mentioned Ink can be a smart-ass, at times? Going to the supply closet, I got out a few things.

"Ok, what's first?" asked Sara dropping her purse on the desk by the phone. She yawned.

I looked over at her. "Take off your shoes."

"What?"

"Take your shoes off your feet. You are going to need to be as relaxed as you can get. It will be a few minutes while I get the stencil made up. While I'm in the back doing that I want you to put this on." I handed her a paper bib and a roll of sports tape. Sara took them from me but lifted an eyebrow skeptically. I sighed. "Take off your top and your bra. Put this on and tape it down but leave the left side open, I will need access to place the stencil. Put tape over your left nipple." I started towards the back.

"Stencil?"

I turned back towards her. Looking past her, I saw the front shades were open. I made my way over there to close them to give her some privacy.

"Yeah, a stencil. I scan in my drawing on the copier. I print out a copy and try that for size. I then scan that copy into the stencil maker. It makes an image that will transfer to your skin. I use that to guide my machine."

"Machine? I thought they were called guns." I heard her say.

I shook my head as I turned on the light at my station and got my sketch out the book. "Ever seen the movie Full Metal Jacket? The scene where the guys are marching around the barracks chanting this is my rifle, this is my gun. One is for fighting one is for fun/"

She giggled.

"It's the same. Only the scratchers will call it a gun. They are tattoo machines."

Sara started unbuttoning her top. Taking my drawing, I went into the back to the copy machine. I printed out a few sizes and, when I had that done, I came back out to find that Sara was still struggling with the tape.

"Give me that. Before you tape yourself to a wall."

"Don't make fun of me I'm not awake yet." She smothered a yawn.

I got her squared away with hands that I had to will not to shake. My sister looked at me startled when I dropped down to one knee in front of her.

"I have to move these down."

At her nod, I began to roll her sweat pants down on the left side. I taped them low on her hip. Trying a few copies against her skin, I found the one that fit the best with her slight frame.

"Okay, this looks good. As large as this piece is I'll have to place it on in pieces." My sister shrugged not understanding but willing to take it as it comes. "Let me get set up and I'll make the stencil."

Sara watched as I plastic wrapped my tabletop. I got the large jar of petroleum jelly out and with a tongue depressor scooped out a glob onto the tray. I set my box of gloves near the tray and got out my ink caps.

"Last time a guy got out Vaseline and rubber gloves I didn't walk right for a day," she said.

Looking up startled, I saw her wink.

I got the big black, red and blue bottles out. Then several smaller ones as well.

"Why those colors?" she asked as I filled the caps.

"Because I have them." She furled her brow. I had to explain. "Having spent most of my training with only a few colors, now that I have access to more, I use them."

Working quickly, I cut my copy into three pieces and scanned them into the stencil maker. I set it to print and went back to my station. I got out a sharpie marker and a razor. "Okay, lift your arm please."

She raised her eyebrows but did it without question. Placing my now three piece copy against her I made some general guide marks with the sharpie. Then, picking up my razor, I started to shave her skin softly. The blade whispered across the super fine hairs.

"Okay, I gotta ask. Why?" I glanced up across her midriff past the visible underside of her left breast to her eyes.

"You, me, and every human have fine hairs that cover even the places we think of as hair free. Those hairs would get in the way of the needle and cause drag. That drag makes the line work jerky."

"Oh. Okay." She nodded.

I ran the razor across her hipbone down into the flat valley that heads into her inner thigh. She gave a twitching shiver as I lightly swept the razor up across her side between her armpit and breast. Placing my hand on the paper bib, I pulled the skin of her left breast tight with gentle pressure. Running the razor across the side of her breast I finished up. Grabbing up my paper towels and spray bottle, I sprayed her skin and wiped away any loose hairs.

"You could have warmed that water up!" she exclaimed.

"Wimp," I said to her as I got up and went to the back and came back with my three stencils.

Lifting the middle stencil up, I moved it around till I was lined up with my reference marks. Happy I sprayed down the template, pre-wetting it, and then I patted it down and peeled away the paper. Leaning back, I checked the placement then placed the lower piece. I pre-dampened my last stencil so it would curl across the round skin better, and then pushed it into place. My fingers brushed her soft skin often as I got the edge of the stencil and peeled it off.

I leaned back and gave the overall a long look. It looked right somehow. I think I somehow managed that one-in-ten placement that's perfect.

"Okay, go check it in the mirror. See if you like the placement. This will be the last time you'll ever get to change it."

I watched as Sara turned this way and that before the mirror. She moved and twisted to see how it would flex with her skin.