efflorescence » m.c

one

She never minded that her flower shop was situated beside a very popular tattoo shop. The people who would come and go from the doors – their arms stained with permanent ink and their hair dyed various different colors, always fascinated her. She loved that the people themselves were art.

She thought the same about her flowers. They were tiny masterpieces that would bloom every morning for people to admire them. But when their time was done, they would hide their beauty away from the world, until it was time to appreciate them again.

She walked down the sidewalk towards her small shop like she did every single morning. Her apartment wasn't too far from her shop, so she didn't mind walking that much.

She hiked her purse higher as she passed the long storefront of Hidden Tattoo. Her eyes immediately found the far wall of flash decorated with vibrant flowers of all different kinds. She would do the same everyday, but never going inside to look at them up close.

For the longest time, she had wanted a tattoo, but she was too scared of the pain to actually commit to it. And that very fear kept her from going inside the tattoo shop.

"Hey, why don't you ever go inside and look?" Someone said, catching her attention. She adverted her gaze from the flower flash on the wall, her eyes settling on the people sitting on the bench out front. She furrowed her eyebrows as she slowed to a stop.

"I see you looking at the same pieces every single day," the guy continued. He had fire red hair, bright green eyes and a full sleeve on one arm, the other with two single bands circling around the pale skin around his elbow. "But you never go inside," he continued. "Why?"

She swallowed thickly. She had seen him before, knowing that he owned the tattoo shop. They never really talked before, but that didn't stop her from finding him insanely attractive. They were complete opposites, but she never was one to judge people for what they did to their bodies such as tattoos and piercings.

As cliché as it sounded, she only cared about what was on the inside.

"Um," she stuttered, her eyes even on the redhead's. "I'm just nervous, that's all," she shrugged, her cheeks going warm with a bright blush.

She couldn't tell him that if she went inside, that she would want the tattoo even more than she already did. And she wasn't ready to endure that kind of pain.

"It doesn't hurt to look, though," he continued, stretching his arm across the length of the wooden bench. He arched an eyebrow at her, waiting for her answer.

She sighed. She really didn't want to go inside and look, but she knew the redhead wasn't going to let her walk away without going in. She looked down to her watch on her wrist, seeing that she still had ten minutes before she had to have the shop open and ready for business.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," she agreed, watching the smile grow on the redhead's ruby red lips.

He stood from the bench and motioned for them to go inside. He walked up the three steps and opened the door for her to go inside. She took a deep breath and stepped into the tattoo shop, heavy music blaring through the speakers.

"So you like flowers, huh?" He asked, walking over towards the wall she glanced at everyday.

"Is it that hard to tell?" She laughed, coming to stand beside him.

Her eyes took in all the beautifully colored flowers, searching for her favorite kind. But still, she couldn't find any of the orchids.

"My name's Michael, by the way. I don't think we ever were properly introduced," he said, holding out his hand. Calla quickly noticed that he had a tattoo on one of his fingers.