Old Me

1 - Not My Type

I opened the fridge and scanned the shelves.

"String cheese or yogurt?"

"String cheese!"

I opened the drawer and pulled two out.

"Here you go," I said handing her one.

We sat at the table and peeled open the wrappers. I took a bite off the top and Cat looked at me in disgust.

"Oh my god! Bea! You don't eat string cheese like that. Look I'll show you," she said holding the cheese in one hand and delicately peeling off a piece from top to bottom.

"See," she said popping the string of cheese into her mouth with a smile.

"Bea!"

I turned my head to holler back at my uncle Daniele who called my name but stopped with my mouth agape as he walked into the room. His broad shoulders loomed in the doorway as he entered.

"Walk-in. Go help him."

"Kay," I said putting the rest of the cheese in my mouth with a smirk towards Cat.

I hopped up from my chair and walked out towards the front of the shop. Dan went back to work tattooing his client and I peeked at the work he was doing. It looked like the start of a portrait of a dog. Probably a pet.

I continued to the front desk drumming my fingers on my thigh to the beat of the music playing in the room.

I stepped behind the counter taking in the customer in front of me.

"Hey, how's it going?" I said flashing a smile.

His green eyes perked up and a smile spread across his face.

"Good," he said leaning against the glass counter.

"So, whatcha looking for?"

He pulled out his phone and placed it on the counter between us.

"Skyline outline wrapped around my bicep."

I took a look at it and nodded. I checked out his arms, as I would do to anyone who was looking for a tattoo on their arms (not because I was trying to check out his muscles which were prominent), to see about size and space. He didn't have much room left with almost two complete sleeves, but there was a small space of blank canvas above his right elbow. He flexed his biceps when he noticed my gaze and I rolled my eyes to myself.

"Size?" I asked looking up at him.

"Uh—" he raised his eyebrows and smirked before continuing, "about this—" he said measuring about two inches with his thumb and forefinger and placing it just above his elbow.

My heart skipped realizing what he was insinuating when I asked about size and I tried not to let him see my embarrassment.

"Okay, let me see who's available next."

"Okay," he said straightening up.

I walked around the counter and took in his full appearance. He was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a grey band T-shirt and some high tops. His dirty blonde hair was long on the top but cropped and faded on the sides. He let a portion of it hang down, covering his face slightly. 

As I walked past him, I caught a glimpse of the piercings that were covering his ear.

"Skyline, shaded about 2 inches thick wrapped around his bicep. Who should I call?" I asked as I approached my Uncle Dan.

"Uh—Ale can do it. He's done one before."

"Ok, I'll call him."

I walked back to the front to tell the client.