Page 2 of Nate

Chapter One

One Month Later

Kevin tried to stay loose as the needle repeatedly plunged into his skin. He knew if he tensed up, it would only make it hurt more. To take his mind off the stinging pain, Kevin focused on the framed poster across from him. It was of a girl, naked from the waist up, her skin covered in brightly inked tattoos. She wasn’t even close to being his type, but he admired the picture.

The tattoos on the woman were intricate and deeply colored. Each line was sharp, the script elegantly curved. The work was done by Max, the guy currently tattooing him. Max hadn’t had his shop long, but he already had a reputation as one of the best in Houston.

Kevin had done his research when he decided to get some body art. When he’d first chosen Max, he’d had to wait for three months to get an appointment. It was worth it. Max had been working on a piece for him for the past two years and today was his final appointment.

He had a short break as Max turned away to change the color. Even though he always felt like he was cheating when he did this, like he was opening a gift before Christmas, he sneaked a peek down at his chest. He couldn’t see much from this angle, just that the yellow and blue of the figure’s outfit stood out brightly against the light brown of his skin. Max turned back to him, tattoo machine in hand.

“Final stretch. Just gotta finish up some shading. You ready?”

Kevin took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready.”

About forty minutes later, the machine finally came to a stop. Kevin held still for a few more moments as Max wiped him clean of the ink residue and small amount of bleeding. Max snapped off his gloves, looking over his handiwork with a grin.

“Looks good. Go check it out.”

Kevin got up to look into the full-length mirror on the far wall of Max’s station. “Wow. This is so much better than just good. It’s amazing. Crazy amazing.”

Up both arms and across his chest were characters from his favorite comic series, the X-Men. Xavier’s heroes and Magneto’s villains swooped and fought in a swirl of color, lightning bolts and red optic blasts. Wolverine and Sabretooth had the honor of being the centerpiece, locked in battle across his chest. Wolverine was winning of course. Kevin smiled, his hand hovering over the last piece on his chest that Max had finished today. “Your work is stellar, Max. I mean that.” He laughed a bit. “Now I just have to get up the nerve to show it off.”

Max gestured for him to come back over so he could cover the fresh work with dark plastic. He’d have to leave it on for a few hours.

“Hey, man. Keeping your art private is all well and good. But work that amazing needs to be shown to the world.”

Kevin laughed as Max handed him a card on tattoo after care. They were both aware that by now Kevin knew how to take care of recent ink, but Max was a stickler for making sure his customers received the best service.

“I will. Just gotta get in shape first. Sitting behind a desk all day doesn’t exactly help me build up my guns.”

Kevin followed Max out of the semi-private room and back down the hall to the front of the studio. All of the walls were painted a glossy black, and featured lots of art, some of it framed, some of it painted right on the walls. The mural on the big wall in the front was what had sold Kevin on Max’s work. It was a giant Alien vs. Predators piece, the two sci-fi beasts engaged in a furious fight. Since that was the look he’d hoped to achieve with his body art, he’d known he’d found the right guy. It had been worth pushing back his natural shyness to reach out to the artist and explain what he wanted.

Max rang him up for the several hours’ worth of work today. “If you want to get in shape you should check out my buddy’s gym. It’s pretty cool. Then you’d be buff enough to show off that art.”

Kevin shook his head as he handed over his credit card. “Those places always seem a little much. A bunch of big, bald guys grunting, screaming and high-fiving each other after each bench press? No thanks.”

Max laughed as he finished the transaction. “Nate’s Gym isn’t like that, I swear. It’s laid back and friendly. The trainers there will push you, but don’t grind you beneath their boots to do it.” He pulled out a card from a drawer. “Go by and check it out. Make sure to ask for Nate and tell him I sent you.”

Kevin took the card and looked down at it. Nate’s Gym was the actual name of the place. The info was on sharp white cardstock in strong clean fonts. “All right, man. I will. And thanks again for this art. I love it.”

---