Rule(68)

I hadn’t been in the shop during business hours so when I pushed open the door I was slightly taken aback at how busy it was.  There was a girl behind the counter with super short hair bleached out as white as mine and spiked up all over the place.  She was answering the phone, handling the people milling about the waiting area and pointing perspective clients in the directions of the appropriate portfolios.  There were three other artists set up in the stations not filled by Nash, Rowdy and Rule.  I noticed one of them was a very pretty girl with black and green hair that looked like something out of a comic book.  There were also six clients in varying positions getting various designs and making various noises and looks of discomfort that had their friend’s and the artist’s laughing and making light hearted comments.  Against Me! Was blasting over the sound system and the entire vibe was energetic and exciting.  I couldn’t fathom how anyone earned such a good living in such a crazy environment, but it seemed to suit Rule’s personality to a tee.

I stood unsure in the doorway for a full minute just taking it all in until I was jostled to the side by a girl in too tight pants and disgusting Uggs.  Her hair was teased up and I could see she had swirling sleeves of ink under her super tiny t-shirt and I guess she was good looking in a trashy, desperate kind of way but the girl behind the counter apparently had no time for whatever she was asking for because her voice, loud and clear with a hint of an East Coast burr told her none to graciously to “Fuck off Liza.  I already told you over the phone that he was booked up for the next two weeks and he has no interest in working late to touch your shit up.”

The girl mumbled something I couldn’t hear and leaned over the counter.  The receptionist or whatever her title was rolled her eyes dramatically.  “Look let me break this down for you; he is not interested in you.  You are a client, you give him money to tattoo you not date you and not to flirt with you.  He’s busy and I mean busy so if you want work done you will get put in the book like everyone else and come in for your scheduled appointment.  Besides he’s got a girlfriend now and has no interest in the little ink bunnies anymore.”

I blinked rapidly in surprise when I realized she was more than likely talking about Rule and that I was more than likely the girlfriend she was referring to.  How strange was that?  The girl continued to have a little bit of a fit until it became clear she wasn’t going to get past the blond fireball to get to the artists.  She shoved past me on the way out the door and immediately a clean cut college guy took her place at the desk.  He made his appointment with no fuss and I continued to watch the ebb and flow business for a while until the girl’s attention finally landed on me.

“Can I help you with something?”  She wasn’t exactly friendly, more like matter of fact so I started a little bit.

“I’m just waiting for someone.”

“Well you can have a seat over there if you’re waiting for a client.”

I tucked my hair behind my ears and cocked my head to the side and regarded her carefully.  “I’m actually waiting for Rule.”

Now that she was looking at me I could see she had really unusual colored eyes, one was dark brown and the other was a swirl of green and blue.  She gave a really heavy sigh and narrowed her eyes at me.  “Like I told the other tattoo tramp, Rule is busy.  If you want to see him you have to have an appointment just like every other client.”

I snickered against my will.  “Tattoo Tramp?  Is that what you call them?”

She seemed surprised by my question.  “Yeah.  You have no idea how many poor girls are walking around this town with stupid lower back tattoos just because they wanted to pull their pants down for one of the guys.”

“Oh I would totally believe it.”

She leaned her elbows on the counter and sized me up and down.  “What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t but then again you didn’t ask.  I’m Shaw, I’m not a tramp of any persuasion and I don’t have any tattoos so neither of those things applies to me.”

As soon as I said my name her jaw dropped open and she shoved off the big leather chair she was sitting on.  Her wicked colored eyes went wide and she smacked her hands down hard on the marble surface separating us.

“Holy shit you’re Shaw?  You’re freaking real?   Unbelievable!  Guys Rule’s girl is here and she’s like an actual girl with an actual brain.  Un-freaking-believable.  The terrible trio have been talking about you for weeks and I just didn’t believe it but here you really are.”

Like something out of a movie all eyes in the shop suddenly swiveled up to where I was standing.  I had spent plenty of time with Nash and Rowdy over the last few week so they both just offered up brief “heys” and went back to what they were working on.  Rule’s look turned my insides out and he gave me a wink before saying something to the kid he was working on and sitting back to wipe the excess ink off.  The other three artists stared at me openly which would have made me super uncomfortable but the blond had sprinted around the counter and was now standing right in front of me.  She was almost the same height as me but weighed a good thirty pounds less, somehow though her wild hair made her look taller and it was hard to believe that loud voice came out of such a tiny package.  She was like a punk rock pixie.