marked

VI: the tower

Julie walked through the door of Inner Ink at six o’clock, just as Elaine was preparing to leave.

“I thought tonight was staff dinner,” she said.

“It is,” Elaine replied, zipping shut her backpack and shouldering the bag.  “I’m gonna run home and freshen up.  I mean, that’s a fancy place, you know?  I don’t wanna go in there looking like this.  Leo got us a private room and everything.”

“Wow.  I was just gonna ask Mellie if she’d bring me home some lemon chicken.”

“Gold Mountain has better food,” Dan interjected, entering the lobby to clean up the consultation desk for the night.

“Maybe, but have you ever eaten there?  It’s very posh, and maybe we’ll even have a nice view, if the fog doesn’t come in too early.”

“There’s plenty of scenery around here that you don’t have to pay for,” he replied sardonically.

Julie left them to their debate and went in the back.  Melissa was cleaning her station.

“So did he show?”

“Yeah, I told him we’d all be at Tosca later on, so he should hook up with you there.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh now what?” Melissa cried, annoyed.  “I shouldn’t even be doing this and now there’s a problem?”

“Oh well, maybe not.  We’ll see.  I’ll be back.”

Climbing the stairs, Julie saw a light on in the business office.  She tapped on the door.

“What?” Kim called out.  When she entered she saw him sketching on a pad.  The air was a-haze with clove smoke.

“You’re not supposed to smoke in here,” she reminded him.

“Yeah well, I’m full of bad habits, as you know.”  He leaned back in the chair, eying her suspiciously.  “What’s up?”

“I thought about what you said yesterday, and you’re right: I need to start loving myself more, I guess.”

“What I meant by that is to give yourself more credit, you know I didn’t want someone else instead of you.  Yeah, it was a stupid thing to do, but I’m not perfect.  And don’t think for one minute that there’s anyone I care about more than you.”

“What about Leo?” she asked, seating herself in a chair on the opposite side of the desk.

He chuckled.  “That’s different, Jules.  So what, does this mean you forgive me?”

She pulled her legs up onto the chair, her face assuming a coy expression.

“I don’t hate you.  I guess I am like all the other girls.”

He gave her a look she was familiar with, a certain predatory appreciation.

“Naw babe, you’re not like all the other girls.  You’ve been marked for life.”

“Life is short, art is long, but a tattoo is forever?” she said, quoting the shop’s advertising copy.

“Being marked is another thing entirely.  I put everything that I am in the ink that’s on your body.  I’ve only done that for one other person.”

Julie attempted to respond, but he held up a hand.

“Suffice to say, no matter what, you can never forget me.”

”But you can forget about me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, and held up the pad.  The paper was covered in a variety of flash designs, and Julie noticed that each image with a woman in it bore her face.

“I’m not coming back to you, not yet.”

He sighed and lit a cigarette, dragging deeply, waiting for her to continue.  When she did not, he spoke.

“If it makes you crazy that they all talk about us, I can’t do anything about that.  I’ve been the prime subject of their gossip for years.”

“It gets tiring,” she said, looking up at the ceiling.  “But it’s not just here.  Everywhere I went with you, whispers followed.  I don’t like being scrutinized like that.”

“I can’t just stop being high profile.”

“Yeah you could,” she noted, her expression stern.  “It’s just like you told Teva, you’re caught up in the life.”

Flustered, Kim spread his arms and shrugged helplessly.  She stood up and looked at him angrily.

“I had to change my life, transform myself, for your pleasure.  Maybe you should start thinking about what you can do to transform if you want me back.  Oh, and I’m coming to the staff dinner, so don’t even try and make a fuss.”

Julie walked out of the office, slamming the door. 

Kim resisted the urge to rip the phone out of the wall, smash the computer monitor onto the floor, and commit various other acts of physical mayhem.  Taking another drag off his cigarette he muttered to himself, “Whatever it takes.”

The owner, manager, and employees of Inner Ink, and a guest, walked to their destination, a six-story building in the heart of Chinatown on Grant Avenue.  The location made it a desirable place to eat for the ambience, though it had long been abandoned by most San Francisco locals who viewed it as yet another tourist trap.  But the journey was ever an interesting one - the atmosphere changed as one left the fairly sedate neighborhood of Russian Hill - traveling through bustling streets full of shops and open-air markets, colorful signs and banners, and even more colorful people.

The group congregated in the foyer of Empress of China while Leo conferred with the owner.  There was a great deal of smiling and bowing going on.

“Leo must have done some work for someone,” Kim observed, “normally people don’t smile at us like that.”

“I think it’s just you,” Julie quipped.  Regan and Dan began snickering while attempting to keep straight faces, mostly in vain.

“Don’t underestimate the power of my ability to fuck you up,” he replied to them.

“Hey, she said it!” Regan exclaimed, pointing at Julie.

“She doesn’t work for me, though,” Kim countered.

“Aww man, what the fuck is this?” Melissa said, looking towards the entrance.  Elaine made her arrival, wearing a pair of black waistless three-quarter length slacks with gray pinstripes.  The legs were flared at the bottom.  She paired it with a black ribbed long-sleeved turtleneck and gray high heels.  She smiled and made her way across the foyer, teetering precariously on her shoes.

“Elaine,” Anne began, her arms across against her chest, “are those culottes?”

“They’re Donna Karan,” she enthused, doing a full model turn.  “Carrie wore them once on Sex and the City.

“Girl please, those things are ugly and they make you look like you got chicken legs.”

”And that turtleneck, c’mon now!” Melissa said, poking Elaine in the shoulder with an outstretched index finger.  “If you’re gonna wear pants like that you need a blouse or a belly shirt.”

The three women commenced a heated discussion of fashion dos and don’ts while the men watched, amused.  Kim remarked to Julie in a low voice, seemingly designed to achieve a particular seductive mood, “You don’t have anything to add to the debate?”

“My clothes are civilian, remember?”

“True, but I’d bet you’d look good in those.”

She rolled her eyes at him.  “It’s a little late to be making up for that remark now.”

He gave her an innocent look, stretching his legs out in front of him.  “No, I just meant that you’ve got curves.  You look good in stuff that’s meant to show off your ass.”

“Kim, these pants are too low!” Julie exclaimed, examining herself in the three-way mirror at bebe.  He sat off to the side on a stool, leaning up against the wall.  His long legs, clad in black jeans as usual, were all that showed of his reflection.  His choice of footwear made his feet look enormous, although their actual size was large enough to make her squirm to contemplate the long toes and wide insteps when he was barefoot.

“But look, you can see the tat perfectly,” he commented, pointing at the small of her back just above the tailbone.

“If I sit down in these things my butt will be hanging out!”

“So sit in my lap.  I’ll cover your asscrack.”  He grinned playfully.

Julie turned around in a huff, putting her hands on her hips.  “I don’t like wearing clothes that objectify me!”

He motioned her to him and drew her onto his lap.  “But you’re not being objectified for your ass.  You’re a walking canvas of my best work.  I just want people to covet your ink.”  He kissed her, running a finger across the orchid which forever flourished on her skin.

“So you’re saying people won’t even look at my ass?”  She gave him an arch look of skepticism.

He chuckled, that throaty sexy sound she loved.  “Well, if they can get past that gorgeous piece of tattooing then they might notice you have an ass that makes me weep with joy.  But maybe it’s better this way, if you don’t want strangers thinking inappropriate thoughts.”

She stroked his beard with both hands and smirked.  “It didn’t stop you, now did it?”

“I always imagine leaving my mark all over someone,” he began, then stopped when he received an outraged look from the woman in his lap.  “But especially you, baby.”

A few more kisses convinced her that perhaps the pants weren’t as uncomfortable as she thought.  At the very least, she was willing to concede she was his most valuable objet d’art.

Julie’s emotions vacillated in that moment between being annoyed and flattered.  In the past, Kim had plenty of nice things to say at the right moments, and plenty of smart-ass things to say at other times which stung.  She knew it was his way of teasing, he enjoyed employing his biting wit at every occasion.  However, she felt heartened at the thought that he truly did want to make it up to her. 

“Much as I’d love to discuss my ass and all,” she said, her tone disaffected and distant, “I’m really not in the mood right now.”

“I know,” Kim said, staring straight ahead and massaging his wrists, “you’re in the mood to bust my balls.  But that’s fine, you know I’ve got biiiig balls.”

“Shut up, you jerkoff,” Julie retorted, rising from the red leather banquette.  She went over to stand with the girls, who were still heatedly discussing pants.  She snuck a glance over her shoulder at him, and he gave her a wide-eyed imploring look.  She exhaled sharply through her nose and turned her head back.

“So when do we eat already?” Elaine wondered aloud.

Leo came forward to the group at that moment, rubbing his hands together.  He was dressed rather comically appropriate: wearing a white button down shirt and navy slacks accompanied by a rainbow hued tie-dyed tie.  “We can go up anytime, but where are Teva and Ian?”

“Teva made the grom stay with her until she was ready to leave.” Dan remarked.

“Well they’re gonna get left then; let’s go up.” Kim said to Leo, rising to his feet.

“Are we on the sixth floor?” Elaine asked Leo.

“Yep, we’ve got the Emperor's Chamber, you can see Coit Tower from there.”

“How’d you swing that?” Julie asked him.

“I know the owner from way back, but I hardly ever eat here because the food kinda sucks.” he answered, half-whispering.

“See I told you,” Dan said to Elaine mockingly, “paying for the scenery.”

Just then, Teva and Ian came through the front door, breathless and looking guilty.  Kim scowled at them and eyed his watch.

“It’s ten past seven, why did it take you forty minutes to get here?” he demanded.

“It’s my fault,” Teva said, quickly, “I was on the phone.”

Kim reached out and put on hand on each of their shoulders.  “If I find out that the two of you are fucking in the lounge or some shit like that, I’ll keep the grom,” he warned, his voice low and menacing.  He punctuated the last part by glaring at Teva.

“What?” she said, shrugging off his hand.  “You know, not everyone acts like you, okay?”

Kim looked at Ian, knowing that Teva could bluff her way out of murder if it came down to it, and sure enough he saw a blush creeping up the boy’s neck, visible even through his tan.  Ian looked down at the floor, chastised.

“She’s not worth it,” Kim whispered in his ear, “and I should know.”

Teva had taken refuge with the other females, though they weren’t entirely sympathetic.  Anne rolled her eyes and shook her head as Teva looked outraged at the assumption.

“Girl, he’s a grommet.  You don’t mess with the grom.”

“He is cute, though,” Julie murmured to Melissa as the two moved over to the elevator.  She remembered making the same remark to her friend when introduced to Ian and Melissa had smacked her on the arm.

“Do you want him to die?” she asked rhetorically.

“Oh yeah, right.” Julie had replied, looking sheepish.  And the only thing which prevented her from making a play for Ian now was that she didn’t want be the death of his future career. 

“Sure he’s cute.  But he’s off-limits,” Melissa said, reflexively pushing the call button.

“I believe Teva is, to use the parlance of child psychology, ‘acting out.’” Leo noted, moving to stand behind them.

“Like I said, it will be a miracle if we can make through the next three days without killing one another,” Melissa muttered.

“Well everyone can drink now,” Leo said, cheerily. “That should help.”

“One big happy dysfunctional family!” Anne exclaimed, as they filed into the elevator.  Julie found herself standing in front of Kim, who had moved into a corner of the car.  It was hard to resist the temptation to lean up against him, as she was wont to do.  She missed specific things, like the way he smelled, and his silences.  She had a problem with quiet and normally had the television or the stereo on at all times, but Kim seemed to tune everything out.  He might watch the news for five minutes, read a tattoo magazine or an art book, but otherwise he was always preoccupied with a sketch pad.  They spent entire afternoons and evenings not speaking; but watching him while he created brought Julie an understanding of Kim’s nature which hours of “deep” conversation would be unlikely to uncover.

Two waiters were already in the room when the group entered, and they began calling out drink orders as soon as they could, shrugging out of coats and sweaters.

“Hey Leo, let's have some Tsingtao,” Kim suggested, sitting on the side of the large round table that afforded the best vista.  The lights of the Embarcadero were visible in the distance.  The sun was commencing its' final descent into the Bay. 

“Sounds good, anyone else want one?”

Regan, Dan and Ian all agreed.  Everyone had scurried to sit on the opposite side from Kim, so Julie had no choice but to sit on his right, as Leo had already seated himself on the left.  Julie made a face at Melissa, two seats away, who returned it with an embarrassed shrug.  The girls had ordered Scorpion Bowls, a drink which the restaurant was famous for, but when one of the waiters approached Julie to ask her preference she decided against it.

“Oh, what's the pineapple drink I like?” she asked herself aloud.

“Pineapple Upside Down,” Kim said to the waiter.

“I'm not impressed,” she muttered to him as everyone poured over their menus.

“I know,” he said resignedly.  “All my brownie points have been revoked.”

After dining choices had been negotiated, since their boss had taken the best seat in the house, the others decided to go over to the windows, oohing and aahing over the award-winning view.

“It's really pretty in here,” Julie remarked, looking around at the décor.

“You've never eaten here?” Leo asked her.

“No,” she said, giving Kim a dirty look.

“It's a tourist trap,” Kim responded, in an attempt to defend himself.  “And Julie made a point of telling me on the night we met that she was not a tourist.”

“I’m surprised you remembered that,” she said.

“I remember everything.”

“You’ve killed too many brain cells to remember everything,” Leo teased.

The waiters brought the drinks and set them down on the table.  “You’d be surprised what you can remember when you have time to think,” Kim said, reaching for a beer.  Julie peered at him sideways and saw that his expression was rueful. 

“For example,” he said to her, plucking out the cherry which floated in her drink on a layer of grenadine and ice, “do you remember this?”  He swung it slightly by the stem.  Julie responded by extending the tip of her tongue through her teeth.  Kim nodded, impressed.

They sat in the hotel bar, waiting to meet up with some of Kim’s friends for dinner.  Julie looked forward to hearing stories about Corey, since he seemed reluctant to reminisce any further since that first night.

“Know any bar tricks?” he asked her, knocking back a shot of tequila and sucking on a wedge of lemon.

“Hmm,” she pondered, stirring her drink with the cherry garnish.  “Oh, well there is one.”

“Yeah?”  His smile in response was tinged with mischief.

She held the cherry out to him.  “It’s called ‘popping the cherry.’  You hold it between your teeth and I have to get it out without bruising it.”

Kim pulled out the stem and placed it between his teeth carefully.  Julie tilted her head as if to kiss him and slid her tongue between the gap, scooping it out from behind.  She thought he might have let it go a little too easy, he put his mouth on hers and retrieved it from her tongue.  He then took it out of his mouth and examined it.

“Well I dunno, it looks a little bruised.”

She pointed to a crease in the skin.  “That’s where you were holding it in your teeth!”

“Are you sure?  We might need to do this again.”

“Not until you show me a trick of yours.”

“That will likely get us arrested.  Okay, you win.  That’s a good trick.”  He held the cherry between his fingers and put it against her lips.  She took it back in her mouth and chewed it.

“I think you let me win.”

“Of course I did,” he said, winking.

“Did you tie the stem into a knot?  I love it when women can do that!” Leo enthused.

Julie rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.  “No Leo, I’m not entirely a walking cliché.”

“Good girls don’t do that kind of thing, man.” Kim said, smirking.

She looked at him, annoyed.  “Why is it you have to ruin every warm fuzzy I get with a smart-ass remark?”

“I can’t help it, Jules.  You know that’s how I am.  And it’s the least offensive vice I have.”

“That’s debatable.”

“Hey you slackers!” Kim called out to the group, still at the windows.  “You can start drinking now!”

Everyone came back to the table and sat down, grabbing bottles and ceramic bowls.

“So why don’t we take a poll?” Julie asked Kim.  “Because I’m not the only one who has that opinion, I imagine.”

“Fine,” he replied, shrugging.

“What?” Melissa inquired, her eyes darting between the two of them.

“Hey,” Julie said to the assemblage, raising her voice to get their attention.  “What do you think is Kim’s worst vice?”

“Pussy,” Teva called out, giving him a sardonic glare.  Elaine nodded emphatically to second the opinion.

“Sarcasm,” Melissa responded, then shrugged when Kim caught her eye.

“Uh-huh,” Julie affirmed, pointing at her and nodding.

The others considered the choices.  “You smoke too much,” Anne told him.  “Every time I smell a damn clove, no matter where I am, I always freak out because I think you’re following me.  And we always know when you’re in the shop, even when you try to be clever and sneak around.”

Everyone guffawed at her remarks.

“Pussy,” Regan said, giving Teva a high five.

“I ain’t sayin’ shit,” Dan asserted, crossing his massive arms over his equally massive chest.  “And you can’t make me, Jules.”

“Sounds like you’re the pussy, Dan.”

“Meow!” he countered.

Ian made as if to say something and Kim cut him off. 

“Grommets don’t have opinions.”

Ian closed his mouth and sank down in his chair slightly.

Julie looked over at Leo, who sat with his fingers steepled, watching everyone else.  “Well?” she questioned.

He sighed before giving his answer, as if he knew the reaction it would produce.  Julie looked at Kim, who was looking at the table.

“Self-loathing.”

Kim’s expression would have passed for neutral, save that his eyes seemed to take on a quality of resignation.  He looked up and smirked at the others.

“Fuck you guys.  You’d better pray I never have to tell someone your faults.”

“You’ve been doing it all damn day,” Regan said, “so it’s about time you sucked it up, dude.”

The waiters brought plates of wontons, egg rolls, pot stickers and bowls of soup, which everyone swarmed upon as soon as they were placed on the lazy susan in the center of the table.

“How much longer are you going to do this?” he asked her, stirring a ladle spoon through his soup.  “Because I’m losing my appetite.”

“You mean I’m hurting your feelings?  Why don’t you just say so?”

“Like I would say that when we’re around everyone else.”

“You never said it when we were alone, either.”

Lying on the couch, after a bout of kissing which led to heated sex, to fingers clutching hair and teeth pressed against skin and limbs entwined, she lay with her head on his chest, listening to his heart still pounding though their efforts had subsided.  Then, quietly he had said -

“I'm not really just a villain, am I?”

“Of course not,” she answered, running a hand across his chest hair.  “Like I'm not just a virgin to you, right?”

“I've always wondered what happens when the novelty fades.”

“The novelty of the new conquest?”

“No, the novelty of running away with the villain.”

She sat up, sighing and pushing her hair away from her face.

“Why can't you just ask me, 'do you still want me?'  What is so hard about that?”

“We're all archetypes, Jules.  We play out our roles and the scripts are always the same.”

“Well I want you, not an avatar.  But I'm not going to battle anyone for you, especially you.  Push me away too many times and I'm gone.”

“Ultimatums aren't attractive.”

“Well neither is this self-pitying fit you’re having.”

This exchange was conducted with each of them staring at their food, muttering through clenched jaws.  Anyone giving them a cursory glance would have assumed it was the most casual of conversations.  But the other diners knew something was going on, and had all secretly given odds as to when Kim would end up losing his temper and begin yelling, or get a drink thrown in his face by Julie.

When the main courses arrived, one of the waiters remained by the door and Kim leaned over to Leo and began whispering.

“Tell that guy to stand outside the door.”

“That’s just how their service is, there’s always a waiter right there.”

“I don’t care, I don’t want him in here.”

When Leo had convinced the server that they would call him when they needed him, Kim prepared himself for the talk by shoveling in a few bites of food and drinking half a bottle of beer.  He then sat back in his chair and eyed everyone grimly.  They all stopped eating and looked at him expectantly.

“You guys have brought in a lot of money the past couple months and we’re happy.”

Everyone grunted and went back to eating.

“BUT,” he began again and paused.  This time, no one stopped eating.  Kim sighed and went on.

“This is the first convention some of you have been to and you’ve got to know the ropes.  For example, I notice everyone’s road case is in the garage, waiting to be picked up by Western Freight tomorrow, except for Dan.”

“That’s what I was trying to get done today!” replied Dan, exasperatedly.

“It’s not my fault if you can’t manage your time correctly,” Kim countered, nonplussed.  “If it’s not ready by 10:00AM, then you’re staying home.  And another thing, you all need to double-check your stuff because whatever you don’t bring with you, don’t rely on anyone else to bail you out.  The grommet will be there as our runner, but you can’t expect him to go out into the city and be able to find shit.  Hell, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who lives there, much less a stranger.”

Teva and Regan both chuckled at that observation, recalling a few adventures of their own in the Motor City.

“Yes,” Leo added, “Detroit is fairly friendly to tattoo artists, but overall it’s not a safe city to be in.  Watch yourself, and stay away from anything or anyone that looks sketchy.”

“Okay, now I wanna know if anyone has any advance bookings,” Kim said, pulling a pocket-sized calendar out of his jacket.

“All I have is advance bookings for Saturday,” Regan noted, spooning more Sweet and Sour Pork onto his plate.

“I’ve got a couple,” Teva said, picking at an order of Sai See Gai that normally wasn’t available for dinner.

“Good.  Otherwise, don’t work on anything that will take over an hour to ink.  Conventions are all about volume.  People will not only get pissed if they can’t get your services, they will then badmouth you to other people on the floor.  No one wants to be a guppy.”

“Look at all the guppies.  Pitiful.”  Kim observed as they walked the floor at the Pomona show.  The exhibition halls at the LA County Fairgrounds seemed to go on for miles, Julie thought.  Her feet were starting to hurt and they were only on the second building.  Kim had wanted to check out every booth to size up Inner Ink’s true competition.

“What’s a guppy?” she asked him.

“Working a booth at a convention is like being in a fishbowl,” he replied, by way of explanation.  “Guppies are the people who aren’t getting any work, they’re looking right back at you.”  He pointed to one guy who sat stonily staring at all the passersby.  The guy seemed to recognize him and gave him a half-hearted salute, which Kim returned, smirking.

“Who’s that guy?” Julie wondered, looking behind her as they moved on.

“I have no idea.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t gotten mobbed, Mr. Rock Star.”

“There’s too many civilians here.  Tonight, when we go to the Mickey Sharpz party, then you’ll see a real mob scene.”

“Complete with groupies, I bet.”

“Oh yeah.  That stack of messages they gave me at the hotel, that was all groupies.”

“You’re a wanted man,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“What’s with the attitude, girl?  You were warned.”

“I know, I know.  Never mind.  Can we stop for a minute and get something to drink?”

“Jesus Christ, you’re worse than a kid!”

“But that shouldn’t happen as long as our setup attracts people.  The name does a lot of the work on its’ own, but we’re counting on you guys to help us keep our good name, okay?” Leo pleaded.

“I’m ready, man,” Dan said, picking up a cup of tea.  The cup appeared ridiculously small in his hand.

“And you,” Kim said, pointing at him with his chopsticks, “guys are gonna get an attitude with you because you’re a big-ass bastard.  Shine it, seriously.  They carry around the heavy artillery in Detroit.”

“Okay dude, regardless of what I said earlier, I am not a pussy.”

“Do you want me to tell you how many times I’ve had a gun pulled on me by some drunk-ass or tweaking motherfucker?  Just because I look belligerent, not because I was acting that way.”

“Are you sure?”

Kim put down his eating utensils and stared at Dan for a few moments, his expression something between a scowl and a smirk.

“Are you done busting my balls, asshole?  You know, I’d really hate to have to go console your girlfriend when we get back because you ended up in the Wayne County morgue.”  His look had turned to a leer as he flicked his tongue at his adversary across the table.

Dan’s face was expressionless, but Julie could see a vein pulsing in his forehead.

“Okay, can you both stop this dick waving, please?” Teva asked.  “Dan will have to learn the hard way, Kim, just let it go.”

Another moment of silence passed, and Leo finally intervened by clearing his throat and continuing.

“Your tips should be really good, hopefully, but if anyone gives you anything out of the ordinary, so to speak, put it in the lockbox I’m bringing.  Cops will be everywhere, and I can’t guarantee I can bail you out if you get caught holding.  And whatever it is, it’s not crossing state lines.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever,” Anne commented, grousing.  “It’s not like we can really party anyway since we’ve all gotta be on the floor every day.  Anyone who tips me like that I’ma tell ‘em to keep it.”

“Whoa, let’s not get crazy now!” Regan exclaimed.  “You can always sell to other people if you don’t want it.”

“Your tips will be good if you do good work,” Kim said.

“Now you know all the talent in the world will not make a cheap person generous,” Melissa said.

“That’s why you’ve got to watch carefully and weed out the amateurs.  If a person looks like a cheapskate, fuck ‘em; give ‘em something simple and get on with your life.”

“We normally do a 60/40 split on conventions, but if we don’t rack up much overhead we’ll go 50/50.  So try to make sure you don’t go over your per diem and you don’t need any extra supplies,” Leo advised.

“Anyone whose ink wins a prize will get an Aaron Cain from us, your choice,” Kim announced, as the artists murmured with excitement at his news.  “But if I were you, I’d go with one of the SOBA Pilots he’s been customizing, they’re totally sweet.”

“I am so glad that dude’s back in business,” Regan enthused.  “I haven’t used my ‘Mecha’ in ages because if it needed tuning I didn’t think I could get it worked on.”

“You could have gone through Lucky’s,” Teva pointed out.

“Naw man, I wouldn’t want anyone but him touching it.”

“And remember, don’t bring any of your work shit on the plane.  Security will x-ray your luggage and think you’re a fucking terrorist.  Everything work-related goes in the road cases, no exceptions,” Kim continued.  “Now, here are the rules –“

Groans arose from the group.

“- and if you can follow them everyone will have a good time and make lots of money.  First of all, when you’re on the floor, work your ass off.  I don’t want guppies in my booth and I don’t want slackers.  This is the largest convention of the year and we need to kick ass.  We’ve got a full-page ad in the program and it’s gonna bring the trade.  Second, try not to get burned out.  Eight hours of inking will fuck with your head.  That’s why I said keep things simple, that way you can take a break every hour, go outside for some air, whatever.  Third, your nights are your own, just don’t get so fucked up you can’t work the next day, and stay out of trouble.  Like Leo said, we can’t guarantee we can bail you out if you get tapped.  It’s not that we don’t have the money, but the cops have a hard-on for us this time of year.  Fourth, you might end up with a lot of ‘friends,’-“ he punctuated this literally, making quotation marks with his fingers, “- when they find out who you work for.  And some of you already have groupies.  That’s fine, but don’t let the hangers-on become an albatross around your neck.  We’re closing the shop, bringing the full crew, because we want to roll.  You can’t keep up, I’m putting your ass on the next flight, understood?”

Everyone nodded and made assenting sounds. 

“All right,” Leo called out, raising his beer bottle to lead everyone in a toast, “here’s to Inner Ink and you high-strung, whiny, bratty, bitchy, spoiled, tortured, vain tattoo artists that allow me to sit around painting pictures that no one will buy and yakking to reporters about the good ole days. . .don’t fuck it up!”

He got as many middle fingers as he did bottles and bowls lifted in response, but everyone laughed as they all said, “Cheers!”

Several hours later they emerged into the San Francisco night and milled around on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, deciding what to do next.

“At some point I need to go back to the shop,” Dan said, glaring at Kim, “so I’m coming with you.”

“You sure your girlie is okay with that?” Kim replied, making a simpering face.

“Fuck off.”

“We’re going to Tosca,” Melissa said, linking her arm through Julie’s, “so whoever wants to come with. . .”

Teva, Anne and Elaine opted to join them, and after some conferring, the guys did as well.  Leo begged off, smiling.

“I need to get my rest before we hit the road, because I know it’s gonna be hardcore.  I’ll be in tomorrow, kids, be good!”

They all waved goodbye as he crossed the street towards the parking garage.  Kim stood with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the soles of his feet.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly, setting off.  The others followed, scampering to keep up with his long stride.

“I knew it!” Julie whispered angrily to Melissa, “He knows Mark is going to be there.”

“So?  Just shine him.  Besides, it might do him good to be taken down a notch.”

“I’m surprised you’re saying that.”

“I’m just so sick of him right now,” she said, as the two hung back, putting a gap between themselves and the rest of the group.  “He’s got us all stressed out beyond belief.”

“It’s not fair that he gets away with taking it out on everyone else.  But then, everyone lets him get away with everything.”  Julie gave Melissa a look meant to import significance.

Julie had been sitting in the suite for half an hour, waiting for her man.  After dinner Kim and Leo had gone over to see a friend of theirs from Florida, promising Julie they would be back, but telling her she might find the atmosphere in the other suite too “wild.”  She thought it was just as well, given that she’d had too much saki and not enough sushi at dinner, so her equilibrium was a little off.

She sat on the couch, watching television, and she could hear various drunken revelries further down the hall.  After sitting through a rather vapid sitcom, her patience had waned and her sobriety had waxed, so she decided to go see if she could find the crew.  Making sure the room card key was in her pocket, Julie set off down the hallway towards the loudest source of sound, figuring that must be where the Floridian orgy was occurring.  Around a corner, the door to one suite was wide open and a variety of tattooed people, in various altered states, passed in and out, stumbling by her without a second glance.  Leaning against a wall for support after a bout of abrupt dizziness nearly caused her to fall over, she inched towards the doorway, as loud music and laughter spilled out, startling her.

Suddenly she found herself in Melissa’s arms.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?  I thought you were passed out.”

“No, I’m okay, just kind of dizzy.  Is everyone in there?”

“Oh no, I don’t know where they went,” she replied, pulling her friend away from the suite.  “Let’s go back to your room and hang out.  They’ll be back eventually.”

“Are you sure?  I thought I heard Kim just now.”

Melissa began swearing internally, knowing the distinctive deep quality of his laugh was unmistakable, because she heard it herself emanating from the room behind her.  She held onto Julie, not allowing her to get any closer to the door.

“No dude, he’s not in there.  I was just in there looking and I didn’t find anyone.  Besides, they’ve got strippers in there and all kinda shit, I don’t wanna be around that dickfest.”

“Maybe one of them would want to hook up with you,” Julie said, giggling.

Melissa rolled her eyes, but giggled a little as well.  “Naw, I can’t afford those kinda girls.  C’mon dude, I’m getting tired of holding you up.”

“I’m fine!” Julie exclaimed, pushing Melissa away and straightening up with the exaggerated propriety of intoxication.

“Yeah okay,” Melissa acquiesced, putting her arm around her friend’s shoulders and guiding her in the other direction.  She couldn’t hear Kim laughing anymore, so she figured he must be getting his dick sucked or some other token of appreciation from a grateful client or star-struck fan.  She was very close to telling Julie that just because he had declared himself to have a girlfriend didn’t mean that he was going to behave himself on the road.  On the other hand, maybe he wasn’t doing anything or having anything done to him by the raven-haired slut she saw in his lap earlier.  Stranger things had happened, after all, like her best friend falling in love with the antithesis of her ideal man.

Luckily she didn’t have to worry about further drama because Julie had thrown up in the bathroom as soon as they got back to the room then passed out in the bed she was sharing with Kim.  Melissa stayed with her just in case she got sick again and said nothing to Kim when he returned around 3AM, merely placing a finger against her lips to warn him not to wake Julie.  However, she then could not resist the temptation to whisper, as she departed the bedroom, “You might want to take a shower; you reek of skanky pussy, you fucking jerk.”

Melissa sighed.  “Oh let's not go down that road again, okay?”

It did not take long for the group to reach the Tosca Cafe, and Julie spotted Mark sitting at one of the tables outside.  Teva dashed over before Julie could, seating herself right next to him and demanding to see his new outline.  He obliged by taking his arm out of his long-sleeved thermal top and carefully peeling back the gauze pad over the fresh tattoo.  Everyone gave their approval.

“That's a wicked dragon, Mellie!” Regan said.  “I don't think I've ever seen you do anything like that before.”

“It's my first Irezumi-style,” she said, “I just worked off a design Kim did a while back.”

“You didn't tell me that,” Kim said, peering at it.  He then leaned down and spoke into her ear.  “You did a good job.”

“Thanks,” she said, somewhat surprised.  He went off to find a table and Melissa turned to Julie, her eyes wide.

“Just when I'm ready to hate him he always does something nice, that bastard.”

“Yeah,” Julie said, eyeing Teva moving in on Mark, playing with his hair and giving him a nice view of her cleavage, as her shop shirt was a size too small on her.  “He's letting me bag on him because he thinks it will help me get over what he did and come back.”

“Is it working?”

“I don't know yet.  But I'm not really all that upset that Teva the Diva is macking on my would-be rebound boyfriend.”

“Who is doing what to whom now?” Anne interjected, putting her hands on their shoulders.

“Teva is up to her usual whoring,” Melissa noted, tilting her head in their direction.

“Well, we could screw with her and take over the table.”

“Of course we will,” Julie said, nodding.

Anne motioned to a nearby waitress and they sat down.  Teva gave them all annoyed glances but realized she was outnumbered.  Mark barely looked at Julie, but when he saw Melissa he grinned broadly.

“Girl, you rock!”

“Thanks, dude.  You'll be in tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to tell you, I went through my inventory and I've got a couple pieces for you to choose from.  I'll bring them tomorrow.”

“Sweet!”  They all ordered, but Mark refrained, waving a bottle of water.

“Good boy,” Anne said, patting him on the head.  She got the desired effect as Teva swatted her arm.

Elaine came back to the table and threw down a pack of Djarum Blacks.

“Kim's?” Anne asked.

“Yeah, he's inside at the bar with the guys, so it's not like he's gonna smoke them.”

Elaine and Teva each lit up as they waited for their drinks.

“So are you hurting still?” Julie asked Mark.

“Nah, she's got a light touch,” he answered, winking at Melissa.

“You know she's a dyke, right?” Teva asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Well that's probably why,” he said, laughing.

“Goddamn, Teva, since when do you find it necessary to broadcast my sexual orientation to my clients?”

“Oh that's easy,” Julie said, looking directly at Teva, “when she wants to fuck them.”

Teva flipped her off in response, but did not speak, merely smiled.

“Ladies, let's not be ugly now, okay?” Mark said, attempting to keep the peace.

“So what’s her tip gonna be?” Elaine asked him.

“I’m a glass blower,” he said.

“Ohhhhh,” Elaine and Teva exclaimed.  Teva gave Melissa another dirty look. 

“How much does your stuff normally run?” she asked him.

“Depends on the size and complexity of the piece.  Your everyday run-of-the-mill type of pipe is about $50.  And our stuff is dishwasher-safe.”

Everyone snickered at that selling point.  “Oh my God,” Julie said, “I can’t really see myself saying, ‘Where’s my bong?  Oh, it’s in the dishwasher.’”

Anne, on the other hand, was impressed.  “Hey, I always clean mine really good just because I’m tired of getting other people’s colds and shit.”

“That’s not how you got that last bout of the flu and you know it,” Teva countered, giving her an arch look.

“Yeah well, at least it wasn’t Chlamydia.”

The other girls began laughing hysterically, while Mark drank from his water bottle, attempting neutrality rather than diplomacy.

“Dude, that’s nasty,” Julie said, taking a sip of the Chocotini set in front of her.  She then paused, confused.  “Hey wait,” she said to the waitress, “I didn’t order this.”

“Kim ordered it for you, he said you wanted that instead of the Cosmo.”

“Why the hell is he sucking up to you?  You cut him loose, so he should have said good riddance!” Teva snarked.

“Dude, I’m sorry no one ever wanted you so bad that they were willing to come crawling back, but that’s the breaks.”

“Well at least I didn’t hook up with a complete dog with a dick like a friggin’ eggplant who probably gave you more than one social disease too, so don’t be all high and mighty talking about you’ve never had Chlamydia!”

“Fuck me,” Mark whispered to Ian, who had appeared with the others during the exchange, “are they always this utterly bitchy?”

Ian gave him a cynical look, pursed his lips and blew out a sigh.  “Dude, you don’t even wanna know.”

“All right bitches, the complete dog wants his cigarettes back,” Kim growled, startling everyone.

Teva extracted another clove before handing him the pack.  Kim looked inside and handed it back. 

“There’s only three left, you parasites can keep them.  And for your information, Ms. Diva, I never gave Julie a venereal disease, but you sure as hell gave me one.”

“OH!” came the response from the group, so loud that even pedestrians stopped to stare.

Teva and Kim stared each other down, and then Teva grabbed Mark’s forearm. 

“I’m going over to The Velvet Lounge and I could use an escort.”  She then whispered something in his ear that made him chuckle.

“Uh, sure, okay.”

Melissa squeezed Julie’s thigh, and Julie patted her hand.

Teva grabbed her purse and flounced away, Mark gave everyone a small wave and said to Melissa, “See you tomorrow!”  Melissa nodded, but everyone else was silent and still until the two were beyond their view.

“You okay?” Melissa whispered to Julie.  Julie nodded and swallowed half her drink, choking slightly.

“Watch it Jules, that’s top-shelf vodka,” Kim warned.

Ian and Regan sat down in the recently vacated chairs and Dan and Kim grabbed two more and pulled them up to the table.  Kim looked over at Ian as he pulled a new pack of cigarettes out of his jacket and lit up.

“That could have been you, boy.  Lapdog of the Diva.”

“Can we not talk about this, please?” Ian begged, slouching down in his seat and covering his face with his hands.

“So ‘fess up, grom, did you bone her, or what?” Regan asked, taking a cigarette from the pack on the table.

Ian mumbled something unintelligible from behind his hands, and they all decided to let it go, imagining the general humiliation was punishment enough.

“Kim, I can’t believe you just narked her out like that, in front of a guy,” Anne said, as she peeled the label off her beer bottle.

“Monkeys who like to throw their shit should always be ready for when the gorilla throws it back.”  The way in which he made the statement gave it the weight of a proverb.  Julie chuckled.

“It was one of those, ‘we had to destroy the village to save it’ type of things.”

“See,” Kim said, picking up his own bottle of beer, “Julie may hate me, but she still understands me.”

“I said I didn’t hate you, remember?”

“Okay.  But I’m still a rogue, a scoundrel, a stone-hearted bastard.”

“Oh, yesterday I was the stone-hearted bitch – what – is your new tactic to insult yourself before I can do it?”

“Whatever works,” he said, taking a drag.  “Besides, you didn’t really want that guy, did you?  He was blond fer chrissakes!”

“I figured opposition was what I required.  Not like it matters now.”

Melissa put an arm around Julie in a hug.

“Oh Christ, I can just imagine the two of you passing the bong in your apartment, bitching about Big Bad Kim.”  He rolled his eyes and took a drink from his beer.

“Have we discussed what a prick you are?  Yes.  But we did that before I found out you were fucking around on me, so I wouldn’t take any additional offense.”

Dan let out with an explosive chortle, and everyone else began laughing as well.

“Regan, you were totally right, bro,” Anne said, giving him a high five.

“About what?” Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He said you should be on a damn soap opera!”

Fresh gales of hilarity reigned, and Kim sat back with his hands behind his head, regarding everyone with a deadpan expression.

“You know, it could be that you’re all just jealous and bitter that you don’t have enough excitement in your lives.”

“Well we’ve got you, what do we need drama for?” Dan asked facetiously.

“So I fail to see what the problem is!”

“You’re the problem and the solution,” Julie said, quietly.  He looked over at her, exhaling smoke in the particular way he had of doing it sometimes, with his eyes half-closed and his lips forming a perfect ‘o.’ Julie realized it was another thing she missed, all the expressions on his face, and that she could never quite tire of that face, even when it hurt to look at him.

“I am that I am, and that is all I am.”

“Again with the philosophy!” Elaine exclaimed, throwing up her hands.

“Dude, can we go back to the shop now?  I’d like to go home and get some sleep before sunrise.”

Kim went inside to settle the tab with the bar and the rest waited for him, stretching and making their way towards the sidewalk.

“I’m outtie,” Anne said, giving Melissa and Julie each hugs.  “Ian, have you got a way home?”

“Kim said he’d drop me.”

“My mom is picking me up here, she can drop you off.”

“Your mom still in the Haight?” Kim asked her, as he joined the others.

“Yeah, but you’d better stay away ese, you know my dad hates you.  If he found out you were trying to ink her he’ll drive over the Bay Bridge especially to kill you.”

“Boy that line of people wanting to kill you just gets longer every day, doesn’t it?” Julie sniped, patting Kim on the back.

“I guess I forgot to tell Dan that half the people who’ve pulled a gun on me were women, eh?  Hell, I’d even let you stab me just because you’d have to touch me to do it.”

“And on that totally bizarre note, I am leaving!” Elaine announced, throwing up her arms.  She walked toward the curb to hail a cab.  The others waved to her as they made their way over to Hyde Street.

“I mean it, Jules!” Kim said as they walked towards the intersection.  “Crime of passion, you can be on the news, Lacey Gelbert would defend you and be totally sympathetic.”

“You’re not worth it,” Julie called back.

“Sure I am, I so totally am!”

She turned around, walking backwards, and looked at him.  He blew her a kiss and grinned.

“See, you love me!”

“Why are you still talking to him?!” Melissa exclaimed, pulling her forward and turning her back around.

“He’s hard to ignore, you know that.  Especially when you’re trying to do it on purpose.”

“Dude, an eggplant?”

“Yeah, but you know how an eggplant is shaped like –“ she drew the shape in the air with her finger, “- that?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, it’s like that, but upside down.”

“Oh my God!” Melissa exclaimed and began laughing.

“Quit talking about me, you harpies!” Kim called out.

“See, this is why I never cared about going to college,” Dan remarked to Regan as they trailed behind.  “If Kim is a prime example of what happens to you when you go to college, then I’m glad I didn’t go.”

Everyone sat in the lounge when they reached the shop, caught in that state between borderline intoxication and exhaustion.  Not wanting to retire with a bunch of people in the building, Kim directed their attention back to work matters.

“So Regan, check it out,” he said, proffering a piece of sketch paper.

Regan examined the drawing Kim handed to him.  “You did a good job of reproducing it, as usual, dude; but if Danny Carey finds out about this, he's gonna put a curse on you.”

“If I believed in that bullshit,” Kim replied, sighing, “someone would have gotten rid of me long ago.  I don't exactly want for enemies.”

“Maybe none of them know the right curse,” Julie said quietly, not looking up from a magazine she found on the table.

All the occupants of the room looked in her direction.  “Do you?” Kim asked, with a satirical tone.

She looked up at him with an expression which implied Who, me?

“Well I won't worry then.”

“I guess I could learn,” she said, turning a page.

“You go right ahead and do that, baby.”  He made a kissing noise.  She flipped him the bird.

Dan followed Kim upstairs to fetch a new container of anti-bacterial wipes from the janitorial closet.

“You know man, I think the two of you get off on making each other mad.”

“Yeah, so?”

“That can't be healthy.”

Kim chortled and his reply was sarcastic.  “That's quite an astute observation, Dan.”

“Aww man, I don't even know why I try to talk to you.”

“Because you have to!”

Dan rolled his eyes and opened the door of the closet.

“Don't worry dude,” Kim said, leaning in the doorway, “you save your pennies up, you can buy your own shop, and the last thing you'll say to me is 'fuck off.'”

“I'm counting the days,” Dan muttered, as he walked past with the container.

Kim clapped him on the shoulder.  “I know.”