Primo Ed Ultimo - Chapter 1

1

The sound of the rain beating down on the woman's umbrella was not a foreign one to her. It was quite familiar, and normally rather soothing. However on this day it seemed to taunt her; teasing her for being afraid to step into the shop. The Blue Dice Tattoo Parlor's neon sign glowed dimly in the mist of the grey and mucky day. For quite some time, Ryu had wanted to let someone put their artwork on her body. She knew what she wanted, and yet the fear of how the needle would feel against her skin held her back.

So many questions raced through her mind. What if it hurt too badly to continue and she already had some of the tattoo done? Would there be any way to get it taken off? Her mind raced this way and that way, almost making her dizzy. Yet it stopped completely when her eyes fell upon the man in the window. He was smiling to her, waving as if knowing she had been spacing out. His bright green eyes glinted with an odd sort of playfulness. From his looks alone she could tell he worked there. A tribal tattoo trailed from under the sleeve of his shirt down his entire left arm. His blond hair was shaved into a floppy sort of mow-hawk and had a dark reddish-pink tint to the front section. Ryu hesitated for a moment before she finally stepped inside. The man's friendly grin grew when she came closer and he offered her his hand.

" 'Ello. The name's Simon. Simon Green," he said. Ryu instantly picked up the irony. His last name was Green, and he had Green eyes. The man was British, as she was, though his accent was a bit thicker.

"Ryu Kokoro," she said, taking his hand to shake it firmly.

Simon gave a slight whistle. "Quite a grip ya got there. And that name's interesting. You from around here?"

"Yeah. Born and raised in Stratford," Ryu replied. "But dad was foreign. Mum gave us Japanese names to piss Gram and Gramps off."

"Us?"

"My brother and I."

"Cheers to that," Simon said with a laugh. "Pissing Grams and Gramps, and sometimes even Mums and Dads off seems to be part of my business. So I can relate."

Ryu gave a slight laugh, reaching to cover her mouth as if to try and hide it.

"Why are you hiding that beautiful smile?" He asked, watching her with intrigue.

"Habit, I guess," She said bashfully. Try as she might not to show that shyness, for some reason it was hard with this man.

"Well don't. Here in this shop, you're to be who you really are. That's the whole point of tattoos. Or that's the way I look at it." His bright smile returned. "They help you show who you are in the inside on the outside."

Honestly Ryu had never thought of it that way, but it was a great way to look at things. "Then I'm glad I came to you for my tattoos." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the designs she had paid someone to help her make. "I want two of them."

"Step right into my office, M'Lady," Simon cooed, motioning to the red curtain that lead to the back. "I'll be able to help you out no problem."

Author's Note

Primo ed ultimo is Italian and translates to: First and Last.

Reviews

[Charlie]

Oooh, I love this so far. You do well with chemistry between characters. I've only read this much and I already smell the spring freshness of young romance.