A few days ago, I was talking about one of my current works in progress on Twitter, an M/M/F story called “The Forever Stain” which brings together two secondary characters from another book. The title of the book is the name of the tattoo parlor owned by one of the heroes. I might have mentioned there was going to be a big tattooing scene between the two men, and some of my twitter friends asked if I might share an excerpt.
I hadn’t written the scene yet. But today was rainy and the kids were watching what seemed liked the entire Pixar collection in the next room, so I had plenty of time to write.
So, the tattoo scene. Technically, this is only a small part of the scene, the actual tattooing and the aftermath. I can’t show all my secrets at once, can I?
Disclaimerish stuff: this is from the roughest of rough drafts. An un-edited work in progress. It might change or even be deleted (okay, maybe not deleted, but changed like WHOA) from the final draft. It is shared in a spirit of fun. Please enjoy, but don’t read too much into it. 🙂
After he’d applied the stencil, Jason gestured to the mirror. “Check it out, make sure you like the placement.”
Brett saw himself in the mirror, torso half-shaved, pupils blown from the combination of fear and arousal, and he could barely bring himself to notice the stencil, he was too arrested by the stranger wearing his face. He nodded slowly.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, let’s do this.” Jason patted the table again. “Get comfy.”
Brett lay back, crossing his hands behind his head and stretching his body out. The buzz and hum of the tattoo needle made him shiver.
“Deep, slow breaths, baby.” Jason murmured. “I’m going to start the first line now. It’s going to hurt, but you’ll be all right.”
“Baby?” Brett grinned at the endearment.
Jason just shook his head and smiled. His face got kind of soft and distant for a moment. And when he spoke, his voice was softer too. “Adelaide’s influence. I’ve spent so much time with her the last two weeks. She’s always calling me ‘baby, honey, sugar’ stuff like that.”
Brett’s brain supplied the needle-scratching-across-a-record noise.
“I thought you were gay?”
Jason shrugged, then set the needle aside for a moment. “Addy’s just a friend. Besides, she calls everyone stuff like that. To be honest, I’m pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Kinsey scale, but my ex, he had this sort of pathological fear of bisexuals.” Jason sighed, shaking his head. “It’s a long story, but if I so much as looked at a woman, he’d say shit like ‘uh unh, Jason. Straight guys don’t touch my dick.’” He said it in a slightly femme affectation that had to have been an impersonation of his ex.
Brett laughed. Bisexual. Like me. It only made Jason more attractive, knowing they had this one more thing in common. “Was it worth it? Pretending not to be bi, just to touch his dick?”
“Not gonna lie, Harris knew how to use that thing.” Jason gave a big dramatic shudder, then laughed. “Okay, enough stalling. Tattoo time.” He scrunched his face up in a grin and set the needle to humming once more.
Brett took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
The first touch of the needle was intense. Pain lighting up his skin like a burst of fireworks. He sucked in a harsh breath as he tried to process it, force it into something he could handle.
“Deep breath.” Jason’s voice brought him down from that panic state, and he instinctively obeyed, his body relaxing back against the table as he did.
“Good boy.” Jason murmured. He didn’t look up at Brett, stayed focused on the task at hand, but he talked as he worked, his voice a steady thread of calm. Brett focused on that thread and felt himself relax a bit more.
As Jason worked, the pain seemed to be changing; instead of bright and hot, it flowed into something warmer. Every once in awhile the words would break through, a bit of praise from Jason softening him. His eyelids grew heavy. He wasn’t sleepy, just sort of high. Endorphins. He understood the physiological response to pain, but he’d never appreciated it quite so much before now. He smiled down his body at Jason. His erection was back, throbbing heavy in his jeans, just inches away from where Jason had one hand splayed across his belly.
Jason had to have noticed it, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He just kept working, carving that pretty pain into Brett’s skin. “You’re doing great, Brett,” he crooned.
Brett wanted to cry; it felt so good to be praised that way. When was the last time anyone had spoken to him so gently? He took a shuddery breath and let it out slow.
“Do you need a break?”
“No.” The thickness in his voice surprised Brett. Apparently it surprised Jason too, because he stopped tattooing, instead stroking his other gloved hand across Brett’s belly, a gentling caress. He looked into Brett’s eyes with an intensity that would have been embarrassing if Brett hadn’t been too far gone to feel shame.
“Oh.” Jason smiled. “It’s like that for you.” He sat back down and started working again, resuming the talking as he did.
Brett wanted to ask him what he meant, like what? But he knew the answer, could feel it thick in his veins like honey. He means this endorphin thing.
He floated there, surfing the wave between the pain and the arousal, for what could have been hours or seconds, he wasn’t sure. He only knew eventually the pain went away, but the arousal didn’t, and he exhaled a soft sob, wishing Jason would touch him, hold him, suck him, anything to bring that rush to culmination.
“Brett, you’re all done.” Jason helped him sit up and he slumped a little. “Whoa, buddy!” Jason’s arm went around his waist and cuddled him close as Jason made soft shushing sounds.
Brett shook his head slightly, trying to clear the cobwebs.
“God, I’ve never seen anyone go so far under like that. You were amazing.” Jason continued to rub Brett’s arms and back, his hands everywhere, touching, soothing, anchoring him back to the dull sting in his skin.
Brett finally found a word, and it came out on a sigh. “Jason.”
“I’m right here.” Jason pressed a kiss to his forehead. It didn’t feel sexual, that kiss, just nice. “You feel like you can stand yet? Check it out in the mirror?”
He stood on wobbly legs, and Jason supported him with that arm around his waist as he led him to the mirror.
Brett studied the tattoo. The staff was gold, the serpent green. It was a traditional-style, but Jason had added some elements of his own more ornate style as well and it was perfect. He nodded. “Yeah.” He caught sight of his own eyes in the mirror, how his green irises had all but disappeared. He shook his head again.
Jason took a deep breath and gestured to a worn-looking sofa on the far side of the room. “Look, I have a consultation coming by in about an hour, but I’m free until then. We can just hang out for a bit while you come back to earth.”Brett nodded. Yeah, that would be good. “Thank you.”
Jason helped him get to the couch, then disappeared. He came back a few minutes later with a glass of orange juice and a plate of brownies.
“Kimmie is a great baker. This should help you get your equilibrium back.”
“Thank you.” Brett took a brownie and nibbled at the edge. “Why did you kiss me?”
“What?” Jason looked startled.
“When I sat up, and you were helping me not fall off the table, you kissed my forehead.”
“Oh.” Jason blushed. “Not very professional of me. I didn’t even realize I did it. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be!” Brett made a slashing motion with his hand. “Don’t. I wish you’d kiss me for real.”
So… that’s the first sneak peek at TFS. I hope you enjoyed it! <3
xoxo,
V