Ink

“YOU’RE FIRED COLLEGE BOY!”

“FUCK OFF SHANE! I QUIT!” screamed Terry.

Terry Raines clenched his fists as he stood up to his boss Shane Axel. Sure at 5’8, 150 pounds, dark hair, and dark eyes, Terry would get his ass beat by Shane who towered over him. The other tattoo artists of Gargoyle Ink broke out into applause as clients and other customers watched the drama unfold between a hobbit and a giant.

“Give him Hell Terry!” whooped Shane’s sister Greta as she lifted the tattoo needle from her client’s back. “About time somebody told that asshole off!”

“Bitch! Maybe you’d like to join him!” Shane threatened.

“Leave her alone Shane!” interrupted Terry. “Just try to fire her ass and she’ll take her loyal celebrity clients with her! She’s one of the best tattoo artists you’ve got! Do you want to lose business because of your stupid, fucking pride?”

“FUCK ALL OF YOU THEN!” shrieked Shane. “YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN MY SHOP BETTER THAN ME THEN FUCKING GO RIGHT AHEAD! I’M OUT OF HERE! HAVE A NICE LIFE! AND TERRY TELL THOSE ASSES ON MOTHERFUCKING WALL STREET TO SUCK MY DICK!”

“Shane, what the fuck?” said Terry. “You just can’t walk out on your business. You got clients booked all day!”

“FUCK THEM!” he snapped. Slipping on his leather jacket, Shane marched out the door.

The rest of the tattooists of Gargoyle Ink remained speechless. They could not believe their eyes. For the first time in ten years since the shop opened, their boss and owner Shane Axel had completely quit his business. As the artists looked at each other befuddled, Terry finally spoke up.

“Not to worry people,” he reassured his crew. “Shane in his normal fashion is blowing off steam. He’ll calm down and come back to the office. Right now I’m still your manager and I’m still in charge. Let’s just get through the day.”

And they did.



Later that evening.

Ten o’clock rolled around and Terry sent everyone home while Greta helped him close up shop. After counting the money and totaling up the day’s figures, they made a pretty nice profit despite the confrontation of Shane’s and Terry’s outbursts earlier. Greta and Terry began cleaning the equipment for the next day until Great decided to break the monotony by grilling him with questions.

“So what was the real deal that happened earlier today Terry?” she asked him. “I’ve never seen my brother so upset.”

“Oh that’s just Shane being Shane,” he replied.

“Get off it Terry,” she prodded. “There’s more to story here. We’re all friends so level with me. What is going on?”

Terry stared down at the counter as he sprayed and wiped repeatedly hoping to avert the question. Obviously, Greta Axel was not going to let up.

“Fine Greta,” he began. “The truth is I’m considering a job offer for a marketing position with a big time ad agency in New York. Shane found out about it and blew his lid.”

“You not seriously going to take it are you?” she asked.

“I don’t know Greta,” he responded. “It’s a lucrative offer with a high salary. Plus, it is what I went to school for. Besides, there is really nothing keeping me here.”

“Nothing keeping you here?” she clucked. “You ungrateful asshole! What about the friends you’ve got here. Me! Your tattooing crew! More importantly, you have Shane here!”

Terry looked up at her with surprise. Did she know? Of course, she did.

“Don’t try to play dumb with me Terry Raines!” she told him. “Like I didn’t know that you and my brother were screwing each other. Just come out of the closet already! Nobody cares!”

“For your information Miss Know-It-All I’ve been out of the closet since I was sixteen,” he corrected. “It’s your brother that doesn’t know where we stand or what he wants. He won’t share anything with me. A few hook ups and he ignores me. I deserve better Greta and I can’t wait around for something that probably will never happen.”

“Terry, you need to know something about me and my brother Shane,” said Greta. “We grew up in Utah in a religious Mormon town. Our father was a pastor and when my brother came out as a teenager, my father threw him out of the house. Shane somehow made his way to Los Angeles where he learned to rebel and become a tattoo artist. As soon as he became an adult, he opened up Gargoyle Ink where I helped him run the business. Because of our upbringing, Shane learned to be hard on the inside, bottling his feelings, and building a brick wall around him so he won’t get hurt. For years, I’ve seen him sacrifice potential relationships but with you it’s different. You’re that only person that has been able break down his barriers and get him to feel anything at all. You’re different Terry Raines. You’re special!”

“Oh come on,” laughed Terry. “I’m simply the prudish, dorky college student who needed a job to pay for grad school. Shane just needed someone with good business sense and organizational skills to help pull his struggling business out a hole. You guys gave me a hard time as the shop’s manager when Shane hired me, remember?”

“How can we forget?” giggled Greta. “You came in a suit and stuck out like a sore thumb among the rest of us tatted and pierced freaks. We had a pool of how long you were going to last. I had you in for a full half hour. Damn, I was going to buy some new Doc Martens with that money! The point is you stuck it out for four years, help turn this place around, and single handedly got my brother to smile again. My brother never smiles!”

“I think that is the acridine dye from the tattoo ink that is making him euphoric,” smirked Terry.

“Personally I prefer the naphthol derivatives,” she teased. “You get both a stimulant and depressant out of it. It’s like Red Bull and vodka. It gives you wings!”

They broke into a fit of laughter just as the door opened.

“Sorry buddy, we’re closed!” said Greta.

“FUCK OFF GRETA!” shouted the voice. “Take your ass home! I need to talk to Terry.”

At 6 feet, 200 pounds of tattooed muscle and a buzzed cut of sandy brown hair, Shane Axel towered over his employees. He did not look happy. Greta silently made a quick getaway before any other drama played out.


________________________________________________________________________


Shane said nothing as he locked the door as soon as Greta left and drew the blinds. Terry sat down in a chair behind the receptionist’s counter as he waited for a response from Shane. With not so much as a grunt, Terry got annoyed.

“Okay Shane, let’s have it out right here where no one is watching,” he told him. “You know you have a problem with me accepting that job in New York so you might as well come out as say it!”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” answered Shane. “I was being an ass. Look you’re the best manager my shop has ever had. I panicked a little. New York is a good opportunity for you. I can’t hold you back. It was selfish of me so I’m apologizing. I want to make it up to you.”

Shane said nothing more as he entered his office, returned with a large envelope carrying a wad of bills, and handed it to Terry.

“This should be the last of your pay for the rest of the week plus a little extra as a bonus,” said Shane. “I’ll take care of the rest your shifts until I can find a replacement for you because you might be too busy packing.” He turned his back to Terry and walked back into his office.

Surprised by his abruptness, Terry followed.

“Shane thank you,” said Terry. “This is quite…um generous.”

“Your welcome,” replied Shane. “You’ve earned it. Is there anything else?”

Nervously, Terry thought for a minute. “Yes, there is.”

“What?”

“Shane, I want…I want…a tattoo!”

Shane’s eyes widened in surprise. “Terry, are you sure? You know ink is permanent. Myself and everyone here knew what we were getting into when we had ours done. Tattoos stay with you forever. Are you still sure about this?”

“Positive,” said Terry. “You know I’ve always been the goody goody here since I was the only employee of yours who refused to have any body art done to him. It’ll be a memento of my time here at Gargoyle Ink. I want you to do it Shane. I’ll even pay you for it!”

“No Terry, you’ve done enough for me,” reassured Shane. “It’s on the house. Which one were you thinking and where you want it done?”

“A row of interlocking hearts on my back going down my spine to the curve of my ass,” he said with conviction.

“Terry!” exclaimed Shane. “That area is really sensitive to pain. I don’t think you can handle it.”

“That is why I am requesting you to do my tattoo,” said Terry. “You’ll be gentle. They’re will be less pain involved.”

“Fine,” griped Shane. “Get yourself ready!”




Terry laid himself face down on the ink bed. He stripped himself completely naked. He did not mind since he had been intimate with Shane before so his boss had seen him unclothed during their time together. His heart beat rapidly as he heard the vibrating noise of Shane preparing the tattoo needle.

“Just relax Terry,” whispered Shane in his ear. “I’m going to try to make this as comfortable for you as possible.” A sanitized cloth fell across his shoulder and back as he felt Shane’s rubber glove massage the back of his flesh. He could hear the closeness of the needle as his body tensed. He could sense it come closer to his skin. Then silence.

“I can’t,” said Shane.

“What?” asked a puzzled Terry slowly rising to his side. “What’s wrong Shane?”

“I won’t mark your skin Terry,” confessed Shane pushing the needle away. “I’m sorry but I can’t deface something that is already beautiful.”

“You do it all the time to our clients,” said Terry. “Why not me?”

“Because I don’t have feelings for them!” confessed Shane. “I only care about you!”

“You don’t want me to go, do you Shane?”

A tear welled up in Shane’s eye. “No it hurts too much inside. Terry, I can’t promise you anything or give you what you need but believe me when I say that I don’t want to lose you!”

“I believe you Shane,” replied Terry. “Now Shane, why don’t you show me how much you need me by making love to me. Not just a simple fuck like all those other time but honest to goodness love making session. I want to know what it like is to feel something with you for once.”

“Let’s see if I can oblige my client on this one,” teased Shane. He kicked off his shoes, socks, pants, and shirt just to lie next to Terry. Their mouths met as their tongues wrapped each other in their moist warmness. Arms interlocked, Terry’s hands pressed into Shane’s back as he massaged the intricate lines of ink that crisscrossed his lover’s spine. Shane moved his mouth to caress Terry’s neck as he heard him gasp just as a nibble was felt on the nape of Terry’s shoulder and Adam’s apple.

Both men knelt down in front of one another as Shane took Terry’s hand guiding him down the lines of his incredible body art. Each ripple of his finger stroked, massaged and rubbed against the ink covering and concealing every concave of Shane’s well developed chest and erected nipples. Terry kissed each dark trace of ink finding the small bumps around Shane’s areolas playfully sucking each nub before lowering his tongue down the deep grooves of his six pack abdomen, navel, and finally the nest of curls where Shane was standing at full attention.

Cupping one hand around his sack, Terry stroked Shane slowly listening to him moan as he playfully caressed each round orb into his mouth as Shane tried to hold back his pleasure. A small emission of pre-ejaculate released giving Terry the next cue to cover his mouth on Shane’s massive shaft tasting the saltiness of his seed and swallowing him whole. Terry lifted and lowered his head in rhythm as Shane happily obliged him by bucking his hips in the same melody as Terry played an erotic tune with his enormous girth.

Pleased with his lover’s attention to detail, Shane withdrew from Terry’s mouth and scrambled to the drawer counter’s looking for something.

“Lube and condoms fifth drawer on your right,” smiled Terry as he watched his lover rapidly grab the accoutrements of their love making.

“Thanks,” grinned a wicked Shane as he ripped the condom package spread on the lube. Squirting the transparent substance on his middle finger, he teased Terry’s opening with the tip of his finger before slowly inserting a moist finger within him. Terry marveled at his tightness as his felt another of Shane’s finger spreading him gently. Letting a soft moan, he unexpectedly grabbed Shane’s wrist as prepared for the final phase of their consummation.

“Terry, I don’t want to be so rough with you this time,” explained Shane. “Am I hurting you?”

“Shane, it’s okay,” purred Terry. “You’re not.”

Shane released his fingers from Terry, spreading his thighs wide and laying his legs across his shoulders. Finding that sacred place, he slowly entered Terry’s masculine folds. The tightness engulfed him as he felt pressure of his shaft being pleasured by Terry’s holy spot. Terry moaned in agreement in response to Shane plunging himself deep inside him causing him to curl his toes with each sensation. Both men grunted and groaned as the echoes of flesh colliding filled the room with an erotic atmosphere of sexual deviancy.

The rhythm continued and progressed as Terry and Shane looked at each other and smiled. Shane could not contain himself how beautiful his lover was and could not hold back any longer. Erupting in a gusher of masculinity, he climaxed filling his condom laced shaft with enough seed to rebuild the planet’s population. Terry did the same as he stroked his own shaft and emptied his own seed on to Shane’s thigh. Both men embraced once again as they let their lips and tongues intertwine to finalize their lovemaking bliss before drifting off to sleep.




Terry awoke the next morning still on the ink table as felt a tickle across his back. A strange aroma filled his nostrils as he stared at his lover holding a paint brush and a jar of red ink in his hand. Terry stared in the mirror and could see what appeared to be some intricate tribal lines that resemble interlocking hearts falling down his back.

“Shane, what are you doing?” giggled Terry.

“I’m finishing up the tattoo like you requested,” said Shane. “Temporary, of course. Henna ink. No pain and it washes off in a few days. I have to mark what is mine.”

“Wait, so you’re saying I’m your property now?” clucked Terry. “So you’re acknowledging the fact that we’re now together?”

“Absolutely babe,” smiled Shane. “I’m officially out of the closet. I’m sure we can work out the long distance thing if you take that job in New York.”

“Shane, I’m not taking the job!” replied Terry. “I’m game to stay here and make this work if you are! Besides Gargoyle Ink needs me especially when we have a temperamental owner and some employees who need some shaping up!”

“Absolutely babe,” answered Shane. “Whatever you want? But you do know you’ll be working some late…long…hard... nights with the boss, right?”




“It would be my pleasure to do make sure the job is done right,” teased Terry. “I love you Shane.”

“I love you Terry.”

They proved it to one another by sharing another passionate kiss. However, that quickly got interrupted when Greta walked in.

“Well it’s about fucking time!” she said. “So does that mean you guys are going to the whole gay marriage thing and adopt some kids from Africa?”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP GRETA!” screamed Shane.

END.