Chapter One
Indi:
I looked at the tasteful archway of the tattoo parlor with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I'd spent the better part of the past few months scouring social media, trying to find an artist that could tie together the styles I wanted for this tattoo--my first. I'd decided that it was time to reclaim my body, customizing it the way I wanted.
Maybe if I had enough beautiful art to look at instead, I would be able to look at my body without feeling waves of shame and disgust.
Eventually, I'd landed on Inkspire, owned and operated by TomΓ‘s Navarro. His greyscale hyperrealism was what had originally drawn my eye, but as I looked deeper into his portfolio, I'd become enraptured with the way he captured the depths of color in his tattooed gems.
After that, it was a matter of explaining my concept and getting a quoted price range.
Everything was set--all I had to do was cross the threshold, and I could begin.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself, before I do just that, silver bells jingling as I open the door.
"Welcome to Inkspired," the gorgeous Latine man behind the counter greeted me. "Indigo?"
I gave a little half wave, overwhelmed by his brilliant smile. "That's me!"
Internally, I cringed. Could I be any more awkward?
"TomΓ‘s," he said, stepping around the counter and striding to me with an outstretched hand.
I grabbed it, surprised by how rough the callouses on his palm felt against my academic's hands. A jolt of heat shot through me as I shook it, and I pulled my own back as quickly as I could.
"C'mon, let me show you the final design," he said, gesturing me towards the desk. He handed me a tablet and I couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
It was beautiful, and everything I had wanted. The raven's outstretched wings had feathers beautifully defined with deep blues and purples. Held in its feet was a black Lightning Ridge opal cabochon, brighter shades of blue, green, and purple--my favorite colors--flaring across the dark gem. Between the wings and the centerpiece, strings of smaller pear-shaped jewels of the same color draped in many levels.
It would sit so that the raven's wings went from shoulder to shoulder on me, the full tattoo taking up the majority of my sizeable chest, when all of the chandelier necklace's precious stones finished dripping down my cleavage.
I'd always been defined by the size of my breasts, them being the first thing to develop when I started puberty at nine. As a result, I had been constantly restricted with what clothes I'd been allowed to wear, and my chest size had been used as evidence that I was inherently sinful, a lure designed to lead otherwise upstanding men and boys into temptation.
It'd also been one of the few things I got compliments on, by those I'd attempted to date since reaching adulthood, so needless to say, I had a complicated relationship with my boobs. Who wouldn't?