"Oh my gosh," Bella Kennedy squealed and giggled, as she and Dani stepped through the door to the tattoo parlor. "I can't believe we're going to do this! My boyfriend is gonna kill me."
Dani just smiled and squeezed her arm. She knew that giggle. She knew it meant that Bella was hers for the rest of the night, absolutely and unconditionally. It didn't matter that she had a boyfriend, and it didn't matter what Dani wanted her to do.
That feeling was such a rush.
It helped that all of them were tipsy. Dani, Bella, and a couple of crew members had just left a wrap party for a movie, where the drinks had been flowing freely. The whole experience had left Dani in an incredible mood. Just knowing that she was going to be in a movie was wonderful. This was what she'd come to Hollywood for. It wasn't a huge part or a huge movie, but still. Grace apparently knew some of the people involved in its production, and had worked her magic to get Dani involved. Thanks to her - plus Dani's new brand as an out-and-proud lesbian icon - her fame was only rising.
The movie's lead, Bella Kennedy, was the real star, though. She was straight off of the Disney channel, which meant she was young, naive, and dizzyingly famous. The twenty-year-old had quickly gravitated towards Dani on set, and Dani's instincts told her that whether Bella had admitted it to herself or not, she was attracted to her. Right now, when she was giddy and drunk and her high-school boyfriend was a thousand miles away, Dani was sure they were going to end up in each other's arms.
But not before they both got some fresh ink.
It had been Grace's idea. She wasn't with them, but she'd floated the idea of getting tattoos as a group to celebrate the end of filming. Dani had jumped at the excuse to get another one. She'd fallen in love with inking her body - both the end goal and the process. She loved what getting tattoos symbolized, and the needle made her very, very hot. Two of the crew members, both women and both friends of Grace, had taken Dani up on the offer, and after a little persuasion, they'd managed to get Bella to overcome her hesitation. She was a tattoo virgin, which made Dani all the more excited.
Dani quickly spoke with the tattoo artist to make sure that she could be discreet about their presence. No worries there. As it turned out, she was an admirer - and yet another friend of Grace. Dani's assistant seemed to know everyone in Hollywood. The tattooist even offered them all drinks while she prepped her gear.
"So, um... what does it feel like?" Bella asked earnestly as Dani settled down into one of the chairs. Bella followed suit, sitting as close to Dani as she could. "Does it hurt?"
Dani laughed easily. "Don't worry, babe," she replied. "You're a big girl, you can handle it. It's not so bad."
Bella nodded. The way she was hanging on Dani's every word was intoxicating. "How many tattoos do you have, Dani?"
"A few," Dani smirked. She stretched, pausing to allow Bella's curiosity to grow. It was funny; a few months ago, Dani had never so much as considered getting any tattoos. Now, every few weeks she found herself itching to go back under the needle. "Wanna see?"
Bella's eyes turned as big as moons. "Yeah."
Dani shrugged out of the dark velvet jacket she was wearing, and then pulled her white, low-cut tank top off over her head. She winked at Bella when she saw the younger woman staring at her sports bra. Bella turned bright red.
"You've probably already seen this one." Dani turned her right shoulder towards Bella. Adorning it was a simple, black tattoo that had quickly become Dani's trademark: a pair of interlocking Venus symbols. It had been featured heavily on the magazine cover that broke the story of Dani's second coming out as a lesbian. "Like it?"
"Yeah." Bella's mouth sounded dry. She was still blushing. "Absolutely."
Dani heard a few giggles and appreciative coos from across the room. Grace's friends were both watching, sipping from the margaritas their host had brought them as they did. Dani flashed them a winning smile. She loved it when women looked at her.
"Then there's this one." Dani turned her back to them and reached back to pull her hair out of the way. "I don't get to show it off quite as much. You might have to get a little closer."
Bella nodded eagerly and followed her suggestion, leaning in to peer at the labrys symbol tattooed on the back of Dani's neck. This one was striped in the colors of the lesbian flag.
"It's a classic," Dani commented. "Some would say old-fashioned. But I'm a fan. I love how raw it is, you know?"
"It's really cool," Bella murmured. She seemed all but entranced.
"You might have noticed these on set," Dani continued, turning back around. She offered her hand towards Bella. Running over the back of her hand and down her fingers were a series of identical teardrops. There was a couple of dozen, and Dani added at least one more almost every week.
"Yeah," Bella replied. "On your knuckles like that... that must have hurt, right?"
"Oh yeah. Those hurt." Dani was grinning at the memory. "But pain is just another experience, babygirl. If you try, you can learn how to enjoy it right."
A lurid, curious light flickered in Bella's eyes. "And, um, I was wondering actually, what do they mean? Why so many?"
"I just like keeping score. It's one for each girl."
"One for each girl what?" Bella looked up and saw the look on Dani's face. "O-oh!"
"Yeah." Dani let her squirm for a moment before moving on. "Finally, there's my most recent ink. It's my favorite. I have to keep it covered under makeup on set though, which sucks. I guess it's a little... conspicuous."
Dani raised her hand to draw attention to her chest, and to the symbol she'd had tattooed above her heart. She was incredibly proud of it. It was, in the words of the artist, the closest thing to pornographic she'd ever inked that was completely innocent. The tattoo was of a grapefruit, cut open and with a couple of segments removed. It was carefully angled and shaped so that the remaining portions of the fruit formed a pair of curved, opposing, distinctly-evocative lips, both of which were brimming with sweet juice that dripped down over Dani's skin. Her other tattoos were pretty abstract, but this one was ultra-realistic and incredibly detailed. She'd wanted to make sure anyone who saw it would be able to imagine sinking their tongue into the fruit's sweetness.
"Do I have to tell you what this one is meant to be?" Dani asked, prompting giggles from the back of the room.
Bella went bright red. "N-no." She shivered. Her lips twitched, like she was on the cusp of saying something. Once she did, Dani knew she had her. "I've... I've always wondered what it feels like. With... you know."
She gestured to her own mouth.
Dani could barely contain her glee, but she managed to feign innocence. "What do you mean? I thought you had a boyfriend."
"Oh... yeah, I do." Dani didn't miss the disappointment that flickered over Bella's face. "But, um. He doesn't do that."
"Why not?"
"He just..." Bella shrugged, helpless. "He just doesn't."
"Did you ask him to?" Dani asked.
"He didn't want to," Bella confessed. "And, I mean, I shouldn't push him, right? Cause it's a sex thing. Consent and comfort and all that."
"Well, sure," Dani agreed sympathetically. "But do you do that for him?"
