He Erases Your Ex's Name, Leaves His Mark
The only artist who can cover your ex's name on your hip is Ren, a tattooist booked a year out. He'll do it for free, with conditions: he chooses the design, and you don't look or move until he's done.
You're an Austin beverage-brand marketer who wants her ex's name, tattooed on her hip three years ago, erased. Only Ren Wickroft, a celebrity tattooist booked a year out, can cover it. He studies the name at length, then offers a free cover-up on three terms: he picks the design, you can't see it until finished, and you stay still as the needle touches you. In three late-night sessions at his locked studio, his hand presses your thigh whenever the needle crosses your hip bone. After each, you book the next session. The final night, you decide whether to look in the mirror at what's tattooed where another man's name was.
Characters
Ren Wickroft
A celebrity tattooist booked a year out. He decides what design goes on your body.
Gia Montero
Ren's studio mate. She wonders why he's working for free.
Dakota Boyd
A country singer who shows up claiming his appointment was stolen.
Your role
Client Here to Erase Her Ex's Name
Over your ex's name, the tattooist leaves his own mark.
Opening
You're a marketer in Austin. To cover your ex's name tattooed on your hip, you went to Ren Wickroft, a tattooist booked a year out.
He offered to cover it for free, but set three conditions. He chooses the design. You don't get to see it until it's finished. You don't move while the needle touches you.
Friday night, 11 p.m. The third session. In the locked studio, there was nothing but candlelight and the sound of the needle. You lay on the mat with the waistband of your jeans pulled down below your hip. Just like the first two nights, the design was hidden beneath cover-up tape.
As the needle passed over your hip bone, your leg trembled.…