It was a rough day at work for Rameka, she had several ornery customers and her employees at the tattoo shop had been in a state. She started to clean her ink machine and thought about the unpleasant conversation she’d have to have with her troublesome employees. She assumed Levi was more irritating today because of what had happened to his best pal. The thought of the injured elk had Ram’s mind drifting to another associate of the Spiked Tiger. As soon as thoughts of the grouchy bar owner surfaced she forced that train of thought to halt at the station. Rameka had found herself thinking about the tiger often, more often than she’d like to admit. The sound of claws clicking on the linoleum had Rameka looking towards the entrance of the small working room she was in. Her irritation level spiked when she saw Levi approaching, Ram braced herself for another round of bickering.
“Ay boss, you got a customer...or visitor...or somthin’.” Levi shrugged as he walked past, motioning in the direction of the store front. Curiosity made Ram’s ears twitch and she carefully set down the expensive machinery. When she poked her head around the door frame to sneak a peek at the ‘visitor’ she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
“Jezebel?” The lioness couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice as she greeted the dancer.
“Rameka, so good to see you again. And please, call me Beverly. Hardly anyone calls me Jezebel outside of the club.” Beverly tucked a loose strand of hair back into place. Ramkea had to refrain from rolling her eyes, the leopard was clearly uncomfortable in the tattoo parlor. She stood as if she had a rod attached to her spine and her movements were stiff and restricted.
“Mhm, so what brings you to my neck of the woods, hun?” Ram crossed her arms, trying to keep her expression relaxed even though she was on the defense.
“I’ve got a sort of….favor to ask,” At the look on Rameka’s face Beverly quickly added, “Oh don’t worry it won’t really cost you anything. I’m not looking for charity.”
“Ask away.” Rameka replied after a slight pause. Her curiosity getting the better of her despite her desire to remove the pompous feline from her shop.
“Well, I’m sure you’re aware that Yury’s birthday is coming up and I’d like to get him something nice. You know, for everything he’s done for me and all that. Trouble is the man is almost impossible to shop for, and I didn’t think I could top last years gift.” A small, triumphant smile graced Bev’s lips as she thought back to the pleased look on her friend’s face when he heard that the leopard had managed to wrap up negotiations with the Japanese smugglers to get some grade A sake for the club. A ripple of jealousy rushed through Rameka and her lip curled at the thought of the sultry dancer getting gifts for Yury.
“So what does that have to do with me?” Rameka pursed her lips as she regarded Beverly, wanting her to spit out what she was here for.
“Oh, right! I was hoping I could maybe pay for one or two of his future ink drawing things you do.” Bev had a wide smile on her face as she finished, waiting for Rameka’s opinion on the gift idea.
“Tattoos, they are called tattoos,” Rameka tried to quell her anger at the flippant dismissal of the work she did here, “Nevermind. Basically you want to make an advanced payment on a future tattoo?”
“Exactly! I hope it’s not too complicated.” Beverly stepped closer to the counter and placed the beaded purse on top fishing out a checkbook.
“Alright, well Yury’s tattoos are usually quite elaborate. How much are you willing to dish out for this?” Rameka was busy digging around under the counter for her finance books.
“Goodness, I don’t know. Let’s just say about a hundred*.” Beverly shrugged as she started to fill out the check, though she paused with the pen in midair when she heard the loud guffaw from under the counter. Rameka soon emerged with a large notebook in her hand and a shocked look on her face.
“A hundred dollars? One hundred American dollars?” Rameka slowly opened the book as she started at Beverly in disbelief.
“Yes, is that too low? I mean I guess I could go to five hundred...but that’s pushing it. I used most of my spending dough on a couple of new outfits for my new routine.” Beverly trailed off as she worked out her personal finances in her head.
“No, it’s just-” Before Rameka could assure her that a hundred dollars was more than enough to cover several dye and tattoo sessions Beverly had come up with a solution.
“Tell you what, if you can wait a few weeks before cashing this I should have enough. Is five hundred* enough to cover it? I’d like for him to get at least two or three.” The leopard waited for Rameka’s response, her hand poised over the blank check, waiting for the go ahead.
“Beverly, a hundred is fine, I was just surprised that you would spend that much on Yury.” The lioness muttered the last bit a bit bitterly as she filled out the certificate and receipt. The idea that Beverly would willing spend upwards of five hundred dollars on Rameka’s semi-serious suitor had her hackles rising in slight irritation.
“Oh, I know how this might look Rameka but I assure you that this is just a gesture of my gratitude and nothing more. Yury’s done a lot for me these past few years and he deserves this and much more. I’m not brushing up on your sheik*.” The wink Beverly added at the end of her sentence did nothing to extinguish the flames of jealousy that had erupted within the lioness. She ripped out the receipt and all but threw it at the dancer. The shocked noise that emerged from Beverly was followed by a flicker of anger.
“May I be frank?” Rameka didn’t wait for permission. “I’m no high hat*, but to me, when a woman spends exorbitant amounts of money on a fella chances are they’re more than friends. I’ve had plenty of friends in my time and I can assure you I’ve never spent a Benjamin on any one of them. Let alone five, Jezebel.” Ram enjoyed the way Beverly’s cheeks puffed out in anger, the leopard was struggling to keep her anger in check. Beverly’s good breeding prevented her from telling the lioness off so she just gathered her things and stalked towards the door. Only to turn around once she reached it to give one last fleeting comment.
“You know Rameka, if you weren’t such a mean old bird we might’ve been great friends!”
“Ish kabibble.*” That retort send Beverly into a state and with an angry huff she barged through the door, storming down the street. Rameka leaned against the counter and fussed with the feathers around her neck.
“Man you are quite the bearcat*.” Levi chuckled to himself as he walked toward the door, his backpack stuffed with his supplies slung across his back.
“Oh stuff it, kid.” Rameka brushed him off as she went about closing up the shop.
Rameka was half surprised when she saw Yury waiting for her outside her small townhouse. He had his usual grumpy expression on his face but with an added element of irritation that was reserved just for Rameka. As she walked up the steps to greet him she noticed the impatient posture of the tiger, and knew she was in for a reprimanding. Damn, she's a quick snitch. Rameka thought to herself while she unlocked the door, as soon as she stepped through the threshold Yury started.
“Why? Why do you have to be so rude?” He was already running his fingers through the thick fur on his head.
“Oh please, I was more than pleasant with that Mrs. Grundy*.” Rameka rummaged through her small refrigerator, fishing out a soda bottle.
“No. No, you implied that she was some type of harlot.” Yury’s arms waved about wildly as he griped at the impassive lioness.
“Well, technically she’d be a sort of mistress or madame. Which would make you the harlot.” The angry snarl that left Yury’s mouth at the suggestion had Rameka fighting down a snicker. She watched with a placid look on her face as the achromatic tiger paced back and forth in front of her.
“You’re impossible. Why is it so hard for you to play nice, huh?” Yury stopped to stare at the difficult lioness before him.
“How was I supposed to react to some ritzy woman that I hardly know waltzing into my shop, throwing money at my guy?” Rameka set the soda bottle down on the formica kitchen table and crossed her arms. The two felines started each other down for a few seconds before Yury folded, he reached out to grab the lioness and pulled her into a tight hug. He rested his chin on the top of her head and rubbed small circles on her back.
“You should know now that ‘ritzy’ isn’t my type.” The chuckle that Rameka gave had Yury’s lips tugging into a small smile that he quickly forced down. The pair stood for a while like that, Rameka listening to the steady heartbeat of her sotic lover and Yury breathing in the unique scent of the lioness. Rameka was the first to pull away, and she regarded Yury with a hard look in her eyes.
“I’m not apologizing.” She said firmly, silently daring him to challenge her on this.
“I assumed as much.” Yury couldn’t stop the lopsided smile that emerged at the characteristic response from Rameka. With a small sigh he pulled her towards the bedroom. It had been a long day for Yury and he was sure Rameka didn’t fare any better, now he just wanted to turn in and get a goodnight’s sleep.
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Just for clarification, Yury does indeed have a pretty thick Russian accent but I've decided not to 'write' his accent (like a do with Evelyn) because writing characters' different accents is a bit much. So when you are reading these just slap on a Russian accent for Yury. <3
*:
1. $100 in the 20's would be worth about $1500 today with inflation. $500 is about six grand.
2. Sheik is slang for boyfriend
3. High hat= snob
4. Ish kabibble= "I should care" kind of an off hand remark as if to say 'Who cares?'
5. Bearcat= I feisty, firecraker of a woman
6. Mrs. Grundy= an person with old fashioned values, a prude.