He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 81 - Crazy

"What can I do for you fellas?" She had an accent, but it was definitely not Southern. I suspected somewhere in New England. I wondered why anyone would choose to move here. Maybe she'd followed her love, as I was planning to follow mine to New York next year.

"We want piercings." Emmett said.

"What kind?" she asked.

Emmett pointed at me. "He wants his ear done." The woman nodded. "I want a nose ring."

"You got ID?" She raised a brow adorned with two rings. "You gotta be eighteen, or have a parent's permission."

Emmett and I both produced our fake IDs. She scrutinized the cards and looked up at us, pursing her lips. "Okay." She handed them back and pointed at me. "You first."

She sauntered over to a hall at the back of the lobby and turned to wait for me.

When I pulled away from Emmett, I suddenly felt nerves creeping in. My brain was asking me if this was a good idea. It could get infected. It was definitely going to hurt.

"Can he come with me?" I asked.

Her bored demeanor melted into a warm expression. "Sure."

I grabbed Emmett's hand for a dose of bravery, dragging him along. There were four curtained off areas in the hallway. A tattoo gun buzzed behind one curtain, accompanied by an occasional muffled whimper.

I sat in the chair the woman gestured to. Emmett stood beside me, keeping a firm grip on my hand despite the clamminess of my palms.

"Gold or titanium?" She held up two studs.

I pointed at the titanium. I wasn't a big fan of gold.

The woman nodded. "Right or left?"

I looked at Emmett for his opinion. Emmett shrugged. "It's your head, love."

I looked back at the woman. "Can you do both?"

"Sure. But which one do you want to start with, just in case?"

I shrugged. "The right, I guess. I dunno." She was already on that side, so it made sense.

After wiping my earlobe with an alcohol swab, she marked the spot. As she raised the needle, I shut my eyes tight, squeezing Emmett's hand in anticipation for the pain. I felt a small prick, no worse than a bee sting.

I opened my eyes. "Is that it?" I'd built it up so much in my mind, sure it would be terrible.

The tattooed woman grinned at me. "That's it. Now, the other side." She glanced at Emmett. "Can you switch with me?"

Emmett moved around to hold my other hand while she repeated the process on my left ear.

"You look so hot." Emmett said.

"Your turn." she told Emmett. We switched places, me taking hold of his hand now.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this." Emmett said. "I never thought I'd-" Emmett screeched when the woman pierced his nose. "Fuck me!"

I laughed and leaned down to press my lips to his temple. "You okay, baby?"

Emmett wiped away the single tear that rolled down his cheek. He blew out a breath. "I'm good."

We followed the woman back to the front room to pay. I was about to hand my credit card over when Emmett grabbed my wrist. He pulled out his wallet and handed her cash. "This one's my treat, Sam."

"What?" It took me a moment to remember that we used our fake IDs for this, so I couldn't use a credit card with my real name. "Thanks."

Samuel Highgarden was my alias. 22, from Georgia. The guy who sold it to me asked me where I wanted to be from. I suspected no one who heard my accent would believe I was from anywhere above the Mason-Dixon Line. Which turned out to be a smart idea. Tyler wanted to be from Hawaii, and his ID got confiscated two days after he bought it.

The woman gave us each a slip of paper on how to take care of our piercings until they healed. "Have a great one, guys." She leaned forward, locking eyes with me. "And we'll be here if you change your mind about those nipple rings."

My mouth fell open, my face growing hot. She'd obviously overheard our earlier conversation. Emmett burst out laughing and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, baby."

Emmett steered me to the door. Outside, he gripped my chin and turned my head one way, then the other. "You look really hot with earrings."

He said that already, but I appreciated it just as much the second time.

"I kinda love this." I pointed at Emmett's nose. "It's very cute."

"You could get one, too."

I shook my head. "I think I'm stopping with the ears. I already got one more than I planned to."

"So, what do you wanna do now?"

I took hold of his hand. "Let's just walk around for a little while. Enjoy the day."

Emmett nodded. "I'm good with that."