' ICE CREAM AND CIGARETTES ' - vinnie hacker

1; don't worry, peach

"i'm nervous..."

"bitch, of what? the sun?"

i let out a short laugh and rolled my eyes, "no! what if that-that guy sees me, the one from the balcony!"

"jesus christ," she groaned, "reese, it's been almost two weeks since that even happened. if you haven't seen him by now, do you really think today will be the lucky day?"

"uhm, yes! time doesn't change anything. what if some guy rolls down his window while we're at the red light and is like, 'hey, you don't know me, but didn't i see your tits a few days ago?'." i debated, which made imani let out another groan.

i told imani about the guy who saw me on the balcony the day it happened, and i've reminded her of it almost everyday since. she constantly reassures me that it's not something to obsess over and that we probably won't see each other again, but i'm still very conscious. even if we hadn't seen each other before then, we're still neighbors, and there's still a chance of him seeing me in the hall or something.

"reese's cup-"

"i hate when you call me that, you know i hate when you call me that-"

"this isn't about that, stay on topic. listen, we love each other. you're my best friend. i'd do anything for you. if you see anyone who you think potentially could be random-white-tattoo-boy, i promise we'll leave right away, and if someone says anything to you i'll beat their ass. okay?"

i sighed and smiled, "you promise? cause..."

she smiled back at me, "of course i promise."

《◇》

"i've never been in a tattoo parlor before, does it always smell like this?" i scrunched up my nose as we walked in, the place smelling like cigarettes, and something similar to strawberries. maybe ice cream, but who the hell would be eating ice cream in a place like this?

"only the cool ones." imani just shrugged, and caught the attention of the man behind the counter as we became closer to it, "hello! my friend here needs to get a tattoo, and we ain't have time to schedule an appointment, what's the next available time?"

the guy nodded at her words. "uh, hold on," he looked at his phone and clicked on it a few times before holding it up to his ear, i'm assuming to call someone. "hey, your break almost over?" he continued his conversation over the phone, and i observed his appearance as he did so.

he had medium-lengthed brown hair, pretty eyes, and a septum piercing. i couldn't see any tattoos on him from where i was standing, which is interesting since it's his profession, but he still definitely fit the job. you could tell he was more of an edgy person, just from his vibe.

"alright, thanks v, bye." he hung up and looked back at us. "my manger is about to get off his break, he said he'll be ready to do whatever you want in just a few. make sure you have a reference ready!" he gave us a kind smile and we thanked him before moving over to the side.

"this is so dumb." i mumbled, even though i am the tiniest bit thrilled, as i pulled up a picture of a peach on my phone. "oh come on, i have the same thing on my arm!" imani reassured me, but i could hear the amusement in her voice. she was definitely getting a kick out of this, just as she did with every other irresponsible thing she somehow roped me into.