Addison
"It looks pretty sick, don't you think?"
Back at my house, I smirked at him as he stood in front of the mirror with his tongue hanging out while he admired his newest piercing.
Nodding, I swept my gaze over him. Shrouded in black skinny jeans, a faded tee, and a studded belt with a chain, he was not the type that usually raised my temperature and yet...sick was not the adjective I would have chosen to describe the piece of metal fastened to his tongue.
Sexy is more like it. Raising my gaze towards the ceiling, I sighed. Good Lord, what is this man doing to me?
The answer was obvious. Things that I didn't like. But still, I couldn't stop the inappropriate thoughts from bursting through my mind as though they were water breaking through a dam.
What would it be like to kiss him with that thing? Would I be able to feel it on other parts of my body? I shivered at the imagined sensations.
Stop it, Addison, I scolded myself. He's Vanessa's boyfriend. It doesn't matter how gorgeous he is, how much he makes you laugh, or how dangerous he is...
My sights wandered back onto him as he ran his fingers through his hair, tousling the strands back into place. Then sensing that he was being watched, he glanced over at me, a perplexed smirk on his face.
"What? Why are you staring?" He questioned. "I know that's never a good thing."
I shook my head, jumbling my thoughts so that they couldn't spell out in glaring red letters how very off-limits he was. "Nothing," I lied.
"You think my piercing is ridiculous, don't you?" He pressed, stepping away from his reflection and sinking into the sofa cushions.
I held up my palms. "I said no such thing but since you're asking, I would have personally voted on you getting your navel done instead," I teased.
He tossed his head back in laughter. "I somehow don't think that a frilly bundle of charms would match my Grim Reaper aesthetic."
I let my sights travel over him once more. I couldn't argue with him there. But then again, I never would have imagined that he would have meshed with my vibe either. Tattoos, piercings, and leather used to be enough to leave me tsking and shaking my head before returning my lustful stares back to the men jogging up and down the basketball court in tight little shorts.
But somehow, it had slowly morphed into being the only thing that revved my libido.
And it had to stop.
Matt glanced at me as he slipped his phone from his pocket and video called his girlfriend. "Do you think Vanessa is going to have the same sentiments?"
I shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
He nodded while waiting for her to pick up. After several rings, she finally answered. "Hey, Matt," she greeted, her affect flat. "What's going on?"
He beamed at her. "Addie and I did a thing tonight."
She pressed her lips into a firm line, the vein in her forehead suddenly popping out.
"Not that," I quickly corrected, raising my shirt just enough so that she could catch a glimpse of my navel. "I pierced my bell button!" I exclaimed, flicking the dangle of stars attached to the ring.
Matt laughed. "Yea, and she only slightly fractured my hand in the process. I'm just glad that I didn't let her squeeze my dominant one."
Vanessa smiled tightly as she arched a brow. "You held her hand?"
His cheeks instantly colored. "I...uh..." he stuttered.
"Matt got a tattoo!" I burst out, squirming at the awkward tension that was building up between the two of them.
I nudged him in the ribcage with my elbow. "Show her."
He tilted the camera down and pushed the waistband of his jeans down so that she could see the fresh ink on his hip bone. The surrounding skin was still red from the needle, and he winced slightly as his fingers brushed against it.
Vanessa widened her eyes. "Ouch! That looks painful."
I grinned, grabbing the cell from Matt's hand. "You should have been there, Vanessa. Matt nearly cried."
He shot me a nasty glare. "I did not! The needle was hitting my bone, causing my eyes to water just a tad."
"Call it what you want, Matt. Either way, you expelled liquid from your eyes." I turned my attention back towards my friend who was drumming the surface of her desk with her fingertips, a pissed expression on her face.
"He did something else too," I added, dropping my voice to a whisper. "I think you're going to appreciate this one."
Matt stuck his tongue out at her, his eyes twinkling as he showed off his piercing. He was so ecstatic about what he had done that it was hard not to find it adorable.
But Vanessa was quick to kill his enthusiasm. Her face suddenly dropped as she studied him with a crinkle of her nose. "Why would you do that to yourself? What possessed you to make you believe that was a good idea?"
Matt's smile wavered but he did his best to play it off as though her disapproval hadn't stung. "You're right. It's silly," he replied, the gleam leaving his eyes. "I can take it out."
Rage instantly bubbled up in my chest towards my best friend and I clenched my fists, no feeling particularly fond of her at the moment. God, what a condescending bitch. He most certainly will not remove it. What's her issue anyway? Is it her personal mission in life to rip away any shred of joy from him that she can.
I refused to sit idly by and let her slam him in that manner. So, even if it came back to haunt me, I wouldn't tolerate him being made to feel bad over something that had obviously excited him.
I cleared my throat. "Well, I beg to differ. I think the piercing is totally hot on you, Matt. I might have to fracture more of your fingers if you even dare try to get rid of it."
Vanessa slid her gaze over to me, a frown on her lips." I bet you do," she remarked softly.
I furrowed my brows at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She shrugged. "Nothing. You two have fun." With that, she exited out of the call, leaving the both of us staring at a blackened screen.
"To hell with her opinions," I scoffed. "I say, why stop at your tongue? Let's do your eyebrow next."
Matt gave me a weak smile. "It's on the list," he muttered, glumly.
Wrapping one arm around his shoulders, I gave him a squeeze. "That's the spirit. Now, do you know what will cheer you up?"
He groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "If you suggest that pink glitter mask again, I'm going home."
I waved him off, standing up and disappearing into the bathroom. "No, Matthew," I replied with mock exasperation as I re-emerged. "It's not a pink glitter mask."
"Okay, great," he answered, breathing a sigh of relief.
With a beaming smile, I held up a small white container. "It's a black glitter one! You're favorite color."
He hopped up. "Yup. I'm leaving. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"But this one cleanses your pores," I protested, blocking his path, and pointing to the labelling on the jar. "And we all know how impure you are."
"Goodbye," he retorted, holding up one hand and wiggling his fingers.
"You've got a blemish coming in," I argued, jabbing him in the chin with my nail. "This will take care of it within two hours."
Gasping, he studied himself in the mirror, turning his cheeks from side to side. I held out the container to him and he reluctantly snatched it from my hand. "Fine, but if you blab to anybody about this, you're dead."
Squealing, I opened the lid and dipped a silicone brush into the face mask and began painting his face with it. Our eyes met as I trailed the tool over his cheekbones. His irises resembled liquid silver and I realized that I had never seen a color so beautiful. I took in a shaky breath.
"Glitter definitely suits you," I remarked with a playful smirk.
"Why do I let you talk me into these hare-brained schemes of yours?" He grumbled. "Any situation that involves you and me, always winds up being a bad one."
As I dragged the brush across the sharp lines of his jaw and around his full lips, I scoffed to myself.
You have no idea.