Karen looked at Mina like she’d sprouted a set of antlers. “Boring? Seriously? Mina, you’re one of the most beautiful and interesting people I know.”
Mina rolled her eyes. “You have to say that. You’re my best friend.”
But it was too late. Her green eyes glinting dangerously, Karen had already settled a hand on either of Mina’s arms. “This is for your own good.”
A spike of alarm pierced Mina’s annoyance. “What?”
Karen began steering her toward the door. Mina tried to resist, but the soles of her shoes slid effortlessly over the smooth floor tiles, unable to gain traction. The door was perilously close. “Karen! Listen, you don’t understand. Eric already asked me on a date and I—”
Karen pushed the door wide open, ending their private conversation.
“…blew it,” Mina finished under her breath. She leaned in close to whisper in Karen’s ear as they made their way toward the table. “I am never going to pose for you again.”
Karen ignored her, settling down in front of her salad with a cheery grin. “Did we miss anything exciting?”
Jess piped up with a smile. “Eric thinks I could be a professional tattoo designer if I wanted to.”
Karen shot Mina a questioning look and she shrugged, smiling as she settled into her chair, greeted by the tempting aroma of her still-warm entrée. “I bet you could, Jess.”
“I hope you don’t mind me telling her that,” Eric said.
“Not at all,” Mina replied, taking a sip of her iced tea. “She definitely has a talent for it.”
Eric smiled ruefully. “Yeah, well, it’s not exactly the career most people would choose for their kids. I’m sure your parents would rather she went to college.”
That was hardly the case, but Mina let his assumption pass without comment. She wasn’t about to crash the light-hearted dinner with a sudden revelation of her and Jess’s depressing childhoods. She would have liked to let him know that she was Jess’s guardian, since he apparently didn’t realize that, but Jess was already chattering enthusiastically.
“I am going to go to college,” she informed Eric, “art school.” Mina and Karen had already heard all about Jess’s college hopes a hundred times, but Eric was a fresh target. She gave him the briefest rundown of her carefully laid plans that Mina had ever heard, but she was still breathless by the time she finished.
“That sounds like a great plan,” Eric said. “I wanted to go to art school too when I was your age.”
“But you never did?” Jess asked.
He shook his head. “Nah. Life got in the way too fast for me, and before I knew it I was tattooing. I’m sure you’ll get there though.”
The afternoon stretched on, and they all lingered after lunch, with Jess and Karen doing most of the talking. Mina didn’t mind letting them dominate the conversation. Talking a mile a minute just didn’t come naturally to her. Eric seemed content to listen too. Mina watched him quietly, waiting for him to look toward the door or pull out his cell phone and glance at the time. He never did, just sat there looking as if he were genuinely enjoying himself. He was a nice guy. Maybe too nice for his own good. If Mina didn’t intervene, Jess and Karen would talk his ears off. “Come on, Jess. We’d better get going if I’m going to help you with that research paper.”
Jess frowned and cast a glance down at her plate. It was empty of fries, which left her with no excuse to stall. “All right.” Her tone held all the enthusiasm that could be expected of a teenager agreeing to leave someplace fun to do homework.
“Tell you what – we’ll order your dress today,” Mina added.
Jess’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of her homecoming gown. “Really?”
Mina nodded. Karen had given her a check from Hot Ink for her modeling, and the payment combined with what she’d managed to save was just enough to buy the gown.
“I have to go too,” Karen announced. “I want to get a little rest before I have to come back here to work tonight. Come on Jess, I’ll help you into Mina’s car.”
Before Mina could object they were gone, leaving her alone with Eric as she hurried to don her jacket. When she’d finally done up every last button and couldn’t think of any other ways to procrastinate without being rude, she turned to him. “This was fun.” At least, it had been for her, but maybe that was just a mark of her lackluster social life. He’d probably been bored to death listening Karen and Jess, though he’d managed not to show it.