The mirror to my Sonny was Dex, who’d been in and out of the shop for days. Half the time, something was eating his butt cheek and he’d go into the shop and head directly into the office, leaving me to have to sneak in randomly to get my work done. On the occasion that he was in a good mood, he’d smiled at me exactly three times—and God, it was a smile—and once he touched my hand when he walked by.
Not that I was counting or anything.
My days off were spent driving around Austin. I visited the Capitol, walked down Sixth Street during the day, which completely turned me off almost immediately when some douche bag started following me around. Sonny took me to a swimming hole one Sunday. We visited Trip's apartment another day. We went to the movies together a few times. After my second paycheck, I signed up for the closest YMCA to the house—because I’d seen quite a bit of apartments close to Sonny for when I moved in the hopefully near future—and started spending a quarter of each day swimming and exercising there.
It was good. I was happy with my quiet, little life.
Including when I found myself back at Pins, with Slim asking me how long I’d been working with him.
“A month.”
He sounded out the words slowly. “I think you’ve been here long enough.”
This was suspicious. “For what?”
Slim grinned. “To break in that canvas, Iris.”
I'd thought about getting a tattoo nearly every day but I still hadn't talked myself into it. "But I don’t want to get one unless I’m sure I like what I’m getting.”
“Then get a piercing on the house. Me or Blue can do it.”
“Iris, you getting a tattoo?” Blake called out from his spot at his station, hunched over a customer's bare back.
I shot Slim a funny look. “No, but Slim’s trying to talk me into getting a piercing.”
“Do it,” he egged on.
A piercing. A piercing? Hmm. I could live with a piercing. It wasn’t permanent, and after seeing how many women and men came in to get various parts of their body pierced, it couldn’t have been that bad. Plus I couldn’t say I hadn’t gotten a little envious when I’d seen someone walk out feeling like a million bucks after spending time in the torture chamber. What was the worst that could happen? I'd take it out if I hated it?
Plus, needles and I were old friends. Not necessarily best friends, but I wasn't afraid of getting poked and prodded.
My facial expression must have given away my thoughts because the redhead started nodding. “C'mon,” Slim pressured.
“But where?” I looked down at my hands like there would be some magical map leading me to the best spot on my body to get violated with by a needle.
“Nose!” Blake called out. How the hell he still clearly heard our conversation from all the way over at his station with Mastodon playing was beyond me.
I shook my head, imagining myself with a nose piercing. While there was nothing wrong with it—there was nothing special or messed up with my nose—I couldn’t see myself with one. “Nah.”
“Your eyebrow?” Slim suggested.
I thought about it. “No. I’m not cool enough to pull it off. Or tough.” Just yesterday, I screamed when a flying roach made its way into the parlor.
The two guys, and possibly even the customer, laughed.
“Get your tongue pierced,” Blake threw out.
No. Hell no.
When I was seventeen, my best friend at the time snuck off and got his tongue pierced behind his parents’ backs. A week later, he had a knot the size of a golf ball in his mouth, and ended up unable to eat solid food for months. That thing was traumatizing, and I liked food too much to risk it.
“No. I like to eat, and that’ll make guys think I like to give hugs with my mouth, you know what I mean?” I stated, matter-of-factly.
“What the fuck?” someone asked from behind me. That someone specifically being Dex.
Kill me. Kill me now.
My face flamed up like a tomato when I turned around to see him smirking, holding a bottle of chocolate Nesquik in his hand. “Uhh… I meant—“
Dex burst out laughing. His head was tipped back and he was laughing his ass off, this deep, throaty sound that made me smile even though I felt like an idiot for what I’d said.
“I’m gonna have to use that one day,” Slim grinned, shaking his head. “Hey girl, wanna give me a hug with that sweet mouth?”
I groaned through my smirk. “Please don’t.”
Dex, who couldn't contain his laughter, focused in on me. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”