- Clay -

I stirred my straw around my iced latte, eyeing the sign in the shop window next to the weird ass gas-station-turned-coffee-house Emmett adored (I kind of did too), while he finished his second chocolate chip muffin. He looked adorable. It was kind of chilly today, so he was wearing a navy cardigan over a Taylor Swift Fearless tour t-shirt. He paid $147 for it on eBay last week, outbidding someone called t_swizzle13 at the last second. After he won the bid, we had very enthusiastic sex. I figured I could deal with sharing his love with Taylor if it got me that kind of action. I couldn't wait until Christmas, so I could finally give him the red, heart-shaped sunglasses I bought, identical to the ones Taylor wore in the "22" music video. He was going to freak out.

I leaned forward in my seat, folding my arms on the table. "If I wanted to do something kinda crazy, would you do it with me?"

Emmett glanced up. "I told you I'm not going bungee jumping with you. Flinging yourself off a bridge with a rubber band attached to your feet is not my idea of fun. I mean, what if it breaks? What if you bounce back up too high or the wind is too strong and you hit the bottom of the bridge?"

"You worry too much, baby. And that's not even what I'm talking about."

"Then what?"

I pointed to the shop I'd been staring at for the last ten minutes.

Emmett turned to look. He spun back, gripping the arms of his chair, his face a mask of shock. "You want a tattoo?"

"No." I squinted, tilting my head. "Well, yes, actually. I kinda do. But that's not what I'm talking about. I was actually thinking something a bit less permanent that won't give my parents a heart attack. Like maybe getting my ear pierced. You said you wanted one, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know you did, too."

"I didn't know I did either until you talked about it." I took a deep breath. "I've been sitting here staring at that sign, and I really want to do it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. And I thought we could do it together. For moral support."

Emmett's wariness quickly turned to excitement. "Really?"

"Uh-huh." I said, chewing on my straw. "What do you think?"

"I think, hell fucking yeah!"

In the lobby of the tattoo parlor, we examined the wall of pictures of the artists' past work. Emmett moved over to the glass case of piercings on display. I joined him, pressing against his back, wrapping my arms around his waist. I peered over his shoulder at the selection. Particularly the ear studs.

Emmett pointed to something-his nails were still red from homecoming last week. "What about those?"

"For you?" I asked.

"For you."

My eyes bugged out as I shook my head. "I'm not getting my nipples pierced."

Emmett grinned and leaned back into me. "I'm just fucking with you, love." Emmett put a hand on my head and pulled me closer to kiss my cheek.

A beautiful blue-haired woman in a cleavage-bearing tank top walked out from behind a curtain on the other side of the case. She gripped the edge of the countertop, leaning on it, her tattoo sleeves on full display, as well as the hawk inked across her chest. Her artwork was so detailed and intricate. I averted my gaze, worried she'd think I was staring at her boobs. If I were to get a tattoo, I'd want it done by whoever did hers, not that I would tell her that. I wasn't sure about the etiquette of tattoo artistry. She might take it as a slight against her skills.

"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 piercing gun, 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."