“BadBoy Needles,” I said, reading the screen. I started scrolling through the photos, all of LGBT people who dressed like Mars and Rip and all with stunning tattoos and piercings. “Is this your work?”
“Damn straight,” he said, taking the phone back. “And I’m getting tons of attention. Turns out people really like my style here in Seattle.” He cocked his arms back against the table. “It’s not like I’m rich and famous, but I’ve already gotten enough clients to put a little change in my pocket.”
“Cool,” I said, sincerely impressed. “Very entrepreneurial.”
“You want a little nose ring or something?” he asked. “I got the equipment.”
I laughed, then held my hands in the air. “No thanks,” I said. “I’ll be exploring the galaxy without any holes in my head.”
“Missing out,” he joked and flicked his silver earring with his thumb.
“Should we head into the movies?” I asked. “We’ll want to get good seats. I was thinkingFifth Elementfor the opening film, and then maybeArrivalnext? The visuals of that one should look amazing on the big screen.” I stopped, then reached out and grabbed Mars’s arm. “Oh my god, I just realized something.”
“What?”
“You’ve never seen any of these movies, Mars.”
“Yeah, so?” he asked.
I took a deep breath. “Thank god there’s some time off between each showing. We’re going to have a lot to discuss.”
We stood up to head into the theater, and I felt suddenly light in a way that I hadn’t in days. The movies would be a low stress and low commitment way to hang out, and honestly, I’d been feeling disappointed all week that Mars wouldn’t be there to watch them with me.
“Just one thing,” Mars said, pausing at the bench.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I swear I won’t bring it up again,” he said, “but I just need to say, if there’s any part of you that might consider hearing an apology from Rip…”
“I really don’t think so,” I answered quickly.
“I just know it would mean a lot to him,” Mars answered. “He’s had some really rough periods in his life, and he’s taking this whole thing with you out on himself. I know you’re not in a place to think about what he needs, but I just had to say it once more.” He paused, then nodded to himself. “He’s a good guy, if you ever want to know him.”
I adjusted my glasses, then pulled my jacket tighter, suddenly aware of the chill all over again. The way Mars was staring at me with big wide eyes, I almost wanted to believe him.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go get some popcorn.”
