I let Piper hold my hand. I’ve been in kind of a fog for the last few months, dealing with the funeral and then losing my mind about my father and hopping on a bus to Chicago, leaving my old sedan and everything else behind because I don’t even know how to park in this city. But seeing my old friend grounds me, and when she squeezes my fingers, some of that fog lifts.
“That is kind of intense, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she says, likeduh, and we both laugh.
“The tattoo artist, Caesar, doesn’t talk much, and I didn’t know how else to get more time with him,” I admit. “So now I guess I’m getting some ink? I just need to find out more while I have the chance.”
“Why doesn’t he talk much?”
“Because he’s too busy grunting?” Piper wrinkles her nose, confused. “I don’t know.” I laugh. “He’s like this super tall old guy with silver hair and a million tattoos. He’s apparently some kind of famous tattoo artist, and I guess he doesn’t even see new clients usually.”
“If you’re going to get a tattoo you don’t really want, at least it’s going to be a good one?”
“I guess.” I sigh. “He told me my dad was kind of an asshole.”
“Ouch. That’s probably not fun to hear.”
“Anyway.” I stab some lettuce with my fork. “I’ll be around for a little bit, is the point.”
“Then we can hang out,” Piper says. “You can meet my girlfriend and come by the bookstore. It will be fun.” She lifts her sandwich again. “Are you in a hurry to get back to Indiana? Someone else must be running the stationary shop.”
“Mom has had the same two employees forever. They run the place fine without me. I should get back, though. I still have responsibilities.”
I hesitate. Do I still have responsibilities? I got the house and the business in order after the memorial service. But I’m so used to thinking about the million things I need to do. It’s hard to relax, even so far away.
“Are you going to keep running the stationary shop?” she asks me.
“I feel like I should,” I admit. The fog from earlier, the confusion I’ve been swimming through, comes rolling back. “I guess I’m still figuring out my new plan.”
“Right,” Piper nods. “My duty is clear, then.”
“Your duty?”
She points her fork at me. “You need to have fun. I’m thinking maybe we can hit up one of those arcades with a bar in it to start. And what’s your dating life like? You looking for a little casual fun?”
I laugh. “Piper, sadly, my awkwardness with dating hasn’t changed over the years.”
“A week isn’t a terribly long time, but we’ll see what we can do,” she mutters to herself, then takes a big bite of her sandwich.
“Oh god. This is going to be like when you made it your personal mission to get me a date freshman year, isn’t it?”
Piper chews her sandwich as she shrugs.
I lean back in the booth. It probably wouldn’t be the worst thing, if I actually went on a date for once. But of course, the second I see the gears spinning in my friend’s brain, I know that she’s thinking through single friends, geeky guys my age with appropriately matched interests.
Meanwhile, sitting across from her, all my thoughts circle back to Caesar. The way he smells, the way he moves, the boxy cut of his jaw and bold silver line of his brow. His memory stirs something in me, and I let out a shaky breath.
“I’ll consider letting you set me up,” I say, “but any chance you’re free this afternoon? I’d love to check out that arcade you mentioned first.”
CHAPTERFOUR
CAESAR
“An arcade game, huh?”
Drew stands across from me. We’re back in my room at Blade, both looking over the design he sent in, which I’ve mocked up into some stencils.
From the second he walked in, I’ve been nothing but professional. I’m doing him this favor because my gut says it’s the right thing to do. Mack treated the both of us like shit, left us for nothing, but I can do better. I can treat this kid right and look after him the only way I really know how, by making sure he’s got some beautiful ink.
