Tek’s eyes go glossy and I can see the bright lights of the DJ booth reflected in them.
It was a hellish four months of recovering, but it didn’t stop Tek sitting across from me, dick out, as he jerked off at the sight of me forcing each of those five cannulas through the skin along the underside of my shaft. Then, at least once a week, when I’d clean them. Even now, I’ll know he’s feeling a certain kind of way, when he brings me my kit and cleaners. It means it’s time to change the bars, and he does it personally. And, fuck me, if it’s not the most intimately erotic thing on the face of the earth.
“Ah-hem.” An aggravatingly familiar cough sounds at the other side of the standing table, and Tek quickly pulls his hand out from beneath my sweater.
“Nice to see you finally made it,” I tell my brother as I fix my coat. “It’s nice to see you, Jin.”
“Traffic was a bitch,” Eden huffs as he slouches onto the table with his forearms.
“You could have stayed an extra night in town like we did.”
His head tilts to the side and he stares straight through me, that damn spider tattoo of his out and proud like it was a good decision. “Then who would run the shop? You know Saturday is our busiest day.”
I roll my eyes because I just can’t fucking look at him sometimes. He used to be the most amazing big brother, andwhilst our relationship has improved, he still shits me to tears most of the time. He does treat Jintae like the ultimate prize, though, which is super sweet to see. And he wasn’t a total pain in the ass when the four of us went to Bali together last year.
I pan over from blankly staring back at Eden to ask Jintae; “Where’s Reeze and Skye?”
“Bathroom,” he says, fiddling with the neon pink band around his wrist. “They put this thing on too tight.”
“C’mon.” I jerk my head towards the entry. “We’ll go get another one.”
Jintae follows me, and we weave our way back through the pockets of other people. On our way to the bouncer we stop off at one of the display tables laden with t-shirts, hoodies, socks, and hats, all covered with Tek’s designs. Characters from Korean folklore, to dancheong patterns, and hand drawn text. Even the dick shark version 2.0 makes an appearance.
That random guy from Oregon I’d forced Tek to take a meeting with last year, had turned out to be Tony Cassoulet, one of the biggest self-made streetwear designers of the last fifteen years. A borderline recluse, he releases sporadic collections, has virtually no online presence, and doesn’t believe in traditional marketing. It took a lot of convincing, but once Tek was promised he would always retain complete ownership of all his designs, he jumped at the opportunity.
Jintae runs his fingers over the gold embroidery of his brother’s signature on the brim of a cap. “This is so insane.”
“I know. Bodega and Culture Kings are here.”
“The fuck?” Jin’s eyes go wide and he slowly puts the hat back down in exactly the same place he found it, then moves it slightly to where he thinks it looks better.
“Tony said they sent out three-hundred invites. And when we arrived, there were already more here than had RSVP’d.”
Jin steps back from the table and rises onto his toes, trying to get a better look of the crowded rooftop. “Surely they can’t fit three-hundred up here.”
“They can’t. There wasn’t any buzz when they booked the venue. Then Tek and Tony went AWOL one night last week. A whole lot of illegal graffiti later, now every retailer on the East Coast is here. The capacity caps at two-twenty-five, so you guys are lucky you showed up when you did.”
“We can leave if they need more room.”
“Don’t be stupid.” I put my hand on his shoulder and guide him back towards the bouncer. “Tek wants us all here. Besides, if people find out Zumies were turned away at the door, it’ll just create more buzz.”
Once we’re at the entry, we wait for the bouncer to check the next group of guests in. And when he’s free I tug Jintae forward then lift up his wrist and push back his jacket sleeve.
“Can we get another one of these?” I ask with a smile. “It’s a bit too tight.”
The bouncer looks at me with a steely glare but I just push my smile even wider then bring Jintae’s wrist to my mouth and bite the polymer band off.
“Oops. Guess we really do need a new one. Unless you don’t mind losing your license because you allowed someone under twenty-one to slip through the cracks.”
The bouncer's glare intensifies, and he stands up from his stool like the few inches he has on me are any kind of intimidation.
“Look. If you really don’t care, we’ll just take one of the green bands instead. That way he can just go up to the bar and get the drinks himself.”
He takes a step towards me, and whilst Jintae shuffles back, I don’t move.
“I feel like you’re making a much bigger deal out of this than you need to be.” Letting go of Jin's wrist, I start straightening out the lapels on the bouncer's collar. “We all make mistakes.”
“Is there a problem?” Still refusing to move, I glance to the side and see Reeze and Skye in the doorway.
