by Jae
A big part of me can’t shake what Liam told me about his dad. I want to ask him some more about it, but I’m scared of the way he’ll react, which makes something in the pit of my stomach turn. I don’t see any way in justifying Liam’s violent behavior and short temper, but I can definitely understand it now. I can now see that Liam’s actions towards me or other people aren’t something I should be afraid of. But at the same time, I can’t help it. Liam is a very intimidating person. The deadly look he can so easily get in his eyes is enough to leave anyone shaking in their boots.
When Friday rolls around, I leave early to have a ‘girls’ day’ before the boy’s game. I quickly back out of my driveway and pull into Ella’s, honking the horn and she immediately runs out of her house.
“Dude, I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever!” Ella says while she puts on her seatbelt.
“I know, huh?” I chuckle, driving out of our neighborhood.
“Liam’s been keeping you pretty busy.” She says with a cheeky smile.
“Not that busy.” I respond, giving her a knowing look.
“Wait, seriously?” She questions, shocked. “Why not?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders. “I mean, it’s not that we don’t want to, we just haven’t yet.”
“Me, Zoie, and Taylor already have.” She brags with a giggle.
“Oh my god! Seriously?” I exclaim, now being the one who’s shocked; even though in the back of my mind I know I really shouldn’t be. My friends have always been a lot more ‘advanced’ than me. “You guys have literally known them for a week.”
Ella just shrugs her shoulders.
For the rest of the drive to Zoie and Taylor’s house I ponder whether or not Liam knows his friends and my friends are doing a little bit more than just sleeping together. If Liam does know, is he expecting us to do it to? Not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I’m not the type of girl to just have sex with someone after only knowing them for a couple weeks. I guess a part of me is hoping that if Liam and I ever do, it’ll be this big romantic gesture between the two of us; like in the movies. The thought of having sex with Liam just seems like a bigger deal now than it was when I was in high school. High school was all about making mistakes and learning from them. College feels the exact opposite. It just seems a lot closer to the real world, where true commitments are made. And I suppose another reason why I’ve been putting it off is because I’m scared that if Liam and I have sex and then I choose to go to Paris, he’ll want to end things between us.
“You okay?” Ella asks after I pull into Zoie and Taylor’s driveway and honk the horn to let them know we’re here. “You know I was just messing with you earlier about not doing the dirty deed with Liam yet, right? It’s really not a big deal.”
“Yeah, I know.” I nod my head as Zoie and Taylor run out of their house and get in the backseat of my car.
I’m now more worried about the aftermath of having sex with Liam than the actual having sex part. I know deep down that Liam doesn’t want me to go to Paris, but it’s such an amazing opportunity. I’d be an idiot not to go. I don’t want to turn down something that I know I’ll regret not doing; especially if things don’t work out between Liam and me. And who’s to say that we even will work out? For all I know, this could just be some summer fling for Liam. Or even just something to pass the time until someone better comes along.
“Whoever invented sushi deserves an award!” Zoie declares after our waiter brings us our food.
“They probably did get one.” I comment before stuffing a piece into my mouth.
“Your parents get back next Friday, right?” Zoie asks Ella and me after a few minutes of everyone silently eating.
“Yeah!” Ella answers, both of us smiling. “I’m so excited; my Mom said they have a bunch of presents for us!”
“I can’t imagine you being too excited, Daisy.” Taylor voices with a slightly snobby chuckle.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ella asks, automatically coming to my defense before I even have a chance to open my mouth.
Ella’s always been this way when it comes to me. If someone ever says anything that even resembles an insult towards me, she’s all over it. We all love Taylor, Zoie especially since they’re sisters, but she can be very rude and snobbish sometimes; most of those times being towards me. Ella says it’s because she’s jealous of me and sometimes I sort of think she might be right.
“Well, I mean, since you and Liam have been playing house for the past week.” Taylor responds, looking at me.
“Do I sense some jealousy?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on her until she looks down at her lap.
“Whatever.” She huffs before shoving a piece of her sushi in her mouth.
I suppress a huge smile when I feel Ella squeeze my hand under the table. It took me years to build up the courage to stand up for myself against Taylor. It always drove Ella nuts and she would lecture me about it for what felt like hours. I guess, at some point, something just snapped in me and I realized how tired I was of Taylor treating me the way she did. Since then I’ve always stood my ground. Though that hasn’t stopped Ella from jumping in whatsoever.
After we’re finished eating, we go over to the nail salon that we love. The people who work there are amazing and know us all by names since we’re there to often. I hug Clara, my nail tech, as soon as I get to her station. She’s a short, stubby blonde girl with big brown eyes and a full-watt smile. I’ve always been jealous of how beautiful she is. Her hair, makeup, clothes, and nails are always perfectly done. You would never guess that she’s nearly 30 years old just by looking at her.
Me, Clara, the girls, and their nail techs are all sat right by each other, making it easy for all of us to talk together. We fill the girls in on our new guys and let them know that Ella and I’s parents will be returning home soon and to expect our Mom’s in here right after.
“You know what I thought would be a really cool idea?” Zoie offers while our nails are drying.
“What?” We all ask her at the same time.
“Getting t-shirts made for the boy’s games.” She reveals with a huge smile, looking at all of us to get our reactions.
“That would be really cool!” We all agree before listening intently to Zoie while she tells us her idea for the design and imputing our thoughts here and there. By the end of our nail appointments, we’ve come up with the perfect design and practically skip out of the salon in excitement.
I stare at my nails; they’re black with a silver fade away, while I wait in line with the girls at Forever 21. The other girls had gotten something similar done to their nails too, but in different colors. Clara always does such an amazing job on my nails and I always leave there with them looking even better than I had pictured in my mind.
“My parents called yesterday and said they want to go to the game next Friday and then taking Liam and me to dinner afterwards.” I tell Ella when Zoie and Taylor walk up to the first two registers that open up.
“Really?” Ella questions, her eyebrows rising in surprise.
“Can you really be that surprised?” I laugh while we walk up to the next two open registers and smile at the workers as we hand them our items. “You know my mom turns into a boy-crazy freak whenever I start talking to a new guy.”
“You’re dating Liam Jones, right?” The girl ringing up Ella’s stuff asks me out of nowhere.
“You know Liam?” Ella and I respond at the same time.
“Oh, we both definitely know him.” The girl ringing up my stuff responds, causing both of them to giggle like little school girls.
I’m momentarily stunned by their confession, and then I remember that Clara, more or less, said that Liam got around, a lot. Instead of voicing some choice words to them, I decide to ignore their comments while Ella and I grab our bags and walk out of the store with Zoie and Taylor in tow.
“You don’t look happy.” Zoie says to me after we walk into Victoria’s Secret.
“The girls ringing up our stuff pretty much just told Daisy they’ve done the hanky-panky with Liam.”
“You’re joking?” Taylor asks, her face twisting up in disgust.
“Not even the tiniest bit.” I respond, rolling my eyes while searching the huge wall of perfume for my favorite one.
“That’s so trashy.” Zoie shakes her head.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” I agree, grabbing a bottle of ‘Little Sexy Things: Noir Tease’ when I find it and then move over to the clothes. I choose a few tank-tops before heading over to the side where all of the bras, underwear, and swimsuits are.
“Come in the dressing room with me! I need your opinions!” Taylor exclaims causing all of us to stop what we’re doing and follow her. I let out a sigh when I sit down in the middle of the large ‘waiting’ area filled with separate dressing stalls along the perimeter of the room.
“Why do I feel like strippers are about to come out and give us lap dances?” I wonder out loud.
“That’s because they are!” Ella laughs as she stands up and starts shaking her butt in front of Zoie and me.
“Hey, sexy lady!” Zoie yells, making all of us laugh as Ella sits back down.
“We are seriously freaks!” I exclaim, doubling over from laughing so hard.
“Okay, what do you guys think?” Taylor asks when she opens the door to her dressing room; she has on a leopard print bra with a matching thong.
“Oh my God!” I yell when she turns around. “Are those lips tattooed on your ass?”
Taylor nods her head with a cheeky smile.
“All of us have them.” Zoie says as her, Ella, and Taylor start laughing. “They’re your lips.”
“They’re what?” I ask feeling completely shocked when they all stand next to each other and show me the identical lips tattooed in the exact same spots on their butts.
“Remember that time I had you kiss that piece of paper with different shades of lipstick?” Ella asks me.
I nod my head, vaguely recalling what she’s talking about. “You guys are ridiculous!”
They all keep laughing while I roll my eyes and try to wrap my head around the fact that my lips are tattooed on the butts of my best friends. I was definitely not expecting this or anything even remotely close to happen today.
“These shirts are going to be so awesome!” Zoie exclaims as we walk into the t-shirt making shop called ‘Mr. Tee’s Emporium’.
“Hello ladies! What can I do for you?” The guy, who’s ID tag reads: Carl, working behind the register greets us.
We all say our hello’s before Zoie explains to Carl what our idea is. He tells us he thinks it’ll work and then he gives each of us a piece of paper.
“Write down your shirt size, the color you want the shirt to be, what design you want on the front and/or back of the shirt and what colors you want the design to be in.” He instructs and we all quickly scribble down the information he needs before handing over the papers. “These should be ready in about half an hour, 45 minutes tops.”
We all say a quick thank you before walking out of the shop.
“What should we do to kill the time?” Taylor asks, looking around to see what’s close by.
“Daisy is getting her belly button pierced!” Zoie suddenly squeals as she grabs ahold of my arm and drags me in the direction of a tattoo and piercing shop called ‘The Ouch Shop’ down the street.
“What? No way!” I yell trying to pull my arm away from her. “I’m not doing that!”
“You have to!” Ella exclaims, shoving me through the front doors.
“She wants her belly button pierced!” Taylor tells the guy standing behind the counter, who has an extremely amused expression on his face.
“No I don’t!” I protest, finally tugging my arm free from Zoie.
“It’s not that bad.” The guy tells me with a laugh.
“Come on, Daisy!” Ella whines.
“Yeah, come on, Daisy!” The guy whines with Ella.
“We’ll get ours done too!” Taylor offers, giving me a reassuring smile.
“Fine!” I huff. “But I’m going last so you guys can’t trick me.”
They all agree and then the guy takes us back to a room with all the necessary equipment. I lean against the wide doorframe while I watch Zoie sit on a large chair and the guy adjust it so she’s leaning back. My eyes widen in horror when I see him put the biggest clamp I’ve ever seen in my life on her belly button.
“You seem nervous.” I hear a deep voice say from next to me, making me jump a little. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Oh, no, you’re fine.” I laugh. “It’s my fault; I was in my own little world.”
“I’m Scott.” He introduces, sticking his hand out to me with a smile.
“I’m Daisy.” I reply, shaking his hand and finally really looking at him. The first thing that catches me is the almost translucent color of his blue eyes. I can’t help but stare at them for what I’m sure is considered far too long. He’s just less than six feet tall with a lean muscular build. His hair is a thick mess of curls pulled back into a small bun at the nape of his neck. By the subtle goatee on his face, I would guess he’s no more than 23 years old. The medium sized anchor tattoo on the left side of his neck, just below his hoop pierced ear, would probably look trashy on most guys, but he makes it really work. He’s dressed in a dark blue button down short sleeved shirt over a white t-shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of white Chuck Taylor All Star Converse shoes. Overall, I’d say he’s really attractive. And if I wasn’t already with Liam, I would definitely be interested.
“Well, Daisy, it’s very nice to meet you.” He smiles as I slide my hand out of his.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” I smile back, somewhat shyly looking down at my feet before averting my eyes over to the girls when I hear a bit of commotion coming from them.
“Daisy, look!” Zoie squeals as she walks over and shows us her freshly pierced belly button.
“That actually looks really cute.” I declare while leaning down to get a closer look. “I like it!”
Scott and I laugh when she practically bounces away and I note that Ella is next.
“It’s really not that bad at all.” Scott says, causing me to look at him. “It goes by so fast, you hardly feel a thing.”
“Are you talking from experience?” I joke, poking his stomach just above where his belly button should be.
“Maybe.” He chuckles before a thoughtful look crosses his face. “You don’t seem like your other friends.”
“I’m just not quite as wild as them when it comes to this sort of stuff.” I shrug my shoulders. “I just found out today that all of them have my lips tattooed on their butts.”
“You’re kidding?” He questions with a surprised look on his face.
“I wish I was.” I chuckle as the piercing guy calls me over. “Well, here goes nothing.”
“Okay, just take a deep breath.” The piercing guy, who introduces himself as Drew, tells me after I pull my shirt up a little above my bellybutton.
I do as he says and then I feel him put the clamp on and then let it go, the cool metal brushing against my stomach. Trying to keep my focus off of the pinching feeling of the clap, I take in Drew’s appearance. I recall from when we first walked in that he’s roughly the same height as Scott. His hair is buzzed short and his face is clean shaven. He’s wearing a black cutoff shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of black Canvas Madera Vans shoes. From his shirt, I can tell that he is very fit, very muscular, and has tattoos scattered all over his body and arms. The more I look at him, the more I can’t help but wonder if it’s mandatory to be attractive to work here.
“You’re going to feel a slight pinch.” He informs me as he turns to me with a large needle in his hand that makes me visibly gulp.
“Look,” I say quickly, making him look up at me just as he presses the needle against the small black dot he made on my belly button with a sharpie. I stare in
to his deep brown eyes that have small flecks of green in them. From this close I can see the crinkles beginning to form near the outer corners of his eyes and I would guess that he’s maybe 30 years old. Something about this brings me a sudden sense of trust and causes me to continue talking. “I am completely trusting that you are not going to kill me with that needle, okay?”
“Okay.” He responds, keeping eye contact with me and giving me a small, reassuring smile before telling me he’s done.
“What?” I question looking down to see my belly button has a cute little ring pierced through it. “How – When did you? I mean… You never even looked down!” I exclaim, hardly able to get my words out.
“I know.” He chuckles while patting my leg.
“But what if you missed? You could’ve seriously messed me up!”
“Yeah, I could’ve.” He agrees while packing his supplies away. “But I’ve been doing this for quite a while, sweetheart. I knew I wouldn’t miss.”
I stare at him for a long moment before looking down and touching the small piece of jewelry. A part of me wants to slap him across the face for doing what he did when he knew how nervous I was. But on the other hand, doing it the way he did kept my mind off of it and I didn’t even feel the needle go through my skin.
“Thanks.” I finally say after pulling my shirt down and standing up with him. “You did a good job.”
“Not a problem.” He smiles, squeezing my shoulder before leading us all out of the room to the front lobby.
“Liam is going to think that’s so hot!” Taylor gushes while we pay.
“Liam Jones?” Scott asks, the smile on his face falling a little.
“Yeah.” I confirm, nodding my head. “Do you know him?”
“He gets his tattoos done here.” He informs us.
I nod my head as I pull my wallet out of my bag and pay for my piercing. At some point someone walks in and Scott takes them somewhere in the back to do a tattoo. It all happens so quickly that I don’t even have a chance to tell him goodbye.
