“First tattoos?”

“Yeah,” they both said at practically the same time.

I nodded and then gave them their new time and date.

“I recommend you come in sober and ready for a little bit of pain. But you guys are tough enough to handle it,” I said with a smile, trying to ease their minds a bit. “You can look on our website for some other Greek inspired tattoos. Or come in early and search through some portfolios.”

They both nodded but still looked slightly unsure, so I kept going.

“If you want to bring a guest, limit it to one, so your artist can truly concentrate on giving you some great ink.”

“Got it,” the tall guy said.

“So it really does hurt?” one of the girls asked in a high-pitched voice that grated on my nerves.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Emmy said, shrugging. Like me, she thought it was best to be honest about the pain. “Pinches and stings, but you get used to it after a while. And you’ll love it when all is said and done.”

When they walked out, Emmy said, “Let’s hope they don’t tip for shit.”

That was Emmy’s huge pet peeve. Tattoos were pricey and people could get stingy on tips, but these guys deserved them, especially if they worked on you long and hard.

When Emmy came back around the desk, I showed her the appointment schedule for the rest of the day and started packing up my things.

“I’m thinking about asking Nate to help me with my bridge project.”

“Help you how?” Emmy said, swiping some of the red locks that had come loose from her elastic tie off her cheek. I’d kill for that hair color, but even a bottle made for a meager reproduction of it, and believe me, I’ve tried.

“I’ve decided to take a drive up to the town of Bridgeway. I was hoping since Nate knows so much about it, he’d tag along with me for the day.”

Emmy narrowed her eyes at me. “Why do you seem nervous? You’ve spent time on the road with him before, right? So no big deal.”

I wanted to tell her the big deal was that little blip on my radar from the other night. How I let my imagination run wild about him after I saw him with that girl in the bathroom.

But I was being silly, none of that changed anything between us. We were still friends. He would go on to screw other girls and drive his daddy’s expensive cars and I would spend time with him when all of these goofballs got together.

But that was just it. Nobody else would be coming along on this trip. It would just be him and me. For an entire day. At least at the concert last summer, there had been a large group of us in the car.

Except the large group had consisted of all couples, so Nate and I were forced to hang out together more times than not. We’d managed to have a great time.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said quietly.

Then I just went for it. “But the other night, I caught Nate in Zach’s bathroom with a girl.”

“I heard you egging him on, but I didn’t know what it was about,” she said. “You know that’s not any real news flash, right? Were they doing it or something?”

“No,” I said. Damn, wonder what that would have been like to walk in on. “I’d just never seen him in action before. He hides it pretty well.”

“So it could have been way more awkward.”

“Yeah, but instead it was kind of . . . I don’t know. Erotic,” I said, then cringed. Did I really just admit to that? “I’m always ragging on him for being so square, but the way he was . . . oh, just forget it.”

Emmy’s eyes were wide. “No, tell me.”

I shrugged because I wasn’t sure if I could even put my finger on it. “Something about those lips and his strong hands.”

“Yeah?” she said looking past me, as if trying to picture it. “I think Nate’s always had a thing for you.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Sure, you guys are friends and you joke around a lot,” she said and I thought about whether that joking was more like flirting, but I had never really thought so. “I think some guys might be intimidated by you because you’re fierce and superhot.”

“Okay, whatever,” I said. “I think you’re the superhot one.”

Emmy had creamy white skin against that gorgeous red hair and a simple tattoo on her ankle, which had helped her seal the deal for this job.

“Besides, I’m not even Nate’s type,” I said. “And he’s not mine. No tattoos or piercings . . . all of those hard muscles.”

Emmy raised her eyebrows. “Not that you’ve noticed, huh?”

I bit my lip to keep a smile from forming. “He never takes girls seriously, anyway.”

“He takes you seriously, Jessie. But okay, whatever you say,” she said, with a tiny smirk hanging from her lips. “So you should have no trouble asking him to ride with you since you guys are just friends. Get on it already.”

“I will.”

I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Nate’s number.

Want to go on a road trip with me?

I waited what felt like forever for his response. Emmy went to set up Cory’s station for his next appointment.

Him: What do you mean?

Me: Remember the covered bridges?

Him: Yeah . . .

Me: I’ve decided that’s what my photography project’s gonna be. So would you want to drive up there with me and kind of . . . show me around?