Blurred Lines by Scott Hildreth Page A

pleasing myself required sacrificing others. Realizing when those sacrifices needed to be made and recognizing the people who were best suited to be tossed from my life was crucial to my success.
    And, at this juncture in my life, my success was the only thing I was concerned with.
    I screwed the last screw in the frame and took a few steps back. The sign was perfect, and added to the stand-offish nature I always wanted to possess in the shop. As I placed the cordless drill in the box and clasped it closed, I heard the back door open and slam shut.
    “What’s with slamming the door?” I asked as I peered over the partition.
    “Musta been the wind,” Tyler mumbled.
    “Okay,” I said.
    “What’re you doing up there?” he asked.
    “Posting a new sign,” I said as I took one last glance at the sign.
    “Raising prices?” he asked as he unlocked his box.
    “Nope, prices are fine. Just clarifying the rules,” I responded.
    “What rules?” he asked.
    “Shop rules,” I said.
    “Huh,” he murmured as he turned my direction.
    He sauntered to the front of the shop, stepped behind me, and read the sign out loud in a light whisper.
    BLURRED LINES
    NO use of cellphones beyond this partition
    NO children
    NO one under 18 beyond this partition
    NO I won’t use your sketch or stencil
    NO checks, trading, or bartering
    NO food in the shop
    NO tattoo without a valid ID
    NO drunks
    NO body here cares how cheap your last tattoo was
    NO crying, whining, or bitching
    YES tipping makes it hurt less
     
    “No checks, trading, or bartering, huh?” he asked.
    “That’s right,” I said.
    “Starting when?” he asked.
    “Starting,” I paused and glanced at my watch. “About ten minutes ago.”
    “Are you fucking kidding me? Jesus, Blake. Well, good thing Candee Diamond is under the old set of rules,” he said as he walked around me.
    I began to walk toward my work station. “Old rules no longer apply,” I said over my shoulder.
    “Good thing we already worked out the bartering, and she won’t be using a check. If she fucks me again, it’ll only be because she liked the cock,” he said.
    “No sex in the shop,” I said.
    “Didn’t see that on the sign, bro,” he said as he sat down.
    “Don’t need to write it on the sign,” I said.
    He swiveled his stool around to face me. “No sex?”
    “That’s right,” I said.
    “Applies to you too, right?” he asked.
    I nodded my head.
    He laughed, turned his stool halfway around, and whistled a long shrill whistle.
    “We’ll see how long that lasts with Riley coming in and out of this motherfucker like a junkie at a methadone clinic,” he said.
    “Excuse me?” I said.
    “You heard me,” he said.
    I shook my head, decided to keep my mouth shut, and dropped the drill into the bottom drawer of my box. As I pushed the drawer closed, he turned his stool around again.
    “You go see her the other day? When you got mad and left?” he asked.
    “I wasn’t mad, but yeah, I did,” I said.
    “You fuck her?” he asked.
    He was beginning to irritate me. Knowing my best countermeasure was to keep from losing my temper, I picked up the cling wrap and began wrapping my chair.
    “Sure didn’t,” I responded.
    “She suck your dick?” he asked.
    “Nope,” I said.
    “She give you a hand job?” he asked.
    “No, and who the fuck gets a hand job once they’re over the age of fourteen anyway?”
    “All types of people. Ever heard of a happy ending?” he asked.
    I didn’t respond.
    “You kiss her?” he asked.
    I nodded my head as I continued to wrap the chair in the sheets of transparent plastic.
    “So you kissed her and she didn’t do anything?” he asked.
    “I didn’t say that. But what she did or didn’t do is none of your business,” I responded.
    “Since fucking when do you keep things from me, Dude? I fucking swear. So what happened? You kissed and that’s it? What are you, twelve?” he asked.
    “Fuck you,” I responded.
    “No, fuck you. She