laughter at the sight of the
tattoos on the undersides of his biceps.
“Welcome to... the Gun Show,” Reed says, pointing
out Josh’s tattoos like he’s Vanna White on Wheel of
Fortune . “That was the night I learned Josh Faraday will do
literally anything to get a laugh.”
I’ve gone back into hiding behind my hands, partly
because the sight of Josh baring his body in this restaurant is
making me want to jump his bones and partly because I feel like I’m
gonna barf.
“Hell yeah, I will. Life’s too short. Hey, Kat. Are
you gonna come out from hiding any time soon?” Josh asks. “Come on,
babe, join the party. We’re all friends here. Nobody’s mad at you.
It’s all in good fun. It’s just what friends do with
friends—they torture them.”
I slowly come out from under my arms like a turtle.
“You guys, when I said all that stuff about prohibited tattoos and
social suicide, I was just being a total and complete smart-ass. I
just pulled that stuff out of thin air. I take it all back.”
“Ha! Don’t backtrack now, PG. Go big or go home,
babe.”
“No, I was totally wrong. Please, God, just let me
reverse time and take it all back.” I take a huge gulp of my
martini.
“Come on, Stubborn Kat,” Reed says. “Don’t let Josh
bully you into backing down from your closely held beliefs. Stay
true to yourself.”
I shake my head. “He’s not bullying me. I don’t
believe any of what I said.” I move my arm like I’m blessing them
all. “You’re all supremely cool. Forget I ever said any of it.”
“How the hell did you survive with four brothers,
Kat?” Josh says, spearing a vegetable on his plate. “A little bit
of teasing and you back down? I expected so much more from Stubborn
Kat.”
“You have four brothers?” Will asks.
“And no sisters,” Josh adds.
“Wow. That must have been fun growing up,” Will
says.
I nod. “Fun and hell, simultaneously—kind of like
right now. Two older, two younger. They taught me to have a thick
skin, for sure.”
“The girl might as well have grown up in a frat
house,” Josh says. “She’s an honorary dude. Well, usually. She’s
definitely acting like a girl right now.” He takes a huge bite of
food and grins.
I smile thinly at him.
Josh grabs my hand and kisses it again. “Well, young
lady, let this be a lesson to you. I’m not only wise and powerful,
I’m super cool, too—right down to my stupid tattoos.” He addresses
the group. “See, the thing Kat doesn’t realize, is that it’s the
‘stupid’ tattoos that are the best ones. Because mistakes, big and
small, are what teach us to learn and grow . ”
“ Exactly ,” Will says emphatically. “Even the
stupid tattoos wind up being profound if you think about them like
that.”
“I was just being a smart-ass, Will. Please don’t be
offended,” I offer.
“I’m not offended at all,” Will says gently. “My
dragon tattoo is kinda stupid—but the cool thing is that
it’s camouflage for a huge mistake.” He smiles broadly at me.
“That’s why I love it. Every time I look at the damned thing, I’m
reminded I got my heart broken into a million pieces and came out
the other side a dragon.” He takes a bite of his food.
Josh throws up his hands, totally enthralled. “Now
see, that’s what I’m talking about, bro. Every tattoo, even if it’s
a mistake, is a reminder of who you were versus who you are
now. A map of your evolution as a man.” He swigs his drink.
“Amen,” Will says. “The body is a living canvas.
It’s all there: victory, failure, mistakes, lessons learned—all
there for the world to see.”
“You know what we should do?” Josh says to Will,
slamming down his fork with sudden excitement. “We should both
complete our lame-ass trifectas tonight. Together.”
“Fuck yeah. Barbed wire, it is, baby,” Will says.
They clink drinks.
“Oh God, no, Will,” Carmen says, putting her hand on
Will’s forearm. “Honey, no. Please . ”
Will
tattoos on the undersides of his biceps.
“Welcome to... the Gun Show,” Reed says, pointing
out Josh’s tattoos like he’s Vanna White on Wheel of
Fortune . “That was the night I learned Josh Faraday will do
literally anything to get a laugh.”
I’ve gone back into hiding behind my hands, partly
because the sight of Josh baring his body in this restaurant is
making me want to jump his bones and partly because I feel like I’m
gonna barf.
“Hell yeah, I will. Life’s too short. Hey, Kat. Are
you gonna come out from hiding any time soon?” Josh asks. “Come on,
babe, join the party. We’re all friends here. Nobody’s mad at you.
It’s all in good fun. It’s just what friends do with
friends—they torture them.”
I slowly come out from under my arms like a turtle.
“You guys, when I said all that stuff about prohibited tattoos and
social suicide, I was just being a total and complete smart-ass. I
just pulled that stuff out of thin air. I take it all back.”
“Ha! Don’t backtrack now, PG. Go big or go home,
babe.”
“No, I was totally wrong. Please, God, just let me
reverse time and take it all back.” I take a huge gulp of my
martini.
“Come on, Stubborn Kat,” Reed says. “Don’t let Josh
bully you into backing down from your closely held beliefs. Stay
true to yourself.”
I shake my head. “He’s not bullying me. I don’t
believe any of what I said.” I move my arm like I’m blessing them
all. “You’re all supremely cool. Forget I ever said any of it.”
“How the hell did you survive with four brothers,
Kat?” Josh says, spearing a vegetable on his plate. “A little bit
of teasing and you back down? I expected so much more from Stubborn
Kat.”
“You have four brothers?” Will asks.
“And no sisters,” Josh adds.
“Wow. That must have been fun growing up,” Will
says.
I nod. “Fun and hell, simultaneously—kind of like
right now. Two older, two younger. They taught me to have a thick
skin, for sure.”
“The girl might as well have grown up in a frat
house,” Josh says. “She’s an honorary dude. Well, usually. She’s
definitely acting like a girl right now.” He takes a huge bite of
food and grins.
I smile thinly at him.
Josh grabs my hand and kisses it again. “Well, young
lady, let this be a lesson to you. I’m not only wise and powerful,
I’m super cool, too—right down to my stupid tattoos.” He addresses
the group. “See, the thing Kat doesn’t realize, is that it’s the
‘stupid’ tattoos that are the best ones. Because mistakes, big and
small, are what teach us to learn and grow . ”
“ Exactly ,” Will says emphatically. “Even the
stupid tattoos wind up being profound if you think about them like
that.”
“I was just being a smart-ass, Will. Please don’t be
offended,” I offer.
“I’m not offended at all,” Will says gently. “My
dragon tattoo is kinda stupid—but the cool thing is that
it’s camouflage for a huge mistake.” He smiles broadly at me.
“That’s why I love it. Every time I look at the damned thing, I’m
reminded I got my heart broken into a million pieces and came out
the other side a dragon.” He takes a bite of his food.
Josh throws up his hands, totally enthralled. “Now
see, that’s what I’m talking about, bro. Every tattoo, even if it’s
a mistake, is a reminder of who you were versus who you are
now. A map of your evolution as a man.” He swigs his drink.
“Amen,” Will says. “The body is a living canvas.
It’s all there: victory, failure, mistakes, lessons learned—all
there for the world to see.”
“You know what we should do?” Josh says to Will,
slamming down his fork with sudden excitement. “We should both
complete our lame-ass trifectas tonight. Together.”
“Fuck yeah. Barbed wire, it is, baby,” Will says.
They clink drinks.
“Oh God, no, Will,” Carmen says, putting her hand on
Will’s forearm. “Honey, no. Please . ”
Will
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