13. Blaise

THIRTEEN

Leaningagainst the wall beside Target, I wait for Jordan to show up. He sent me a text this morning saying he'd lost a bet and did I want to come with him to pay up during my lunch break. Nothing interesting ever happens on a Monday, so I told him what time to meet me, and now I'm waiting.

"Hey!" He's grinning wide as he walks up to me. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're not really. I've only been here a minute. Tell me about this bet."

"Yeah, but you gotta walk with me. I've got an appointment."

Intriguing. I fall into step beside him.

"Congrats on your win Saturday, by the way." Calla texted me after the game to demand I join them for celebrations at Shenanigans when I finished work, but I begged off.

"Thanks. It was a good way to start the season. Hey, Calla said you got a design job?"

"A commission," I correct. "A group of friends going to some kind of book convention who want to cosplay their favorite characters. They decided to be extra and hire someone to design and make their costumes." It's not going to get the attention of any studios, but it is something I can add to my portfolio. And it pays well.

"Still awesome, dude. What book?"

I shrug. "I don't remember the title. Apparently it's a series. I had the first meeting with them Saturday, and we talked about the characters' aesthetics and sketched some initial ideas." He stops in front of Studs, and I do a double take. "Really? The bet is that you have to buy jewelry?"

"The bet is that I have to get my ears pierced," he corrects. "Come on."

This is going to be… interesting.

Five minutes later, he's staring at the array of stud earrings on offer, mouth pursed. I watch with amusement and wish it wouldn't be totally weird for me to video this.

"None of these plain ones," he says decisively. "The guys thought this would be a big deal, so I'm gonna lean into it. What have you got that's big and sparkly?"

"For a new piercing?" the technician, Jenn, asks. "The six-millimeter cubic zirconia is probably your best bet. That's this one. Unless you want a colored stone?"

We look at the pair she's pointing to. They're… big. "Can you even wear something that size under your helmet?" I ask, trying to be practical. The helmet he wears while batting comes down over his ears. "Won't it be uncomfortable?"

Jordan shrugs. "I'll take them out when I play."

"Uh, you need to leave them in while your ears heal," Jenn interjects. "For around six weeks, usually."

"Need to leave them in or the holes will close? Or need to leave them in or my ears will fall off if I don't?"

Jenn looks at me as though to ask if he's serious, and I shrug. "The holes will close. And for the first week, there's a chance of infection if you're not looking after them properly."

Jordan nods. "New plan. I'll get something slightly smaller and hope they don't annoy me too much."

"Maybe the four millimeter?" Jenn suggests, indicating another pair. "And you can tape them if you're worried about them catching on anything. Medical paper tape is really good for that."

"Ooh, I can tape them? Scratch the new plan. I want the big ones."

"Maybe you should think this through," I suggest. "The last thing you need is infected ears."

He laughs. "I might be a dumb jock, but I know how to follow instructions. Jenn's going to tell me everything I need to do, and if they start to get infected anyway, I'll go to campus medical. Worst-case, I gotta take them out."

"You're not a dumb jock," I protest half-heartedly, because I still don't know what the bet was, exactly, and maybe he's piercing his ears for a stupid reason. Still… it's not a tattoo. The holes will heal if he hates them that much.

I am way too invested in this.

"Are you ready?" Jenn asks brightly, and Jordan grins.

"You betcha. Stab me through the ears so we can go get lunch. I'm in a burrito kind of mood."

I hadn't thought about what we were going to eat, but burritos do sound good. Or maybe enchiladas.

Right after the nice technician stabs Jordan through the ears.

"So the whole reason you did this is because you couldn't pass a game level on the first try?" I repeat. I'd say that was ridiculous, but I get it. When I first learned how to use a sewing machine, invisible zips confounded me. My first attempt was abysmal, yet I was convinced it would be so easy.

And it is. Now.

"Yep." Jordan bites into his burrito and makes a humming sound. "Mexican food is so much better in California than it is in Georgia."

I pause before taking a bite of my own burrito. "Is that where you're from? How come you don't have an accent?"

He chews and swallows, then says, "I'm from here originally—well, LA. We moved to Georgia when I was eleven for Uncle Luke's work."

"What does he do?" I don't think it's come up.

"Business consultant."

That's one of those things that sounds so made up, and my opinion must be reflected on my face, because he bursts out laughing. "He basically reviews policies and procedures for big corporations and makes sure things are working properly. The job he does now has him working with individual departments to sort out the kinks and set up workflows that fit the team so they can be more effective. When he first started out, he worked for a nonprofit that helped small businesses get set up and through the first five years of operations."

"So, like… management and organization?"

Jordan shrugs. "Pretty much. He uses a lot of corporate speak too. When Mila and I wanted something we were pretty sure he'd say no to, we'd use all his jargon to ask."

I almost choke on a mouthful of pulled pork. "Like?"

"One time Mila told him she had a team-building opportunity that clashed with her regular schedule and she needed his help to optimize her commitments to take advantage of all benefits."

Trying to work out what that means gives me a headache. "Translation?"

"She got invited to a party but wouldn't be home before curfew and needed him to make an exception."

Laughter takes me by surprise. "Seriously? And did he go for it?"

"They negotiated. He pushed her curfew back an hour, I think."

I shake my head. "My dad's a lawyer, but he's more the yelling kind than the negotiating kind. And Mom was pretty easygoing about things like curfews."

"Sometimes I wished Uncle Luke was more easygoing. Like, he wasn't super strict, and if I had a reason to ask for an exception, he'd usually agree, but he worries. A lot. He used to think he was failing at being a parent to us." He cuts himself off self-consciously. "I don't know why I told you that. It's not something I talk about."

"We're friends," I remind him, though an annoying little voice at the back of my head reminds me that the only friends of mine who know about my dad's asshattery are the ones who were there during it… and not even all of those. "I don't talk about my parents to everyone either," I add honestly.

"Yeah. I guess."

"For what it's worth, I don't think your dad failed as a parent at all. You're pretty great."

His grin flashes, and the way he tips his head makes his new bling catch the light. "I mean, a lot of that is just the natural me."

"Of course it is. Your innate awesomeness."

"That should be my catchphrase: Innately Awesome." He gives me two thumbs up. "Good job."

"I'll add ‘coming up with catchphrases' to the list of services I offer clients."

Laughing, he says, "Speaking of clients… tell me about this commission. What do the costumes look like?"

I hesitate, because most non-arts people get bored when I start going into that kind of detail, but he asked, so I launch into an overview of what I have planned, and then, when he listens intently and asks intelligent questions, I delve into more detail.

Until the alarm on my phone beeps. "Shit. I have to get back to work." I already wrangled a longer lunch break than usual by promising to stay after closing and merchandise the new stock that came in.

"And I should probably go to class. You know, if I want to pass and all that shit."

"Always a good idea."

"Thanks for coming with me. Hey, I never asked… what do you think?" He turns his head from side to side so I can see the studs in his ears.

"Stunning," I say dryly, but the truth is, they do suit him. I've never really thought of piercings as "hot" before, but I have this insane urge to lick his, suck them into my mouth.

I won't, though. At least… not until they're healed. "I do still think the smaller stones would have been a good idea," I add. "But these look good on you." They're pretty substantial, and I get the feeling that in sunlight, they'll be blinding.

"I like them more than I thought I would," he admits. "Maybe I'll keep them."

There's something oddly endearing about that. "If you do, I'll get you a pair of earrings for every game you win this season," I say impulsively and instantly want to take it back. We don't have that kind of relationship.

His face lights up, though, and I can't bring myself to say "haha, just kidding." "You're on," he declares. "Just you wait, this is going to be my best season ever, and the rest of the team will rise to meet my standard."