in which joelle d'amore is completing her final semester of university in the grand city of los angeles, california. when she finds herself in the presence of harry styles, a piercing man with dangerous agendas, she is permeated with fear. she saw s...
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I don't know how the hell August has convinced me to permanently ink my skin as a way to solidify our friendship. As if continuing to be her roommate despite how messy she is, isn't enough for her to believe we'll be friends forever.
"The half butterfly is kinda cute, don't you think?" August gives me a light nudge. She points at the minimalist drawing of a butterfly split in half. Half of a wing for her, half of a wing for me.
"I thought we weren't going to pick from a book," I say and laugh a little. Sure, the butterfly would be cute, but I don't know how I feel about the tattoo parlor we stand in.
I look down beneath my white chucks only to find dirty checkered floors. When's the last time they mopped around here? The white squared tiles are almost as dark as the black tiles, I notice.
"Joelle."
"Jo," I correct. She knows better than to not call me that.
"Jojo! C'mon, you said we would get matching tattoos today... We can cross this off our bucket list of things we want to do before we graduate!"
I sigh over my best friend's annoying plea. The sound of the tattoo gun is making me feel anxious by the second. I hate pain. "Matt doesn't even know I'm here," I whisper.
"To hell with him! I don't want to hear about that loser," August reminds me.
"Right, sorry," I say and bite down on my bottom lip. My boyfriend, Matt, has caused a slight strain in my friendship with August. They don't like each other. At times, I have to remember not to mention Matt to August, but it becomes so stressful when two people I care deeply about don't get along.
"So, have we decided what we're getting done today, ladies?"
I look up at the sound of a soft English accent. A tall and slender man with olive skin like August's stands before us behind the counter of the tattoo parlor. He wears an oversized jacket, but I assume his arms are also covered in tattoos because the man's neck is coated in nothing but ink. His face only holds stubble, a lip ring, and only a pretty set of hazel eyes. His hair is the most intriguing part about him. It's all dyed in the most satisfying wash of baby blue. It's safe to say he's very attractive.
August then puts on her famous flirty smile for the man behind the counter. She reaches for a strand of her hair belonging to naturally curly brown locks and she twists it around her finger. "Say, where do you think this butterfly would look good on me?"
Oh, god. I cross my arms when August decides to flirt with the guy. I break out in a small laugh as she takes a step back to make a slow twirl.
He doesn't even look at her twirl, unfortunately. "Most people get them done on their fingers. So when they put their hands together, the butterfly connects."
