Lilly's Garden

II. Jasmine

"You know what your problem is?"

Zin blinked. The drone of the tattooing gun had nearly lulled her to sleep. She shook herself and shifted on the chair. A large hand pinned her in place. "No, Matt. Please enlighten me."

"You've got no romance in your life. All these desperate people coming into the shop had Cupid's arrow pierce their shriveled hearts. It made them aware of someone outside of themselves. It's only natural to want to cling to that person even if it means strangling them."

"That's not how healthy relationships work."

"What would you know? You've never dated anyone."

The needle bit into Zin's shoulder, and she winced "I have too!"

"Sharing a Moon Pie with Brian Michaels behind the slides doesn't count."

Zin grumbled and balanced her chin on the headrest. She had a perfect view of Matt in the mirror affixed to the wall. The hand not moving the needle across her shoulder energetically gestured. "All I'm saying is if you had a little something-something in your life, you wouldn't be so grouchy."

"Did you listen to me at all? I've got nothing against romance. It's the urban legend that my nana's shop has been cursed with."

"What you need is a good hard fu—"

"Matthew!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know we were using full names today. Zinnia, what you need is a good hard—"

Zin's shoulders shook with laughter. Matt clicked his tongue. "For real though, if you don't put yourself out there, no one is going to find you. If my jackass neighbor can have a revolving door of men, then so can my best friend! Equality, and all that shit."

Zin shook her head. Matt pressed the needle to her skin again. The hum lulled her into a land of daydreams.