Running In Circles || Nicholas Ruffilo

fifteen

Cassidy

I waltzed into the back of the shop with an array of coffees for the shop, giving Davis and Vincent warm, but collected smiles. I drop the drink carrier off at Davis' desk and grab my own before heading to my station.

I threw my purse in my usual drawer and felt a shadow lingering over me, making me swirl around to find Davis studying me. I cross my arms and study him back. "Yes?" I prompt.

If I gave him the room to, I felt like he would have been swimming around me like a shark. "You seem different," he says nonchalantly.

I look down at myself dramatically, trying to see if anything was askew, but I look the same. "Is there something on my face?"

"Something, for sure, but I can't figure it out," he taunts as he walks back to his desk. I roll my eyes and continue settling in, especially since I have a client as soon as we open and I still need to obsess over the final details of their outline. I open my iPad and start shading and adding more details.

"Good morning," Vincent says behind me, but I can tell he's also heading straight for his booth, so give a halfhearted 'morning' to him without looking up.

"Good morning, Vince," Davis says, creeping over to his station. "Does Cassidy seem different to you?"

I looked over at them annoyed, swirling completely towards them in my chair, crossing my arms again. Vincent looks at me and shrugs at Davis, but seems to catch a gleam in Davis' eye and changes his tune. "Now that you mention it, I see it," he teases.

I groan and turn back to my iPad, drowning them out. At some point, Nicholas comes in and grabs his coffee, also getting to work at his station. Davis doesn't bother him about my "different look" because he doesn't suspect that he'd know, which I would like to keep it that way. It takes everything in me to not smile to myself about how well we're doing at concealing this, but it is still new in general.

The shop door bell chimes and I recognize my client, pulling me from my thoughts and to the front counter.

-

"I'm so glad you love it!" I jeer with my client as I take pictures of her sick new alien piece on her calf. It's actually the biggest tattoo I've done so far. I feel a presence behind me and I notice Nicholas giving a nod of approval as he takes his client to the front to pay.

"I need to think of a good name for him," my client giggles, not being able to stop staring at it.

"It should be something stupid like Scooter," I suggested, making us fall into a fit of laughter. We pull ourselves together and go to the front. Since I'm an apprentice, I can only charge up to $50 for now, but she gives me $150. "Ally, I can't take this much—"

"No, Cass, I insist," she cuts me off. We were friends from the bar, but I don't know her like that. 

"I really appreciate it," I say sincerely. "Let me know if you want another fun little piece soon."

"You'll be my first call," she reassures me before she leaves.

"Good job, kid," Davis says, fist bumping me. "I've never seen you like that."

It took me a second to compute what he meant but then it clicked; he had never seen me giggly or anything before. "Oh, Ally and I have had some late nights together so she's certainly not a stranger."

I could feel Nick's attention slightly turn to us, but not enough for Davis to notice anything more than Nick doing his paperwork. "In the fun way?" Davis asks with an eyebrow wiggle.