Torn

What About Us?

Courtney browses the Internet, her frustration growing every second she couldn't find what she wanted.

C'mon, what can that stupid tattoo shop be called?

She scrolls past several tattoo shops, certain that Duncan and his friends wouldn't call their place Lily's Tattoo Heaven.

"Aha!" She shouts out loud when she sees the name Skull Signature.

She scrolls down and looks at the reviews customers have left. All of them are positive except for one:
"Everyone there looks like they've spent time in prison or should do so. Not the most welcoming place I've gotten tatted at."

Courtney laughs. "Sounds about right."

She quickly gets into her car and enters the address into her GPS.

Courtney arrives at a small, dark building in the middle of a town center. Business is bustling everywhere except in this small shop. She pushes past the people around her and opens the door.
A white guy with long brown hair and arms full of black and white tattoos looks up from the counter.

"Just a minute," he says.

Courtney sits on one of the couches in the waiting area as the guy walks away from the counter and pushes back the curtain that leads to another room.

"Duncan, dude. Don't freak out but..."

"But what, Hayden?"

"I'm pretty sure your ex just walked into the shop."

"What?" Duncan narrows his eyes before shaking his head and laughing. "There's no way. Courtney's probably still fucking Scott and wants nothing to do with me." He scoffs. "Can't trust her."

"What do I do if she asks to see you?"

"Won't happen, but just say I'm not here."

Hayden walks back to the front of the shop and goes up to Courtney.

"Um, hi. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, is Duncan here?"
Hayden grins mischievously. "Yes, yes he is." He turns around and yells, "Duncan, someone's here to see you!"

About a minute after Hayden yelled out, Duncan walks out from the back room. He sees Courtney and his eyes widen.

"What the hell?" He murmurs.

"Duncan!" Courtney runs up to him and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her and holds the back of her head in his hand. He looks at Hayden and mouths, "What the hell?"

Hayden shrugs and goes back behind the counter.
"What are you doing here?" Duncan asks, slightly apprehensive.

"I'm here to talk to you."

He laughs. "Princess, I'm at work. This is pretty unprofessional."

"Since when do you care about being professional?"

"Since the moment you walked through the fucking door."

Courtney rolls her eyes. "Come on, when does your shift end?"

He sighs. "Like, at 7?"

She clasps her hands together. "Perfect, we can have dinner together!"

"Courtney-"

"I'll send you the details. Bye!"

Courtney walks out of the shop, leaving a dumbfounded Duncan. He walks up to the counter and turns to Hayden.

"What the hell, man? I told you to tell her I'm not here!"

Hayden smiles. "She obviously wants to spend time with you. Maybe it's time for your ex-girlfriend to become your girlfriend again."

Duncan shakes his head. "That is definitely not happening. You weren't there. Seeing her and Scott...it was awful. I'm still scarred." He shudders dramatically.

Hayden leans closer to Duncan from across the counter and goes, "But you're still in love with her."

Duncan pushes Hayden back with his hand and his cheeks get red. "Shut up, man."

Hayden laughs while Duncan sighs.

"But can I really trust her? Who's to say she won't fuck me over again?"

Hayden shrugs. "Only time will tell."

Duncan groans. "I can't believe I'm fucking doing this."

"You better believe it, dude. Have fun...be sure to have too much fun."

He winks at Duncan.

The door of the shop opens and Duncan flips off Hayden before approaching the newest customer.

Courtney excitedly readies herself for her "date" (if you can call it that) with Duncan. She sends him the information about where to meet her for dinner from her PDA. She puts her hoops on and stands back to look at herself in her mirror. She is wearing a short red dress with a leather jacket and black heels. "Perfect!" She winks at herself and giggles.

Duncan sighs as he opens his closet. He fumbles through it and pulls out a polo shirt. He puts it on looks at himself in his mirror. He runs his fingers through his hair and forces a smile. "Well, this is happening."

Courtney and Duncan meet at a relatively fancy place. The tables are covered in white cloth with lace at the ends, and everyone serving the food is in semi-formal attire. Courtney smiles as Duncan sits down in front of her.

"So," she says.

"So?" He repeats.

"How was work?"

He leans his elbow on the table and puts his chin in the palm of his hand. "It was alright. I mean, I got to help Hayden do this awesome dragon tattoo. It was actually pretty cool." He pauses. "Hey, Courtney?"

"Yeah?"

"You look smoking hot."

She laughs. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Well I'm definitely underdressed for this place."

"Do you want go somewhere else?" She asks, genuine concern in her eyes.

Duncan shakes his head. "It's fine, princess."

The waiter arrives, questions them about drinks, and they order immediately, having their sights set on the cheaper side of the menu. They fall into silence once the food arrives, occasionally exchanging comments on how the food is. Courtney begins to speak once they get the check.

"Duncan..."

He looks up. "Yeah?"

"I really want to date you again."

"Uhhh..." He looks around nervously. He locks eyes with Courtney and his voice hardens. "What about Scott?"

"It was a mistake, and it was...unexpected, to say the least."

"No offense, but wearing sexy lingerie and then hooking up with someone seems pretty intentional to me."

Courtney bites her lip. She never imagined she'd be caught in her lie.

"You know what was intentional?" She lets the silence sit between them for a moment before continuing.

"Us dating and then breaking up. You don't know how much I wanted to get back at you after Scott broke up with me. I wanted your heart to break just like mine did."

"Well congrats, you succeeded," he says, clearly annoyed. "Y'know, this isn't the best 'please date me' pitch I've heard."

"Look, I just want to be honest. You didn't deserve to be lied to...not by someone you loved."

Duncan stiffens.

"I need you to know...Duncan, I loved you too. I do love you. Still. I really want you to be with me again."

"I..." Duncan finds himself at a loss for words. He grabs his credit card from the checkbook and gets up.

"I'm gonna head out," he says as he begins to walk towards the exit.