Page 62 of Tattoo My Heart
“Maybe he found someone else after you blew him off,” Carrie, my little voice of reason, points out.
“He could’ve just said so,” I decide after taking a second to think about it.
“Or…” My best friend puts a finger up to get my attention.
“Or what?” I ask when she doesn’t continue.
She leans forward and whispers, “Maybe he’s dead.”
“Dead?” I yelp in distress. “That would make sense though,” I say once the shock has worn off. “I’m going to send another message. And if I don’t hear back, I will send an email to theHolidatescustomer support and ask what their policy is.”
Carrie snorts incredulously. “Policy for what? Dead people?”
“No!” I wave my hand at her without looking. “For when people do not respond to messages. Because I’ll want to file a complaint.”
“Oh, Jesus.”
I ignore her obviously sarcastic tone and focus on my screen, trying to come up with a great message that I could send to secure my date for the Fourth of July party.
“Dear Khail,” I say out loud and refuse to give any attention to my best friend when she snorts at this. My fingers fly over the keyboard as I type. “I trust that my email finds you well.It’s been a couple of weeks since I sent you my previous email in which I was outlining the nature of our relationship.”
“What relationship?” Carrie cuts into my concentration.
I push blindly at her shoulder, never taking my eyes off the screen.
“Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. We need to discuss details and quite a few things that I know my mother will be interested in hearing. It is very important that you get back to me as soon as possible. Sincerely, Evelyn.”
Once I’m done typing, I lean back in my chair to re-read my message. I feel proud of myself and the strong message I am putting out.
“That’s pretty aggressive,” Carrie comments from the sidelines. “That all you got?”
My head swivels in an instant, and I stare at her.
“I… What?”
“Well,” she shrugs. “What if this guy doesn’t respond?”
I shake my head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t he respond?”
“Because he didn’t respond when you sent him the last message two weeks ago,” she deadpans. “And he also changed his profile picture.”
I hate that she makes a good point. I throw my head back and let out a long puff of air. This is not good.
“I need a backup for the backup.”
TWENTY
My backand shoulders are tense as I work on a back piece for my current customer. It is something I started months ago, and he is two appointments away from being finished with it.
“You good, man?” I now ask him. “Need a break?”
“A drink of water would be nice,” he calls to me.
“Give me just a sec.”
I never lose my concentration, filling in the outline we already had in place from before. The color looks vibrant against his darker skin tone, making my design one big masterpiece.
“It looks badass,” I tell him. “We can stop for tonight if you want. No reason to rush it.”
