Joy and Tiers (50 page)

Usually, I would have a little bit of fun at Marcus’s expense. Yet, he seems so upset over my displeasure, I’m not sure he might not have an anxiety attack if I don’t let him off ease off.

I sigh as I concede, “Look, you might be right. Some of these guys seem like they could be normal enough.” 

I narrow my eyes and pin him with my meanest stare. “But, you’re not off the hook. You are supposed to be my best friend. That means you watch my back—even if you are slightly buzzed.”

Marcus at least has the good sense to look chagrined as he’s suddenly very interested in getting a precision point on the pencil he’s sharpening.

“If you ever get another harebrained idea to sign me up for dating service, just ask me first,” I continue. “I might even surprise you and say yes. But, I’d like to be able to have a free choice in the matter.”

“Done.” Marcus readily agrees. “I know this is going to sound lame now. But, we didn’t do this to hurt you. It’s true that we didn’t factor in the creepaziods, but we thought you may meet some people who would knock you out of your rut and give you something positive to think about.”

I shudder as I remember some of the more egregious pictures in my mailbox. “Trust me, I have plenty to think about now. But not much of it’s positive,” I reply. I try for straight sarcasm, but I’m not completely successful in keeping my laughter at bay.

Marcus smirks at my joke as he explains, “Come on, you know what I mean. I was trying to get your mind off of he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned.”

“You mean Lawrence?” I ask as I lift a questioning eyebrow in Marcus’s direction.

“I’m just saying the guy has a lot of nerve for someone whose last name is Poser,” Marcus mutters bitterly.

“Marcus, it’s really sweet for you to be all pissed off about it. But, he is just the latest in a string of guys to assume that just because I work at a tattoo parlor I must be randomly screwing bikers in the back room,” I answer.

“Just because he’s not the only one doesn’t give him a free pass. The guy was supposed to be your boyfriend. He should’ve known better than to believe the stereotype. Wasn’t he also the charmer that said you’d be perfect for giving him ‘little tax deductions’ because of your wide Hispanic hips?”

Diet Coke surges up the back of my throat and threatens to come out my nose as I choke back a startled laugh. “You can understand why I don’t miss him all that much. Still, it was fun to get into all those nightclubs. Well, let me rephrase that; it was fun to get into the ones he
didn’t
own to do opposition research. Lawrence’s were pretty lame. You make a great wingmen,” I reminisce with a smile.

Marcus smiles brightly as he declares, “I know. If I don’t get you to come up for air every once in a while, my social skills are going to wither up and die.”

“You poor baby,” I soothe. “You know, I might actually have some sympathy for you, but since I don’t make your kind of money, I still have to work hard to keep my scholarship. So, that means studying and apprenticing here take priority.”

Marcus’s bottom lip starts to slide out like a four-year-old who’s just been told he has to take a nap. “Let me guess, you’re not going to go out with any of these guys this weekend because you’re too busy?”

“I don’t know. There’s this guy who wants to shoot his antique car collection and wants to use a couple of models. He requested me and I told him I would probably do it if I could get my art history paper done in time.”

Marcus’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline as he says, “Oh really...”

Exasperated, I shoot a rubber band at him. “Oh shut up!” I exclaim. “It’s not like that. The last time I was there I exchanged recipes for empanadas with his very lovely wife. She insisted he give me a big enough tip that it bought two of my textbooks this term.”

“Okay, so I was wrong. But I worry about you going out on these modeling gigs,” Marcus grudgingly admits.

“Says the guy who signed me up for an online dating service without telling me. Hypocritical much?”

“I totally deserve that. I know you’re careful and I know I sound like a crazy, possessive overprotective brother—”

I roll my eyes at him as I tease, “Yeah, I’m sure that Sadie would be thrilled if you returned to your post in her life. After all, what freshman girl doesn’t want her tattooed, menacing big brother lurking in the hall?”

Marcus scowls over the top of his drafting easel. “Damn straight I should be there. Do you have any idea what eighteen year old boys think about all day?”

I smirk at him as I quip, “Probably the same thing as twenty-five year old men.”

He moans and buries his head in his hands, “What’s so great about UCLA? There are lots of great schools in Florida.”

“Relax, Marc. You’ve been teaching her to scrape off the bottom-feeders since she was about twelve.” I reason. “She is a pro now. You did your job well—just like you’ve done with me.”

Embarrassed by my admission, I walk over to the filing cabinets and start to re-file the stack of reference drawings and portfolio pictures. 

Marcus drapes his arm around my shoulder and pulls me towards his side for a hug. 

“Don’t mention it,” he replies, brushing off the compliment. “I’m your most annoying best friend, it’s part of my mandatory job duties.”

“Just so you don’t get a big head or anything, I feel compelled to point out that you are virtually my only friend here in the land of sunny beaches and palm trees.”

“Those are just details... You have to look at the big picture here.” 

“Yeah, you’re right.” I agree. “Let’s analyze this. You miss your sister. So, you obviously need to make a road trip. Is she planning to come home for break?”

“No! Can you believe this? She said she has too much studying to do over break to make it worth the cost to fly home. I don’t think she knows how much I make on a custom back piece,” he muses, frustration seething from every pore. 

It’s a good thing Marcus can’t see my face as I smother a grin. I suspect his little sis is spending Thanksgiving at the boyfriend’s place. But, there may be certain things my friend just isn’t ready to hear.

“She’s probably just busy,” I answer carefully.

Marcus gasps as he exclaims, “Rogue Betancourt, you did
not
just use your ‘socially acceptable polite’ voice on me!”

The spider web in the ceiling fan was becoming more interesting with each beat of my pounding heart. I hate lying to Marcus—even by omission. But, when it comes down to it; it’s not even my story to tell.

I nod a tight nod.

A pained look crosses his face as he replies, “Despite my zaniness, I know I can always count on you not to feed me any crap—even if it’s hard. Why are you changing the rules now?”

I sigh as I choose my words with precision, “Marc, you’re my best friend too and sometimes I choose not to tell you things because I know they are going to just stress you out. This is one of those times.”

Marcus groans in frustration, as he practically bellows, “Oh great! Now, I have to wait a whole week wondering what you mean.”

I reach up and pat him gently on the cheek. I sigh as I respond, “Okay, don’t say I didn’t try to warn you. But, I suspect that Sadie is probably spending Thanksgiving with her boyfriend. It’s a scary, liberating thing for a woman the first time that she spends a holiday away from her family.”

“
Woman?
” Marcus sputters. “She’s still a little girl. I mean it wasn’t that long ago she got her driver’s license.”

Massaging the tense muscles in his shoulders, I reply, “Marc, I know it’s hard, but Sadie is nineteen. But, thanks to you, she’s also incredibly savvy and smart when it comes to guys so she’s going to be just fine.”

“Maybe, but now we
definitely
need to take that road trip to see what’s going on. There is a trade show in San Francisco in the end of December. Does that match up with your break from school?”

“That’s a nice fantasy Marcus, but I would never be able to afford to go to California,” I respond dryly shrugging out of his half embrace.

Marcus catches my arm and spins me around so I have to look at him. “Look, you’re here to be an apprentice. Part of that is learning about all the new trends and techniques as well as scoping out the equipment and inks. A trade show is a great way to do that. I know it’s easy to forget I’m a part owner in this place because I’m such a clown, but it is my responsibility to make sure you get properly trained. So, I would pick up the cost of your trip. I’m not doing this because we’re friends. I’m doing this because I want to make you a better tattoo artist.”

I’m a little surprised by the serious tone in his voice. Although, I’m not really sure why it shocks me. I know despite all appearances, Marcus is incredibly successful at what he does and dedicated to his craft. There is nothing more devastating to Marcus than someone who is not happy with their tattoo. Yet, despite the fact he’s made a huge name for himself and is starting to get national recognition, he would rather downplay all of his success and live like a college frat boy. He doesn’t treat anybody differently now than he did when I met him six years ago when he was just starting out.

Usually, I’m pretty good at keeping my emotions in check, but my elation over the opportunity to go to California with Marcus to an actual trade show and see Sadie again is just too much to hide. I start bouncing on the balls of my feet as I grin widely. “I’ll have to check my schedule to see when my last final is over. I’ll make sure I don’t take any modeling jobs that week.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind about getting some ink?” Marcus asks me with a twinkle in his eye. This is an old debate between us. He’s been trying to convince me to get a tattoo for years. He thinks it’s hysterically funny that I’m apprenticing to be a tattoo artist but I don’t actually have any tattoos yet. I have reams of drawings of tattoos that I plan to get—someday. 

“With your amazing body and stunning face, I bet there will be some pretty famous tattoo artists that would be itching to use your body as a canvas.” 

“I know that I’m no Sofia Vergara, but for now I make a few extra dollars on the side modeling. It’s easier for me to book jobs if they don’t have to cover tattoos with makeup. So, for now it’s purely a financial decision for me. I don’t plan to make a career out of modeling, it’s just a means to make it possible for me to go to school.”

Marcus takes a good long leering look at me as he remarks, “Speaking as your friend here, not your employer, I don’t know who gave you the idea that you’re not as hot as Sofia Vergara.”

I laugh at the expression on his face. “Knock it off, Marcus. I’m so firmly in the friend zone with you that I doubt you even remember I’m a girl. Do I need to remind you that you challenged me to a burping contest last week?”

“Oh, you mean the contest you almost won? If I hadn’t been assisted by a liter of Dr. Pepper, you would’ve won that one hands down. But, just because you happen to be my best friend doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate your many assets as a woman,” Marcus replies wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

“You might not believe this, but having you as my best friend has really built up my self-confidence. Thanks to you, I can now tell when a guy is sincerely into me or just feeding me a line. You’ve given me some valuable information about guys and their go-to-plays. It’s really helped me sort out the crap and not take it personally.”

“Geez, I feel like I’ve broken some sacred man code or something,” Marcus mutters under his breath.

“No really, you have no idea how helpful it’s been,” I explain. I start to pace around the work space as I become more animated. “You have no idea what it’s like to walk down the street and have people comment on my appearance when all I’m trying to do is grab a cup of coffee. Guys make catcalls and suggestive comments as if I’m going to think it’s some sort of aphrodisiac and drop my panties on the spot. Before I met you, I used to take all this stuff personally—like there was something wrong or defective with me. I thought maybe I was putting out some weird vibe to attract all the creeps. But after you’ve spent all these years explaining ‘guy-ness’ to me, I realize that it’s not me, it’s them. So, hanging around you has been great for my self-esteem.”

Marcus looks incredibly befuddled as he answers slowly, “I think there’s a complement in there somewhere. I don’t want you to think that all guys are like those misogynistic assholes who degrade you on the street. There are better classes of men out there. You just need to find them. I promise we exist.”

I stop and look at my incredibly handsome best friend and wonder again why he’s still single. “I know men like you exist. I see how you treat women and you are amazing to the women in your life. Why some great chick hasn’t snatched you off the market is beyond me.”

“Maybe I have some pretty great women in my life who show me how high the bar should be and my standards are quite high,” Marcus comments as seems to do a full body shake like a dog after a bath. “Enough of this serious talk. We are so going to go to Disneyland and Universal Studios when we go to California. I want to see if it’s different from Disney World. Besides, the little routine that you have going on that you in your so called life is entirely too serious. You’re not too scared to go on the roller coasters are you?”

“Umm, No—” I reply, laughing, “but I have heard that the It’s a Small World ride is a little creepy.”