Pierced Pages (Sapphic Book Club #1)

Chapter 1

Morgan

The metal bowl clanged on the linoleum, echoing through the kitchen and off the bare walls of the adjoining living room. Morgan cursed loud enough for Jen to hear across the apartment.

“You need help out there?”

“No, I’m good!”

Late. Clumsy. But good.

Basically, normal.

She bent down to retrieve the bowl, grateful it had been empty. Then she added a scoop of food. Reginald rubbed her leg, pressing his huge, fluffy body against it.

The dark gray beast had been with her since she had found him outside her apartment three years ago. He was a tiny thing back then, and she had no idea he’d turn into such a big, gorgeous cat.

When she didn’t put down the food fast enough, he nipped her calf.

Reginald was a biter, too. Part of his charm.

She put the food in the bowl, then hurried to the bedroom to see what her best friend had come up with.

Jen stood in front of the bed, still wearing her threadbare tank top and shredded jeans she’d worn straight from the tattoo and piercing shop where they both worked.

Her curly blonde bob was pinned back at the sides, exposing a fresh cartilage piercing that Morgan had done for her a couple of weeks back.

She waved her arms in a flourish at the three dresses she’d laid out on the dark blue comforter.

Three dresses Morgan most definitely did not want to wear.

“Nope.” Morgan dove into her tiny closet and dug around frantically for anything she could tolerate. Finally, she found something that might work.

Jen laughed softly, the raspy tenor sound a contrast to her diminutive frame. “Remind me why I’m here?”

Morgan had begged Jen to come over to help her get ready.

It was a rare occasion that they had an evening off together.

Morgan had traded off with the other piercer so she could leave early, and Jen’s schedule just happened to be clear early that Saturday evening, so Morgan was taking full advantage of the opportunity to recruit help.

She wasn’t very good at this sort of thing, and to be honest, she could use the company and cheerleading. Otherwise, she might back out at the last minute.

Very last minute at this rate.

“You’re here because you’re my best friend, and I need your opinions.” Morgan nodded at the dresses on the bed. “And sometimes I need to see the wrong answers to find the right one.”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Just put that on before you’re even later than you already are.”

Morgan backed into the narrow bathroom with her potential outfit draped over one arm and aimed a finger at Jen. “See, that’s why I need you. You keep me on track.”

A few minutes later, Morgan emerged from the bathroom, hoping she didn’t smell like the strong cleaners she’d used in there that morning. She held out her arms and spun around so Jen could get the full view from the edge of the bed.

“Do these go together? Am I missing something? Is there some gigantic wrinkle I can’t see?”

Jen’s eyes widened in what looked like earnest approval, but her expression morphed into concern. “Are you sure about that?”

Morgan looked down at her outfit and ran her fingers over the front of the silky blouse she’d picked. She wasn’t sure about anything when it came to fashion, but she was sure about one thing.

“I’m sure I’m not wearing one of those dresses,” she said, pointing to the pile of clothes on her bed. “Not unless I absolutely have to.”

She wasn’t even sure why she still kept so many things she had no plans to wear.

They were all from the days of going to her mom’s political events, back when they had to play the role of the perfect little family.

But since perfect didn’t allow for Morgan being queer, she long ago stopped going to those things. Or going around her mother at all.

Jen put a finger to her mouth as she assessed the situation. The bright colors on her forearm were on full display as her tattoo sleeve filled with anime characters sat front and center with the gesture.

“It does look nice,” Jen said. “I just mean it’s cold out.”

She was right. They might be in South Louisiana, but February was still cold, even with the mild warm front that had passed through a couple of days ago.

Morgan grabbed a black open-front sweater and held it up. “Handled.”

“How formal is this recommitment ceremony thing? Will your cousin care if you wear pants? Or a sleeveless top? I haven’t been to a wedding since I was a kid, and that wasn’t exactly a formal affair. Does it matter what you wear?”

Jen had grown up a far cry from Morgan’s upbringing. She’d been raised as a free-range kid with seven brothers and sisters, all of whom spent most of their time running barefoot through the woods behind their house.

Morgan looked down at the shiny green blouse hanging loosely from her long torso. It showed off her arms, which had seen a lot more of the gym lately. The light gray wide-leg pants she paired it with were wrinkle-free, which wasn’t something she could say about the rest of her wardrobe.

“She’d better be okay with this,” Morgan said. “It came from her boutique.”

Even if it hadn’t been from the boutique her cousin managed, she wasn’t about to let anyone tell her what she was or wasn’t allowed to wear.

Not anymore.

Jen shrugged. “I just know people can be weird about formal stuff. Especially when family’s involved.”

More than anyone, Jen knew how Morgan’s family felt about appearances. So, the question wasn’t completely off the mark.

“People being weird about weddings is not my problem, and Kim isn’t anything like my mom,” Morgan said. “Besides. This isn’t an official wedding. They separated for a little while but are back together now. It’s basically just a big party.”

“Ah, got it,” Jen said. “Then you look perfect.”

“Thank you.”

Jen sifted through the pile of castoff dresses while Morgan went back into the bathroom and left the door open.

“You can have any of those you want,” Morgan said. “I don’t plan on wearing any of them unless I have to, so I only need to keep one or two.”

Jen pulled a reddish-pink sleeveless dress from the pile and held it against her as she sat on the edge of the bed. The color looked great against her cool-toned skin and curly blonde bob. And the bold color played well with all of her tattoos.

“You sure?”

“Yes,” Morgan said. “In fact, if you don’t take that one, I’ll be offended.”

Jen smiled at her. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” She grabbed two different earrings and held one up to each of her ears. Then, she turned back to face the bedroom. “Which one?”

Jen assessed her and the choices. “The clear chandelier ones. Definitely. Mostly because I know you won’t wear them for anything else, and they deserve to see some action.”

“I don’t know what kind of action you think we’re talking about here.

” Morgan removed the onyx and titanium posts from her lobes and replaced them with the dangly earrings Jen had selected.

The ones she had made a couple of years back but never had the chance to wear now that she had freed herself from all formal obligations.

She made sure the rest of her jewelry was secure but left everything else in place.

“Just public adoration action,” Jen said. “They’re pretty is all I’m saying.”

“Thanks. And you’re right. I don’t wear them except for special occasions. And it isn’t like I have a lot of those.”

Which was fine with Morgan. Way better than when she had all those fancy events and had to play a role she wasn’t right for.

Now, working at the tattoo and piercing shop took up most of her days. The rest of her time was filled with spontaneous outings with Jen, their weekly TV “date,” and couch snuggles with Reginald.

“Then make the best of this occasion,” Jen said.

Morgan laughed as she placed her regular earrings into the tiny ceramic bowl on the bathroom counter then tossed the unselected pair back into the jewelry box drawer.

“I’m going to this thing for Kim. End of story,” she said, swiping on lipstick and mascara. No time for a full round of makeup. “And she’ll be a little busy celebrating with her wife.”

“My offer to go with you still stands.” Jen stood and held out the dress she’d adopted from the pile. “I have something to wear now.”

Morgan had invited Jen the minute she’d found out about the ceremony. Jen had been happy to go with her, but Morgan knew her back was bothering her after a long ink session earlier that afternoon.

“You’re still welcome to come if you’d like,” Morgan said. “Really. But I don’t plan on staying long. I’ll be fine either way. You should rest.”

“If you’re sure,” Jen said. “I only have plans with my fuzzy socks, a heating pad, and reality garbage.”

“The best garbage.” Morgan hurried into the closet and grabbed her all-purpose black flats. “But you’d better not watch our show without me.”

They’d made a routine of watching this new dating show together on Sundays, the one day the shop was closed.

It was just them, a bowl of popcorn, and Reginald for an hour.

Morgan’s favorite time of the week. It was the one constant in her life besides work.

For everything else, she preferred to wing it.

Jen smiled. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll be ready and waiting for the next episode tomorrow.”

Morgan looked down at herself and smoothed the front of her clothes, sweater in one hand. “Am I missing anything?”

She felt like a wreck most days, and it was a rare one when she didn’t forget something.

Jen folded the dress over one arm and grabbed Morgan with the other, ushering her toward the front of the apartment. “Only missing your keys, wallet, and phone.”

Morgan scooped those from her dinette table. “Check, check, and check.”

After a quick glance at the time, she realized she was going to be later than she’d planned. Even later than normal for her.

“It’ll be fine,” Jen said, pushing her toward the front door and following her outside. “Have a good time and text me later about all the fun I’m skipping out on.”

Morgan scoffed as she locked the front door behind them. “Fun. Sure.”