20. Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Avery
Jessie says this in the same casual tone someone would use to talk about the weather.
I blink at her. “He’s getting his dick pierced?” I whisper, trying to hide my shock. My face immediately goes red, though I don’t know why. Of course, I know that people get their genitals pierced. I guess I just hadn’t considered the process.
“Yep,” Jessie says, pulling me back to the present .
I turn back to look at the client. He’s sitting casually in one of the chairs in the waiting area scrolling on his phone. He doesn’t look nervous in the least. Though I suppose he might be hiding his nerves. I try to imagine how I’d feel if I were about to get my genitals pierced. My stomach does an uncomfortable flip at the idea. No, thank you. I don’t judge anyone for their choices, but I don’t think I could let someone stick a needle through such a sensitive part of my body.
“Why?”
I don’t realize I said the word aloud until Jessie shrugs.
“I don’t ask their reasons,” she says. “Unless they’re totally misinformed about the end result. Then I might set the record straight. Just to make sure they’re getting the right piercing for what they want.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, genuinely curious.
I realize I don’t know nearly enough about this subject. Now that I really think about it, it’s not that much different than getting a nose piercing or a tongue ring. And it’s not my place to judge someone’s choices. Though I am curious.
“Some piercings can be therapeutic,” she says. “There are some people who swear that piercing certain cartilage in the ear will alleviate migraines. I’ve never had an issue with migraines, so I can’t speak from experience. But I’ve had a lot of clients come back and tell me it worked wonders for them. ”
“What kind of headache do you fix with a penis piercing?” I ask.
She laughs. “That’s usually for a different ailment.”
“Like what?”
I follow her back to the private room that we use for piercings and tattoos that are on sensitive areas of the body. Jessie talks as she walks.
“Some believe circumcision can affect the sensitivity of the penis,” she says. “A piercing in the right place can help increase sensitivity during intercourse. There are also some piercings that can only be done on an uncircumcised penis. In some cultures, genital piercing is a rite of passage. Some get it to increase sexual satisfaction for their partner. Whatever the reason, it’s really important that your piercer knows what they’re doing. Otherwise, they can cause irreparable damage to the penis or the urethra. It’s not as simple as just poking a needle through a dick.”
I nod.
“Is there any body part you don’t pierce?” I ask.
She thinks about it for a moment. “Not really. But if the type of piercing a client wants isn’t feasible for their body type, I won’t risk doing permanent damage. So, in those instances, I’ll refuse.”
I want to ask her to elaborate, but I know her client is waiting. Besides, if I’m being totally honest, some strange curiosity in me wants to see this. So, I watch in silence as Jessie gathers the supplies needed for her to pierce Paul’s dick. It’s a surprisingly simple setup for something that seems like a major event. At least, I’m assuming it’s a major event. For all I know, Paul has a multitude of piercings lining his dick. Is that called a Jacob’s Ladder? I’m not sure how many piercings count as a ladder. Maybe I should look that up. Clearly, my education in pierced peens is sorely lacking. I work to slow my rambling thoughts and focus on the setup.
There are a couple of sterile packages containing metal implements. I’m assuming one is the large, hollow needle Jessie will use to do the piercing. The other is probably a pair of forceps. I try to picture how she’ll use the device to grasp a penis, but I can't quite envision it. When I decided to learn to be a tattoo artist, I never imagined this situation. A ridiculous thought flits through my mind and I almost laugh at the absurdity. I wonder how my mother would react if she could see me now. How scandalized she’d be if she knew I was getting ready to watch my tattooed friend push a needle through a man’s penis. I think she’d finally be rendered speechless, for once. It might be worth the fallout to see that. Somehow, I manage to keep my composure while Jessie finishes preparing.
By the time she’s ready for me to bring Paul back, I’m nervous as if I’m about to do the piercing myself. So far, I haven’t touched any of the clients except to offer a cool compress yesterday when a girl looked like she might faint. My job until now has been to fetch water, scan paperwork, check IDs, and watch quietly while the others do the actual work. I’ve learned more than I expected to after just a couple of weeks, but I get the feeling my education is about to take a major leap forward. I don’t look in Corbin’s direction as I walk. He’s a distraction I don’t want right now.
“Paul?” I say with what I hope is a reassuring smile. “We’re ready for you.”
He stands and walks toward me, his expression as serene as if he were walking back to get his hair cut rather than his dick pierced. I’m not sure where his sense of calm comes from, but it’s admirable. He follows me into the room where Jessie’s waiting with a calm smile on her face. I close the door behind us and she gestures for Paul to have a seat on the table.
“I prefer to do these with the client lying down,” Jessie says. I realize her words are as much for my benefit as they are for Paul’s. “Less chance of anyone falling.”
I realize what she’s not saying. If the client is lying down, there’s less chance of them hitting the floor if they pass out. I’m guessing it’s happened before. I don’t ask though. I have enough tact to realize talking about the possibility of fainting in front of someone who’s about to have their dick pierced with a large needle is probably not the best idea. So, I nod my understanding as Paul moves to lie down. Jessie hands him a sheet.
“Pull everything down to your knees and cover up with that.”
Jessie takes this time to put on a pair of black nitrile gloves. I’m standing there, unsure of what I should be doing when she hands me a pair .
“In case I need another pair of hands,” she says.
I raise a brow, wondering what she might need my hands for, but I don’t say anything. I just nod and take the gloves from her. Once I’m gloved up, we both move closer to the table where Paul is lying.
“I’m going to be talking throughout the process,” she says. “This is for you and for my apprentice. Is that okay?”
Paul nods. “Sure.”
Jessie smiles. “The biggest possible complication when it comes to any piercing is typically infection. There’s a possibility of the body rejecting the piercing, but infection is the most pressing concern. Which means it’s incredibly important to make sure everything is clean. Including the part to be pierced. We use sterile needles and jewelry, obviously. And not that we don’t trust your cleanliness, Paul, but we’ll give the area a thorough cleaning prior to getting started.”
Paul just nods.
“I’m going to uncover you now and get started.”
He nods again.
I watch as Jessie lowers the sheet and I get an eyeful of Paul’s penis. There’s a small part of me that can’t help but stare. It’s not every day that I see a random man’s penis. But I also know I need to be professional. This is just another part of my job. I’m an artist and the human body is my canvas. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be called on to tattoo a penis one day. I can’t be squeamish about it, and I damned sure can’t be weird about it. So, no more staring at Paul’s dick. I need to think of it clinically. It’s the only way.
I watch as Jessie washes and dries the area, explaining every step along the way. Not that it looks all that complicated. It’s just washing a dick. That seems simple enough. Not that I’ve ever washed one before. Great. Now I’m imagining washing dicks. Specifically, I’m imagining washing Corbin’s dick. I wonder what it would feel like in my hand. Is it large? Curved? Thick? He’s a big man, so I would imagine he’s proportional, though I know that’s not always the case. I realize Jessie is talking again and I shake off my pervy thoughts about my boss.
“I’m going to use a marker to indicate the entry and exit for the piercing,” she says.
She grasps Paul’s penis in her gloved hand and eyes the underside with a critical eye. With the skin marker in her other hand, she makes two small dots on the skin just beneath the head of Paul’s dick.
“Does that look straight to you?” she asks.
When I realize she’s asking me, I focus on the two dots. They look perfectly straight to me, one on either side of the small bit of raised skin on the underside of the penis head.
I nod. “Oh. Um. Looks straight to me.”
Jessie dips her head in agreement. “Good. Let’s get to it, then.” Looking back to Paul, she smiles. “I’m going to use the forceps to hold it perfectly still. It’s important that you don’t move. You’ll feel pressure, but this part shouldn’t be painful. I’ll let you know before the needle. Okay?”
He nods. “Okay.”
For the first time, I can hear a hint of nerves in his voice. Now that it’s about to happen, it’s as if he’s finally realized he should be nervous.
“You’re doing great,” Jessie says in a reassuring voice.
He just nods but doesn’t say anything.
“You want to be careful when you grasp the skin,” Jessie says, talking to me again. “You don’t want to pinch and cause pain. You just want to hold it still so your needle will go through straight and smooth.”
I nod, watching as she lines up the holes on the ends of the forceps with the two dots she made. She’s careful to make sure it’s lined up evenly and that the two dots are centered. I glance over at Paul to see that he’s got his eyes closed now and he looks tense.
“Take a deep breath, Paul,” Jessie says. “Am I hurting you?”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m just nervous.”
She nods. “That’s totally normal. I just need you to keep breathing, slow and steady. And don’t move. Can you do that?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“Good. And you’re sure you want to keep going? We can stop now if you want.”
He shakes his head. “I’m good. I want to do this. ”
“Okay,” she says. “I’m going to give you some breathing instructions now. I’m going to let you know before I pierce you.”
“Okay.”
She smiles. “Good.”
With her free hand, Jessie picks up the hollow piercing needle that’s already loaded with a metal barbell.
“Take a deep breath, Paul.”
I watch as his chest rises.
“Blow it all the way out.”
Paul exhales, long and slow.
“Take another deep breath,” Jessie says.
I find myself breathing along with her instructions. My gaze is locked on the penis in Jessie’s hand.
“Blow it out,” she says. “Here it comes. 1…2…3.”
With one smooth motion, Jessie presses the sharp instrument through the skin of Paul’s penis. It happens so quickly that if I’d blinked, I might have missed it. Paul hisses in a breath and his face tightens in pain, but he doesn’t flinch. His hands are fisted at his sides, and I can see his breathing is faster now. But overall, he’s more composed than I expected someone who just had a piece of metal stabbed through their genitals. I’m slightly impressed. Jessie screws the second ball onto the barbell and dabs at the tiny bit of blood at the entry site.
“You okay?” she asks.
Paul nods. “Uh huh.” He blows out a quick breath. “Just need a second. ”
His voice is tight, and I can tell he’s in pain, but he’s handling it well, considering. I think I’d probably cry.
“You’re going to want to keep it clean and dry,” Jessie says, talking as she cleans the remaining blood. “I’ve got printed after-care instructions that you’ll go home with. The biggest thing is to pay attention. Some swelling is normal at first, but you’ll want to look out for signs of infection. If you think it’s infected, go to a doctor as soon as possible. You don’t want your dick to fall off.”
“Is that possible?” Paul asks, his voice cracking.
“I’ve never seen it happen, but why risk it?” she says. “Just take care of it. Follow the instructions and you’ll be fine.”
He nods. “I will.”
She nods toward the mirror on the wall. “Stand up and take a look,” she says. “Then we’ll get it wrapped up and you’ll be good to go.”
Paul seems to have lost all modesty now that we’re finished with his piercing. He stands, his pants hovering around his hips. With one hand on his dick and one keeping his pants from falling off, he awkwardly waddles over to the mirror on the wall behind him and studies his new jewelry.
“Well?” Jessie asks after a few seconds. “What do you think?”
He nods. “It’s just what I wanted.”
“Good. Cause I don’t think you want me to redo it,” she says with a grin.
“Hell no,” he says with a laugh. “Once is enough. ”
“You’d be surprised how many people come back for more,” she says. “Have a seat and let me bandage it.”
As he does so, I set to work cleaning up the workstation the way Jessie showed me. By the time Paul is finished and his pants are on again, I’ve got all the sharps disposed of and the table wiped down. I open the door to lead him back out front with a smile.
“Right this way,” Jessie says.
She leads Paul out to the front desk and gives him a copy of his aftercare instructions with the admonishment to follow them to the letter. He grins and assures her that he will, then turns to leave. After hearing Jessie warn him that his dick might fall off, I have a feeling he’s telling the truth. I turn back around and let out a yelp of surprise when I find Corbin standing so close, I nearly run into him. I take a step back and put a hand over my racing heart.
“Shit,” I say, blowing out a breath. “You scared me.”
When I get a good look at his face, I realize he looks furious. I’ve never seen him like this. He hadn’t even looked this angry the first day we met when he’d thrown me out of the shop. His face is drawn in tight lines and there’s a muscle ticking in his jaw. His dark eyes are narrowed at me. I’m confused. We’d been getting along fine earlier. I even thought we’d turned a corner in our working relationship. So, what’s his problem now?
“What the hell was that?” He bites off the words.
“What was what?” I ask, confusion evident in my words .
“The client,” he says. “What was he here for?”
“Frenum,” Jessie says from behind Corbin.
He angles his head to look in her direction but doesn’t move out of my path.
“Why didn’t you ask me or Noah to assist you?” he asks.
“You were busy, boss,” Jessie says. “And Noah had to leave early, remember? Besides, she’s gotta learn it eventually, right?”
I can’t read Corbin’s expression right now, but something tells me he doesn’t agree with Jessie’s opinion. I don’t understand why he’s bothered by me helping her. It’s not like I violated any of the rules. I didn’t assist with the actual piercing. I didn’t touch a client.
“I followed the rules,” I say, feeling suddenly defensive. “I only helped with the set-up and cleaning up after. Oh, and the paperwork.”
He ignores me, turning to fully face Jessie. “Next time, wait for me or Noah.”
Jessie’s brows furrow in confusion. “She did great. Practically a pro.”
I can tell immediately that it’s the wrong thing to say. Corbin’s expression goes even darker, if that’s possible.
“I’m sure,” he says sarcastically. “Next time wait for me or Noah. She’s not a piercer. She’s barely even an apprentice. She needs to focus on learning the business instead of worrying about seeing random dicks.”
My face goes hot even though I have no reason to feel ashamed. Fast on the heels of that is a rush of anger. Who the hell does he think he is? I hadn’t even known what piercing Jessie was doing before I volunteered to help her. Besides, he’s the one who sent me to see if she needed help. I’ve done nothing but follow his stupid rules for weeks. How dare he imply that I was anything but professional?
Jessie blinks, her face a mask of confusion. “Whoa. That’s a little out of line, don’t you think?”
She sounds both hurt and angry. I see Corbin’s shoulders sag slightly and I wonder if he feels guilty for hurting her feelings. I know he has no issue hurting mine, so I don’t give myself time to imagine that.
“Your problem is with me,” I say, my voice hard. “Don’t take it out on her.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Whatever. I’ll be in my office.”
He turns and stomps back toward the back of the building, shoulders tense. I feel a hot, angry ball rising in my chest. I’m not shocked that he was a dick to me, but I can’t believe he would act that way toward Jessie. Sure, she likes to push his buttons, but the two of them have always gotten along great. Judging by the hurt expression on her face, she’d been shocked too. I turn to look at her.
“What crawled up his ass?” she asks.
I work to unclench my jaw. “Nothing yet,” I say. “But that’s about to change.”
“Avery, don’t,” Jessie says.
“Too late. ”
Before I can think rationally or talk myself out of it, I let all my righteous fury carry me to Corbin’s office door. I try the knob without knocking, unsurprised to find it locked. Balling up my fist, I pound on the door.
“Open this door!”
“Not fucking now, Avery,” Corbin says from the other side.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I call through the door. “If you’ve got a problem with me, you can talk to me about it.”
“I think I’m going to go,” Jessie says from behind me.
I turn to give her a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for the educational experience.”
She smiles nervously, eyeing the closed door behind me. “You sure you’re good?”
I nod. “Absolutely. He doesn’t scare me.”
Her lips twitch into a faint smile. “Good luck with that.”
I’m not sure if I’m imagining the knowing gleam in her eye or not, but I choose to ignore it. I turn back to the door as she turns to go. I wait until the front door closes behind her before I start to pound on the office door again.
“Corbin James, open this fucking door! You’re being a child!”
I raise my fist to knock a third time just as the door flies inward and I’m face-to-face with a wall of muscled chest. My gaze moves up to his face and I see the unmasked fury there. Part of me wonders if I should let this go, but the rest of me is still pissed off at his shitty behavior.
“You’re the one pitching a fit right now,” he says.
His voice is deceptively calm, but there’s a dark fury in his eyes. Even so, I don’t back down. He might try to intimidate me, but I don’t think he’d hurt me.
“What the hell is your problem?”
“You’re my fucking problem,” he says through clenched teeth.
He crowds into my space, but I don’t back down. “Well, that’s too bad. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
He huffs out a laugh that’s devoid of humor. “Believe me, I know. You’re fucking everywhere I turn.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” he says, leaning down until his face is inches from mine. “That every time I turn around, you’re there. I can’t move without bumping into you. I can’t fucking breathe without smelling your perfume.” He leans closer and my heart catches in my throat. When he speaks again, his voice is low and growly. “I can’t go to sleep at night without wondering how it feels to be inside you. You’re every-fucking-where, and I can’t make it stop.”