Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.
We had big plans in high school—after graduation, we were going to save money over the summer and leave the town we were caged in. Ollie had an apprenticeship lined up with a mechanic shop two hours away in Omaha before graduating. Jax knew he would start working at a tattoo shop his cousin King owned.
Everything we planned sounded fantastic for three foster kids. We just wanted to see the world beyond our little bubble. Our plans changed when our foster parents died in a fire that destroyed their home just a week before our high school graduation. I guess you could call it our home too, but we would disagree on that. It was just a roof over our heads. Not a home.
After that weekend, we left our hometown Belchester as soon as possible. Ollie and Jax started working at their new jobs in Omaha earlier than planned. I spent that summer thinking aboutherand waiting for my classes to begin. It was a tough time for us as we had lost our stuff and had no idea what had happened. Even if we hated our foster parents, their deaths changed us in ways we didn’t expect. It fucked up our heads. We haven’t talked about it much, but I’ve seen how it still haunts the guys, too.
Then I dropped out of college after a year and moved to New York City to start my company. Six years later, business is doing great, and both Ollie and Jax have moved closer to me. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. They tell me I’m full of shit. They just can’t admit they missed me.
Ollie started his custom auto repair business with my financial help last summer. He lives in a spacious apartment above his business. Three months after the shop opened, Jax moved close to Ollie’s place to establish The King Tattoos’ latest extension.
I have got a full sleeve tattoo on my right arm, thanks to Jax and his cousin Ethan “King” Kingston. Thank fuck, Jax’s tattooing skills have drastically improved since he started practicing on us at age 17. We all had shitty tattoos that he covered or retouched once he was better at his craft. Now, I can proudly say that all but one of my tattoos are by one and only Jax Bennett. The exception is the Phoenix that covers almost half of my right arm. I got it just weeks before the fire that changed my life.
* * *
After a while, the main door opens again, and Jax comes in. Seeing my other best friend for the first time in weeks, I stand up again and give him a massive hug. I’ve been waiting for our new monthly lunch date tradition.
“Eli, dude, how’s it hanging?” Jax asks after our hug and takes a seat.
“I’m just feeling anxious about tomorrow and that damn interview. How’s everything going with you?”
Smiling a pleased smile, my best friend replies. “All good, all good. King, Angel, and Big O are all coming to see the extension location next month. If I’m lucky, Uncle Joey will be here too. I haven’t seen him in a while, so it should be good.”
Jax has close relationships with his three cousins and Uncle Joey. Like Ollie,Jax grew up without a father, and his mother wasn’t the maternal type. That’s why he spent most of his time at Joey’s growing up—until the night he entered the foster care system.
His mother’s asshole husband cornered Jax after returning from the bar, and Jax defended himself with a kitchen knife he saw on the counter. Nobody died, but it wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Jax being only a teen at the time, social services decided to place him in foster care.
His tattooed arms, rock’n’roll style, and body piercings made him stand out in our small town during our senior year. Thinking about it more, his black hair, forest green eyes, and pale skin also add to his mystic persona. Jax looks like he walked out of a magazine—if there were magazines for guys who look like vampires fromThe Vampire Diaries. It was Ollie’s sister Livia who said it first years ago. She still thinks Jax could be one of them with his mysterious persona. She just doesn’t know him as well as I do. He isn’t that mysterious once you get to know him.
When Ollie finishes a conversation with one of his employees, he signs that he’ll be with us shortly. He walks to his office and comes back out seconds later, holding his wallet and phone. We sandwich Ollie between us when he gets close. There are muffled words about how we are the biggest dickheads out there. But it’s all said with love.
Always with love.
* * *
Eating my Korean Noodle Soup at a hole-in-the-wall place near Ollie’s shop, I almost choke as Jax talks about the latest woman in his life.
“Dude, you should see Cherry’s knockers. They’re like a pair of perfect melons. Unbelievably so. Just as juicy as well. She has her nipples pierced, too. You know how much I enjoy piercings in the right places.” Jax describes with deliberate hand gestures and facial expressions. I hold in my groan as I know it would only egg him on.
But he keeps going on and on about her rack until Ollie has enough. “Don’t be such a dick, Jax. She deserves some respect. ” He winces as he keeps listening to Jax’s colorful descriptions.
“Yeah, Jax, listen to Ollie for once, dude. What would Cherry think if she heard you right now? Did you ever consider that?” I grill Jax.
He looks shocked at our reactions to his words. “Shit, sorry. I just like Cherry and her body, okay? You don’t have to be such dicks about it”, he huffs and wolfs down the rest of his Kimchi Stew without another word. Typical Jax. He doesn’t always think before he speaks. And yes, his latest fling is called Cherry, and she ain’t a stripper. Just another tattoo-loving rocker chick from Hoboken.
When I glance at Ollie, I can almost read what he thinks from his look alone. We both expect this romance to last around two weeks—a month tops. Jax isn’t known for commitment. It’s like he and Ollie switched the roles because Jax had a long-term girlfriend back in high school and now he avoids getting too close to anyone.
As we finish our lunch, I realize that these guys have been there for me and know everything about my past. Well, nearly everything. I never shared the details of the night I spent withher. As it was my first time and I had no idea what I was doing, I wasn’t going to share my humiliation with two people who could give me brotherly shit about it.
My mind seems to go back to her more lately.
Maggie.
Even her name warms me up from inside. What happened to her anyway? She’s still a mystery to me. I haven’t found any information about her. Her relatives keep quiet, and there are no social media accounts forMaggie Summers.I sometimes wonder if she changed her name too.
I wish I could have been there for her when she needed me. She was all alone in that hospital room. It kills me that I couldn’t help her or even hold her hand through it all. But it’s too late to fix the past.
4
