Telephone

"Sure," Nadia said, looking up from her sketches. A very nervous Erin sat down next to her.

"What's up?" Nadia said, pulling back her blonde hair into a ponytail, "I saw you talking to that guy afterwards," referring to Joey; she was always observant when it came to her friends.

Erin nervously grinned, "Yeah, that's what I want to talk to you about."

Nadia patiently waited for Erin to continue.

"His name is Joey and he asked me to hang out with him." Erin quickly glanced around her for no apparent reason. "And I said yes," she said slowly, "I have this good feeling about him."

It was the same feeling she had every time she saw James. It was a warm, happy feeling. Erin sighed deeply.

She felt disappointed in herself for feeling this way about someone that isn't James. This was one of the few times she wished she could control how she felt.

"I don't even know why I'm making a big deal about this. I just met the guy." Erin softly chuckled.

Nadia rubbed her right eye, something she often did because she constantly focused on her art. Her eyes were hurting after only two hours of sketching.

"Well, its alright to hang out with other guys. Its not a crime. Are you going to tell James?"

Erin stared down at her lap. Was she going to tell James? He wasn't the jealous type. There's nothing wrong with hanging out with a guy while James is away. But if she doesn't tell him and he finds out, wouldn't she look guilty?

Erin groaned. "I don't know."

"Look at it this way, would you want James to tell you if he was going to hang out with another girl? And what if he didn't tell you and you found out? What would you think about that?" Nadia picked up her pencil, knowing this part of the conversation was done with.

Erin ran her fingers through her brown, wavy hair in defeat. "I hate when you put things into perspective."

Nadia laughed. "So when is this date?" She winked at Erin.

"Its not a date, its a get together. And tomorrow, about an hour after I finish the rest of his tattoo." She said, showing Nadia a sketch of the tattoo Joey decided to get on his chest.

"Aw, he's just like a big kid!" She jokingly said.

Erin rolled her eyes. "I like it." She took back the drawing and stared at it for a while before sticking in her folder.

The next morning, Erin arrived ten minutes early. She checked the appointment book at the front desk. Besides Joey, Erin only had two other appointments plus any walk-ins after that. While tattooing a Fleur de Lis on the back of a woman's neck, Erin couldn't stop thinking about how she was going to tell James about Joey. The woman winced, interrupting Erin's worried thoughts.

"Uh, sorry." She ran the tattoo over with a cloth, smearing the ink. Her gloved fingers were covered in ink as well. "I'm done." Erin wiped clean the woman's neck and watched as she admired her new tattoo.

"It looks great," she said.

Erin thanked the woman and retreated to her desk area. Her next and probably her last appointment for the day was Joey.

"So are you going to call him?" Nadia startled Erin, which sent her heart into a ferocious race. Nadia's blue eyes widened in amusement. "Calm down!" she said, handing Erin the phone, "call him."

Erin felt like she was back in high school about to take a test she hadn't studied for. She nervously stared down at James number, contemplating whether she should press the "Call" button.

"Well, if I'm going to do it I better do it now before Joey gets here." She glared at her phone. "I hate these things," she said as she reluctantly called James.

One ring.

Two rings.

"Please don't answer."

Three rings.

Four rings.

Just as she thought she was going to get away with something that felt like murder, James answered the phone.

"Hello?"
Erin's heart sank, something that never happened when she heard James' voice.

"Hello? Erin?" James repeated.

Nadia slapped the back of Erin's head. "Talk!" she mouthed.

"Hey, James how's everything?"

She could hear James smiling. "It's great. We've got sold out shows."

Erin began to panic. "Uh, that's great."

James paused. "What's wrong?" He didn't need to see Erin's face to know something was bothering her.

"Why would anything be wrong? Nothing is wrong. Should there be something wrong?" She rambled. Erin squeezed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. She couldn't feel any more stupid if she actually tried.

Nadia sighed. She felt embarrassed for Erin.

"Uh what I mean is everything is fine." Erin began to hit her forehead with the phone. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She muttered. "James!"

"Erin are you on something?" He laughed.

Her heart slowed down a bit. "No. So what are you doing tonight?" She hoped he would ask her the same question,so she could tell him about Joey.

"Nothing. We don't have a show today so me and the guys are going out. What are you doing night?"

Nadia intently stared at Erin, holding on to her every word.

"I'm going to hang out with a friend, probably just go out and eat." Erin squeezes her eyes shut.

Nadia frowned and whispered, "Tell him."

"Okay have fun. I love you. I'll call you later tonight."

A wave of guilt swept over Erin. "I love you too."

She hung up. Nadia was practically shooting daggers at her now.

"He didn't ask with who," she said, trying to justify it. Erin didn't like having Nadia disappointed in her. If daggers could shoot out of peoples eyes, Erin would be screwed.

"Erin this isn't gong to end well," Nadia warned.

Suddenly, the tiny bell to the shop rang as Joey walked in for his appointment. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black basketball shorts. As he approached the front desk, he tied back his long hair. As guilty as Erin felt, she couldn't regret the fact that later on today she was going to hang out with this cool guy. There was something about him that made her feel happy, kind of like the feeling she would get when she would see her high school crush everyday in class. Her lips spread into a smile as Joey spotted her from across the shop and grinned at her.