Page 3 of Falling in Love with Two

“You’re not going to Andre’s?” She teases.

“No, I can think of quite a few other places I’d rather go for a night out than our parents’ bar.”

“You used to go all the time,” she argues.

“I still do sometimes when I want to have a relaxing night. But I think the birthday boy wants something a little more wild.”

“Then, why not go to a strip club?”

“There’s something that’s always a little odd for me about a bunch of dudes sitting around watching naked women together.”

She giggles. “Fair enough.”

Being twins, Ronnie and I have always been close. There’s always been some inexplicable bond between the two of us. No matter how much she’s away, that’ll never change—even though I do wish she was around more.

I glance at the clock, prompting her to ask, “Do you need to get going?”

“Nah, I’ve got a little time.”

She pours us two more drinks. “Come on then, baby brother. One more for the road.”

two

Angel Wings and Crusty Sweatpants

Leah

“Alright dude, you’re going to have to sit still, or these angel wings are going to look more like pigeon wings,” I tell the very large, very burly man sitting in my tattoo chair.

In a voice a couple octaves higher than his normal one, he defends, “Well, it hurts!”

I stare at him with my lips pursed together. “Really? It’s on your arm. There are way worse places you could be getting it.”

“Still hurts,” he says, this time almost mumbling.

I look up at his round face. The parts that aren’t shielded by his shaggy strawberry blonde beard are turning redder by the second.

“You alright, Jim?” I ask.

He simply nods.

“If you need to take a break, you just let me know.”

“I think I’ll be alright. Can’t be too much longer, right?”

I look down at what I’ve already done and know we’ve still got a ways to go. Not wanting to give him any false hope, I just say, “Well, it’s coming along.”

He tenses under the needle as I start doing some shading. Trying to distract him, I ask, “Why now?”

“Huh?”

“What made you decide to finally get a tattoo?” Looking at the design I drew for him, I add, “Did your mom recently pass away?”

“She died about twenty years ago.”

“Oh. So again, I ask: why now?”

Avoiding eye contact, he replies, “Let’s just say I got tired of being the only one in my friend group without one.”

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