Page 20 of Mason Wilder
“I want to do something fun,” Sindy said, putting down the makeup brush on Tessa’s vanity.
Tessa moved behind Sindy and peered at her best friend’s makeup in the mirror. Sindy had given herself a smoky eye, heavy on the smoke. It immediately made Tessa think of Alyssa Diamond. “We could get something pierced.”
Sindy spun around, a devilish glint in her eye. “I love that idea.”
“Really?” Tessa had only said it on a whim, never expecting Sindy to agree. “What do you want to get pierced?”
“Our tongues.”
It didn’t take long for Tessa to agree. “OK.”
“Great. Where should we go?”
There was only one place to go for piercings in this family. “Brooklyn.”
“Why do we have to go all the way to Brooklyn?” Sindy asked. “There are a million tattoo shops with piercers right here.”
“I know. But Alyssa is a piercer by trade. We all go to her.”
Sindy’s brows shot up. “Alyssa? As in Alyssa Diamond? The coolest goth chick on the East Coast is going to pierce our tongues? We’re going to Damien Diamond’s famous loft apartment in Brooklyn to get pierced?”
Tessa nodded, amused that Sindy was still enamored by the members of Immortal Angel and their wives.
Sindy blinked a few times. “Give me a minute. I need a second to get used to the idea that I’m going to be inside Damien Diamond’s loft.”
“There’s nothing to get used to. It’s just Damien and Alyssa. Are you really still star-struck by Immortal Angel?” Tessa asked with surprise. She knew the enormity of Immortal Angel’s fame, but none of them were pretentious rock stars. Even Audra, Mason’s mom and her sister Kira, who were born into a record empire, were chill and organic.
“Of course!” Sindy exclaimed. “Who wouldn’t? I’m just now getting used to being in the same room with all three of your parents at the same time. You have no idea how I used to shake and how my heart would race whenever the entire band was together. It was surreal to sit at a dinner table or stand around in the great room in your parents’ mansion together. Not a big deal for you. Bucket list for me.”
The doors of the modern stainless steel elevator opened into the massive living room in Damien and Alyssa’s trendy loft apartment, where a wall of windows that showcased the city skyline greeted Tessa and Sindy. It was breathtaking. Tessa watched Sindy take in every inch of the ultra-contemporary apartment that had heavy gothic overtones. The entire back wall was painted solid black, while the rest were a dark shade of charcoal, and the furniture was an eclectic mix of one-of-a kind pieces in, naturally, black.
An array of female voices welcomed them, starting with Tessa’s mom. “Hi, girls.” They each received a quick kiss on the cheek. “Come in. We’re making margaritas.”
“I didn’t know everyone was going to be here,” Sindy whispered to Tessa.
“It’s just my mom, Mason’s mom and Alyssa.” Basically, all the women in the family. “Hi, Mom. Did you say margaritas?”
Audra walked in from the other room and greeted Tessa and Sindy with two salt-rimmed glasses. “Enjoy!”
Tessa barely had a sip before Alyssa came over and took the glasses out of their hands. “I don’t pierce anyone who’s been drinking.”
“Lighten up!” Audra joked.
Sindy looked at Tessa, then back and Alyssa. “Are those rats?”
“Say hello to Ozzy and Flea.” Alyssa smiled, still holding a margarita in each hand, and nuzzled her pets who were sitting one on each shoulder. This woman was cooler than cool with her long black hair, heavy black eyeliner and black lips, covered in tattoos, standing there with a white rat on each shoulder.
Alyssa set down the glasses, picked up Ozzy and Flea, gave them each a kiss on the nose and put both rats back inside their elaborate enclosure. “Enough playtime. Let’s get down to business.”
They followed Alyssa to a room in the back of the apartment where she kept all of her piercing supplies.
“I feel like I’m at the dentist’s office,” Sindy whispered.
Alyssa heard and cackled. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt.”
“I’ll go first,” Tessa offered.
Alyssa left the room to scrub her hands and returned wearing latex gloves. In seconds, the piercing was done. It really didn’t hurt, just as Alyssa had said, but Tessa’s tongue felt two sizes too big for her mouth. “Is thith normal?” Her hand flew to her lips, surprised at the lisp in her speech.
