I'm nervous, but I did extensive research.
Everything about this place sounds fantastic: the cleanliness, the professionality, the rave reviews. Page after page of satisfied customers, photos of gorgeous, healed piercings. I'm nervous, but I'm not getting pierced today; this is only a consultation. I don't have to commit to anything just yet.
"Joanne?" I smile and accept his outstretched hand to shake. His grip is firm but gentle. "So nice to meet you."
"Likewise, but please, call me Jo." I bite my tongue to keep from dusting off the old chestnut: Joanne is my mother's name.
"Jo? I like that." His smile is easy and warm.
"Thank you. You must be Eric." I recognize him from photos on the site. He laughs a little.
"Yep! Let's go to the back. Would you like some tea?" He turns and gestures for me to follow him. "We have a fantastic herbal blend: it won't put you to sleep but it won't make you wired."
I smile. "That sounds wonderful, thank you."
We head towards the back, enter another room. This one is warmer and more inviting than the sterile white walls of the reception area. Light purple flowers grace the shelves lining the deep red painted walls.
You'd think it would be sinister, but the red is more berry than blood. The lighting is dimmer, almost intimate. He pats the seat of a comfy looking velvet chair, forest green and gently worn. I sit.
He goes to a little counter and starts pressing buttons on an electric kettle. Interestingly, he opens a handful of sachets and starts mixing together what look like herbs.
"Oh," I laugh. "That's so cool, I've never seen someone blend their own tea." He looks at me over his shoulder and smiles, eyebrows rising.
"You're in for a treat." He finishes setting everything up, then comes to sit in the mustard yellow chair across from me. "So, you're looking into getting pierced."
"Right. I've never been pierced before. I mean, besides the Claire's piercings..." I trail off, and he looks at me questioningly. "Well, they messed them up, and somewhat recently I just let them close up."
For some reason I feel an immense amount of shame and annoyance about this; I had been the one who begged my parents for the stupid earrings at fourteen. I shake my head quickly, a habit I'd picked up to shoo away negative, anxious thoughts. Sometimes it helps. When I look back at him he is frowning, not unkindly. He lets me sit with my discomfort for a bit, then the silence is broken by a shrill beeping.
"Oh, shit!"
"It's just the kettle," he laughs. I laugh, too, nervous.
"Right, of course." He gets up, returns with a steaming tea cup. Also interesting, as everyone I know uses mugs. It's a dainty little thing, a lovely pea green, with a matching saucer. He holds it just out of my reach. "Wait, are you allergic to anything?" He looks very serious.
"Only cats." I smile.
"Well then it's a very good thing I didn't put any cats in this." He smiles back. It's silly, this little back and forth, but I appreciate it. I can already feel my nervousness abating. I accept the cup and take a sip. It's delicious, something earthy yet somehow bright, with a peppery kick.
"Mmm. What's in this?"
"Oh, come on, don't make me give away all my secrets." He grimaces comically.
"Okay, okay, I'll back off."
Bringing the conversation back around, he asks: "Why this particular piercing, then?" I appreciate the nuance of this question.
"Well, I don't really like jewelry." I hesitate, toying with the simple stainless steel chain around my neck. "I mean, as soon as I get home, I take it all off." I laugh. "I guess... I don't know. I just think there's something so sexy, somewhat permanent, about nipple piercings."
"Ah, so if you did do this, we're thinking something simple. Titanium bar bells?" I must look confused. "Here, take a look." He grabs a tablet, flips it open and starts looking for something. "Something like that." He angles the device towards me.
I expect to see pierced tits right away, but the image is very safe for work. Just a thin metal bar, a little ball at each end. I nod, smiling.
"Yeah, I mean, that looks great." I take another sip. "I just... Okay, sorry, very not appropriate in this setting, but I watch porn, right? Like, practically everyone does!" I am unsure why I'm trying to justify myself to this person who is basically a stranger. I laugh, shake my head quickly. "I just love the look of them, I guess. The piercings."
Despite my self doubt, he doesn't look judgemental. He looks interested, invested. I sip compulsively, stalling.
When it's clear I'm not continuing, he nods and smiles reassuringly. "Nothing to be ashamed of. We all take our inspiration from different sources."
A tension at the base of my neck, one I hadn't even noticed, immediately relaxes. I sink a little into the chair with my relief. "That's... that's a very open minded way to look at it."
He smiles wryly. "I run a piercing parlor, I have to be open minded."
I giggle a little awkwardly. "Oh, right, duh."
He frowns a bit. "You shouldn't do that, it's not like you could have known what I was going to say."
I frown back, confused. "Huh? I don't..."
He smiles again. He puts out his hand, his fingertips rest on the bare skin of my knee. Something about this, him touching me, feels wrong. I can't quite put my finger on why. Then he suddenly takes back his hand, leaving a lingering warmth.
"Just relax. I only mean that you shouldn't say things like that. 'Duh' implies you should have known something, but you couldn't have known. You have to cut yourself some slack, Jo."
I blink at him. His words are making me feel so warm, so comforted. I feel vaguely that this should alarm me, that he's saying what I want to hear. It feels very far away, it feels like I shouldn't worry about it. I blink again.
"I feel weird."
He frowns. "Why don't you drink some more tea, see if that helps." I take another drink, longer than the first two. It tastes even better somehow. "So, Jo," and it's weird, the way he keeps saying my name. "You were telling me about how sexy you think nipple piercings are..."
I feel my face turn red, blood hot under my skin. I said that? What comes out, instead, is: "I like the look of them, they're so obvious under a shirt. I see other people with breasts, I can see their piercings under their shirts... I love it."
"It makes you jealous."
"Yes."
"You wish other people would look at you the way you look at those people."