Second Skin • •

[perri alexis baines]

Perri wasn’t entirely sure if she was playing with fire. Wilder was a fan of her alter ego, Orion, but like pretty much the rest of the great wide world, he had no idea that she was that famous, enigmatic artist. She could practically hear her agent’s perma-agitated voice begging her to stay away, to focus on her art, to move to a new city completely. Then she could picture him sigh and scream for the poor assistant who managed to stay impeccably calm and laid back when it came to all things Perri when she refused to do anything of the sort. She had always ignored the good advice and poked her head into rabbit holes looking for pirate fights and cursed princesses. Perri had a habit of looking for trouble, even though she knew better. Still, Wilder was the good looking sort of trouble that made her feel good and pulled her back in for more.

It had been some time since Perri had been on an actual date though. Normally flirting over the bartop led to drinks and maybe something rustled up in O’Malley’s kitchen. If she was feeling it there might be a club or few more bars in the picture from there, but that was usually the end of the scene. Her art was her focus and with the amount of time it took balancing her bar life around her secret life there was very little time left to squeeze in a relationship. She wanted to see where things with Wilder played out though. Eventually, Perri did hope to settle down with her own topsy turvy version of happily ever after, but she was in no rush to find that perfect man or fairy tale ending. She didn’t feel like the pressure heaped on young women so sort their lives out was necessary. She enjoyed her life, flitting around as she saw fit. Financially, she was set for life with her career as Orion, but that didn’t mean she was the type to suddenly live the lazy life, the idle one associated with the rich and famous. Perri liked getting her hands dirty, enjoyed hanging out in scruffy jeans and a t-shirt so old the design was fading from the front. It was just the way she was comfortable. She patched up her small, converted art studio when the bad weather came rolling in, and did most of her handyman jobs herself. She wasn’t ever going to be at ease with regular staff or expensive things.

She didn’t know much about the date night tonight, but she knew she needed to be careful. Wilder knew Orion, and Perri couldn’t let him suspect her. She liked him a lot, but this was still a blossoming relationship and no one knew who was the type to rush to the media with an exposition tale if they had the chance. Perri didn’t think Wilder would, but her life was over the day her identity was leaked. She had been in the studio all morning, putting paint to canvas, mixing until she had the perfect shades for her work. She showered when she came home, scrubbing every inch of her body until all the paint was completely gone, and using an excess of shampoo and shower gel to make sure that no smell of oils or turps lingered around her. Dried and dressed, she finished getting ready in a comfortable, but nicer variant of her usual style. Perri saved her expensive dresses and killer heels for the art shows when she was eavesdropping on her own exhibitions. Jeans and Converse rarely passed on those nights. She was just spraying her wild curls into place and grabbing her hooped earrings when the door buzzed. Grabbing her phone and bag, she expertly slipped her earrings in as she opened the door with one elbow and the side of her boot, flashing Wilder a huge grin. “Aha! I wondered when my delivery of a fit bloke was due!” Perri was awful at times, but that was why she was so comfortable at O’Malley’s.

• • •

TAGGED! Wilder Ezra Bishop
WORDS! 683!
LYRICS! If The World Should End - - - Jennifer Damiano
NOTES!