I’ve seen it a hundred times at work.
But this… this is different.
There’s no screen between us. No deadlines. No other people interrupting. Just the two of us and an open road stretching out ahead.
I glance over at her, just for a second, and it hits me like a punch to the chest.
I could do this forever.
Just drive. Listen to her talk. Watch her get animated about books and dragons and whatever the hell else crosses her mind.
I could spend the rest of my life like this and not get bored.
The realization settles heavy in my gut.
Dangerous.
“—and that’s when he realizes that sleeping on the dragon’s treasure didn’t turn him into a dragon, it revealed his own nature. He couldn’t be human again until he sheds all of his nastiness,” she finishes, clearly pleased with herself.
“Sounds rough,” I say, my voice a little rougher than intended.
She huffs a laugh. “It’s actually very emotional. There’s like… this whole redemption arc.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
There’s a beat of quiet. Not awkward. Just… a pause.
Then she turns in her seat to look at me, eyes narrowing slightly like she’s been waiting for her turn.
“So,” she says. “What about your tattoos?”
I grip the steering wheel a little tighter.
Shit.
For a split second, I consider playing dumb.
What tattoos?
Could probably get away with it. The one on my arm is mostly hidden under my sleeve. She’s never seen the rest of them.
It would be easy to deflect. Make a joke. Change the subject.
Because once she knows… once she knows what they mean, where they come from… that opens a door I’ve kept shut for a long time. Once people know you were in special forces … well, it changes the way some people see you.
But then another thought cuts through that hesitation.
If things go the way I want them to this weekend … she’s going to see them, anyway.
Up close.
Very up close.
Yeah. I’m not actually trying to hide them. If knowing my past changes the way she feels about me, I’d rather know now.
If anything, I’m?—
“I know you have a tattoo,” she says suddenly, cutting straight through my thoughts.
