His smile faded a little and then he looked at me seriously. “I think it’s cute. I wish I’d known you back then.”
“No, you don’t. Trust me. I was nothing like I am now. I hated the person I was back then.”
He nodded at me. “I also hated the person I was back then.” His voice was soft and thoughtful. “That’s sad, isn’t it?”
I thought about it for a while. “It is sad,” I said.
“I’m actually glad someone knows who I am,” he said, catching me off guard.
“Why?”
“It’s hard keeping a secret like this. And I’m glad it’s you who knows.”
“Really?” I perked up. “Even though I signed my name and have you tattooed on my back?” I blushed and covered my face. “Wow, you have no idea how embarrassing that sounds right now.”
His smile changed now. There was something else behind that small curve his lips were making. And, honestly, it kind of thrilled me.
“I’m not going to lie, when I saw that tattoo I kind of freaked out.”
“That night when we were . . .?” I didn’t finish that sentence.
“Yeah.Thatnight.” His voice sounded soft and whispery now.
“That one,” I replied, equally breathy. “Did you think I knew who you were and had stalked you here?”
He let out a chuckle. “Did you?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“I didn’t know what to think when I saw it, so I just . . .ran.”
“That you did.” I laced my fingers together. “That you did.” I wanted to lean in and ask him if I kissed him this time, would he run again? But didn’t.
“And you?” he asked after a few more moments of awkward silence, in which I’m sure both of us were thinking about that other night. Well, I was, anyway.
“What about me?”
“I’ve told you my entire family life story, what about you?”
“My family life story?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable now.
“Please,” he said.
“Um . . . okay.” I hesitated, not sure where to begin really. And then I took a deep breath and told him. “Well, my mother is on her fifth marriage, Dan the dentist is the latest love of her life.”
Mark reclined in his seat and nodded; he looked like he’d settled in for the reading of a book, so I continued.
“So I had four stepdads growing up, none of them were horrible or terrible, but I guess none of them were . . .Dad.Not that I would know what a dad is, I’ve never known mine. He left when I was a toddler.”
“Sorry. You said that,” Mark said softly.
I shrugged. “Some of my stepdads really tried. Especially Ed the electrician.”
Mark smiled. “Do you always do that with them? Dan the dentist. Ed the electrician?”
I smiled back at him and gave a small chuckle. “I can’t help it if they deliberately went into careers that started with the same letter of their first names.”
“I bet you can’t do that with all of them?” he challenged playfully.
