Page 21 of Spring Break Fling

“Nope,” I lied. “Nikko said to wait. I’m following the rules.”

“You’re such a good girl,” Tara teased, making a face. “Come on, Hannah. One little peek won’t hurt.”

“She’s right,” Maddie said. “It’ll be fine. I’ve seen people with hours’ old tattoos walking around. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Just peek and you can put the bandage right back on.”

I bit my lip, glancing down at the bandage on my forearm. I really wanted to look. But I also wanted to follow Nikko’s instructions. The memory of his hands on me while he worked was still fresh, and as annoyed as I was about that, I also didn’t want to mess up his hard work. He looked like he was really trying to do a good job.

“Just do it,” Tara said, her grin wicked.

I sighed. “Fine. One peek. If it falls off, I’m blaming you. And if I get gangrene and die, I will haunt all of you. Peer pressure is not cool.”

“Just do it,” Rachel said.

The girls cheered softly as I carefully peeled back the edge of the bandage. My breath caught when I saw the tattoo. It was even more beautiful than I expected. The lines were so clean, the shading delicate. The roses had this soft, romantic quality, and the compass was⁠—

“Oh. My. God.”

“What?” Rachel asked, sitting up straighter.

“How dare he!” I whispered furiously, my voice shaking with outrage.

“What happened?” Tara leaned closer.

I turned my arm, pointing to the tiny detail in the corner of the tattoo. Two small letters, tucked into the vines of the rose.

NM.

The nerve.

“He put his initials on my arm!” I hissed, trying not to yell but failing spectacularly.

The heads of at least three rows of passengers turned to look at me. Rachel tried to shush me, but screw that.

“Who does he think he is?!” I said, my voice climbing higher. “What is this, the Wild West? Am I his cattle now?! He branded me!”

A flight attendant appeared out of nowhere, her smile strained. “Ma’am, is everything all right?”

“Everything is not all right!” I snapped. “I’ve been branded like a… like a…”

“A really fancy cow?” Tara offered helpfully.

The flight attendant blinked, clearly unsure how to handle the situation. “Would you like some water?”

“No, I would like this off my arm!” I said, pointing to the offending initials.

The attendant gave me a tight smile. “I’ll be right back.”

She hurried off, leaving my friends to stare at me in a mix of concern and amusement.

“Hannah, it’s not that big of a deal,” Maddie said, trying to calm me down.

“You can hardly see it,” Rachel offered.

“Not that big of a deal?” I shot back. “He put his name on me! Without asking! That’s a huge deal!”

“Technically, just his initials,” Tara said, holding up her hands. “Not his full name.”