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He looks up and his eyes meet mine. “What about it?”
“It’s the date of our first kiss.” The words sound foreign on my tongue so I say it again. “You got the date you first kissed me tattooed on you.”
“I did.”
“W-why?”
He runs his hand through his hair, messing it up in a sexy, distracting kind of way. “What do you mean, why?”
None of this makes any sense. The man sitting in front of me is the one who spent the whole summer making me feel like nothing in the world could drag me down – then broke it off like it was the easiest thing in the world. Now, I come to find out he has a very sentimental date permanently inked into his skin.
“Why, Colton? Why did you get that? We broke up, and that was your choice. I wanted to be with you. I wanted you to tell Maverick, and I wanted us to spend the weekends and holidays together. I even considered transferring to Boston University for you! So why in the world do you have that date tattooed on your body?!”
He opens and closes his mouth a couple of times before he exhales. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?! Henna is not a big deal. Pen is not a big deal. Is that either of those?”
“No.”
“Then how in the world is it not a big deal?!” When he doesn’t answer, and starts to pace around the room, I grow impatient. “Colton!”
“I was drunk, okay?” He stops and turns to look at me. “It was shortly after you left and I missed you. I got drunk and it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
I’m not sure if his words make me feel better or worse. Hearing that he missed me enough to get drunk over it makes me realize that maybe he wasn’t as okay as I assumed. That shouldn’t matter though. He knew where I was. If he was that upset, he could have done something about it.
“So, four years ago, you missed me, got drunk, and somehow wound up at a tattoo parlor?”
“Pretty much.”
An involuntary giggle bubbles out of me. I cover my mouth to try and stop it but it’s no use. The next thing I know, I’m tearing up from laughing so hard. Colton looks at me like I’m crazy before he joins me.
“Y-you got a drunk tattoo about m-me.”
“I’m glad you find this so funny.”
I take a few minutes to calm myself down and catch my breath. “I’m sorry. I’m good now.”
“Mhm.” He smiles.
“Why didn’t you just get it removed?”
His eyebrows raise. “Do you know how much that shit hurts?! And you need to go like seven times before it’s gone. I’d rather just leave it.”
“Okay, understandable.” I lean against his dresser and let it all sink in. My childhood crush has something about me permanently on his body. Then, a thought pops into my mind. “What do you tell people?”
“Huh?”
“Like when you’re with women. I’m sure some have asked you about it; what it signifies.”
He looks as if he’s about to say one thing, but then shakes his head and settles on something else. “I make shit up, like the date I decided on architecture or something.”
“Probably smart. It wouldn’t be much of a turn on if you told them the truth.”
One second the mood is light, but in another it changes to something serious. The two of us stare at each other from across the room. The tension is so thick it’s overwhelming. Out of habit, I take my bottom lip between my teeth. He stalks toward me and doesn’t stop until our bodies are only centimeters apart. His fingers lightly touch my face and pull my lip free before he glides his knuckles down the side of my neck.
“Colton.” I whisper. “We can’t.”
“Tell me you don’t want me. Look me in the eyes and say it. Say the words and I’ll walk away right now.”
