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“Let me see,” he said, excitement coloring his tone.
I held out my hand so he could see his ring with my dad’s. “It fits perfectly.”
“It should. I used your other ring to be sure I had the right size.” Suddenly, guilt crossed his features realizing we hadn’t discussed that indiscretion yet. “I’m sorry. I took it for one reason and realized I needed it for another.”
“It went missing right when I got here. How could you have known?”
“Iknew, Grace.” He stood up and moved to my side of the table, squatting beside me and taking my hand with the rings on it. “I may do a lot of fucked up stuff, but there’s always a reason. Even if on the surface I look like a crazy bastard, just know there’s always more to it.”
“How am I supposed to know that?”
He shrugged. “We can have a code word.”
I laughed. “A code word?”
“Yeah, like a safe word but not for sex. For my irrational decisions.”
Humoring him, I asked. “So, what should our word be?”
“You choose,” he offered.
I thought for a moment before settling on one. “Dolphins.”
He nodded. “I like it.”
“So, just to be clear. If you say dolphins, it’s you being irrational because something else is going on that I don’t realize at that moment?”
“Yes,” he confirmed matter-of-factly.
“And, you think this will help us moving forward?”
“Yes.” He sounded so certain, like having a word to decipher when his craziness was warranted would make things better.
Feeling cautious yet optimistic—more so than I’d been in a long time when it came to Seren, I agreed. “Okay.”
He smiled, and my insides turned to mush knowing I was the sole cause of it. “Happy Birthday, Grace. Can I give you your cake now?”
“I don’t need a cake,” I said.
He stood up and pulled me to my feet, wrapping his arms around my hips and holding me to him. “What do you need?”
I draped my arms over his shoulders and pretended to consider the question. “Well—”
His lips were on mine before I could finish. His tongue didn’t ask for permission, entering without warning. Our tongues melded with one another, a perfect fit—just like my new ring. Seren pulled back much too soon wearing a scheming smirk. “You’re legal now.”
“And, yours, it would seem,” I said, holding up my hand so he knew I meant the inscription in the ring.
His brows shot up.
“Not tonight, lover boy.”
He laughed and kissed me some more. “Go to the prom with me.”
“Youwant to go to the prom?” I asked, unable to picture him doing anything school-related besides football.
“With you, if you say yes.”
“It’s in four days,” I said, leery of the timetable.
