Page 56 of Jacob

It feels nice; him being here feels natural. Like he belongs.

“So, what did you have to show me?” he asks.

Placing my coffee on the nightstand, I pull off my sneaker, then remove my ankle sock.

Out of curiosity, he leans forward to see what I’m doing. I stand tall and lift my foot to rest it on the edge of the mattress.

I ease off the protective film around my ankle to reveal my surprise.

He dips his head to get a better look. “You got a tattoo?” he gasps, his voice barely a whisper but full of admiration.

“Yeah, yesterday.”

He studies it carefully. “It’s really cool. Wow! Who did you go to?”

“Vance at The Bodyworks in the city.”

“That’s who I go to.” He looks up. “He’s the best.”

Well, there’s a coincidence. I didn’t know Jacob goes there.

“He squeezed me in.” I grin. “Do you know what it is?”

“A bird.”

“You are so literal.” I try hard not to roll my eyes. “It’s a special type of bird.”

“A blue one.”

I snort. “Yup, a blue one. But it’s called a blue jay.”

He looks back at my new three-inch watercolor body art.

“A blue jay?” He bites the side of his mouth.

“Yeah. Blue for me. But jay is for you, and can you see what color his eyes are?”

“Green,” he says, oh so quietly.

“The same emerald-green as yours.”

He gulps so loudly it echoes around the room. “You got a blue jay with green eyes tattooed on your ankle for me?” His eyes never leave my skin as he points to his black-tee-shirt-covered chest.

“Yeah. Do you like it?”

“I think I want to fucking marry you right now. That is so fucking sexy.”

His words do things to my heart, making it feel like a field of butterflies is dancing in it, and I don’t think he’s realized the enormity of his words.

“It’s still a bit red. He said it would settle in a few days. I have some antibacterial ointment to put on. I must remember to do that before I go to bed.”

“Go get it and I’ll put it on for you,” he says, unable to stop looking at me.

He follows me to the bathroom, and I grab the cream while he washes his hands in the sink.

When we return to the room, he sits down on the bed and tells me to lie back on the pillows and rest my ankle on his broad thigh.

He pops open the tube and squeezes out an inch of ointment along the pad of his thick forefinger.

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