Page 66 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"You sure? It's your last chance to take me up on my offer. I'll fuck you right now, Penny. Just say the magic word."
I scrunched up my face.
"The magic word is please. Just in case you were wondering."
"Rob! Seriously, you have a girlfriend," Jen said. "Stop being gross."
"She'd understand. Penny and I have both been wanting this for so long." He winked at me again.
"You're ridiculous," I said.
Jen laughed. "Rob, get out of here. None of us need anything. Go bother James."
"And that's why Penny is my favorite sister. Seriously, Penny. You look gorgeous."
"Thank you. You're sure James is good? He's still planning on showing up?"
Rob laughed. "He's good. You have nothing to worry about."
"Okay." I took a deep breath.
"And I can tell him you're still planning on walking down the aisle, right?"
I smiled. "Of course."
"I'd kiss your cheek, but I'd probably mess something up. And I don't want to do anything inappropriate." He frowned at Jen. "Fist bump?" He put his fist out to me.
I laughed and bumped his fist with mine.
He made an exploding noise. "See you girls in a bit. Text me if you need anything. And open that in private, Penny. James said it was personal."
"I won't look," Jen said and started rummaging through her purse as Rob left the room. "Even though I'm dying to know."
"I'm sure I can tell you. Just give me a second." I walked a few steps away from her and pulled the note out from under the ribbon.
Penny,
I can't believe this day is finally here. I've been waiting my whole life to feel the way I do when I'm with you. You're everything to me. And today I finally get to make you mine.
I promise not to slip, Penny. I promise to apply to another teaching job like you want. And I promise to love you for the rest of my life. As long as I have you, I'll never need this. And I like to think it's because you make me whole. Not because I'm addicted to you. Give me time. Please don't give up on me. Our love is forever. And I'll never do anything that would cut our forever short."
I love you with all my heart, Penny.
-James
Need this?I pulled the string and opened up the box. The bag of cocaine was sitting there. I hadn't even seen him grab it back last night.What the hell am I supposed to do with this?Luckily Jen was preoccupied on her phone instead of staring at me opening the present. I quickly excused myself to the bathroom and poured the powder into the toilet. It mostly dissolved, but I flushed the toilet anyway. I watched it spin away until it was gone. I tossed the bag in the trash. The gesture was sweet, but he really knew how to give me a heart attack when I was already nervous enough.
For the first time I saw that there was something else in the box. I lifted up a picture. It was a picture of a tattoo that looked like the lines on an EKG. The ones you see on heart monitors. The beginning of it was flat and there was a date on it, and then the lines started up and down. It was the date of when we first met, two and half years ago in that coffee shop.
I turned the picture over. It said, "My life began the day I met you," on the back.
I grabbed a tissue and quickly blotted my eyes. He got a tattoo. For me. If that wasn't permanent, I didn't know what was. When had he gotten it? He had kept his shirt on last night. Had he done that on purpose so that I wouldn't see it?
I walked back out into the room and grabbed my phone to send him a text, but there was already one from him waiting for me: "Thank you for the watch. I love it. And I love you. One more hour until you're mine."
I smiled. The watch I had given him seemed so lame in comparison to what he had done. An engraving on a watchwasn't exactly on par with an engraving on your body. I quickly typed out a text back to him.
"James, that was the sweetest gift you could have given me. I feel the same. That was the best day of my life. Besides for today maybe. Where exactly did you desecrate your perfect body?"
