Page 102 of Resurrection
He smiled, all sheepish and shy, which was so not Tyler Brady that it was almost funny. "I’ve wanted it for a while. Couldn’t think of a good reason not to. You know. Since you’re stuck with me."
I lifted his arm a little to be able to see the tattoo better and poked the skin around the fresh ink gently. He winced, then grinned even wider.
"That’s permanent," I said, like maybe he forgot.
"Yeah." He leaned in until I smelled the faintest trace of his cologne. "I know. So are you."
For a second, all my systems shorted out. I thought about how I doodled our names together in the margins of my school notebook. But Ty? He went a step further.
"Did your parents see?" I asked.
"Not yet."
"I hope they won't be pissed."
"It's not like they'll be inspecting my underarms. Plus, I'm an adult now."
That much was true. The tat wasn't in a very obvious spot. You literally had to twist his arm to find it.
"Now, you'll always be with me," Ty added smugly.
I didn’t even bother with the slow-burn tonight. I yanked him by the front of his T-shirt and kissed him so hard, the car fogged up almost instantly.
Someone in the next row honked at us.
I flipped them off over Ty’s head, and he laughed into my mouth.
"You’re insane," I said when I came up for air.
"That’s why you love me."
I pressed my lips to his tattoo, right over the red, swollen skin, and he shivered. "You know, there are cheaper and less painful ways to impress a girl."
"Like what?" he asked, cocky again.
"Like a pizza. Or a puppy. Or a necklace with her name on it. Not, you know, your actual flesh."
He shrugged. "The other stuff seemed temporary."
There was a moment where I could say something clever or brush it off or make a joke, but I didn’t. I just watched the way he looked at me.
The movie was almost over, but neither of us were paying attention. I leaned into him and allowed his hand tangle in my hair.
After the credits rolled, we were still sitting there, popcorn all over the floor and the slushie in my cup melted to pure syrup.
26NAOMI
The golden huespilling through the sheer curtains in Ty’s room tells me it's morning as I tear my eyes open. My arm rests over his chest, feeling his body move with each breath. I watch him, my face only inches from his, and for a brief moment, it’s like we never split up, and I want to stay in this bed forever.
But I’m scared.
And running late according to the digital clock on my phone.
So I do the only thing that seems safe.
I kiss him, soft and quick. And then I sneak out from his room on my tippy toes. I’m holding my shoes in my hand because I don’t want to wake up his parents. It would be extremely embarrassing to get caught like this and at my age.
Although my car in their driveway is a dead giveaway that there’s a guest somewhere in the house, thank God, it’s early and no one seems to be up. Hopefully, my spending the night in Ty’s room will remain a secret.
