My finger points to a small dragon head slightly beside the lion.
“My last name means dragon,” he shivers in distaste.
I lean up on an elbow and eye him. I obviously knew his last name was Drakos, but I didn’t know what the meaning behind it was. This guy is full of surprises.
For a good hour, he tells me the meaning behind his tattoos, and I love every second. I didn’t think I could get any closer to him than I already was, but as he points out each piece of art on him, I soak in every word and see him clearer.
“I have a confession to make,” I mumble slowly.
My heavy eyelids are beginning to close. It’s late at night. I know we should be sound asleep, but as the hours tick away, all I want to do is be with him. I want to talk the night away, hear his laughter as we tell each other stories. Yet, every minute that passes, it’s harder to stay awake. No matter how much I force my vision to be clear, my body is stronger.
In the end, I know it will win. I just don’t want it to.
He hums against my cheek.
“Remember the time you found me in the tree house, drunk?” He nods, and I continue on, “I still remember when you found the hickey on my neck and how mad you got.” Amusement is thick in my voice as he tenses. “Do you finally want to know who gave me that?”
He groans and puts his face in my neck. I swear this guy acts like a puppy.
“Sure, but I’ll be having dreams of killing him in my sleep tonight,” he grumbles and bites down softly on the sensitive skin on my neck.
Running my hand through his hair, I place my lips against his ear. “It was you, you goof.” I muffle my laughs with my hand when he shoots up and looks down at me, shocked.
“How the hell was that me? Stop lying, Trin. Tell me.”
I nod and let out a chuckle. “It was you. I swear I’m not lying.”
I wish I had my phone on hand because I would love to take a photo of how shocked his face looks right now.
He slaps my bum playfully when I roll onto my stomach. My laughs jolt through my whole body.
“I’ve been keeping that in for so long; it feels good to let that out,” I say against his chest after my laughs settle down.
He picks at my shirt with his fingers. “Should I even ask how the hell I did that?”
“You were sleeping and started talking against my neck. Next thing I knew, you were sucking.”
He groans and runs a hand down his face. “That’s mortifying. Shit, I’m sorry, Trin.”
The thought of Leonidas sucking my neck then made me blush red, so scarlet that firefighters should have come to hose me down. But as I look back at the moment now, it only makes me want to pee my pants from laughter.
“I’m really going to miss you,” Leonidas’s strained voice blurts randomly.
His sudden confession has my eyes burning with tears. I force my eyes to stay open. I refuse to remember this night by breaking down on Leonidas. I have to show him I’m okay because I’m afraid he’ll stay if he sees my pain.
Keep it in, Trinity. Do what you’re best at. Acting.
“I’m going to miss you too.”
He grabs my face in the palms of his hands and glances at me with so much sorrow. “Remember, we’ll be okay. Nothing will get between us.”
I nod, not able to form words.
I don’t want him to leave. I can’t stand the thought of not being able to listen to his heartbeat when we cuddle. I feel suffocated, knowing I won’t have him in a couple hours. Yet I have to stay strong for him.
“We’ll FaceTime every night,” I demand, and he nods quickly. “We’ll text throughout the day. We have to update each other on everything, and most importantly, we have to take care of ourselves,” I whisper while looking into his eyes.
Leonidas pulls my lips against his as he speaks. “Make sure you eat and drink every day, and you need your rest.” His lips brush against mine as a single tear trickles down my cheek. “I need you to be okay, so I’ll be okay, Trin.”
