She knew people often found situations like that bittersweet. Not truly knowing someone before they passed gave you the ability to compartmentalize more. To deal with it more easily, but that hadn’t been the case for Eri. Both losses devastated her, and she knew that would never change. She didn’t know how she could love someone she’d never met so much, but she did.
She didn’t want to sour the mood or for her emotions to dip into sadness, so she pulled back to look at him, but before she could speak, he did.
“When you’re ready. I’d like to meet them someday.”
The swell of emotion that took over Eri’s chest was immediate, and those butterflies that he could always send into flight took off like a whirlwind in her stomach. She kissed him, closing her eyes against the onslaught of emotions that consumed her. Their lips moved slowly as she drowned in waves of sentiment she’d never felt before. At least not in this way, and she had no intention of breaking the surface.
“I’d like that,” she whispered against his lips before giving him a final peck and pulling away. That culmination of blue and green stared at her, and she decided it was time for them to go back to their cabin. “Let’s go inside,” she suggested.
They exited the hot spring and dried off. Eri wrapped her towel around her and promptly found herself swooped up into Elias’ arms. He carried her back to the cabin and then into the bedroom, placing her on the bed. Eri pulled him down on top of her into a kiss. All she wanted to do was feel him. Allow him to steal the air from her lungs over and over again.
28
The event was in full swing, and Eri had known the number of vendors beforehand, but the crowd turnout took her by surprise. She’d been sure they would have good attendance, but there were hundreds, if not close to a thousand people already, and it had only started a couple of hours ago. She knew as the day went on that the number would only grow.
Eri had arrived early with the others to make sure all the vendors went to their correct areas, and to help the four tattoo artists set up where they would be. She’d hung out there for a while until Elias’ first appointment arrived.
She’d been excited to see the standing banners throughout the area with her designs on them. In exchange for two free vendor spots, one of the vendors made the banners and printed the site maps and brochures that Eri designed.
At the bottom of all her designs, her name and social media handles were printed. Avian had been adamant that it go on everything, when Eri had been fine with it being on only the banners because people would likely pay more attention to those. Her friend had not been having it.
She’d stopped at a few different vendors, only buying a painting from an artist that she thought would go great in her office. She’d bought all the essential pieces for it, but had no decor that wasn’t also functional. The artist had been kind enough to wrap it for her, and she’d taken it to her car before continuing to take in the event.
Eri’s stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten that morning, and she found a food truck serving curly fries. She got two orders of loaded fries and two drinks before heading back towards what she’d dubbed the tattoo corner. All the shops that were there and had people competing in the contest later in the day were in one section.
She stepped under the tent and found Elias, Marco, and Javier doing tattoos. She knew Avian was likely with some students from her dance class. There was an area they’d designated for them to put on dances and have the few local talents that signed up perform.
“Hey,” Eri greeted, taking one of the extra chairs near Nesiah and unpacking her food.
“Something smells good. What’d you get?” Nesiah asked.
“Loaded fries. What are you working on?”
Nesiah held the tablet up for her to look at. It was an intricacy of lines that, upon closer inspection, created two linked fingers withforeverin calligraphy underneath it.
“I have a client coming in an hour and a half and was putting the finishing touches on it.”
“I like it. It’s pretty, delicate.” She then turned her attention to Elias. “Baby, I brought you food.”
“Thanks, Amate,” he responded, at the same time Nesiah said. “Ah, you shouldn’t have.”
Marco snorted while Javier and the three men in the chairs chuckled.
“Do you want some?” Eri asked, holding her container out to the other woman.
“Nah, Javi and I are going to get something when he finishes.”
When Elias finished the tattoo several minutes later and his area was sanitized, he joined her.
“What have you been doing for the last hour and a half?” he asked.
“I checked out some vendors. I found a painting to go in my office. It’s gorgeous. The artist is really talented. I didn’t check out too much, though. I wanted us to go together whenever you got time.”
“Marco and I are holding down the fort while Nesiah and Javier go get food, but when they come back, we can go for a bit,” he replied.
Nesiah and Javier left a few minutes later, then Avian arrived with food as Marco finished the tattoo he’d been working on. The four hung out until the other couple returned, and Eri pulled Elias from the tent.
They checked out a few vendors before going to where some games were set up. Whenever she went to a carnival, Eri only played certain games because she was a firm believer that the rest of them were rigged somehow. She could get pretty competitive and waste far too much money trying to win. So, instead, she steered clear. The current game they stopped at was one she didn’t play, where you had to knock down the three milk jars. Eri was sure that at least one jar was heavier than the others, making it harder to knock down.
