As soon as the tattoo parlor in the middle of the boat came into sight, she power-walked in with her head held high. She waved to a few people as she made her way through the shop, telling me she knew her way around the place. She didn’t stop walking until she made it to the very last chair in the place.
“Adrienne,” Ali called out as she body-slammed into a girl for a hug. Adrienne, who had long, jet-black hair, a nose and eyebrow piercing, and darkly coated eye makeup, hugged Ali back while eyeing me warily over her shoulder.
“What’s goin’ on?” she asked suspiciously.
“This is JP.” Ali flung an arm my way. “And JP wants a tattoo.”
“Does he?” She smirked at me.
“Uh, yeah, I do.” I nodded solemnly.
“He’s getting a rose,” Ali said, making my ears perk up. Ali reached for my left hand and held it up. “Right here.” She tapped the outside of my hand. She looked up at me with her large brown eyes. “So I always know it’s you,” she grinned. “What do you think?”
My heart ached. “That’s perfect,” I whispered back before dropping a kiss on her head.
A few minutes later, I was seated in the chair while Adrienne messed with tools at her station. Ali sat in swivel chair next to me and leaned her elbow on my chest while holding her chin. “Where would you have chosen for me?”
I raised my hand to smooth her hair back. “It’s a secret.”
Her mouth dropped open. “No fair, you have to tell me.”
“Do I, now?” I cocked an eyebrow up.
“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly before planting a little kiss on my lips. “Unless you didn’t have any ideas,” she teased.
I grinned. “Just a tiny heart.” The idea came to me when she first suggested this little game. If this tattoo would be a reminder of anything, it’d be how I gave this girl my heart—not just this week, but long ago—and I’d never give it to anyone else.
“Cute.” She weighed her head to the side. “Where?”
I used my left hand to snake down and pinch her inner thigh— her ticklish spot—making her collapse forward on me.
“Mean,” she chastised, but she couldn’t hide her grin.
“All right, ready?” Adrienne asked.
When Ali peeled her body off me, I wanted to protest, but instead, I just nodded and said, “Go for it.”
________
When we danced together that night, the lights had a way of catching her just right so that she practically glowed. Her dress and short hair fanned around her as she twirled in the spotlight. She looked like her true self, the touchy girl that I met back at the rink so many years ago, beaming up at me with a smile. She was sunshine, even at nighttime.
But here’s the thing: she was sunshinehere. She looked like her true selfhere, she loved ithere.And my heart ached knowing that this was where she was supposed to stay.
We jumped in the foxhole together and healed each other. Now we had to set each other free, just like always.
As hard as this was, I had to admit that seeing her happy healed something inside of me. It was confirmation that I did right by her on that horrible night all those years ago. I did right by helping her run away, and by saying goodbye to her. And I’d have to do it again, even though ending us would feel like plunging a dagger into my own heart.
When the band slowed down to play “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” she smoothed her arms around my neck. My hand traced her hairline, and my eyes darted over her face, wanting to capture everything about this moment.
Her doe eyes met mine. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied, swallowing hard.
She continued swaying to the music, but her eyes stayed locked on mine. “Something's wrong, you got all quiet and contemplative looking.”
“It’s nothing.” I forced a smile and dropped a kiss on her forehead, cherishing being able to freely show her affection, because I was going to miss it soon.
I was going to miss it for the rest of my life.
