Tammy is a forty something blonde whose hair and wardrobe are a work of the early 1990’s. She’s nice enough, and the woman can sketch. She smiles at us as we approach her.

She asks what I want, and I look hesitantly at Alex before I explain it. She’s glancing around with her eyebrows squeezed together, but the minute I tell Tammy what I want Alex’s gaze fixes on me. Her mouth hangs open, and she has a dazed look on her face. Suddenly, I’m not so sure about this. I can’t tell if she’s good shocked, or a bad shocked. “If you don’t want me to do this, tell me and I can wait,” I say softly, hoping that Tammy won’t hear.

It’s like I’m asking for marriage. It’s like I’m asking for forever. In a way, I am. I’m permanently attaching myself to her. There isn’t anyone else for me, and I know that. I just hope I’m not telling her too much, too soon.

She shakes her head. “I’m just shocked. I’m sorry. It’s permanent you know.”

“I know. And you’re permanently in my heart, so you might as well be everywhere else,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose.

She smiles up at me and I feel all the tension leaving my body. “Well, I’m not going to tell you what I’m getting. I want it to be a surprise.”

“I like surprises,” I say, teasingly. She smacks my arm right as I’m called back to sit in Joey’s chair. I wink at her before I walk away, leaving her standing there, still fingering her necklace.

Not long after, Alex is called to Mike’s chair. I feel a little guilty that I won’t be sitting next to her for her first tattoo experience, but she said she wants to surprise me, so I’m going to let her surprise me.

I close my eyes and let Joey go to work on both my wrists. It hurts like hell, but I squeeze my eyes shut and try to think of anything but the pain. Before I know it, he’s done, and when I look down, I’m impressed. It turned out even better than I imagined.

Joey bandages me up and I walk over toward Alex to see how she’s doing. “No, don’t come over here!” she shouts as soon as she sees me. She must have seen the disappointment on my face, “I want it to be a surprise,” she adds, softening her voice.

She’s being ridiculous. I just want to make sure she’s doing okay. I sit in one of the seats towards the front and chat with Tammy while I wait. It seems like hours tick by before Alex makes her way to join me. Surprisingly, she’s wearing a huge smile on her face like a thirteen-year-old girl who just saw Justin Bieber walking down the street. “Can I see it now?” I ask, standing to meet her halfway. I notice her hands are both behind her back as she sways back and forth on the ball of her feet.

“I don’t know if I can take off the bandage,” she says, glancing over at Tammy who has a knowing grin on her face. Okay, now this is really going to drive me crazy if I don’t see her tattoos soon.

“Here, I can help you,” Mike says, coming to join us.

“Okay,” Alex mumbles, bringing her hands from her back. Both her wrists are bandaged, just like mine.

Mike carefully works at removing the bandage as I watch Alex take some deep breaths. When he finally starts to peel it away, she stops him. “Wait,” she says, looking up at him. She looks back in my direction. “I just want to say I love you,” she says.

Now I’m really f**king nervous. He pulls back the bandage revealing an “I Am His” tattoo on her right wrist. I inhale a sharp breath. I can’t believe she did this for me. I rub my left wrist, thinking about the “I Am Hers” tattoo that Joey just completed. Mike slowly pulls back the bandage on the other wrist to reveal my name. I know grown men aren’t supposed to cry, but it’s really hard to stand here and keep it all in. I swallow down my emotions the best I can while I think of the Alex tattoo I just completed on my right wrist. “We should have coordinated this better so that we had them on the appropriate wrists,” I finally say, breaking the silence.

“I did it on purpose. When you hold my right hand in your left, we will belong to each other. When you hold my left in your right, our names will touch.”

This girl is so freaking perfect. I want to take her home right now and show her exactly how perfect I think she is. “Let’s go,” I say, nodding toward the door.

She nods and smiles.

Mike clears his throat beside us. “You need to pay for those,” he says, shaking his head. Yeah, he doesn’t get it; if he had a girl like mine, he wouldn’t want to waste another minute, either.

I quickly pay, handing over my certificate and Saturday’s tip money, before practically dragging Alex home to show her exactly what she does for me.

Chapter Thirteen

Jade is coming into town for the night, and I can’t wait to show her what I’ve been up to, especially the tattoos Dane and I got earlier in the week. I talk to her almost every day, but I miss my friend. Dane filled a hole that had been inside me since the day I was born, but Jade was the one who started to repair it in the first place. She showed me how to live life by doing more than just breathing in the air and drinking the water on someone else’s schedule. I hope to return the favor someday.

It’s only Thursday, but Dane picked up a shift at the bar since I have plans. We’re rarely apart, and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. We moved so quickly, and I don’t regret it, but I haven’t had enough time to adjust to it all yet.

Dane has been stressed; it’s written all over his face. He admitted the other night that he’s paying for all of Nolan’s rehab out of his own pocket. He also mentioned that he had to help him pay off some old debt before he left for rehab. I knew he was helping, but I didn’t realize he was paying for everything. I don’t know why I didn’t guess this…it’s not like there’s anyone else that can help him. He used all the money he earned from selling his sculptures to the hotel chain and now he’s back to where he was before. I feel bad, but at least I have a job and can carry some of my own weight.

I have no idea what Jade and I are doing tonight, so I turn on the TV and watch King of Queens reruns until she gets here. I love Kevin James; he never fails to make me laugh. I’m on my second episode when the buzzer finally rings.

I let her up and pull her in for a hug the second I open the door. “I miss you.”

She laughs, pulling back to look at me. “Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” I follow her eyes to my pink cotton shorts and white t-shirt.

“You haven’t even been here for one minute and you’re already making fun of my outfit? I’m happy to hear you haven’t changed at all,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“But seriously, is that what you’re wearing? I mean, you aren’t becoming all domesticated and frumpy, are you? Because if you watch Real Housewives, you’ll realize it doesn’t have to be that way.” She’s talking a mile a minute, not allowing me to explain. And yes, I have seen Real Housewives, but I’m not going to get plastic surgery and walk around in high heels all day.

I walk toward the bedroom. “No, I’m not wearing this unless we’re spending the evening at the gym, or curling up on the couch to watch a movie. I didn’t know what we were doing, so I threw this on. Now tell me, what are we doing tonight? Your choice.”

She claps her hands together. “How about Chinese, then Loft 10?”

The Chinese restaurant she loves is not full of happy memories for me, but now that everything is okay, I don’t see why we can’t go there. It’s time to record over the old memories with happier times.

“Sounds good. Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” I say, taking in Jade’s outfit, or lack there of. It’s a little black strapless dress that barely covers her ass. If I show up at the bar in anything like that, Dane will kill me after he drags me home and covers me up so no one else can see me.

“Wear something sexy. I don’t want to look like the misfit,” she yells behind me.

I turn around, squinting my eyes at her. “If there are only two of us, and we’re dressed differently, wouldn’t we both be misfits?”

“Oh, just shut up, smarty. I’m hungry, so hurry up.” I wait until she’s out of the room and start rummaging through my closet. At first I choose jeans, but then realize it’s a little too hot out for those today. My dresses are all sundresses and sweater dresses. If I even think about stepping out there in a sundress, Jade will shove me right back into my bedroom, and sweater dresses aren’t in season.

In the back of my closet is the royal blue party dress I bought my senior year of high school. It’s strapless like Jade’s with a sweetheart neckline, but the skirt is a few inches longer and flows out slightly. Compared to my usual wardrobe, it’s fire in the desert hot.

I quickly get dressed, pulling on a pair of matching sequence stilettos and letting my hair fall down my back. I take one quick look in the mirror, and when I’m happy with what I see, I head out the door.

Jade turns almost immediately. “Oh my God, you look hot. I can’t believe you even own a dress like that.”

I don’t believe it either. It was on clearance at one of those discount department stores that my mom hates, so I bought it in spite. She hated the dress and the label; it was a cowardly way to defy her, but it was big for me.

“Me either,” I reply, tugging at the bottom of my dress. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”

I notice all the heads that turn in our direction as we walk down the sidewalk. Jade seems to be soaking it up, smiling at all the good-looking guys that sneak a peek in our direction. I’m a little embarrassed by it all. Dane eats me with his eyes all the time, but this feels different.

The minute we enter the Chinese restaurant, I feel like we’re overdressed, or underdressed depending how you look at it. It isn’t the kind of restaurant you get all dressed up to go to.

We find a table in the corner and wait for the waitress to take our order. As soon as she’s done, Jade grabs my hand, turning my wrist slightly. “Oh my God, when did you do this?” she asks with a wide-eyed expression. I knew she would react like this to my new ink. It’s not something the old Alex would have even thought about doing.