“Did you think when you’d met me at the League back in the fall, you’d be getting a tattoo with me?”

“Ha! Yeah, right. I thought that I would never speak to you again.”

He poked me in the ribs. “But you kind of hoped that you would.”

“Nope. No interest. I totally resisted the whole McDermott charm.”

“Yeah. You really resisted,” he drawled.

“I’m pretty sure I said no to you more times than you’ve ever heard it before.”

“Well,” he said, smirking at me, “I’d never heard it before you. So, technically, you win by default.”

“One, you’re such a whore, and two, I do not win anything by default!”

“Manwhore, Princess. I earned the title. Don’t take it away from me,” he said. His eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.

“Sorry to break it to you, but I stole that title away from you a long time ago.”

“Shh…don’t let anyone hear you say that. Can’t risk my reputation.”

“Forgot to mention that I ran an ad in the paper about it. Sorry,” I said, lifting one shoulder.

Grant grabbed me around the waist and swung me in a circle. “It’s a good thing I love you, or I wouldn’t put up with your smart mouth.”

“You love my smart mouth,” I murmured, standing on my tiptoes.

He kissed me full on the lips, drinking me in. It was like a match had been lit between us at the contact. My body ignited, and suddenly, the rest of the world slipped away. There was only here and now and this moment. Grant was everything and everywhere. Nothing else mattered. We had somehow found a perfect balance in our lives.

I never felt as if I had to give up my identity to be with Grant. It was more like we were two pieces from different worlds that managed to fit together despite the differences. My family was perfectly intact yet lacking in emotional support, which Grant not only provided to me, but also tried to bring out in my parents and brother. His family had completely fallen apart, and now, he was trying to figure out how to fit in a world where it was rebuilding. I’d been there for him through the hard times, and now, he and his father had started to go to therapy together. It had been shaky at first, but I knew in the long run, it would be worth it for him to try to have this relationship with his dad.

My fingers threaded up through his dark hair to try to bring him closer, but sooner than I could ever want, he pulled back. The look he gave me was one of complete adoration.

“What am I going to do when you leave tomorrow?” I asked softly.

ContraBand’s time was up, and tomorrow, they would be leaving for Los Angeles to start recording their new album. They’d been hard at work, putting together new songs and trying to have enough new material for what Hollis wanted. I had faith that they would make it work, but the guys were a bit frantic.

“Probably masturbate a lot like I will.”

I cracked up and nudged him in the ribs. “Oh my God, I can’t take you anywhere.”

“We both know you’ll be fine, Ari. You’ll be working in the lab and hanging out with the girls. Hopefully, you’ll come to visit me. But even if you can’t, I know we’ll be okay. I’m your arrow, and you’re my arrow.” He touched the tattoo on his arm. “There’s no one else out there for me.”

“I’ll come visit,” I insisted.

He smirked. “You’d better.”

Then, we were kissing again, and the world was right.

Neither of us knew what tomorrow would bring. All that we did know was, we would take the journey together.

The End