Nodding tearfully, I say yes. Because I’ll do anything for him.

But I know I’m not going to be able to let this go. I’ll never forget how it felt to be kissed by him. If I live to be a hundred, I still won’t forget or let it go.

12

Kenzi

Kenzi ~ age seven

Toren ~ age twenty-two

Sydni is sitting on my lap and we’re making out in a dark corner of Asher’s apartment when I feel something tugging on my leg. Pulling away from Sydni’s lips, I look down to see Kenzi staring at me with wide eyes.

I wipe Sydni’s red lipstick off my lips with the back of my hand as I’m being scrutinized by a seven year old. “Hey kiddo, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s late and your mom and dad have friends over.”

“So?”

“I know I saw your mom put you to bed.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she turns her narrowed gaze towards Sydni. “Why is she on your lap? I sit on your lap. Nobody else.”

Sydni laughs and snakes her arm around my neck. “Kenzi, honey, you should go back to bed. Do you want me to find your mommy? I think she’s in the kitchen.”

Kenzi glares at her. “No. Thank you,” she holds a piece of paper out to me. “I drew this for you Uncle Tor.”

Smiling, I shift Sydni off me and take the piece of paper from Kenzi’s hand. She’s drawn a black heart with a scribble in the middle and with the new calligraphy pen I gave her, she’s written “Uncle Tor, I love you the most. Love, Kenzi” and her words actually look really good even though they’re a little crooked. I can tell she’s been practicing.

“This is beautiful, Angel. Look how pretty your letters came out.”

She beams at me. “I did the swash like you showed me in the book.”

“I see that. I’m going to keep it forever.”

“Really? You promise?”

“I promise.”

Kenzi

“Why do I need a website? I have Facebook.”

Chloe sighs at me and doesn’t take her eyes off her laptop screen. I’m perched next to her at the desk in her bedroom, watching her fingers fly over the keyboard.

“Facebook isn’t the internet, Kenzi. I mean, yeah it’s great for socializing and you can use it for a place for customers to find you and see your work, but you really want a website to showcase your portfolio so you look like a real professional. I can even add an order form.”

I chew my lip as I stare at her screen. “Are you sure? I doubt I’ll get many orders, Chloe.”

“I think you’re wrong. Look at this list we made of things you can do with your calligraphy instead of just handwritten invitations. The tattoos and the custom handwritten wall art is awesome. Trust me, it’ll start out slow and then it will take off.”

“If you say so,” I appreciate her confidence in me, I’m just not sure myself yet if people will actually pay for my calligraphy. It’s taken her two weeks to convince me to let her design a website for me. She seems excited to have the project to work on since she’s going to college soon for marketing and graphic design. So in a way, I’m sorta her guinea pig, which I don’t mind at all.

“By the end of the week I’ll have this all up and running for you,” she assures me. “You’ll love it, it will look great.”

“I trust you. In the meantime, I’ll send you some pictures of my work so you can add them when you’re ready.”

She shuts her laptop lid and turns to me. “Okay, girl. Tell me what your plans are for the summer. Are you going to Maine to stay with your aunt? I really wish you were coming to New York with me. I just don’t get why you won’t go to college. You’re smart, and it’d be crazy fun. Do you have any idea how many new people you’d meet? New York City is freakin’ amazing. And with your dad’s connections, we could get into all the cool clubs.”

I push my hair out of my face, tired of having this same conversation with everyone for the past two months. “I just don’t think it’s for me. I don’t have that inner drive in me to want to go to college, or party, or start some kind of career, or get away from my family. I honestly don’t know why.”

She tilts her head at me thoughtfully. “Maybe your parents dragged you around too much when you were younger. I think that made you just want to stay in one place. For some people, it would do the opposite, where they’d want to keep traveling as much as possible since that’s what they’re used to. It seems like it had the opposite effect on you. I think you need to feel settled. There’s nothing wrong with that, though, Kenz.”