“I can’t believe he came to the show!” Ari gasped when he was gone.
“Well,” I said, scratching the back of my head, “I invited him.”
She playfully smacked me on the arm. “You did? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged. “Didn’t think he’d actually show.”
“I’m glad he did.”
“Oh, yeah? Why?”
“Because he obviously cares for you, Grant,” Ari said as if it were the most obvious thing. “It’s good to see you two interacting and making progress. It’s already better since you talked.”
“Yeah…it really is,” I admitted.
Ari threw her arms around my neck and held me close. “I’m so proud of you for doing this.”
I snaked my arm around her waist and breathed in her familiar scent. I kissed her neck once more. “You know, I have one more surprise for you.”
“You do? Don’t you think my parents and the song were enough?” she asked. But her eyes were alight, and she was excited about the possibility of another surprise.
“Never enough for you.”
“All right. Well?”
I took a step back, smirked at her, and then slowly unbuttoned the long-sleeved button-up I had on. Her cheeks instantly turned a rosy pink at the gesture.
“Don’t you think we should go to the back room if my surprise includes you getting naked?”
I laughed. “So, you want me naked, huh? Thinking about me fucking you?”
Now, her cheeks were bright red. “Grant!”
“So, yes?”
“Fine. Yes! Okay? Satisfied?”
I arched an eyebrow. “Not yet, Princess.” Then, I winked.
“You’re ridiculous.”
I stripped out of my shirt and tossed it on a nearby table. “As much as I want to continue giving you a strip tease backstage, this is my surprise.”
I held my left arm up and revealed the inside of my bicep. On the sensitive skin in that space, I’d had an arrow tattooed onto my flesh. All those months ago in the library, I had doodled it into my lyrics notebook while thinking about Ari. I’d been inspired by the lyrics I had written for Ari.
I’m an arrow, Aiming straight for your heart. Pierce the skin, take you in. It’s tearing me apart.
And I was inspired by Ari herself, of course.
Her fingers traced the design, her mouth agape. “Is this…is this for me?” she whispered.
“A way for me to always take you with me.”
Her gaze rose to mine, and then she smiled. “I want one.”
My eyes widened into saucers. “A tattoo?”
“Yes. I want to take you with me, too.”
“Are you sure? You know it’s permanent, right?” I joked.
“I’m well aware. I know it’s…crazy. But it feels right. Let’s go.”
I laughed at her enthusiasm. “I don’t think anyplace is open right now, Princess.”
She smiled, stretched onto the tips of her toes, and kissed me. “Then, tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I murmured against her mouth. “Anything you want.”
“Anything?”
I nodded, and then she dragged me to the back room.
We kicked the door closed behind us, and I couldn’t help reveling in this beautiful woman who had utterly stolen my heart. We’d been so worried about our parents and the tour and her school and every other thing that could get in the way. But it was clear to me that we hadn’t only survived. We had flourished.
And as she stripped me out of my clothing and brought her lips back to mine, I knew she was it.
There was no turning back.
“So…how much is this going to hurt?” I asked.
I was seated in the chair in the back room of the tattoo parlor, staring up at a man completely covered in tattoos from head to toe. I swallowed hard at the realization of what I was doing. It had taken me two weeks to actually find time to go, what with my parents here and then the new job.
Grant leaned back against the doorframe and smirked at me. He was loving this.
“It shouldn’t be too bad,” the guy said.
He was opening a package of needles in front of me. My heart rate spiked. I wasn’t even afraid of needles.
Get it together!
He filled a small vial with black ink and then set it out next to the needles. Earlier, he had redrawn the arrow on Grant’s arm into a daintier, smaller version for me. I’d decided to put it in the same place on my arm as Grant’s. I didn’t want it to be particularly visible in a normal everyday atmosphere, and I also needed it somewhere easy to cover up when I got a job. Plus, I liked the thought of both of us having the tattoo in the same place.
My eyes cut to Grant, and he laughed.
“You’re going to be fine, Princess.”
“If it hurts, we can take a break,” the guy said reassuringly.
He adjusted my arm on the chair, placed the outline of the arrow on my skin, and got to work. I hissed at the first contact, but after a few minutes, adrenaline kicked in, and it didn’t hurt too badly.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been sitting there when the guy sat back and smiled. “All done.”
“What? Really?” I gasped.
I was shocked that it hadn’t actually taken that long. And now, it was over.
“Want to see?” he asked, producing a mirror.
He held it out in front of me, and I stared forward in shock. There, on my arm, was the cutest little arrow I’d ever seen. Grant’s design was incredible.
My mouth hung open. “Oh my God.”
“Is that a good oh my God?” Grant asked. He walked across the room and looked at it. He beamed down at me. “Ari, it looks fucking badass! Great job, man.”
He bumped fists with the tattoo artist.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Princess. Say something. What are you thinking?”
I clamped my mouth shut when I realized it was still hanging open. “It’s perfect.”
Grant fished out his cell phone and took a picture of the tattoo before the tattoo artist slathered some ointment on it and wrapped it up to protect it. I listened to his careful instructions, Grant paid for it at the register, and then we left.
He took my right hand in his and brought it up to his lips. “How do you feel?”
“Relieved,” I admitted.
“Really?”
I nodded. “I’d been putting it off, waiting for the perfect time, and now that it’s completed, I’m glad. I shouldn’t have waited. It feels right, having a little piece of you with me.”