Page 94 of This I Promise You
Jace let me borrow his car and it’s nice as shit. He works remotely for some company doing coding or whatever. I didn’t really pay attention when he was telling us about it. He and Trevor were always into tech stuff.
I park his car on the street and meet Lily at the door. She locks it behind us and flips the sign to “Closed”.
I pull her into a hug. “It’s so good to see you, girl!”
She smiles and smacks my chest when we separate. “You betta not got more tats since you left. I’m still pissed you got one wi’out me, bitch.” She scoffs and leads us back to her booth.
“It was just one. Calm down. You’re lucky I haven’t gotten more since I’ve been gone.”
“I’ll Liam Neeson yo’ ass so fast if you eva do. You’re my work of art…in progress.” She winks.
I just laugh. She’s wild, but I wouldn’t put it past her.
“So, wha’ll it be? Finally gon’ let me do tha’ ches’ piece I been dyin’ for? Or another sleeve?”
“Ha.” I chuckle. “Hell no.”
“So then wha’?” She starts cleaning her gun and switching out the needle. “Wha’ an’ where?”
My heart beats harder as I say, “I was thinking a rose.”
“You an’ your damn flowers.”
“Hey, I’m delicate and sensitive like a flower, okay?”
“Tha’s fo’ damn sure.” Lily takes out her black ink. “An’ where?”
I show her and she motions for me to sit while she draws it up.
I sit back in the tattoo chair with my arms above my head for a pillow. “Roses are red, violets are blue…”
“Shu’ the fuck up or Imma stick-’n’-poke you,” Lily finishes my poem.
I burst out laughing! I will never get a stick-and-poke. Nope.
Lily swivels around in her chair to show me the drawing and places it in position on my hand. I like it. I really, really like it. And I think Easton will too, if he’ll see me again. “I love it.”
“Dope.”
“Fuck this is going to hurt.” I breathe. “Okay, okay. Let’s do it!” I hype myself up as Lily gets to work.
Paul
Bye, Paulie
It’s three p.m. and we’re at the airport and I’m not ready to say goodbye. These past two days have flown by. Huxley bid her farewells and went to get us checked in so that I could have some time with Jace, Dani, and Felix.
“Well, I guess this is it,” Jace says like he’s the patriarch of the family, ushering his child off to college. It’s not far off, I guess.
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to do this. I wish I could stay, but my life isn’t here anymore. “Yeah, it’s—”
“I promise I’ll respond this time,” Jace interrupts me eagerly. He clears his throat. “We should Facetime on Sundays. Make it a thing.”
Damn it all to hell, I’mnotgoing to cry. “I’d love that.”
Felix wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes as hard as he can. “I’m going to miss you, big brother.”
Okay, maybe I am going to cry. “Imma miss you too, little squirt.” My voice hitches.
