Page 94 of The Through Duet
“I can understand that,” I replied conversationally, trying to navigate her emotions like a blind fool on a landmine.“But you don’t regret it, do you?”
She immediately shook her head.“No, not at all.I love it.Lynne did a wonderful job on my arm.”
“You know, I’m always going to regret walking out on you that night,” I told her honestly.“While Lynne really did a great job, that experience should have belonged to me, and I hate that I let my stubbornness rob me of that.It was one of the worst decisions that I’ve ever made, and it’s probably going to haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“I know what you mean,” she replied.“I love the piece, but I can’t help but feel a touch of regret whenever I think about how it hadn’t been you.”
“Well, we’re here now,” I joked, though I was also half-serious.“Just you and me.”
Though her eyes still looked tired, she gifted me with a sweet smile.“I wouldn’t even know what to get.I mean, I’d hate to get a rose or butterfly.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.“Don’t be a dick.We were having a real moment here.”
Still smiling at me, she asked, “So, if you could pick out a tattoo for me, what would it be?”
I didn’t hesitate at all.“My name.”
“Stop it,” she chuckled.“I’m serious.”
“And you think that I’m not?”I countered.“I’m very fucking serious.”
“Your name?”she echoed.“You’d tattoo your name on me?”
I nodded like it was the easiest decision that I’d ever made in my life.“I sure the fuck would.”
“And what about you?”
“I’ll have Ernie or Ricki ink your name on me tomorrow if they have time,” I told her, meaning every word.“Lynne’s off.”
“And where would you tattoo such a dumb idea?”she asked, though she still had that sweet grin on her face.
“I’d incorporate it into the tattoo that you already have,” I answered.“Since that tattoo is an ode to my stupidity anyway.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?What do you mean, okay?”I asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
“Let’s get our names tattooed on each other,” she said, flooring the fuck out of me.
“Wait...are you serious?”
The crazy girl just nodded.“Stupidly serious.”
Chapter 23
Leandra~
This had to be one of the stupidest things that I’d ever done, but it was also crazy how much I wanted this.Now, while it wasn’t that I needed to do this to prove my love for Dalton, I still wanted something that represented how I felt about him.I wanted to share my decision to love him in a way that would squash any doubt, no matter who it came from.
Plus, once Dalton had shown me the mock-up, there’d been no doubt about how well it’d go with my tattoo.In fact, it blended in seamlessly, and you’d be hard pressed to believe that it hadn’t been a part of the original design.
I’d also been excited about helping him create his design, and even though it was just a simple script of my name, Dalton was placing it to flow from the tattoo on the back of his left hand, and it was going to cover his entire ring finger, something that had made me feel stupidly giddy.
Now, while some people might feel like we were both making a huge mistake, I was okay with that.While I was certain that Dalton would never become a regret in my life, if he ever did, it was one that I’d be okay living with.I’d rather experience this rollercoaster ride with him than continue living safely inside a boring world.
“Are you sure that Lynne won’t get upset that we tweaked her masterpiece?”I asked seriously.“I mean, I know how artists get personal about their creations.”
“Lynne will be fine with it,” he assured me.“In fact, she’ll be thrilled that I finally got my head out of my ass.”
