Page 165 of Jesse's Girl
He gives me a guilty smile.
Sneaky bastard.
“Okay, lemme explain.” He shifts in his seat to face me better. “So, these are pink carnations—my mom’s favorite, as you know. Then these”—he points to the next branch up his arm—“are snowberries, for how Claire tried to kill me that one time.” He smirks. “And these are apples and a rice plant, for my time in Australia.” He points to the next design. “And the last one…”
I look up. “Buttercups.”
He nods, blue eyes sparkling above a half smile.
“Jesse,” I whisper, barely getting his name out past the knot in my throat.
“Ada.” He’s trying to fight off a grin.
I swallow again. “You did not just mark yourself permanently with something that represents me.”
“I think you’ll find I did.”
I exhale and sit back in my seat, turning toward the window.
“Hey, if you hate it… or if you’re mad or something… I mean, no one other than you and me would know what it meant anyway, and?—”
I turn back to face him, my throat burning.
“Oh, baby, c’mere,” he says, reaching for the back of my neck and pulling me in. He rests his forehead against mine, and my tears squeeze free, slipping down my cheeks. After a few moments, he reaches past me. There’s a jangle of keys, then the engine cuts to silence.
“No one’s ever…” I whisper in the quiet, then pull in a shaking breath. “You’re really not leaving, are you?”
He pulls back, his expression patient as his thumb grazes over the line of my jaw. “I don’t think you’ve been paying attention.”
My brow quirks in confusion.
“How else do I need to say it? You think this”—he gestures to his new tattoo—“is a big commitment? This is nothing. Shit, I’d get every inch of my skin inked with your name if it didn’t make people think I’d lost my fucking mind.”
A watery laugh bursts from my lips, and I wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Please don’t. I’d hate to have to send you to live in the woods.”
“The woods?” Now he’s the one who looks confused.
“You know, to avoid scaring the townsfolk.” Then I grab his shoulder with a gasp. “But maybe that’s your Sasquatch destiny! You could grow your hair out again, and?—”
He rolls his eyes.
“Aw, c’mon!” I continue, playfully prodding him in the chest. “The kids I work with still call you Man Bun, you know.”
“Ada. Focus.”
“Sorry. Sorry.” I press my lips together.
Fuck, I love him.
“I’m serious, okay?” He leans in to kiss me, the brush of his lips a silent promise. “I love you. And not like how people throw that word around, talking about how they love tacos and shit. I love you.”
“You love me more than tacos?”
Now he laughs. “Your ability to talk a bunch of bullshit in an otherwise tender moment is truly impressive.”
“I love you, too, Jesse,” I say. “More than a thousand tacos.” I grab his face and lean in to kiss him again.
“Listen,” he continues when our lips part. “I just know… This is it. You’re it for me. And… ah, fuck.” He sniffs and blinks back his own tears. “I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Ada.”