Page 13 of Strawberry Cake

Hope leaned over the table taking his wrist in one hand while the other traced delicate lines over the roses on his forearm. “Just the roses at first?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Do they have meaning?”

Hope’s fingers were so soft, and her gaze so focused that it sent a shiver shooting down his spine. “Something about pretty things always hurting.”

“Why did you add the skull?”

“I thought it looked too feminine and was in my skull phase.”

Hope’s fingertips trailed up his skin to where his sleeve ended, then back down a different vine, turning his wrist as she moved. “They’re beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

She moved to his other arm, tugging the sleeve up to match the left. “And the ship and sea, was that a phase too?”

“Got it at a tattoo convention.”

“By someone you really liked?”

“No, never heard of him before, but when I saw the drawing for it, I knew I would regret leaving without it.”

Her gaze burned a path up his arm and to his chest, tilting her head as if trying to see through the fabric. “Did she get your name tattooed?”

“Yeah.” Thinking about it made Decan chuckle. “Yeah, she did.”

Her brows fused again. “Why is it funny?”

“You might think less of me if I tell you.”

“Maybe you can risk it?”

“I do like to live precariously.”

The waiter returned with their drinks and the appetisers. Hope took a sip of her wine, daring Decan to spill his secret.

“I knew I would get mine covered up later. I was also well aware that she was already cheating on me. So, I proclaimed my undying love to her and suggested that we get matching tattoos since, like the ink, our love would never fade.”

“Couldn’t she just get hers covered up too?”

Decan smiled. “She hated needles. Halfway through my name she was almost in tears. I knew I wanted more tattoos later, so it was nothing for me.”

“Why didn’t she say no?”

He wasn’t sure if Hope was aware of what her fingers were doing, but the circles she traced over his palm had his insides turning to mush. “Because she kept telling me how I was her ‘endgame’ and how much she loved me. She was that committed to the lie. She didn’thaveto do shit. I was the first one to get tattooed. She could’ve walked away, come clean,and have me be the idiot with a girl’s name permanently inked on his skin.”

“When did you tell her you knew about the cheating?”

“The minute we walked out of the shop, I made all her private messages public.”

“That’s why you got the thorns?”

He nodded. “Seems depressing now that I look back on it.”

“Why not have your chest covered first?”

“It needed to heal, and I had to figure out what I truly wanted.”