My dad folds up the paper, and my mom takes the stool next to him. Leaning on his elbows, he stares at me for a few seconds. “I’m going to ask you what I asked him. Why Grant?” He leans back in the chair, bringing his mug to his lips. My mom sits upright with her hands around her cup, obviously eager for my answer. All that I can think of is, How did Grant answer?
“I can’t explain it, there’s just something about him, Dad. It’s nothing I’ve ever felt before,” I say honestly and can instantly tell he’s dissatisfied with my answer.
“His was better, but I guess your reason is…alright,” he jokes, and my mom starts laughing before her face turns serious again.
“Jessa, have you been honest with him?” my mom asks, and I nod my head in affirmation. “Has he been honest with you? He was up front with your father, and I want to make sure he was with you, too.” She slowly tips her mug up to her lips.
“Yes, he’s been completely honest with me,” I inform them. I’m happy to see smiles form across their faces. “So, do I dare ask? Has he passed the test?” I lean forward, waiting for their answer, although I think I already know what it is.
“He passed mine the first night,” my dad says and my mom agrees with him. “He’s a good one, and obviously you’re the best one, so we hope it works out with you two. But if it doesn’t, just remember we’re always here,” my dad reminds me, giving me a small smile. Then he stands up, kisses my head, and whispers, “I love you,” before leaving the room.
Relief fills my body. I knew my parents would like him, but it’s nice to know it won’t be a problem in our relationship. After seeing what went down with Sadie’s, that was the last thing I could’ve dealt with.
Walking out of the kitchen, I find Grant all showered and dressed and talking with my dad. They’re laughing about something Grant is showing him on his phone. I pray it’s not a picture of me passed out last night. Hesitantly, I make my way over to them. Grant presses a button and shoves his phone in his pocket, while my dad pretends he’s reading. I don’t bother reminding him that he isn’t wearing his reading glasses. I’ll happily let him think he’s deceiving me.
“What’re you looking at?” I ask them, standing close to Grant.
“Go get dressed, baby,” he says, giving me a nudge toward the door.
I can’t help but feel offended by his bossiness. “Um, what were you looking at?”
“The tattoo you’re scheduled to get in about an hour.” He chuckles and my dad joins in. “So, go get ready. We don’t want to be late.” He presses his lips against my cheek close to my ear, whispering, “I can’t wait for you to find out what I picked. You do like Winnie the Pooh, right?” I step back, narrowing my eyes at him, but I can’t hide the smirk on my face. “Now go.” He pats me lightly on my ass so my dad doesn’t see or hear it.
“Alright, I’m going.” I let my shoulders slump down as if defeated and leave the room.
Grant
This place is easily the most high-class tattoo salon I’ve ever been in. Although that’s not really saying much since it’s only the second. The first and only one until now was when I was eighteen and went with a friend. I thought for sure I was ready to get one too, but I ended up chickening out. I wasn’t exactly happy with the idea of something being branded on me for the rest of my life. Now it doesn’t seem as stupid as it did then. The idea of having something that Jessa picked out or that represents her seems pretty awesome actually. I wouldn’t mind having permanent ink fixed onto my skin to always remind me of her.
Speaking of which, my beautiful girlfriend is currently acting a little distraught over not being in control right now. After I tell Trey’s look-alike that we’re here, I sit back down next to her on the couch. “You do agree that I won, right?” I ask her. She shifts her jaw to the side and bites the inside of her cheek.
“Yes, I agree, but I still don’t like it. I wanted you under the needle,” she says with a smirk, and I’m relieved that she’s just upset that she can’t pick one out for me.
“Alright, you want to make a deal?” I ask her. She turns her body toward me, eagerly waiting. Most likely she already knows what I’m about to say. “Your dad had to pull strings just to get you in, so there’s no way I can get one today,” I say, and her lips turn down in a playful pout. “But, when we get back to Western, I’ll go to Zen’s and you can pick out anything you want.”
She jumps up in excitement and grabs a book from the table, starting to thumb through the pages. “I already know what I want you to get, I just haven’t figured out where it’ll go yet.” As I watch her scan the pages, it belatedly hits me that I just agreed to ink my body. Briefly, I wonder what my mom would think. I know she wouldn’t care as long as I’m happy.
When Jessa finally spots what she’s been searching for, she points enthusiastically, and part of me thinks I should just take her appointment in order to make her happy. Staring down at the black and grey nautical star, I’m baffled as to why she picked that. “What do you think?” Her excited expression captures me and I want to kiss her, so I do.
I tear apart from her to ask, “Why do you want me to get a nautical star?”
“Because it is supposed to always help you find your way back home. It took you awhile to find where you belong, Grant, but you belong with me and I belong with you. We are each other’s home,” she says, and I’m happy to know she put as much thought into mine as I did hers.
“I like it,” I inform her, and she smiles back at me widely.
Jessa cuddles up to my side and I wrap my arm around her small body, resting my hand on her hip. Moving her shirt up a little, I rub my thumb back and forth across her skin. “So, what am I getting?” she asks, considerably more at ease now that I’ll be getting one when we return home.
“It’s a surprise,” I tell her, just as the girl calls her name. Thank God it isn’t some guy doing her tattoo. Since I had already e-mailed over what I was looking for, the petite blonde with green streaks in her hair has it ready to go at her station. Jessa peers over at me curiously and I chuckle at her.
“So where do you want it?” I ask her and confusion consumes her face. “I picked it but I’ll let you choose where it goes.” I sit in a chair that the blonde brought over for me, and we wait patiently for Jessa to decide.
“Can I see what it is first?” she asks and I nod my head to Carly, the tattoo artist. She smiles, revealing the outline of the lotus flower. “A flower,” she sighs and disappointment floats across her face.
“Are you upset that it’s a flower?” I ask her and her eyes meet mine. Those hazel eyes are so easy to read; I can clearly see that she doesn’t understand my choice.
She wavers back and forth before finally speaking, “It’s just, flowers can be so cliché,” she admits.
I scoot over to her, and Carly stands up to give us some space. Taking both her hands between mine, I reveal, “It’s a lotus flower, baby.” Her blank expression shows me she still doesn’t know what that means.
“It means you survived. That you struggled through a terrible time in your life, but you broke through and overcame it, becoming even more beautiful. That’s what this represents. You had a rough couple years, but look at you now…a spectacular, beautiful lotus flower.” I sit back, hoping like hell she understands now. She wraps her arms around me, straddling my chair.
“God, how’d I ever get you? Thanks for all the thought you put into it, babe. Sorry for reacting the way I did. I thought you just picked something pretty to put on me.” She kisses my lips, and I can’t fight the urge to insert my tongue. Carly comes back over too soon and clears her throat. We pull away from each other and Jessa takes her spot. “You pick, Grant. You won the bet, where do you want it?” she questions, turning the tables around on me. I’m sure Carly is ready to throw us out at this point.