With a strangled cry, he claimed my lips again. My heart ached with what I felt for him.
A tingle started in the sway of my back, just where the old mark left off. When the burning sensation started, I kissed Morik deeply to distract myself. I didn’t want the mark to stop growing.
Morik moved his other hand under my shirt placing it on my side. The burning began its slow crawl upward, millimeter by millimeter. I pushed the pain aside and focused on the other sensations. Taking charge, I nudged his hands with my arms and set my own hands back on his stomach exploring their smooth planes.
The burning intensified. But when Morik moved his hand slightly toward my stomach, the exhilaration distracted me from the conflagration. My stomach quivered. I struggled to breath.
He pulled back slightly again kissing my neck. Without the extra distraction, a panting gasp escaped me when the burning sensation hit my bra line.
As soon as I fully acknowledge the pain, it left. The tingle of the new mark remained.
Morik stopped his advance pulling away to look at me. The colors drained from his eyes as I watched, leaving only three. Black, brown, and ochre.
“The mark grew.” I smiled at him.
“May I see?”
I nodded and turned my back to him. He lightly tugged my shirt up and ran his finger along the mark’s twists.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It is, but it will also cause problems with people who don’t understand.” He dropped my shirt so I could turn around again. “People will think it’s a tattoo and someone my age shouldn’t have one. At least, not legally in this state. I need to talk to Mom about it. She’ll be the one to get into trouble if I wear that dress and people at school see it. We’ve moved a lot so the likelihood of us living in a state that approves of a tattoo on a minor with parental consent is high, but I don’t know if that will be good enough.
“People might think of her poorly after that. Like she’s a bad mom or I’m a problem child.” My stomach chose that moment to growl.
Morik grinned, laced his fingers through mine, and led me to the kitchen. Directing me to sit on a stool, he made us a snack.
“Would it hurt you if I tried covering it up for the dance?” I asked. “I’m not ashamed of it,” I quickly assured him. “I just don’t want to cause any more trouble for my mom. I think she’s going to have enough of it explaining it to Stephen.”
“I won’t mind at all,” he assured me sliding a plate with a stacked turkey sandwich my direction.
Morik and I blinked back into my bedroom just before dinner. He listened for several moments and then assured me we could join the others in the living room.
Mom sat on the couch with sad eyes when we entered the room. Whatever conversation they’d been having stopped abruptly with our appearance.
“Okay…” I said eyeing them all. “Since when do we clam up when there’s an issue? Come on. Spit it out,” I said playfully sitting on the carpeted floor facing them all. Morik sat behind me, nudging me so I leaned back on him.
Aunt Danielle, bless her, didn’t leave me waiting for long. “Your mark is stressing your mom. Even if you choose Morik, she’s not sure how it will affect your school or our lives.”
I laughed at Aunt Danielle’s choice of words. ‘Our lives’ as if she had one. She grinned back at me. “Well, their lives affect me too.”
“Morik and I were talking about it. I’m going to try covering it up when I wear the dress.”
No one looked overly happy by the announcement.
“Stephen already saw it this morning when Morik helped you with your jacket,” Aunt Danielle clarified for me.
“And?” This time I looked directly at Mom. Why was she suddenly acting like this? She’d never backed down from anything before.
“He was upset. I didn’t know what to tell him,” she admitted in a teary voice. “I’m thinking of calling off the wedding. There’s just too much…”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I scolded her, taking them all by surprise. “He doesn’t understand. If you want him to, you need to explain. If you want to keep him in the dark, then don’t hold him accountable for his ignorance without sharing the blame. He loves you. He probably thinks I’m just trying to find a way to rebel against your plans.”
Mom’s sniffling stopped.
“Make this work.” I looked at all of them. “You all need to make this work. I can’t spend time playing guessing games if there’s a problem. I’m very aware of the time I have left and I know you are too. Let me stay focused.” Staring at my mom, I added, “I’m trying really hard to do what’s right for us.” I didn’t clarify who I meant by ‘us.’”
Morik rested his hand on my leg and gave a gentle squeeze of support.
Chapter 17
Monday morning I woke curled around Morik who opted to sleep next to me without a shirt. Peeling my cheek from the skin of his arm, I grinned at him.