“I tried to talk him out of it, Abby. He hasn’t done anything crazy in awhile. I think he was having withdrawals,” Shepley said, shaking his head.
“What do you think?” Travis prompted.
“I don’t know what to think,” I said.
“You should have asked her first, Trav,” America said, shaking her head and covering her mouth with her fingers.
“Asked her what? If I could get a tattoo?” he frowned, turning to me. “I love you. I want everyone to know I’m yours.”
I shifted nervously, “That’s permanent, Travis.”
“So are we,” he said, touching my cheek.
“Show her the rest,” Shepley said.
“The rest?” I said, looking down to his other wrist.
Travis stood, pulling up his shirt. His impressive six-pack stretched and tightened with the movement. Travis turned, and on his side was another fresh tattoo spanning the length of his ribs.
“What is that?” I asked, squinting at the vertical symbols.
“It’s Hebrew,” Travis smiled.
“What does it mean?”
“It says, ‘I belong to my beloved, and my beloved is mine.”
My eyes darted to his. “You weren’t happy with just one tattoo, you had to get two?”
“It’s something I always said I would do when I met The One. I met you…I went and got the tats.” His smile faded when he saw my expression. “You’re pissed, aren’t you?” he said, pulling his shirt down.
“I’m not mad. I’m just…it’s a little overwhelming.”
Shepley squeezed America to his side with one arm. “Get used to it now, Abby. Travis is impulsive and goes balls to the wall on everything. This’ll tide him over until he can get a ring on your finger.”
America’s eyebrows shot up, first to me, and then to Shepley. “What? They just started dating!”
“I…think I need a drink,” I said, walking into the kitchen.
Travis chuckled, watching me rifle through the cabinets. “He was kidding, Pidge.”
“I was?” Shepley asked.
“He wasn’t talking about anytime soon,” Travis hedged. He turned to Shepley and grumbled, “Thanks a lot, asshole.”
“Maybe you’ll quit talking about it, now,” Shepley grinned.
I poured a shot of whiskey into a glass and jerked my head back, swallowing it all at once. My face compressed as the liquid burned down my throat.
Travis gently wrapped his arms around my middle from behind. “I’m not proposing, Pidge. They’re tattoos.”
“I know,” I said, nodding my head as I poured another drink.
Travis pulled the bottle from my hand and twisted the cap on, shoving it back into the cabinet. When I didn’t turn around, he pivoted my hips so that I would face him.
“Okay. I should have talked to you about it first, but I decided to buy the couch, and then one thing led to another. I got excited.”
“This is very fast for me, Travis. You’ve mentioned moving in together, you just branded yourself with my name, you’re telling me you love me…this is all very…fast.”
Travis frowned. “You’re freakin’ out. I told you not to freak out.”
“It’s hard not to! You found out about my dad and everything you felt before has suddenly been amplified!”
“Who’s your dad?” Shepley asked, clearly unhappy about being out of the loop. When I didn’t acknowledge his question, he sighed. “Who’s her dad?” he asked America. America should her head dismissively.
Travis’ expression twisted with disgust. “My feelings for you have nothing to do with your dad.”
“We’re going to this date party tomorrow. It’s supposed to be this big deal where we’re announcing our relationship or something, and now you have my name on your arm and this proverb talking about how we belong to each other! It’s freaky, okay? I’m freaked out!”
Travis grabbed my face and planted his mouth on mine, and then he lifted me off the floor, setting me on the counter. His tongue begged entrance into my mouth, and when I let him in, he moaned.
His fingers dug into my hips, pulling me closer. “You are so fucking hot when you’re mad,” he said against my lips.