Page 67 of The Tattoo Artist

“By my kiss? I thought you’d be happy that happened.”

“Oh, trust me Angel, I was.” I couldn’t stop smiling, and the butterflies wouldn’t stop fluttering and my heart finally began to beat. I knew this was right for me, I knew he was right for me. I knew he was mine.

“Did you move on? I mean, have you been with other girls after I forgot you?” His eyes darken just at the thought of it, he slowly took his phone out from his pocket and settles it down onto the table- he’s getting comfortable. Meaning I will definitely be here a while.

“You really think other women were on my mind?” He whispers, “it was you. You. Stuck in my head, every day, every time I sleep, wake up, do anything- it’s you.”

You.

Me.

I was on his mind.

But he wasn’t on mine.

The silence between us echoed.

And we stared at everything else except for one another, my eyes pointing at my coffee and his to his hands that rested in front of me. He fiddles around with a ring on his index finger.

“You guys need anything else?” The waiter breaks the silence, I shake my head with a smile. She takes the stick that had the number of the table and walks away.

“So, what other memories have we recreated that I didn’t ruin?”

My finger grazes around the tip of the coffee mug. “The rest are all new memories.”

“All new memories...” I repeat, the weight of those words settling on my heart. Saying those words felt weird, and they felt wrong. I don’t know how to feel, and I don’t know what to do. For some reason, for the first time-I’m clueless.

I just sat there, staring at him, trying to figure him out. What if he was lying to me? What if I didn’t have memory loss? What if this was all a joke? But it couldn’t be, it wouldn’t be. Ares wouldn’t hurt me like this, Ares would not lie to me.

All new memories

It’s both comforting and unsettling at the same time. Comforting because it means we have the chance to build something new, but unsettling because it also means that much of our past is lost forever.

“Anything about me the same?” He smirks, his eyes locking with mine. Finally, I made him smile.

“Everything about you is exactly the same,” he replies, unable to contain the smile that spreads across my face.

Despite the gaps in my memory, it’s a relief to know that some things remain unchanged, that the essence of who we are together is still intact.

“The way you rub your nose when you lie, and fidget around when something is awkward. When you paint, you love to do it wearing nothing, you find it easier washing the paint off your skin than off your clothes. The way you care about the littlest things, and how you never tie your hair up-you love feeling the wind brush it back because you feel like you’re in the movies. How you love eating pomegranates but not the ones from the store, you like the ones that are home grown because they have a type of sweetness to it that makes you squint. Everything about you is exactly the same.”

No words.

Not a single word.

What do you say to that?

What would I say?

I don’t remember anything about him.

But I want too.

I reach out and take his hands in mine, my fingers gently brushing against his skin. “I may not remember it all, Ares, but let’s try,” I say earnestly. “Let’s try to recreate all the memories.”

His eyes light up with hope, and I can see the love and longing in them. “Don’t joke with me, Alexandra Jones,” he murmurs, his voice filled with vulnerability.

“I’m not joking,” I assure him, my heart swelling with emotion. “I want to try…to remember it all.” I look down at his lips, “to recreate all the memories… will you help me?” I ask.

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