Page 27 of When Love Is Unexpected

"A girlfriend should know everything about her boyfriend," she says when I hand her a cup.

"Okay," I say. "How well do you think you know me?"

"I think I know you pretty well," she says, putting her cup on the coffee table, "Go ahead, ask me anything."

"What's my favorite color?" I ask, putting my cup down next to hers.

"Yellow," she says. "You think it's the happiest color in a rainbow."

"Favorite movie?"

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," she says. "You made me watch it with you, remember?"

I nod. "Favorite actor?"

"It's a toss-up between Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. The Godfather is in your top ten favorite movies."

"Well done," I say. "Favorite sport and favorite team?"

"Basketball," she says. "Los Angeles Lakers. You played basketball for UCLA and chose a career in computer science over a possible career in the NBA, much to the disappointment of your family and friends."

"Wow, you do listen," I say. "Favorite TV Show?"

"Six Feet Under. You said it had the best ending ever."

"We still have to watch it together," I say.

"Yeah, well, you left, remember?" she says, half joking and half accusing me of abandonment.

"Come here," I say, reaching for her.

She scoots over to me on the couch, nestling next to me and resting her head on my shoulder.

"What's my favorite show?" she asks.

"That's easy," I say. "ER, and while half the female population on the planet was smitten with Clooney's character, you had a crush on John Carter, played by Noah Wyle. You grew up watching the show with your parents, and it inspired you to become a doctor."

"Wow," she says. "That's impressive. I can't believe you remember that."

"Very little gets past me," I say.

"Well, you know nothing gets past me," she says. "So, let's talk about your tattoo."

She hasn’t forgotten.

"Where is it, Sam?" she asks.

"It's a small one," I say. "No big deal."

"Let me see it," she says.

I sit up straight and start unbuttoning my shirt.

She's looking at me, her eyes growing wider and greener, like an ocean filled with emerald gems.

When the last button is undone, she reaches with both hands and opens the front of my shirt, revealing the two-inch tattoo on the left side of my chest, right where my heart beats.

"What is it?" she asks, lightly touching the word with her fingertips. I gently take her hand, move it away, and then button my shirt back up.

---