Page 52 of Getting Over You

“I know,” the guy says. “Revolutionary.”

I wait patiently while Cade and his new best friend get to know each other. After a while, the tattoo artist says, “Okay. You ready?”

“I think so,” I say, nodding. I look at Cade, and he grins.

“You got this,” he tells me.

I nod. “Let’s do it,” I tell the artist.

As soon as the needle hits my skin, I wince. I close my eyes, fighting the tensing occurring in my legs.

Suddenly, Cade’s hand encases mine. He interlocks our fingers, squeezing. “Scale of one to ten?” he wonders.

I feel lightheaded now. But I don’t think it’s from nerves anymore. “Four,” I whisper.

He squeezes my hand again and doesn’t let go until the tattoo is done. It makes me wish I went with something much, much bigger.

“Okay,” the artist says, giving the tattoo a few wipes. “Let’s take a look.”

I have a heart on my collarbone, at the recommendation of Cade and encouragement from my artist.

“How about a heart?” Cade teased me. “Yours is so big that all the love you have for people takes up all that space in your chest. Put another heart on you to represent you loving yourself. Making space and time for you. You need room in your heart for yourself, too.”

The extra heart I have now is much smaller than the original, nestled more toward my shoulder so I can hide it with hairshould I want to. It’s not much of a tattoo, but it’s a damn tattoo. And I am overjoyed about it.

“I can’t believe I did that!” I say as Cade and I walk out of the tattoo shop. With my big idea came quite the journey—the closest shop was almost an hour away.

“It’s pretty badass,” Cade says. “Congratulations.”

“I can’t believe I did that!”

He laughs. “You said that already.”

I throw open the passenger side door of Cade’s truck with theatrics. “I can’t believe I did that, Cade!”

“Do you have any other thoughts for me?” he asks. “How do you feel?”

“Electric,” I say, for lack of anything better. Then, realizing I do have something much more fitting, I say, “Like I’m on fire.”

“Good.” Cade smiles. “That’s how you’re supposed to feel. It’s adrenaline.”

No, just a desire for you,I’m realizing now.You make my heart feel this way.

“You should have gotten one, too,” I say. “It would’ve made the experience special.”

He shrugs. “You don’t need special experiences with a guy like me,” Cade says.

I frown. “I’ve had a few already.”

“You haven’t.” As Cade turns onto the highway, his gaze flips to me.

What were those, then? The night at the bar, our night before this at the beach. What are they, if not for something special?

I ask Cade this, a bit indignant.

“Those were two friends hanging out, Gigi. This is two friends hanging out. Do you think it’s something else?”

“No,” I lie. Disappointment wells in my stomach at the same time that my chest heats. He answered with a question. There’s more to it—and he doesn’t want me to know.

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