Page 61 of Never Say Never

My stomach dips at his words, with the way he’s looking at me with pure want in his eyes. I stand here stunned speechless as a shiver prickles my skin. “And why is that? I’ve been perfectly capable for years.”

“I know.” He swings the truck door shut intertwining his hand with mine. “But when you’re with me… you’re going to have to get used to being treating the way you deserve.”

And then he smiles. That ridiculously charming, earth-shattering smile that steals my breath away every time, and I forget that he can be a caveman. I almost forget that I’m onlyhistemporarily.

Ten minutes later, we quietly make our way down the hall to his bedroom, where he shuts the door behind us, and I hear the lock click. Holden’s truck was in the driveway when we pulled in, but the lights in the house were all off, so he must be already in bed.

As soon as we’re inside Tuck’s bedroom, his hands are on my hips, my legs, anywhere he can get them. It feels like he wants to remind me again that I belong to him. His lips find mine, and he’s kissing me as if he’s starved, as if the two times already today that he’s had me in his arms weren’t nearly enough.

When we finally pull apart for air, he rests his forehead against mine as his fingers run the length of my body to the hem of my jersey.

“As much as I love you wearing my colors, I also love the idea of this on my bedroom floor,” he says as he slips the Outlaws jersey over my head.

His shirt goes next as he drags it over his head and tosses it onto his dresser where my gaze catches on a framed photo sitting on a shelf next to a collection of three or four trophies. It’s a picture of me and Tucker on our prom day. He’s wearing a dark gray suit, and I’m standing next to him in my fuchsia pink dress. Neither of us wanted to take the photo—at the time we were barely speaking— but our moms practically pushed us together so they could snap the shot. We both couldn’t help but laugh at how over-the-top excited they were and the photo my aunt took capturing our smiles in that moment.

I stare at the photo as my heart spasms in my chest.

“I’ve had that photo on the shelf since the day I moved in here.” Tucker’s voice surprises me, and my breath hitches. I cross the room, taking the frame from the shelf to get a better look at the photo. I trace my fingers over the glass, remembering that day.

“Why?”

“Why do I have it on the shelf?”

“Yes.” My voice is quiet, just above a whisper.

“You were the most important person in my life for a very long time, Daisy. You still are.”

I stare at the photo wide-eyed, barely able to believe that he’s had a picture of me in his room this entire time. My heart is sliced wide open; it’s bleeding all over his floor.

“Does that freak you out?” he asks, looking at me with curiosity.

“That you have a photo of me in your bedroom?” I pause. “Not at all. I like it. I’m just a little surprised. I assumed I didn’t mean much to you.”

“You have always meant everything to me,” he says softly, moving to stand behind me, and pulling my body back into his. “You’ve always been my person, and you will always be my best friend.”

“We used to be so close.” I pause, lost in memories. “Did you know that when you asked Ruby to prom, I was devastated? It broke my heart. I know it sounds silly, but I always pictured us going together. I only said yes to Josh because I knew I couldn’t go with you, and I always felt guilty about that… like it wasn’t fair to Josh that he was some sort of consolation prize.”

“I wanted to ask you,” Tucker tells me. “But I was too scared. I thought you’d say no and then knee me in the balls.” He laughs softly into my hair.

“The thought did cross my mind a time or two.”

“I’m really sorry I never asked you, Daisy.”

“It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Tucker grips my shoulders and spins me around to face him. There’s an intensity in his eyes, and as much as I know he wants to strip me naked, like it always is with us, it feels like he wants to take his time with me tonight. Something between has changed.

My fingertips trace the tattoos that cover his chest, up to his shoulders and then down his arms. “I’ve always wondered about these.”

I’m mesmerized by the patterns, the pictures. There are so many of them, and this is the first chance I’ve gotten to really look at them. The other times Tuck has been naked in front of me it’s either been in the dark, or we’ve been too frantic, too feral for each other, for me to admire them. So tonight, I want to catalogue every one of them.

The tattoos that wrap around his arms like vines. The ink on his ribs. I want to know the story behind every single one. Tucker swallows hard when my finger reaches a small yellow daisy in the space over his heart. My heart is in my throat when I see my initials etched in the center of the flower.

“You tattooed my initials on your body.”

“One of the first tattoos I ever got.”

A wave of intense emotions crashes over me, tears stinging the back of my eyes. “When?”

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