Page 69 of Inevitable

“Just so you know,” she continued, “he always looked at you the same way. Neither of you realized it, but I saw it. It was always going to be you and him, honey. I truly believe that.”

I just smiled like an idiot, knowing that she was right. It was always going to be the two of us.

*****

That night was Christmas Eve, and it was tradition in my family to crank up the music and bake cookies in our family pajamas. My mom had bought a pair of matching PJs for Bash, so he wouldn't be left out. She winked at me when he opened them and I was so grateful that my parents had constantly worked to include Bash in our family. They were the absolute best.

The kitchen in the cabin was big and well-equipped. It had a giant marble island where my dad and Bash were seated to decorate the baked cookies my mom and I had made. They looked hideous and child-like, but that just made me love them more. We were all laughing and talking, the atmosphere warm and relaxed from enjoying each other's company.

It was everything I could have wanted for the holidays. Bash and my dad were thick as thieves, cracking jokes that had my mom rolling her eyes and throwing flour at my dad's face. That spurred him into action as he chased my mom around the kitchen with a handful of icing that he ended up smearing all over her laughing face. When he proceeded to lick it off, I begged loudly and dramatically for them to stop the display of gooey affection, but I secretly loved every minute of it. My parents were still deeply in love and you could see the friendship that was the backbone of their marriage in every interaction.

Red-faced and breathless from laughing along with them, my eyes swung toward Bash and my heart stuttered at the look he was giving me. His gaze radiated love and longing, all of it directed at me, for me. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was so beautiful and when I looked at him, I saw my future.

I saw us laughing in our own kitchen one day, being idiots in love. I could see us raising a family of our own and having our kids plead with us to stop being mushy and embarrassing around them. I wanted to be baking cookies with Bash thirty years from now on Christmas Eve, still as stupidly in love as we were at this point in time. I could see it all asclearly as I saw him sitting there.

When he winked at me and mouthed “I love you”, I knew without a doubt he saw the exact same future that I did.

Just then the music shifted into a song that I recognized as one of Bash's favorites. Ed Sheeran was a guilty pleasure for him, and I had caught him listening to “Kiss Me” several times in the last few months. I wondered if he had played this song for me, and my curiosity was satisfied when he stood up and stretched his hand out to me. The invitation was clear in his glittering eyes, and I slipped my hand into his without hesitation.

He pulled us over to the open living room, his eyes never once leaving mine before he curled his strong arm around my waist and held my other hand out to the side. My free arm slid around his shoulder, bringing our bodies flush as we swayed to the music. The connection in our eyes never wavered as the raspy sweetness of the lyrics floated in the air around us.

I lost myself to the moment, basking in the unfiltered love that shone through his eyes and a smile that was reserved only for me. I forgot about everything but us, the world becoming nothing but static in the background as Bash stood in crystal clear focus. He was all my senses could take in. His smell, his arm holding me close, his features soft and adoring, and the taste of him as he closed the distance between us. His pillowy lips caressed mine, a gentle nip to my bottom lip making me tremble against him. Neither of us did anything to deepen the kiss, both saying what we needed to with that sweet, simple contact.

I love you.

You're my everything.

I am so lucky to have you.

I am never letting you go.

When the song faded out, we pulled apart, both breathless as we stared into the other's eyes. The smiles on our faces said it all, and we made our way back into the kitchen, hand in hand.

Soon after, we opened presents with my mom and dad, sitting around the Christmas Tree. We went round-robin with the gifts, all of us opening about four or five boxes each. Bash and I got a combination of sweaters, UT gear, books, video games, and a knitted blanket that my mom had made in burnt orange and white. The single blanket was large enough to fit two people under, proving once again that she had seen our relationship coming from a mile away.

I was anxiously excited to give Bash his present, but we had agreed to exchange them by ourselves in our cabin. A little while lateronce we were filled up on cookies and hot chocolate, Bash and I made our way over to our room. The shower in the small bathroom was only big enough for one person, so we took turns washing up. I took my time in the shower preparing for the other gift I planned to give Bash that night.

We eventually settled on the sofa to open the presents we got one another, both freshly showered and naked except for our sleep shorts. Bash had agreed to go first, and I was nervous about his reaction. Every year I had trouble finding a great gift for Bash, but this year seemed like the most important. After weeks of researching, I finally settled on something I think he would love.

Bash took the long, thin box wrapped in shiny silver paper and opened it carefully, like he was unwilling to damage the wrapping. His face betrayed his confusion as he stared down at the single paper ticket nestled in the white tissue paper.

“It's a ticket to the annual Texas Technology Summit. It's coming to Austin in March, and I thought it'd be the perfect place for your app,” I explained. His eyes widened with each word I said.“It's a huge symposium of hundreds of the biggest and best tech companies and start-ups, and it's known to be a fantastic place to network if you're wanting to go in to the tech field. I figured you could try to market your app and make connections there that might help you sell it one day. If nothing else, you'd learn a ton of new stuff and meet people who might be helpful when you graduate and are looking for a job.”

Bash stared at me in amazement, his mouth hanging open in awe. “Micah…this is incredible. I can't believe you got me a ticket to this thing! It didn't even cross my mind how perfect that would be to get some insight on my app and how to meet potential buyers! Baby, you are amazing!” He grabbed my face with both hands, hauling me to him in a hard, messy kiss that had me lightheaded and aroused in a heartbeat. Almost as soon as it started, he ended the kiss and grinned at me. “Thank you so much, love. It's perfect!”

I bit my lip to contain my smile, relief spreading through me that he ended up loving it. He then handed me a small, square box in dark blue paper with a light blue ribbon around it. Unlike him, I ripped into it in a fit of impatience and eagerness.

He chuckled next to me. “Good Lord, you are like a child with Christmas presents, you know that?” However, his teasing tone and warm smile let me know he loved that part of me.

I opened the box and saw a business card sitting on top with a date and time scrawled across it.

Inkheart Tattoos, June 1st at 2pm.

“Bash, what…” I started to ask him what it was for until I noticed the neatly folded piece of paper beneath the card. Carefully opening it, I gasped when I saw the drawing that was revealed.

It was an intricate, fine line rendering of the tree of life with the psychology symbol hidden in the trunk and extending into the branches. The roots curled and twisted, but an infinity symbol was darkened in the midst of the tangle. It was beautiful and I loved it.

“Is this…for me?” I asked, then realized how stupid that question was. “I mean, this is a tattoo made for me?”

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