Page 159 of If You Say So

“Your birthdate,” I found myself saying.

I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I had.

“You didn’t choose it because it was my birthday, though,” she explained. “You already had that

as your passcode way before we even met. It was just circumstantial.”

I grinned.

“I like the background,” I said, seeing a much younger version of Frankie on the screen.

She was sticking her tongue out and making Bullwinkle ears.

Frankie laughed and made a face.

One that I captured with my camera.

“This is weird,” I said as I looked at the screen with all the other photos. “That’s the first picture I’ve taken in a while.”

“You didn’t take one with the phone you had that I’ve been texting you on before?” she asked.

I felt myself blush.

Fucking blushed.

Luckily, the scars concealed it to where it couldn’t be seen all that well.

“One,” I said. “Of you.”

She tilted her head sideways and stared at me thoughtfully.

“What was it?” she asked.

I pulled that phone out of my pocket—a shitty prepaid one that had about four minutes talk time

remaining on it—and tossed it to her.

It didn’t have a passcode.

Hell, it didn’t even have a decent camera.

That was why when she first looked at the picture when it popped up, it took her a second to

realize what she was seeing.

Then she burst out laughing.

“I was eating a hot dog, Luca!” she cried out.

I felt my composure crumble as I could no longer control it.

“It was the way you had your mouth open that did it for me…” I said.

She smacked me on the shoulder, and I winced.

The pain was bearable, though.

Anything felt bearable when Frankie was at my side.

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