I Love You to Death(76)

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Tomorrow it’s my birthday. Everything feels so different to this time last year.
But tonight is a really big show for the band. They are all so excited because finally some big names in the industry are coming to watch. Infinity is the main act and they will be the final performance. The guys are all bouncing off the walls in anticipation.
Even before I said it, Luke told me I was coming. When I started to argue, all he said was, "No, I don’t believe you will ruin it for us. I will refuse to play if you aren’t there." His stubborn streak is there when he wants it to be, but I love it that he knows what I’m thinking, and I love that despite everything he does know, he still chooses me.
He tells me, "Look at how well our other shows have gone when you were there."
I smile because I know exactly which show he’s talking about.
He isn’t at work today and already I miss him. I woke up with him only hours ago and he walked me to work and still, I’m craving him. They’re practicing all day and then he will come back to get me. I’m counting down the seconds.
It’s exactly 6:12pm when he walks in. He sidles up to the counter with an adorable smile on his face and I feel my heart skip a beat. I can’t help but smile back at him, can’t help but reach for him.
"Hey," I say, as he pulls me to him, folding me in his arms and pressing a kiss to my lips. I don’t even care who’s watching as he kisses me. I only see him.
Eventually he pulls back, whispering against my lips, "Mmm, I missed you."
I smile up at him and take his hand as we head back to the staff room. "Are you all ready to go tonight?" I ask him.
"Uh huh," he says, closing the door and shutting us in the room.
Something weird is going on and I turn to look at him. He has a funny look on his face, as though he has a secret he’s dying to tell me.
"What’s going on?" I ask him.
"I got something for you today," he says, stepping towards me.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really." He’s smiling as he asks, "Do you wanna see it?" His hand reaches out to tuck my hair behind my ear again. A jolt of electricity courses through me, and I know he feels it too. I see his eyes darken at the connection, his smile become something else.
I’m watching him. "Ok," I say, a little wary.
He slowly lifts up his shirt, to reveal a bandage on his chest. I gasp, immediately thinking something bad has happened. "Shhh," he whispers. "It’s all ok Asha," he continues as he slowly peels back the bandage.
I see what it is now.
A tattoo. He’s gotten a new tattoo. I look at the black design and I’m speechless. I’ve seen it before. I’ve watched as he drew it occasionally on scraps of paper, beside his lyrics, playing with the design. I’ve watched the smile on his face as he did this. I’ve watched as that smile grew bigger every time he looked up and caught me watching him. Extra bits have been added to it now.
I look back up at his face.
He’s watching me.
Waiting.
Wanting to see what I think.
I know exactly what this is, what it means. I know, because I also know what his other tattoos are about. I know what they really mean to him and why he got them both. I know he doesn’t do this lightly, that it’s a form of expression for him, just like his music. And when he gets one, it’s important and it really means something, that the design and everything it represents, is an important part of him.
And it’s because of that, my heart just stops. It stops with the realisation that he’s made it permanent, that he’s inked this design that he created for me, forever into his skin. It’s beautiful to look at, it looks beautiful on him. And now it is a part of him forever, I am a part of him forever. I feel like I’m going to explode, because I just can’t describe what seeing that design forever marked on his body does to me.
As he smooths the bandage back over it, I can’t help but throw myself at him, wrapping my body around his. I hear him laugh softly before I push my mouth hard against his, pulling a deep groan from him. I feel his arms wrap around me, holding me tight as he turns and backs us up against the closed door. I’m glad we’re alone in here. He lifts me, pressing my back against the wood. My legs circle his waist. Leaning into me, he kisses me deeply, so deeply that I forget how to breathe. My brain is swimming inside of my head and I can’t tell if my heart has even started beating again. I can feel all of Luke pressed against me and I know exactly what he’s feeling too. When he pulls back, we are only inches apart and he whispers, "Do you like it?"
I am overflowing when I tell him, "I love it," my voice husky with desire and so much more.
He smiles at me, knows exactly what I’m saying as he looks right at me and whispers, "Good, because I love you Asha, I really love you."
Now I melt, I’m melting at his words, those words. I could listen to him say them to me forever. I look right back at him. "Luke," I whisper. "I love you too."
His smile is bigger, his eyes darker now and my heart is racing. We kiss and kiss and I wish we were somewhere else. He reads my mind, because as his lips find my ear, he whispers, "Let’s get out of here."
By now, I can only nod. My brain can’t function enough for me to get words out, so I just let him take me home. Let him take me to our room. Let him undress me and pull me into bed. Let him touch me all over, with his fingers, his lips, his tongue. Let him show me how much he feels. Try to show him how much it mirrors my own feelings.