“Five hours?!” I chuckle. “Alright.”
“I’ll meet you at Mom’s?”
“Sounds good.” I press a greedy kiss to her lips, pulling her into me until her arms link around my neck. I don’t stop until she tugs from my grasp, insisting she needs to go.
SOPHIE
Me: Meet me at our spot?
I text Cooper as soon as I pull into my parents' driveway, thirty minutes before the party is supposed to start. Knowing he’ll meet me there, I opt to walk through the side yard between our houses and cut straight to the back to avoid any detours talking to whoever is already here.
Our pink and blue chairs sit in the same place they always have–Cooper must have only moved them for the picture in their new home. Our home. I stay standing, trying to avoid my white Chuck Taylors getting dirty from the dead leaves covering the ground. And also because our chairs are definitely on their last leg. I’m not very confident in their ability to hold us much longer. Sunshine’s chirp draws my attention to where she’s perched on the faded red bird feeder. Despite the aging of my favorite things, it feels like just yesterday Cooper was sitting across from me, confessing he’d been thinking about what it might be like if we were more than friends.
“Hey, Soph.” His voice infiltrates the memory playing in my head and the scene morphs back to reality.
“Hi.” I grin.
He closes the distance between us, his lips pressing to mine as his hand slides into my curls and grips my neck. As he deepens our kiss, he runs his fingers along my neck, tracing the back strap of my dress on the way to my waist. His hand freezes. My hair brushes across my back as he gathers it in his hand, pulling it to one side. He pulls slightly out of my grip, enough to look where his fingers grazed.
“What is this?”
I hold my hair out of the way, twisting so he has better access to my back. “The last thing on my list. You can look.” My heart pounds in my chest, simultaneously confident and nervous.
He gently pulls on the gauze taped to me. The final corner of the tape pinches off my skin, and I fight the urge to look back at Cooper’s reaction. His thumb brushes over my shoulder, slightly above my new tattoo.
Without facing him, I can feel him silently taking it in. The yellow finch, sitting on a branch, surrounded by delicate lavender purple Harebell flowers that run the length of the straps of my dresses.
He chuckles, bringing my attention to him. “Has Sunshine seen her portrait?”
I twist my back toward the bird feeder, and as if she actually knows what’s happening, she chirps. “What do you think?”
“I can’t believe you got a tattoo. You’ve always said it’s crazy to think someone could be so certain about something to know they’d love it forever.”
“That’s what Harebell flower means: constancy and everlasting love. Cooper.” I take a breath. “Thank you for being my constant. No matter where we stand, no matter what has happened between us, no matter how far apart we feel, you’re always there. And you’re always going to be the reason I want more for myself, for my life. That’s forever.”
“It’s perfect for you. You’re perfect for me.” His lips are soft against my forehead.
I peer up at him through my lashes. “Endgame,” I whisper before pulling him into me.
