“What was that all about?” Nikki asks Anna.
“Just another promise before I have to go home. Don’t worry, it’s a good one!” She hugs Nikki tightly, then runs to her father’s side.
Nikki turns to me just as they make their way toward the lobby. “What did she say?” she asks eagerly.
I feign seriousness. “I take pinky promises very seriously, Nikki. I can’t tell you. At least not yet.”
She grumpily mumbles a few curse words under her breath. “Fine. I’ll drop it. But only because you’re really cute with kids.”
I intertwine her hand with mine and bring it up to my lips. “Do you think you’ll want kids one day?” I hope thewith mewas silent in my head.
She stares off toward the pool. “You know, in theory, I’ve always imagined myself with a kid or two. But I never saw myself being in a traditional family. I always thought I would adopt or do IVF by myself. And raise my kids with Amelia.” She laughs softly. “But now…”
“But now?” I urge her on.
“I dunno.” She shrugs. “I guess that’s a conversation I’ll have to have at a later date. With myboyfriend.” She smiles smugly.
Hearing her say boyfriend makes the possessive beast awaken in me. I nip her hand playfully. “Damn right. Good to know that you got the memo.”
She rolls her eyes. “Love, your caveman is showing.”
“Aw, she even calls melovenow,” I tease.
“It rolls off the tongue easier thanbarbarian. It’s only one syllable too.”
She barely gets the sentence out before I’ve rolled on top of her, keeping my weight balanced on my forearms so I don’t crush her. “Yeah, but I’myourbarbarian. So get used to it.” I plant a passionate kiss on her lips, but have to pull back much too quickly, given that we are in public.
She grips my biceps. She’s about to say something when a tattoo on my inner left arm catches her attention. “Is that a—”
Here we go.
“Disco ball,” I finish for her.
It’s the one tattoo that seems out of place in my ink collection. Aside from my mother’s angel wings on my neck, I have a massive tiger piece on my right thigh, coordinates of the cities where my family members and I were born on my chest, and about two dozen odd smaller designs that decorate my arms.
And then the disco ball.
I roll off her and sit up against the plush headboard of the cabana.
“I got this one seven years ago. The day after Día de los Reyes Magos. Three Kings Day.”
My admission leaves Nikki stunned into silence, and her face looks paler than it should.
I sigh. “I got this because of you.”
Nikki’s jaw drops. “But… How? Why would you?”
“When I got it, I told myself it was a reminder of why I don’t do relationships. Of why I shouldn’t trust people. Maybe even spewed off some of that ‘not all that glitters’ crap.” I shake my head. “But if I’m being honest with myself, with you… I got it because it reminded me of your dress. The one you wore when I first met you. It reminded me of the rooftop we sat on, the one littered with tiny disco balls all around us. The ones you specifically said you loved. I got it because I needed a piece of you, even if I never got to have you for myself.”
A choked sob escapes Nikki’s throat as she reaches for me. I pull her into my lap instinctively and wrap my arms around her tightly. “Tony. I don’t know what to say. I’m such a fucking idiot. I’m so incredibly sorry I did this to us.”
I shush her softly before placing a delicate kiss on her lips. “I didn’t tell you with the intention of making you upset. I just wanted you to know the truth.”
“But all this time.” A tear trails down her cheek, and I make quick work of wiping it away. “I put you through so much unnecessary pain.”
“We’re not going backward, Nikki. And I promise you. These past few days with you have made the past a distant memory. Now that I have you, the tattoo takes on a different meaning. It was just a placeholder for the real thing. This.” I squeeze her tighter. “You in my arms. The look you give me first thing in the morning. The twinkle after you say I love you. All of it. You’re my little disco—”
“Okay, hard stop if you’re about to call me a disco ball.” She sniffles.
