Tattooed Soul by Kera Lynn

going away to college?”
    “Oh.” Becky looked slightly worried all
of a sudden. “Um…” She bit her lip nervously.
    Did she not want to go to college? I just
assumed she did, as her grades were always so good, and I knew she wanted to
get out of town.
    “I want to be wherever you are,” she
replied in a gentle, embarrassed whisper.
    I stopped the car and turned to look at
her. She was apprehensively looking down into her lap. I knew then she was
afraid of this conversation. She was stuck in the present just like me, but we
needed to know what the future held for us.  I would just have to make
sure she knew how important she was to me.  I couldn’t leave her, and I
wasn’t ready to let her go on without me.
    “Becky, love, look at me.” She looked
across at me, but I could tell she was holding her breath, “I want to be where
you are too, but I want to give us the best start in life.  I was meaning,
could we choose the same college and be together?”
    She let out a breath and smiled back at
me. “Oh, that sounds unbelievably perfect.”
    I leaned over to her and kissed her lips.
She shut her eyes and took my lower lip in between her teeth. I groaned and deepened
the kiss. I forgot where we were for a time, getting lost in her kiss until we
broke apart, and both of us were breathing heavy.
    I did not want to do this in the car. I
had plans tonight. I wanted to be romantic and treat her the way she deserved
to be treated. Getting carried away here was not what I had planned.
    I smirked at her and took the parking
brake back off and moved the car again along the bumpy dirt track.
    In no time, we were pulling up to what I
liked to think of as our cabin. The chimney was puffing out smoke. I had
been here for quite a while this afternoon, preparing the cabin for us. I made
up an excuse to get out of the social worker’s visit early so I could prepare
us dinner. My foster mother just wanted to chat with him anyway; it looked like
they were becoming great friends. I wonder what the social worker would think
if she really knew what my foster mom was like?  I knew that she was
thinking about her own future.  I would be graduating soon, and she would
be out the monthly stipend she got for me. 
    It didn’t matter to me.  My future
had nothing to do with her, the social worker, or anyone else in this small
town but the girl sitting next to me. With a happy sigh, I reached out and took
her hand in mine. 
    “I guess we need to get out now.” 
She laughed, but neither of us seemed to want to move. 
    Finally, I relinquished her hand, opened
the car door and ran around to Becky’s side to help her out. I was going to do
this right tonight. My plan was to tell her how much I loved her. I had seen
such a change in her over the past few weeks.  She seemed stronger and
more self-assured.  I hoped that her newfound happiness had something to
do with me, but I needed her to know how much she meant to me.  She
deserved happiness, and I was ready to show her my heart.
    I knew she wasn’t ready for anything
further sexually, and I was never going to push her. I would wait to the end of
time for her.
    I smiled at her as she jumped into my
arms, surprising me. Becky leaned in and kissed me, and I groaned and kissed
her back before setting her down on to the ground, making sure I had her hand
before turning to grab the bag with the dinner in it from the back of the
truck.
    Leading her up to the front door of the
cabin, I let go of her hand for a second and opened it, letting her walk in
ahead of me.
    She gasped as she took in the room. 
I had worked hard to get the place as romantic as I could. There were blankets
laid out with piles of pillows in front of the fire. I placed the bag down by
the door before closing it.
    I pulled Becky’s hand, turning her back
toward me. She gave me the most beautiful smile. “This is perfect, Marcus.”
    She sighed, and I reached for her, pulled
her to my chest, and placed my lips on