"No,” he sat back on his haunches, “she begged me. I told her how things had to be or we weren't going to work out. Then I told her that I was going to be friends with you and that I had to show you I was sorry. I also told her that I wanted to get a gift for the both of us. She wasn't happy, but it was accepted. So will you take a ride with me? At least come to my car so I can show you what I want to do?"

My curiosity got the best of me and I felt my wall going down.

"Reluctantly. I will." I waited for him to stand up and lead the way. I followed him to his car slowly. Feeling… I had no idea what I was feeling.

I looked over my shoulder at my mom's house, the lights were all off and I swore I saw the blinds move upstairs. I huffed softly, my mom still had her hopes up that our friendship would be repaired obviously. And she’d been the one to tip Kent off that I was coming home. I’d have to talk to her about that later.

When we got to the SUV, which was parked a few houses down, he opened the door on the passenger side. There was a stack of papers in the seat that he was filtering through. He pulled out a design and held it out to me.

"It's a symbol for friendship. There's a tattoo parlor downtown that's open tonight."

I laughed and shook my head, "Wait. What? You want to buy me a tattoo?"

He waited for my laughter to stop, staring at me in the dim street light with a serious expression on his feet. "I want to buy us a tattoo. I've wanted one for a long time but I was picky about what I would get. Now I've found something I'm willing to put on my body for the rest of my life. Are you?"

I wrapped my arms around myself and shrugged. "I don't know. You're going first. If you cry, then I can't do it."

"I'll go first and then I'll be right there with you." Finally, a little smile appeared his lips. "So you'll take a ride with me?"

I nodded slowly. Part of me felt that this was a terrible, terrible idea. Another part of me had been missing him terribly and was desperate for any little crumbs of attention he’d give to me. "Yes, but I'm not promising anything else."

"Fair enough."

Chapter Twenty-One