His lips tipped up at the corners. “I love you as much as a kid loves Santa.”
I laughed. “That’s serious.”
“Hardcore,” he murmured, tucking my hair back from my face. “Though, I have to say, what we just did was the best Christmas present ever.”
I flushed with pleasure. “Well, if you’re nice, you’ll get another present.”
His brows rose. “What if I’m naughty?” My mind went straight to the gutter, and Kyler must’ve sensed it, because he chuckled deeply and the sound rumbled through me. “I like where this conversation is going.”
“I bet you do.”
“I could pretend I was Santa. You can sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas.”
I laughed again. “That sounds like it would only benefit you.”
“Hence the sitting-on-my-lap part. Naked.”
Lifting myself up, I kissed his slightly parted lips. That led to more kisses and more touching, which led to me straddling his hips and before too long, we both were beyond talking. We explored each other like it was our first time and we took things slower, making the experience more tender and intimate, but the end results were just as beautifully breathtaking.
Much later, when it was time for us to leave, he stood to find his clothes, and I admired the nice view I was getting of his backside. My gaze finally moved up his spine, and I rose, trailing a finger over the intricate lettering of the mystery tattoo that had always fascinated me. He looked over his shoulder at me, but didn’t move away.
“What does this say?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment. “You really want to know?”
I settled back on my side. “Yes, I do.”
Kyler finished buttoning his jeans and sat beside me. He leaned down and kissed me. “I got the tattoo after high school, right before freshman year of college.”
“I know.” Wasn’t like I’d only recently started checking Kyler out. The day I’d seen the tattoo for the first time was the day I’d committed it to memory.
One side of his lips tipped up. “You’re probably either going to think it’s really stupid or you’re going to be really surprised.”
“Now I’m really curious. Tell me.” I tapped on his bare chest. “Please?”
He watched me a moment. “It’s in Sanskrit. It says, ‘This Is Forever.’”
My heart skipped a beat as I stared up at him. “Does it mean what I think it does?”
“Yeah, it means what you think it does.”
I pressed my hand to my chest, blinking back tears. “You did this after we graduated high school? That long ago?”
“Yes. It had just felt like something I needed to commit to, you know? That us, no matter in what way we were together, it was forever.”
I couldn’t speak for a full minute. “Surprise” didn’t even cover how I felt. I wanted to cry again, like a baby, because that was the confirmation of all that he’d said. Of how he’d felt about me this entire time, and I’d never known—that he’d never really known. But deep down, his heart had to have known. My chest filled to the point I felt like I’d burst.
He studied me intensely. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking…I’m thinking it’s perfect.” I sat up, placing my hands on either side of his face. “You’re perfect.”
Kyler pressed his forehead against mine. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Look at you, being modest for once in your life,” I teased, but the lump of emotion was sitting at the top of my throat. “Kyler?”
He pecked me on the lips. “Syd?”
“I love you.” I paused, taking a deep breath and our eyes locked. I saw the world in his gaze. I saw our future. “And that is forever.”