Free Forever Us by Sandi Lynn Page B

one thing that I loved most about her was that the littlest things made her happy. I took a bite as she held it up to me and was pleasantly surprised that it was good.
    “Well?” She smiled.
    “It’s not bad.”
    “I knew it! I knew you’d like it.”
    We finished up dinner, if that’s what you wanted to call it, and headed out the door. The tattoo parlor was a couple of blocks over, and Ellery wanted to walk. I took her hand in mine and we headed to the parlor. We were walking down the street and looking in the various shop windows as we passed by, when Ellery suddenly stopped.
    “Hi, Elle.”
    “Hi, Kyle,” she replied.
    “Connor.” He nodded his head.
    “Kyle.” I nodded back.
    He introduced us to his girlfriend and asked Ellery how she was doing. She pulled out her phone and showed him pictures of Julia. I was uncomfortable and just wanted to get the hell out of there. I could see by the way he looked at her that he still had feelings for her. We said our goodbyes and continued walking down the street.
    “That was awkward,” I said.
    “Not really. I’ve run into him before.”
    “You have? You’ve never mentioned it.”
    “It was no big deal. Just a quick ‘hi’ in passing.”
    “I can tell he still has feelings for you.”
    “Oh well. His loss, right?” She smiled.
    “That’s right, baby, his loss and my gain. If he never would’ve left you, I never would’ve met you, and who knows where I’d be right now?”
    She squeezed my hand lightly as we stood in front of Jack’s Tattoo Parlor.
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked.
    “Of course I’m sure. I’ve never been surer about anything in my life, except for you.” I winked at her.
    As we walked through the door of the parlor, Jack looked up from behind the counter.
    “Well, look who decided to drop by; my girl, Ellery.” He smiled as he stepped out from behind the counter.
    “Hi, Jack,” Ellery said as she gave him a hug. “I want you to meet my husband, Connor. He wants to get a tattoo.”
    “Hey, Connor, nice to meet you, bro,” Jack said as we shook hands. “Take a seat right over here and tell me what you’re thinking.”
    “I was thinking about the double infinity symbol in thick black ink, with Ellery’s name at the top and Julia’s name at the bottom. I want it on my right bicep.”
    Ellery looked at me, grabbed my hand, and I could see the tears swell in her eyes. I shook my head at her lightly.
    “Sounds good, buddy. Are you ready? Jack asked.
    “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
    As Jack was halfway into the infinity design, I asked Ellery how she handled getting the tattoos on both wrists.
    “I was in a very bad place and nothing could hurt worse than the pain I’d felt from losing you.”
    I took in a sharp breath because my heart ached when she said that.
    “Ellery was a good sport. She didn’t even flinch,” Jack said.
    “She’s a strong woman.” I smiled.
    Two hours later, and my tat was finished. I looked at it through the mirror and it was exactly what I wanted.
    “Connor, it looks great! I love it!” Ellery exclaimed.
    “Thank you, Jack. You did a great job,” I said as I pulled out my wallet and Ellery grabbed it out of my hand.
    “Here, Jack. Thank you for everything.” She smiled as she handed him the money, plus a hundred-dollar tip.
    I looked at her as she looped her arm in mine and we walked out the door. “What is with you giving people such large tips?” I asked.
    “He deserved it. Look at the wonderful job he did on your tattoo. I must say that I’m very turned on by it,” she said as a wide grin graced her face.
    “Well, then, it was worth it.”
    We walked down the streets of the city and back to the Range Rover. Ellery pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Mason, telling him that we were on our way to get Julia. As we reached the garage where the Range Rover was parked, I opened the door for Ellery and kissed her passionately before letting her get