"Jax," she admonishes with a small smile.
"I'm serious. I'll take you wherever you want. Just say the word."
She studies my face for a moment. "You probably would, wouldn't you? You'd really drop work to take me somewhere."
"One hundred percent."
Her expression becomes sad as she looks away. "I can't, Jax. I have school. And work. It's just not a good time right now."
I soften my tone, wanting to push her because I know she's making excuses but not wanting to push her too far. "What about the whole point of the tattoo, Hailes? When will be a good time? You'll always have school or work. You should make yourself, and your happiness, a priority."
I can see the moment she shuts down because she stiffens, a fake smile on her face this time.Too far too soon."What cities are on your travel bucket list, Tyler?” she asks, deflecting my question. “Where do you want to go?"
"I can't say I've really been anywhere outside of the States, to be honest, other than Mexico for spring break, so I'd love to go anywhere. Italy sounds good. Or maybe Spain?"
"Spain is beautiful," she sighs wistfully. "Especially the small beach towns around the coast. I would go back to Barcelona in a heartbeat."
"Ever been to Asia?" Tyler asks without taking his eyes off his work.
Hailey shakes her head. "No. European history has always interested me more because of my family living over there, so that's where we usually end up going. Not that there aren't plenty of places in Asia I would love to visit, I just haven't made it there yet. My sister seemed to really enjoy Thailand, though, so that's probably where I would go."
"Where else have you been?" Tyler asks, having discovered the topic that will keep Hailey distracted and talking.
And for the next twenty minutes, she does. She settles into her favorite travel memories, becoming more relaxed with each story. Her smile never drops, and even when Tyler has to retrace a few lines, she barely winces.
Despite the fact that she's handling it well, I never let go of her hand and never stop rubbing circles on her wrist. I think a part of me likes being in contact with her heartbeat that way.
"Alright, Hailey, you're all done. You did really well, especially for your first one. Do you want to take a picture of it before I wrap it up?"
A huge smile lights up Hailey's face as she nods eagerly. I finally let go of her hand so she can lean forward and take a closer look at her new ink.
"It's beautiful," she breathes in wonder. She just stares at it for a few seconds, looking like she wants to touch her fingers to it, before she grabs her phone to take a picture.
Tyler wraps it up and goes over the instructions on how to take care of it for the next few weeks, then we're walking up to the front desk to check out. The whole time, the smile never leaves her face.
When Tyler tells us the total cost, I stop Hailey from reaching into her purse and slide my card across the counter instead.
"Hey!" she exclaims in surprise. "Jax, you're not paying for me. I'm the one that got the tattoo."
I just shrug, not even bothering to hide my smile. "Doesn't matter. It was my idea and my date, so I'm paying. Deal with it."
She splutters a few choice words and tries to pay with her card, but Tyler just grins and swipes mine instead.
"You're incorrigible," she mutters, admitting defeat.
I grin and slide an arm around her waist. "I am no such thing."
She looks up at me as if she's realizing something for the first time. "You’re right, you’re not. You're compassionate. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know and you take care of the people you love, in every way. It's just who you are."
I shuffle awkwardly at her praise, unsure of how to respond. I open my mouth to make a joke before I can let myself think too hard about why I like the sound of the wordloveon her lips so much.
But she doesn’t seem to be as thrown off by it as I am because she continues to stare at me with a warmth in her eyes that makes my heartrate speed up. And when she slides her hand behind my neck and tugs my face down to hers, Ireallylose the ability to talk.
This kiss feels different than any of our other kisses.Thiskiss is not only led by Hailey, it’s also intense in a way that I know in this moment I can only ever experience this feeling with her.
"Thank you," she whispers against my lips. "For this. And for being a good man. The best man."
If I thought I was speechless before, it's nothing compared to how I feel now. I just stare at her, wide-eyed and dazed. Eventually, I force myself to swallow and nod. "Of course."