Love's Not A Competition: Senior Year

I was just putting the last photo frame on top of my dresser before there was a knock on the door. I pulled the door open and a smile crept onto my face. Zeke scooped me up in a hug and I breathed in his familiar scent. He let me go and pulled me inside my room, shutting the door behind us. Our lips met and we stumbled towards the bed. I fell onto my back with Zeke on top of me, not breaking the kiss. His hand was running under my t-shirt when I pulled back, taking deep breaths.

“I missed you,” he whispered.
I blushed and he stood up. I sat up on the bed and he looked around the room. He picked up the photo frame on my nightstand and smiled at me.
“This was a good night,” he said.

I looked at the photo in his hand and nodded. It was from prom night, the one we almost hadn’t gone to. I was really glad that we had ended up going. It had been a good night and I had had fun. Also, Zeke had looked super hot in tux. It was why I kept it next to my bed, so that I could stare at him as I lay in my bed.

“You really did look stunning that night,” he said as he put the frame back down on the nightstand.
“And you looked super sexy,” I said.

He smirked before sitting down next to me. I ran a hand through his hair that was growing in his eyes. His blue eyes met mine and I kissed him lightly on the lips before standing up. I grabbed my suitcase, the last of my things to unpack, and dumped all the clothes in it either in the closet or my dresser. I put the suitcase on the top shelf in the closet and leaned against the door after I closed it. Zeke looked at me from the bed.

“You haven’t told the others what happened over summer, have you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I haven’t said anything. What about you?”
“Nope,” he said. “Let’s keep it that way, for now.”

I nodded and walked back over to the bed, pushing him onto his back before crawling on top of him. He smirked up at me and I rested my head beside his on the bed. Zeke picked up my left hand and ran a finger on the underside of my wrist. I looked down at what he was looking at and smiled. It had hurt like a bitch but I had gotten another tattoo over the summer. This one wasn’t some butterfly and I wasn’t hiding it like I tried to hide my other one. I wasn’t dumb enough to get Zeke’s name tattooed on me, which was just stupid. Because no matter how much I loved him and he loved me, we couldn’t know for sure that we would be together forever.

“’Just believe’,” Zeke read out loud as he ran his finger over the words again.
“It’s better than yours,” I said, teasing.
He held up his right hand so his palm was facing me. The black lettering stood out on the underside of his wrist. I reached out and laced his fingers with mine.
“’Live like there’s no tomorrow’ is a good saying,” Zeke said.
“Whatever you say,” I smiled.

A devilish glint filled his eyes and I barely had time to blink before he had rolled over so I was under him. I thought he was going to kiss me against but I was mistaken. I tried to push him away as he started tickly me. I was awfully ticklish and he knew it.
“Tell me that my tattoo is better than yours,” he said as he tickled me.
“No,” I said stubbornly.
“Say it,” he said, tickling me harder.
“Okay, okay, your tattoo is better than mine,” I said through the laughter.

He stopped tickling me and I wiped my cheeks before pushing him off of me gently. I sighed and he kissed me on the forehead. He grabbed my hand and entwined our fingers. We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the silence. I was glad that we were back at school but a part of me wished we were still at my house, alone. I was even missing my mom which I never thought would happen. We had really bonded over the summer and I was glad. It really had been a good summer but I was happy to be back at school, I truly was.

We went down to dinner together a few hours later. Zeke said hello to the girls and I sat down, smiling. Brittney and Katie asked about his summer and he looked at me, smiling shyly. He told them that he had a great time in Las Vegas and that it had lived up to all of his expectations. He told them some of the things we had done and Katie asked him questions since she was a local as well. I reached for the ketchup as I listened, telling them things that Zeke forgot.

“Is that what I think it is?” Brittney asked.
“What?” I asked.
“A tattoo on your wrist,” she said.
“Oh that,” I said, smiling. “Well, Zeke had his birthday over the summer so when I asked him what he wanted he said a tattoo. So I took him to the place I got my other one done and when we were there, I decided to get another one.”

Katie and Brittney looked at me like I had gone crazy.
“You have another one? Where is it?”
“On my leg,” I said vaguely.
Brittney grabbed my arm and looked the tattoo before asking Zeke to show her his. Katie and Brittney both studied it before Brittney shook her head slightly.
“I had never thought of you as the tattoo type,” she said to me.
“Well, the first one had been while I was drunk. They really shouldn’t serve intoxicated people. And the second had just been a spur of the moment thing.”

I just smiled while she still looked dubious. Zeke grabbed my hand and kissed the tattoo before dropping my hand. I rolled my eyes at him before continuing eating my dinner. The silence of my friends made me slightly uncomfortable and I was glad when Amy came over, chatting away without noticing the uneasiness of the group.

I found it amazing how well Amy fitted into our group. She talked sports with the boys, chatted about boys with the girls and was really nice. Eric must have been pleased that we had accepted her so easily. It would’ve been awkward if he had started dating some snarky girl who no one liked. They really did make a good couple. I was happy that all of my friends had found love and I was sure that they were happy for me too. I would’ve felt bad if one of us was alone while the others were all coupled off. It wouldn’t have been a good vibe for the group.