Tattooed Hearts by Mika Jolie

Vapor is known for.”
    Once Maxie left, Lily
took a sip of her decaffeinated tea and twisted her face in disgust. “This no
caffeine thing is going to b e the end of me.” She
turned and hit Claire with that Lily stare that sees right through you. “Word
on the street you and Forrest were kissing…again,” she added, a reminder Lily
had witnessed the kiss Claire shared with Forrest the night of the wedding .
    Ke ely placed her menu down and gave the conversation her full
attention. Minka shot Lily an I’m-going-to-kill-you look, solidifying
her role as the CEO of the rumor mill. Actually her good-looking husband Jason
must have started the gossip. Not that it matte red.
Self-deprivation was the only reason she never confided in Lily and Minka about
Forrest. She’d convinced herself their fleeting romance was locked in the past
vault, to be glanced upon only as a point of reference. Except she returned to
face her demo n and he’d shut her down.
    She waved a dismissive
hand. Nothing to dwell on. Only lately, actually always, her heart
told her differently. No matter how many times she chided her heart that
feelings were impermanent, nothing lasted forever, everything was temporary,
even emotions; it never faltered.
    “When I was seventeen
and Forre st was twenty, we got drunk together,” she
said softly. “I kissed him. I wanted more, but he was sober enough to stop me.
He promised if I still wanted him when I turned eighteen, we could... . ” Her voice trailed. This stroll down Memory Lane and
recalling some of the happiest time of her life
sucked big time.
    “The heart knows what
the heart wants,” Keely said thoughtfully.
    “A year later,” Claire
continued. “On my eighteenth birthday, we made love.” She smiled, the night
still so vivid in her mind. “We were both virgins.”
    “No way,” Lily
exclaimed. “Totally swoon worthy.”
    “So romantic,” Minka
added.
    “He was on his way to
medical school and here I was an eighteen-year-old virgin confessing my love.”
    “But the two of you
made love,” Minka whispered, “he had to fe el
something. Forrest is not the love them and leave them type. At least based on
what I’ve seen so far.”
    Claire knew that. He’d
never been the casual type. “Once upon a time he used to be in love with me.”
    “He’s still in love
with you,” Keely said.
    A smil e touched Claire’s lips. She knew better. The physical
desire might still be there, but the emotional connection they once shared no
longer existed. “That summer, we were together. Only Jason was aware of our
relationship.”
    “Where were Adam and
Blake?” Lil y asked.
    “Adam was in Italy
with his parents and Blake didn’t come back that summer. He started law
school.”
    Lily and Minka nodded.
They’d been undergrads at Harvard while Blake was in law school.
    “A summer fling. Did
Forrest break it off?” Minka asked wit h a slight
frown.
    “No,” Claire answered
without a beat. “The day after we got tattoos in Boston, I left without saying
goodbye. I went to New York first then L.A. He thought we were forever, but I
left. I broke the deal.”
    “Oh,” Minka and Lily
whispered at the same time.
    “There’s more to the
story,” Keely added gently. She glanced at Claire, seeming to ask for
permission. When her friend didn’t stop her, she continued. “The night of her
eighteenth birthday, Claire overheard a conversation between Jason’s mot her, Victoria, and her mother.” She stopped and looked at
Claire again. “It’s your story, you should tell it.”
    And so she did. It
took her less than five minutes to summarize the conversation that changed her
life forever. In the end, she chuckled, a sad s ound
from the back of her throat. “Yeah, I fucked up.” She lowered her gaze to her
drink. “I hurt him, I know.” Her voice choked with emotion. God, she wanted a
good cry.
    “Does Jason know this
about his mother?” Minka
asked , a look of concern clouded her