“So then, there was this time where I ran out of gas and you came to pick me up. On the way back home you insisted on putting lotion on your hands, mind you, you were still driving and you fucking swerved all over the place. We got pulled over naturally, and I had to convince the cop that you were just putting lotion on and driving like an asshole and he didn’t believe me until you fucking pulled your lotion bottle out of your purse and offered him some.” Jaime finished his story with a laugh.

I couldn’t hold back my giggle as the crowd of people surrounding me erupted into laughter. I covered my face with my hands and leaned into Tony’s side, hiding my blushing face. He chuckled and swung his arm around me, pulling me closer and I sighed before I removed my hands and looked at the circle of people around me. My friends.

“Re-meeting” them wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Tony held my hand the entire time as we walked into the living room where they had all gotten comfy, taking seats on the couches and floor. They were all pretty quiet, I guess not wanted to scare me and I felt like a child but in a way I was glad. I greeted everyone with a lame wave and a nervous smile and they all waved back, causing me to laugh at how cautious everyone was being. After that, things weren’t so awkward. I remembered most of their names and recognized them from the pictures so it wasn’t all that overwhelming to me. The only people I was a little hazy about was Jaime’s girlfriend Jessica and Vic’s girlfriend Sophia but as the night progressed, I slowly started getting little flashes of memories of the numerous “girls nights” we would have.

Eventually we all ended up relaxing in the living room. Beers were opened and chips and salsa was brought out and then the stories started. They told me all about the times we shared and every now and then, as I listened to them recall their favorite memories with me, I could see myself with them, living out the flashbacks. Tony stayed by my side, pulling me to the couch and making me sit next to him and barely taking his eyes off me. A part of me was pretty sure he was still afraid that I was going to leave him but the longer I stayed here, listening to the stories of my life, I knew that I could never do that, even if I never regained my full memory, I knew I couldn’t leave this life, my life.

“Why would I put lotion on while driving?” I asked with another giggle.

Jaime grinned. “I don’t know! I told you to just wait but you insisted.”

I laughed again and then Mike stood up, stretching. “Hey Rori, you got any gummy bears?” he asked with a grin, taking a seat up on the couch next to Sam.

Everyone laughed at this and I vaguely remembered how Mike and I used to fight over gummy bears all the time.

“Nope, that bag you bought me the other night was gone by morning,” I answered with a sweet smile.

Mike chuckled. “Damn.”

“You know, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I know what your name is my phone is now,” I said then, reaching across Tony to grab my phone he had put next to his.

“What do you mean?” Vic asked with a hint of confusion.

“None of our contact names are our actual names in her phone,” Tony explained with a small laugh.

“It is really confusing,” I agreed with a nod of my head.

“No way!” Jaime exclaimed, practically jumping up in his seat. “It’s like a mystery game!” I swear that guy was just a ball of energy.

“Wait, so what’s my name?” Mike asked, giving me a lopsided grin.

I unlocked my phone and searched my contact names. “Now, I’m going out on a limb here and just assuming that your ‘The Gummy Bear Stealer,’ like I said though, total guess.” I said and within seconds everyone was laughing and agreeing that it was indeed Mike, and I felt Tony’s hold instinctively tighten around me and I had to work hard to fight back a blush when I caught Sam winking at me.

“So is my name something else too?” Jaime asked, once again nearly bouncing out of his seat and Jessica laughed and pushed him back down.

“Well, I don’t have any Jaime so assuming if I have your number, I’d say so,” I answered with a shrug, swiping my finger across my screen and I heard Tony chuckle softly as he read the names over my shoulder.

“Call her,” Jess suggested and he immediately whipped his phone out of his pocket.

My screen lit up within seconds and Tony let out a loud laugh at the name that popped up on my phone.

I giggled. “Buzz Lightyear.”

Jaime fell out of his seat, literally, with laughter and everyone was practically crying with laughter. Vic called me next and his name was strangely ‘Pablo’ which didn’t make an ounce of sense to me though once again people were practically peeing their pants and Tony promised he would explain it to me later. After I changed everyone’s names back in my phone – explaining that it was a lot easier to remember that way – we went back to sharing stories of our, or mostly my, past and I found myself leaning into Tony’s side more, resting my head on his shoulder, just trying to savor these new memories I was making.

It wasn’t until the topic of tattoos came up that I perked up because I couldn’t help but be intrigued by them. Knowing that Tony was practically covered with tattoos, tattoos that I’m sure I knew the meaning behind at some point but now know nothing at all about, I was curious to hear some of the stories that went along with them. Mike, like Tony, was nearly covered and Jaime had a good looking sleeve going up his arm; even Sam had quite a few tattoos and I couldn’t help but wonder why I didn’t have any.

“This one is my favorite,” Sam said, pointing to a small daisy flower on the inside of her wrist. “It doesn’t mean anything but I love the story of how I got it.” She said with a shrug.

“Didn’t you get that the night Rori got hers?” Mike questioned and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Oh yeah,” Sam giggled and then looked over at me with a grin.

“Wait, I don’t have a tattoo,” I muttered, confused.

Everyone’s heads suddenly turned toward me.

“Yes you do,” Mike chuckled.

“No, I don’t. I think I would have noticed it,” I argued and I felt Tony laughing beside me.

“It’s in white ink and especially with where it is, you don’t really notice it unless you’re looking for it,” Sam explained with a smirk.

“Where is it?” I asked bewildered.

This question seemed to be a touchy subject because all at once everyone let out groans and moans of annoyance and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“No one knows, you won’t tell us,” Vic finally explained as I sat there, utterly confused.

“No one knows what it is either,” Jaime chimed in.

“I know!” Sam said cheerily raising her hand up in the air, causing another chorus of groans and eye rolls.

“I know too,” Tony suddenly whispered in my ear and with the way his husky voice ghosted over my ear, ruffling my hair slightly, I couldn’t control the shiver that ran down my body and he chuckled lowly before he leaned away from me again.

After that, conversation picked up again, talking about anything and everything and as I leaned into Tony’s side again, his arm tightening around me, I found myself drifting to sleep. I jumped when there was a slam of a door and when I opened my eyes I found myself alone in the living room, lying down on the couch. I yawned and got up, wondering how long I had been asleep for because all my friends were now gone and I didn’t see Tony. I headed for the bedroom and when he wasn’t in there, I traveled around the house until I stopped at the bathroom door and that was when I heard the shower running.

I smiled and blushed before I turned back around and headed for the bedroom again. I quickly changed into some pajamas, slipping on some sleep shorts and one of Tony’s shirts that had been sitting on the dresser. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers around me, leaning back into the pillows. I closed my eyes, thinking back to all that happened to night and I smiled again, I smiled because for once, I didn’t get the feeling that I was living someone else’s life. I could easily picture myself in all those memories that had been shared tonight. I could only hope that I would remember everything else soon.

I heard the bathroom door open and I glanced over at the open door and I saw Tony walk by, probably headed to the living room, and he came back a few minutes later, a confused look on his face before he saw me lying in the bed.

“Oh, hey, I was just going to get you,” he said with a small smile.

“I woke up a few minutes ago; how long was I asleep?” I said, biting my lip as I tried to look anywhere but at him. The man was shirtless and wearing a pair of basketball shorts, I swear he was trying to torture me.

“Not long, about a half hour but once everyone saw that you fell asleep they left,” Tony explained with a shrug, walking over to the closet and tossing his clothes in the hamper, my eyes of course following him the entire way even though I tried not to.

“Checking me out again?” he teased, turning around with a smirk.

“Shut up,” I mumbled and looked away, my cheeks instantly heating up.

He chuckled. “Looking is free; touching will cost you a little extra though,” he grinned.

“Oh my god,” I laughed and picked up a pillow and threw it towards him. “I never pictured you as a cocky asshole,” I muttered playfully.

Tony dodged the pillow and he laughed as he reached over and picked it up. “Only for you babe.”

His words caused a riot of butterflies to explode in my stomach and I bit my lip, looking away as he walked toward the bed, tossing the pillow over on his side.

“Hey, so um, can you show me this mysterious tattoo of mine?” I spoke up, the curiosity was killing me.

Tony grinned. “Sure, if you really want to see it.”

“It’s not on my ass, is it?” I questioned, hearing a tone in his voice.

He chuckled. “No, no where embarrassing. Come on, get up.” He said then, patting the bed.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, getting out of the bed. I saw him smile when he saw my shirt and I made my way over to him. He put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around, bringing me closer to the full length mirror in front of the closet door. I found myself blushing again as I stared at the reflection of the two of us and how Tony was looking at me, his eyes holding a level of emotion that I had come to recognize as love over these past few days and it made my stomach once again flutter uncontrollably.

“Tony?” I asked softly and he snapped out of his little trace and gave me a small smile before he suddenly bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows, his smile turning sheepish as he looked at me.

“Um, I’m going to have to lift your shirt a little,” he explained and I laughed softly before I nodded my head and spread my arms out to my sides. “You don’t have to fly away you goof,” he teased at how my arms were extended out.

I giggled and then watched as he took a step closer to me, his chest colliding with my back and I bit my lip as his hands went down to the hem of my shirt and I lowered my arms slightly. He started to slowly lift my shirt and as his hands ghosted over my soft skin I got the feeling he was going slow on purpose but I also realized that I didn’t mind it, at all. He stopped pulling the shirt up, stopping just under my breasts and he bunched the fabric up a little before he pulled it tight behind me, taking away the excess fabric.

He didn’t say anything and I was at a loss of words as he held the back of the shirt in one hand and brought his other hand forward. He placed his finger right above my belly button and he began to slowly and softly trail his way up the center of my stomach, leaving a line of goose bumps and I knew for a fact he was doing it purposely this time. His hand curved as he got father up and he slid over my ribs until he stopped just under my left breast, his finger and hand dangerously close.

“Right here,” he whispered, causing another shiver to run through my body as he started tracing my skin.

It took me a moment to see what he was tracing and even longer to notice that it wasn’t a design like I was expecting. I brought my own hand up, brushing against his as I started to trace the four letter word that was barely visible against my pale skin. It wasn’t just any word though; it was a name. And it wasn’t just any name either; it was Tony’s. There, right above my ribcage, close to my heart was his name.

“Oh,” I said softly, continuing to trace the name with my fingertips.

Tony smiled in the mirror. “Yeah, it was a birthday present for me.”

“How cliché of me,” I teased as I bit my lip and turned around to look at him.

Tony shrugged, letting go on the shirt and the fabric fell back down, covering me again. “I loved it. I loved it even more when you told me why you got it. You said that you would always be mine so it was only fair that you kept me close to your heart and you got it in white ink because you wanted it to be something only I knew about.”

I nodded my head, unsure of what I could possibly say in that moment and Tony smiled warmly at me, seeming to understand what I couldn’t say aloud. He stared at me, letting his eyes roam my body and I let him, biting my lip as another look flashed in his eyes.

“Can I try something?” he asked softly, taking a step toward me. I nodded again, still at a loss for words. “Just tell me if you want me to stop.” He whispered.

With that he took another step toward me and placed his hands on my waist. He pushed against me until I took a step back and my back met the wall of the mirror behind me. He continued going further though, pushing his chest up against mine and he began to lean down. I closed my eyes as I felt his hot breath on my neck and he began to place soft, sweet kisses on my sensitive skin. My body reacted immediately and my breathing hitched as his lips started traveling along my neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses in their path. He continued to kiss me, along my jawline, under my ear, on my cheeks and then he moved up and placed one lingering kiss on my forehead before he pulled away. He ran his fingertip along my flaming cheek as a small, loving smile formed on his lips.

“You should get some more sleep,” he murmured and I was once again speechless so I let him pull me toward the bed and I got in as he went to turn the light off.

A few seconds later I felt the bed dip and I felt his warm body next to mine and without even thinking twice about it, I curled myself into him, letting my legs tangle with his as I leaned my head on his chest. His arms circled around me, locking me to him and I once again didn’t mind it. I enjoyed the feeling of being his. That night I fell asleep with a million questions in my head and a million memories playing in my dreams, answering me.

Notes

Kind of a crappy filler but I've decided to start wrapping this story up so prepare yourselves, it will be ending soon!