“I know,” Gen agreed, looking even more nervous. “That’s why I thought … No, forget it. Forget it.”
“What?” Gaia asked. “You thought what?”
Gen dropped her head down slightly and watched herself fiddle with her fingers. “Well, I thought, maybe … since he’s out there, you know … maybe I’d be cool in here.”
“You are,” Gaia agreed. “You’re fine here.”
“No, I mean … I thought maybe I could stay here, you know, tonight. It would be just for one night,” she added quickly. “I mean, I could totally figure something else out after that.”
Gaia had two very quick thoughts. One: She couldn’t believe Gen would let herself be that needy right to Gaia’s face. She was obviously very seriously scared. Two: If Gen stayed in that house, then Natasha would go completely insane when she got home. She would become irrevocably freaked out.
That was a good enough reason right there.
But Gaia wouldn’t have said no, anyway. Protecting Gen from Casper had become much too big a priority for her. In fact, it was one of the few priorities she had left, besides avoiding all humankind.
“Don’t be a freak—of course you can stay here,” Gaia said, looking Gen in the eye. “You just can’t do drugs if you’re going to be in my house.”
“I thought it wasn’t your house,” Gen pointed out annoyingly.
“Whatever.” Gaia sighed. “No drugs, okay?”
“Okay, no drugs,” Gen said. “Well … thanks.” She jumped out of the couch with a huge, long sigh of relief.
“No problem.” Gaia smiled.
“So …” Gen looked around the apartment slowly. “Where do I sleep? ’Cause I don’t know about you, but I am freakin’ burnt from this day.”
“Yeah,” Gaia agreed. “Me too. Let’s hope tomorrow’s not quite so unfortunate. Come on.” She grabbed Gen’s arm and pulled her into the bedroom.
“Oh, shit,” Gen laughed the second she stepped into the bedroom. “What the hell is this? You live in the girlie bedroom from hell.”
“I know. Shut your mouth.”
“Yes, I agree,” Tatiana yelled from her bed. “Shut your mouth!”
Gen looked over at the bed and threw her hand over her mouth. “Oh, no way,” she moaned, looking back at Gaia with heartfelt pity. “You share a freakin’ room with Princess Prissy Bitch? You live in the girlie room from hell … with the girlie girl from hell? Bah-hahaha…”
Gen dropped to the floor, laughing hysterically at Gaia’s misfortune. Her mood had certainly improved since Gaia told her she could stay.
Tatiana sat up in her bed and gave Gen a look of purely murderous intent. “What is she doing in this house?”
“She’s going to be staying the night,” Gaia said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You heard her.” Gen laughed. “I’m staying the night.” Gen affected the look of a concerned mother. “Oh, don’t be scared, Princess Prissy Bitch. Gaia will protect you from me.”
“Yeah, right,” Gaia muttered. “That’ll happen.”
Tatiana looked up to Gaia with a piercing stare. “Gaia … please tell me this is not serious.”
“Go back to bed,” Gaia said. “Just go to sleep.”
“Gaia, you make a terrible mistake if—”
“A mistake?” Gen shouted. “A mistake?” She made a move toward Tatiana, but Gaia held her back. “You’re the only mistake around here, bitch.” She turned back to Gaia in a huff. “Gaia, we don’t really have to sleep in here with Princess Prissy Bitch, right? Tell me there’s somewhere else we can sleep. Someplace private”
Gaia gave Tatiana one last hateful glance. “The den,” she said. “Let’s sleep in the den.”
“The den,” Gen agreed. “Definitely the den.” She gave Tatiana a menacing stare as she backed out of the room. “Who knows?” she whispered tauntingly. “Hopefully when we come back to this room … Princess Prissy Bitch will have magically disappeared.”
Memo
From: G
To: L
Connection has been secured. Invitation exchanged. Expect company within three hours.
Memo
From: L
To: G
Three-hour ETA understood and confirmed. Proceed to level-two2 infiltration and report on results.
Each moment of the last ten minutes had only served to inform her of what an absolute imbecile she was when it came to people.
* * *
fetal ball
* * *
“WHOA, SLOW IT DOWN THERE, buddy.” Heather giggled uncontrollably. She gripped Josh’s arm as though she were hanging on for dear life. “I told you to take it slow.”
* * *
Ungiggly Gaze
* * *
Heels and drinking, Heather. Heels and drinking. Mental note: Next time you drink… sneakers. Big ones. Big flat ones.
Josh stopped in the middle of East Fourth Street and placed his arm around her waist to help hold her up. “I’m sorry,” he said, laughing. “I didn’t realize just how slow was slow.”
“Sloooow.” She pulled on the lapels of his coat and gazed up at his eyes. “I like to take it real slooooow.” She tucked her head into his chest, collapsing into another long laughing fit. “You know…,” she squeaked, as if she were just about to make an earth-shattering scientific discovery. “I think… I’m drunk.” Then she gave in to the giggles again.
“Yeah, I think you might be right about that one.” Josh grinned. “I think I might be, too.”
“Mm-hmm.” Heather nodded. “Yeah. That sounds about right. What the hell was in those Pink Poodles? And more important… how many did I have?” More giggles.
“Well…” Josh considered. “I don’t know, and… I don’t know.”
“Mm-hmm, yeah, well… I am pretty damn sure… that I’m drunk.”
“Yes, indeed,” Josh agreed, swaying slightly from side to side with Heather as they tried to make it down the next block. “We need to keep walking. The fresh air… That’s going to solve our little problem.”
“Yes,” Heather agreed. “Walking. Yes. But you just remember, Josh Brown.” She stopped him in the street and grabbed his lapels again. “I am now drunk. And you have to take care of me.”
“Always.” He smiled.
The way he said always left Heather melting, swooning, and most likely a few inches off the ground—if she’d been able to feel her feet, she could have been sure. “Really?” she mused, playing the romantic lead in some old sappy movie. “Always? You promise?”
“I promise,” Josh nodded.
The way he’d answered was far more serious than Heather’s jokey question, and it left them locked in a most ungiggly gaze for what felt like half an hour. Heather gripped his lapels, and Josh’s arms held her waist to keep her from falling. She pored over his face from this delectably close distance. He was more beautiful the closer she got.
“You know what?” he murmured.
“What?” she whispered.
Josh suddenly lifted Heather’s entire body. She let out a series of giggly hoots and squeals, not having expected this at all. He swung her around to the building on their left and pressed his body closer to hers, leaning her up against the wall. Heather’s heartbeat quadrupled.
Josh lowered his head and let his face graze hers from all sides as she continued to hold tight to his lapels. “Is this okay?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she uttered, barely able to breathe as his hands slid under her coat. Each hand felt twice the size of her waist as he ran his fingers along her skintight dress. She let out the slightest gasp as he surprised her again, suddenly pulling her waist closer to his, even though their bodies couldn’t really have gotten any closer.
She let go of his lapels and lifted her arms higher, wrapping them around his neck and clasping her fingers as she pulled his head closer. She could really no longer accept having his lips anywhere else other than against her own.
He lea
ned down and kissed her deeply, letting the passion of his kiss press her body more firmly up against the wall. God, this was every bit as good as she had dreamed it would be.
“Listen,” he whispered, kissing her ear between words. “We should go somewhere. Do you want to go somewhere?”
“Uh-huh,” she said. “Yes. Anywhere. Where?”
He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her again, leaving them almost no time to breathe—not that Heather could breathe anymore with him touching her like this. “My dorm is too far,” he said.
“My house is out,” she whispered, leaving out all of the details.
“Ugh,” Josh grunted with short-breathed frustration, dropping his head against her shoulder. “There’s got to be somewhere close,” he said. “Because I’m going crazy here.”
“Me too,” Heather breathed. “Close. Close is good.”
Josh pulled his head away for a second and looked in either direction down Fourth Street. “I’ve got it,” he said
“Where?”
“The park,” he said. “Washington Square Park—it’s right up there.”
Heather suddenly felt the slightest bit of nausea mix in with all the thrills that were coursing through her body. The park? Ugh. She knew it was close, and God, yes, did she want someplace close, but that park? Did it have to be that park? She hadn’t been in there at night since her attack. Of course she hadn’t. How could she possibly go in there at night?
“I don’t know….” She wavered.
“No?” he asked, leaning in and kissing her again. “You’re sure? It’s perfect.”
His kisses were every bit as good as all his other unbelievably perfect qualities, and thinking about anything other than his body was next to impossible, but still… “I know it is, but…”
“Oh God, your attack,” he remembered, pulling back
Heather nodded.
“You’ve never been back there since?”
“Not at night,” she said.
“Well, let’s go,” he said with his confident smile, grabbing her hands. “Heather, that there is one of the most beautiful parks in New York City and some group of assholes have ruined it for you. Let’s go in there right now and un-ruin it. Let’s go in there and do something unforgettable.” The way he said unforgettable sent a shock of warm sparks down her spine. “Then you’ll have a perfect new memory to replace the old horrible one,” he said. He leaned in and kissed her firmly on the lips. “Come on, we’ll do it together. Let’s reclaim that park and make it ours. Besides, I told you… I’m taking care of you tonight. Nothing bad is going to happen to you as long as I’m around, Heather. Nothing.”
She absolutely adored his total assurance. His total enthusiasm. It was so childlike and completely… fearless. That’s what she loved about Josh. He just wanted what he wanted, and he followed all his impulses. It was so inspiring when he was around. Everything seemed so much simpler, so much less daunting and intimidating—so much more possible. It made Heather feel stronger. It made her want to do and say what she wanted, too.
If Josh could be fearless, then so could she.
She placed his face in her hands and devoured his lips with her own, giving him the longest, most passionate kiss she was capable of giving. Then she tugged on his hand and led him toward Washington Square Park. “Let’s go,” she said, smiling.
“You’re sure?” he called out as she began running for the park.
“Hurry up!” she shouted back as she pulled off her impossible shoes. She could run a few blocks in stockings. Sure, she could. Tonight she could do whatever she wanted to do.
“ED?”
Somewhere between sleep and waking, Gaia had convinced herself that she was back in bed with him. Back safely tucked away under his rumpled purple sheets, his arm wrapped around her waist and his breath ruffling her hair gently in the rhythm of sound sleep. Back when quiet had been a good thing and not just blank space to be filled up with all her loud, self-pitying thoughts.
* * *
The Clink
* * *
But of course, there were no arms around her. None of those soothing sounds of the street passing through his window. No shafts of light that cast blue shadows on his ceiling. Nothing but dull airy silence and pitch blackness.
Until she heard the clink. It was almost inaudible. It probably wouldn’t have even been heard by the average ear, but Gaia picked it up immediately. In fact, it was probably what had woken her up in the first place. A clink here and a clink there, barely even tapping her eardrums.
She got up off the carpet and moved to turn on a light. Unfortunately, she had never even been to the den in the daytime, let alone slept there at night, so finding a lamp was something of an adventure. After a minute or so of flailing her arms, she finally bumped into something lamp shade-like. She reached under and switched it on.
Not only was there no Ed in sight. But there was no Gen, either.
Clink.
There it was again. Coming from the living room. And there was the slightest paranoid buzz, nagging her like a cold that wouldn’t quite die. Why were there quiet clinks in the living room, and where the hell was Gen?
Jesus, Gaia, relax. She probably just went to get a drink of water. Maybe Natasha finally came home.
She decided to take her approach to the living room very slowly. If it was nothing, then she could turn back before she got caught looking like a timid paranoid housewife. If it was something, then she’d be able to catch that something red-handed. There was only one possibility that truly worried her. Something she’d totally forgotten to check on before falling asleep next to her new friend in the den.
Drugs. Gen probably still had a stash of her own, and Gaia had foolishly neglected to confiscate it. Think next time, Gaia. She was so new at this drug-counseling thing, maybe she was entitled to a few mistakes. But still, if she found Gen doing drugs in the living room, she was going to feel like a totally inept friend.
She stepped to the door of the living room and poked her head around. There was hardly any light to see by, but enough was coming from the open windows to see that something in the room did not look right.
Things were missing.
The silver bowl was gone from the coffee table, and there were no little green lights where the VCR had been. A thief? Was that what she was dealing with here? A goddamn petty thief?
Wait a minute. Casper. It had to be Casper. Anything with the word petty attached to it had to be Casper. Of course. He’d been tailing Gen all day. He must have followed her straight to Gaia’s house and just waited for all the lights in the apartment to go out before he moved in. But how did he break in? Maybe he was a better petty thief than she would have figured him for.
She stepped carefully through the doorway and searched the room, but it was still too dark to see enough. She tiptoed to the lamp by the couch and reached to turn it on.
But it went on all by itself.
“Boo” came the voice from behind her. Followed by a very self-satisfied giggle.
Unbelievable. Just absolutely unbelievable that he would want to mess with Gaia again. Was this asshole a glutton for punishment or what? She whipped around to face him. But instead she was facing the barrel of his gun pointed at the middle of her forehead. Dammit. I knew I should have taken all three guns from the boathouse.
“Guess who?” He grinned, holding tightly to a laundry bag full of Natasha’s belongings. “Yeah* He chuckled repulsively. “Thought you were never going to see me again, right? Yeah, gee, I guess I messed up your little agreement, huh? You bitch” The smile turned into something psychotic and vicious as he cracked the gun over the Side of Gaia’s head. The impact was excruciating, but Gaia quickly bounced her head back up and gave him her most defiant stare. She was not going to show him an ounce of pain. Her pain, that is. She’d show him plenty of his own.
“How the hell did you get in here?” she demanded.
“How?” he asked. “I told you, I’m the fri
endly ghost. I can walk through walls”
“Where’s Gen?” she asked, loosening her fingers in preparation to snap his neck once she got her answer.
“Oh, why?” he teased. “Are you worried about your little charity case? Isn’t that sweet.”
Gaia could feel nothing but sadistic and violent tendencies at this point. The thoughts of what he might have done to Gen were bringing out the kind of rage he really didn’t want to face. She had begun to think of the specific ways she would have to torture him before she killed him. Sick scenarios that simply were not repeatable. “You tell me where she is right now or—”
“Or what?” Casper challenged, shoving the barrel of his gun directly into the skin between her eyes. “Or you’ll get shot in the head? Yeah, I think you may be right about that.”
“Tell me what the hell you did to her!” she howled, gearing up her limbs for a full-scale attack.
But before she could make a move, an arm crept over her shoulder and held a knife flat up against her neck. More thugs? How many dudes work for this loser?
“Boo!” a girl’s voice whispered in her ear. A girl’s voice?
Casper dropped his gun and started to laugh in Gaia’s face. Just stood there, laughing, with his hand over his mouth. And then the girl with the knife to Gaia’s throat began laughing as well—straight into Gaia’s ear. Gaia already knew who was laughing; she just didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to believe this was happening. But she at least needed to confirm it. She leaned her head back slightly to try and get a glimpse of her. And get a glimpse she did.
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