We lost some altitude when my conjuring dimmed, and I rocked us side to side to keep up momentum. She gasped with the sharper dip before I rocketed us upward. Laughter left her when she recognized my controlled ascent, but this time, she didn't hide her face. She looked down at our feet, her bravery game kicking it up a notch until I deepened our angle in line with the horizon. Another gasp left her, and she lifted her legs when they threatened to part from me. I lowered one hand to guide her legs around my waist while chuckling.
"I got you."
"Oh my God." She squeezed me with her thighs, her voice a pitchy squeal when I tossed us forward at breakneck speed. "Veyda!"
I laughed and my belly flip-flopped with the excitement of her reaction. "You wanted to fly."
"Too fast!" She squeaked and hid her face against my shoulder again.
I chuckled and slowed down enough to fall into a lazy downward drift. I righted us before my feet tapped the metal edges of the Space Needle. After I steadied myself, the swirling air around us calmed to the natural flow that belonged to the height of our landing. The smell of the water wafted on the breeze, dampening the air a fraction.
"Check it out," I said, patting her hip gently. "We're standing now."
With care, she lowered her legs until her bare feet hit the spot beside mine and she relaxed her grip on me. She stood on her tiptoes and slowly opened her eyes.
"Oh my God." She wrapped her arms around my neck, nearly leaping into my arms. "Are we on the—oh my God."
"Welcome to the top of the Space Needle, Museum Curator Harlow." I held her around the middle as every inch of her trembled. Her energy pulsed against me, and to admit that I didn't melt under her embrace would've been the greatest falsehood to leave my lips.
Her bottom lip quivered as she looked around us, her eyes shimmering even more so than before with the tears that brimmed them. She covered her mouth, and stared, losing herself in the view.
"I come up here to think sometimes," I admitted. "The cameras can't see me on this spot, so I come here when everywhere else feels so crowded."
"It's beautiful. Like a hundred miles of rolling fire." She held her hand out in front of her, as if testing the reality of it. "Do you ever go to the mountains? Over the ocean?"
"Sometimes, but not often."
"Why not?"
"It's lonely. At least here, I still know there are people to care if I fall."
She turned her attention from the city to me, her palm coming to rest on my cheek while she thumbed the edge of the mask. "Your eyes right now." Her breath hitched and her mouth fell open. "Your eyes are as beautiful as a nebula, with a thousand strikes of purple lightning sparkling all over."
"You asked if my eyes change when I'm emotional. They do." I smiled despite the mask and leaned into her touch.
Wonder lifted her brows, and she touched me all over as if seeing me for the first time. We left her fear and anguish behind for the moment, and I rejoiced in the wholeness that was Harlow. I heard nothing else save for her heart, smelled nothing save for her magnolia, felt and saw only her.
"Fly me home?" she whispered, her forehead against mine.
"Yes." I chuckled softly when she asked. "Gotta tell me where you live first."
"I'll show you." She pointed to her left, back toward the museum. "Not far."
"Ready to jump, beautiful girl?" I lifted her without warning, and she wrapped her legs around my middle.
A small squeal left her, and her arms encircled my shoulders. "Veyda!"
I laughed and the air rose with me, as if waiting in the sidelines for me to call it back. It spiraled around my feet, and I darted off the edge, cradling Harlow to my chest.
She cried out at first, then morphed into laughter when I leveled us out again. Her nails dug into my back, and she squeezed me so tight. No discomfort accompanied her embrace, and we descended only when she gave the word to do so.
I never expected my night to end with soaring above the world with a woman in my arms, but as I fell to Earth with her, the rest of me fell for her, and that reality I couldn't fight for a minute more.
Chapter Eight
Our adventure didn't fix everything. Didn't erase the fact that I lied and broke her trust. It didn't mean everything was perfect or golden or easy, but it allowed us to restart our journey. Harlow agreed to have dinner with me, this time just the two of us at her place. We hadn't communicated much in between our flying escapade and our date a few days later. I couldn't take it to heart. We had to start somewhere, and from the beginning seemed best, even if that meant attempting to find our new comfort levels.
I walked to her house, instead of flying or running in the shadows, and carried with me the ice cream dessert that I fixed. I used crunchy chocolate chip cookies as a base, layered it with cookie dough ice cream, then added cookie crumbles to top it off. When I made it to her front door, I smoothed down the buttons of my shirt, and swiped the contacts out of my eyes, pocketing them in their protective case. I knocked on the door and held my breath until I heard her soft footfalls heading my way.
She opened the door and the sweetness of her magnolias greeted me first. Tonight, she wore a relaxed pair of joggers and white T-shirt that hung low on her chest. Her bare feet, dainty and tentative on the hardwood floor, carried her over to me for a brief cheek kiss. She fidgeted with her fingers before waving me inside.
"Come in. You look nice," she said, her voice soft as her gaze searched my face as if scanning for something more.
"So do you. I brought you something," I said, then handed her the glass pan.
"It's cold." A smile curved her lips immediately and she peeked at the dessert while pulling back the foil. "Yes. Did you make this yummy ice cream casserole just for me?"
"Cookies in ice cream. Thought you might fancy that." I tucked my hands into the pockets of my jeans, and admired her long, layered hair as it flowed down her back when she turned away for a moment to store the dessert in the freezer.
"Oh, I do. Not sure I'll be able to wait until after dinner to eat it though." She returned to me then motioned to the kitchen. "What can I get you to drink? I have a few different kinds of wine. What's your favorite?"
"Um…" I thought about it. "A Riesling, usually. Or a nice Moscato. Something on the sweeter side."
"I have both." She waved me over and opened the cabinet beside the dishwasher to reveal a small wine wrack.
Harlow's apartment makeup presented similar to mine, as did most of the newer rentable places in Seattle. Her open floor plan, however, brought an airier feel to the flat. Her kitchen, furnished in black and stainless-steel fixtures, appeared modern and sleek. Unlike her office, her home appeared extremely neat and tidy, in almost a showroom style. The kitchen table, quaint and round, sat beside a tall potted plant with white blooming flowers that reached toward the light of the balcony door.
"Magnolias," I said, pointing to the plant.
"It wasn't ever my perfume." Her gaze flickered to mine when she poured out two glasses of Riesling to start.
"Ah…" I accepted the glass when she offered it to me. "Thank you."
"Welcome."
"Are magnolias your favorite flower?" I asked, sipping my wine to ease some of the nerves that fluttered in my gut.
"Yes. They make me feel calm." She pulled a small platter from the fridge and set it on the counter between us. "I wasn't sure what you'd like for dinner. If you preferred home cooked or takeout, so I fixed some small snacks. Not too salty or too much seasoning." She nibbled her bottom lip. "Do you like hummus?"
"I do." I reached across the counter to give her hand a gentle squeeze. "And I like all the veggies around it, too. Thank you for doing that."
"Welcome." A nervous smile tugged up the corners of her mouth while her gaze lingered on mine. Tentativeness laced her previously bright, often jovial, eyes when she watched me. It reminded me that I was the cause of her deflated presence of late.
I narrowed my eyes at her, stole a cucumber
, and dipped it in the hummus. She chuckled when I shoved the whole thing in my mouth.
"Show me around your place." I nodded behind me. "Grand tour."
"Okay." Amusement accompanied her agreement, and she plucked a carrot off the platter before leading me toward the table. "This is my magnolia bush, and this is the table."
I snickered and followed her along until she paused beside two tall bookshelves filled with both books and knickknacks.
She pointed to the slightly open door to our left. "Bedroom is there, and the bathroom is the door across from the sofa and that's the grand tour. Oh, I forgot the balcony, which is to your immediate right."
I laughed softly, shaking my head at her cute way of humoring me, effectively breaking some of the tension. One thing I noticed, however, is that Harlow didn't have any framed photographs scattered around like at my place, neither print nor digital frames. Plenty of beautiful artwork adorned her walls, most of it modern but some portraits. A single small photo sat propped against a tiny replica of the Great Pyramid. I focused on it for a moment, zooming in to get a better look. A younger Harlow, with shorter hair, stood beside a man and woman, her arms around both. All three of them wore sandy-colored shorts and tank tops and stood in the middle of a pit of dirt with bones at their feet.
"Are those your friends?" I asked.
"Huh?" Her brow furrowed and I pointed to the picture. "Oh." She moved closer, and it made me realize how far away I stood from the shelf in the first place. I joined her when she lifted the photo up to show me. "Yes. This was one of our first digs. Zenobia and Tres." She pointed to each of them.
"You all look very happy. What did you find?"
"Our first full dinosaur skeleton. Scelidosaurus." She smiled at the memory of it, her thumb brushing over the photo. "It was a great day then."
"Looks like it. Where were you?"
"British Isles at the time. Our next trip took us down to Africa." She set the photo back down and returned her attention to me.
"Do your friends still work in the field?"
She nodded. "I don't speak to Tres much, but Zenobia and I connect when we can."
"That's great. To have friends that share similar interests." I scanned the titles of her books, and most of them belonged to art history texts or general art-related works.
"I don't have many," she said, following my gaze then started suddenly. "Friends, not interests. I have several interests. Didn't mean to make myself sound boring." She paused, a sardonic smirk following. "But instead, I made myself sound pathetic."
"Not pathetic." I shook my head, tucking my hands in the pockets of my jeans. "Just lonely."
She didn't respond to that, however, and motioned back toward the kitchen. We returned to the island counter, our conversation fizzling out at that point. I hated the dimness she carried tonight, and it worried me that I wouldn't be able to lift her spirits. Flying helped last time, but a newfound friendship, or relationship, couldn't be based on adrenaline surges.
"The view of the harbor from here is lovely." I nodded toward the balcony.
"It's my favorite spot," she said, noticeably picking at her nail polish.
"Want to take our wine out there? It's nice out."
She nodded, and we lifted our glasses to tote with us.
The balcony, although quaint with only one chair, overlooked the harbor traffic and the skyline filled with the flashing lights of drones coming and going. Harlow looked up at the open sky above. Clouds passed in fluffy clumps, carrying the hues of the setting sun. The sounds of the city overwhelmed me immediately, but I focused my hearing on Harlow's heart as it pounded in her chest. It spoke of her anxiety much more than her presence.
We set our glasses down on the edge of the balcony, both of us staring upward.
"You've flown over here before. I've seen you." She glanced at me then. "Not that I knew it was you. But a Shadow Protector, doing their thing."
"There's a lot of crime by the harbor sometimes and the market. I'm down here often."
"Not lately though…"
I shook my head. "Haven't done much lately."
"Me either." She looked down at her glass as if she ached to fade into it.
I drew in a slow breath, then stepped back to sit in the lone chair. She watched me, her eyes shimmering in the dimming light of the evening. I held my hands up to her and immediately, she pursed her lips as if holding on to a wave of emotions.
"Come here," I beckoned, wiggling my fingers until she took my hands. I urged her toward me, then guided her to sit in my lap. She did, though all of her tensed in response to her rampaging pulse. I pressed my lips to her shoulder, only the thin fabric of her shirt between us. "Still mad at me?"
"A little," she said, her voice soft. She toyed with my fingers when I wrapped my arms around her waist.
"I'm very sorry that I hurt you," I whispered.
She nodded and I felt the warmth of her tears like bits of acid hitting my arm in twin collisions. I kissed her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. Her nails dug into my arm, and she sniffled while tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I don't want to be mad," she croaked. "I don't want to not trust you."
"Me either." My emotions spiraled, untamed and threatening to break my resolve, but my control tonight wasn't for me. Harlow's fragility shone through in our toughest moments, and even though we'd only just begun to get to know each other, it mattered to me.
It would always matter.
"I didn't want to be upset tonight," she said, drawing in a shaky breath. "I wanted to have a nice time with you."
"To be fair, I'm having a very nice time with a sweet-smelling girl in my lap." I nibbled her shoulder a bit.
She laughed softly, shaking her head as she turned slightly so that she could see me. Her eyes sparkled from behind her damp lashes, and her pink cheeks accompanied the uprising of her emotions. I tucked her hair behind her ear, thumbing her chin as a wave of goosebumps sent shivers up my arms to my neck.
"Last night was really fun," she whispered, her forehead pressed against mine. "I can't believe I flew with you. I woke up this morning thinking it was a dream."
"It's like that at first. The mind tries to make sense of it, I think."
"Maybe. Yeah." In time, her body relaxed against me, and her crying ceased. I stroked her legs in soothing rotations, hoping it would continue to calm her. Her cute bare feet dangled a few inches above the ground.
"Are you cold?" I asked, rubbing her arms when I noticed her shiver.
"A little."
"Let's go in." Without much thought, I slipped my hands under her knees and lifted her when I stood.
A soft gasp escaped her, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. "I thought you said you were only a little stronger than humans."
"I am a little stronger. You're not heavy." I chuckled, then dipped her slightly. "Grab the wine."
She laughed and snagged both glasses from the balcony before I carried her into the living room. "Oh my God, Veyda."
I grinned and repeated the gesture for her to set the wine on the coffee table, before dropping down into the sofa cushions with a flop. She held on to me despite the mild bounce, and her giggles continued. Once we settled, she leaned against the arm of the sofa with a fluffy pillow behind her, but kept her legs draped over mine. I rubbed her shins while watching her pretty face when she scowled playfully at me.
"You're the only person who's ever lifted me up like that," she said, stroking the back of my hand with her knuckle. "Are you hungry?"
"Not particularly. Are you?"
"For ice cream only." She smiled and rested her head back on the pillow, her eyes never leaving me. "I'm glad you came over."
"Me too. We haven't known each other long but having you in my life, then not having you in it was very difficult. I don't understand it."
"It was difficult even though I was very upset," she agreed, then brushed her fingers over the ends of my hair that hung down the front of my shir
t.
When the sensation made it to my scalp, my toes curled in my boots and a wash of delight trickled over me.
"You're from Andromeda Galaxy, but you don't know which planet?" she asked, now twirling my hair around her finger.
"Yes, and I don't know, no."
"Do you want to know?"
"Not particularly. Why?"
"I was reading about refugees and immigrants from Andromeda. It takes us years to get to Andromeda, but takes them only a few months to get here."
"Time is relative in the universe."
She nodded, gnawing her bottom lip a little. "There's a lot of research and even more about Hybridians with Andromedan backgrounds."
"When I was a kid, I used to look things up because I needed to know how to control my powers. There were forums and chats I got involved in, but once I hit college, I stopped caring. I just…wanted to live my life."
"College was when I started caring. I didn't know much of life before then," she said, offering some insight to her past that she only hinted at before.
"What was it like for you growing up?" I asked, tentatively at best.
"Um…" Her gaze flickered to the unlit candle on the table beside her sleek tablet. "Not good. Most of the time."
"I'm sorry." I let my hand fall on her knee, and she glanced at me. "You don't have to tell me what happened."
"I know. You were right about what you said before." She nodded toward the bookshelf area of her apartment. "About being lonely."
"Are you lonely?"
"When I'm not at work, yes." A smile lifted her cheeks. "Until one day this fiery little redhead helps me pick up some papers off the sidewalk and she made me laugh so easily. History Professor Veyda was her name."
Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14) Page 12
