“Fuck off. Your mother was a fleshlight.”
I roll my eyes, and I’m about to snap back at him when Maestro calls out from the kitchen, “The sensor across from Steel Spires stopped transmitting. I need one of you to go bring it back online.”
“On it, boss,” I call over my shoulder. “Must be the snow.”
Vin and I share a look, and even though his brow creases in suspicion, we both know that he wasn’t going to do it. Of the two of us, I can reach the sensor a lot easier than he can, purely on the merit of not having to take the stairs.
“Be careful out there, flight risk,” he growls.
How could I give up these guys, who appreciate me so much? Personally I enjoy saying, “On it, boss,” too much to ever do anything else. Being a goon has a lot of perks. You can just say shit, and for the most part, everyone ignores you.
I hate to admit it, but Vin is right. I need to stop thinking about her. There’s no point. More importantly, I need to stop messing around with her. It’s obvious she’s just trying to get me to reveal Maestro’s secrets, and nothing else.
I shuck the rest of my clothes for my flying gear. Maestro modified a diving suit; I think it’s aerodynamic or whatever. It’s warm, which is really my main concern. And it’s all black, which is good for night flying.
I climb up to the bell tower of the old ass church, though the bell hasn’t been used in just about forever. If I’m going to have to fly around the city, it’s always best to start from higher up. Maestro really ought to invest in some drones or something. One of these days, someone is going to look out the window at eleven p.m. and see me.
Turns out the sensor was buried under about six inches of snow and half an old pigeon nest. It came back online in a matter of seconds after cleaning it off. Usually it runs warm enough to keep snow from piling up on it, but the nest had thwarted that. Maestro should consider adding on some anti-pigeon technology, I muse as I scoot the nest a foot or so over, under the shade of an air duct.
The best thing about running these errands is I can take my time on the way back, get a snack somewhere, maybe. I’m already thinking about those weird pickle chips from that one gas station, wondering if I’ll find them again.
A light across the street at the Steel Spire flicks on and off several times, catching my attention.
It’s a floor or so down from the roof of the tower I’m working on. Most of the other windows on the top few floors of the Steel Spire are dark, but warm orange light carves out the shape of her in one.
Hope strikes me before recognition does when I spot her silhouette in the floor-to-ceiling window across from me.
Lacey.
She takes her hand off a light switch and waves at me. Even as she smiles at me from across the street, I feel like I shouldn’t be here, so close to her. I find myself waving back, wondering how she spotted me when it’s this dark out. Then again, I probably stand out against the snow.
I sit there a moment, staring back at her, the snow falling. The city has never felt so small. I’ve seen so much of her lately, and yet every extra moment I get with her is exhilarating. We’ve tangled a couple of times now, but it’s started to feel real. It’s dangerously addictive. I don’t know how I’m going to avoid her if she’s started watching the skies for me.
I look on, transfixed as Lacey puts a hand to her mouth, blows me a kiss. Heat creeps up my spine, over the back of my neck. All I’ve thought about in the last twenty-four hours is about that kiss, that fleeting touch of her mouth to mine.
And then she waves again, this time gesturing for me to meet her on the balcony of her apartment.
A glowing river of traffic passes between us, fifty floors down. It wouldn’t take any effort at all to glide across the street to her. No one would see me.
Listen, I want her in a horrifically horny way. I want us going at it wet and sloppy till we’re unhealthily dehydrated. And while I’d love to get to know her heart and soul, if she just wants to kick me out of her apartment after, and I gotta climb out the window, it’ll still have been worth it.
But I literally just said I wouldn’t. I’m proving I have a backbone, or something.
“I can’t go over there,” I tell her even though her windows are closed. She wouldn’t be able to hear me over the wind even ifthey weren’t. I shake my head “no” for emphasis, though I’m not sure how much she sees with how dark it is on this roof.
Lacey pouts in response, I can’t make out the finer details of her expression well from here, but I can see the way her head moves as she scoffs and rolls her eyes.
She presses her palms on the glass and leans in, clearly peering at me. Her breasts press up against the glass, and I can’t help but grin.
She thinks I’m so easy. She’s right, but I’m trying to be harder. No, not like that. I mean like, have a little more discipline. It shouldn’t be that hard to resist her when I know she’s just doing it for information.
When I don’t play her game, she purses her lips pensively.
Then she plays dirty.
Lifting her chin at me coquettishly, she reaches both her hands behind her. I frown and then watch as something rustles under her T-shirt. The straps of her bra fall off her shoulders to her elbows, and in a few deft movements she frees her arms, casting the garment aside.
I sure as hell can’t go over there.
