She doesn’t care, grinning at me. “Nothing. Seeing you both enjoy your time together and being this adorable is enough for an old lady like me.”
My brows furrow. “I need to pay you.”
“No.” She puts her hands on her hips.
“Yes,” I snap.
“Son, I am seventy years old, and I have five ex-husbands, one of which was a spy, so you don’t scare me.”
I gawk, and she grins as she pats my side. “Don’t worry, no man has ever won against me. Tell you what, to make you feel better, let me take a picture and hang it on the wall.” I glance at where she gestures to see friends, siblings, and lovers framed there with dates, all holding bracelets.
How is this crazy woman still in business?
“Deal,” Nikko agrees, and he tugs me under his arm as she hurries to the counter and grabs an old Polaroid camera, not a remake. It’s retro as hell, and I love it. She grins as she lifts it. “Get closer.” We do as we’re told, and she snaps the pic. We are blinded for a second, and I lean over, watching as she shakes it. When the image becomes clear, I grin.
Nikko has his arm up, showing off his bracelet and me.
“God, you two are so fucking cute. If I wasn’t such a cold bitch, I might even believe in love.” She covers her chest with her hand.
I can’t help but laugh as I shake my head. “One day, I’d like to hear about those ex-husbands,” I tell her.
“Come by whenever you want and bring your handsome man with you. I like to look at pretty things.”
“Me too,” I reply, and when I look up, Nikko is blushing wildly. My favorite color used to be black, but it might be red now.
“Gah, you two! Don’t forget to send me a wedding invitation,” she says as he moves to the board.
“Oh, we aren’t together,” I correct.
She glances at us and scoffs. “Sure, kid, sure, keep telling yourself that.”
“We are just friends,” I protest.
“Boy, friends do not touch or look at each other the way you two do, but keep lying if it makes you feel better.” She starts to whistle as she hangs up our picture. Shaking my head, I sneak some bills on the counter and walk to the door with Nikko at my side. When I glance up, he’s staring at his bracelet. That gives me some relief, knowing he isn’t upset about what I said, even if it’s true.
I think on her words as Nikko opens the door for me, and when he takes my hand, I glance at his bracelet. I wonder if she’s right.
Am I lying to myself?
TWENTY-FIVE
Ican’t stop staring at our joined hands and the bracelets we are wearing. He’s actually wearing the one I made. I didn’t know if he would. It isn’t expensive, but he seems to like it. The fact that he made me one as well? I swear I fell harder in that moment. Zia thought about my favorite colors and likes as well, which makes it that much more special. I’ll never take it off. He also looked so nervous when he gave it to me, I wanted to frame that memory. Instead, I will hold it in the bracelet.
I’m so fucking happy as we walk down the street toward the park. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this. My heart feels like it will burst simply from being at his side and spending the day together. He can say we aren’t together, but this is a date, and he’s mine, at least for today.
We are just walking past a mattress store when a large blast fills the air. I whirl around, my eyes wide as the glass explodes behind us. My reflexes are fast, but I hesitate. Zia doesn’t. He tackles me to the concrete, shielding us behind a car. It’s only then that I realize what the noise is.
Gunfire rains down around us as I duck, raising my arms to cover Zia. He tugs himself from my arms and pulls something from his coat,and my eyes widen as he brandishes a pistol as he kneels, looking at me. “Stay here,” he barks as he moves down the car.
“Zia!” I reach for him, but he ignores me, and when the gunfire stops, the silence is deafening.
Snarling, he rips open the back door and props his arm on the top of it, shooting blindly at a car. There’s a squeal of tires, and then more gunfire. Zia ducks, glancing back at me.
“Are you okay?” he yells.
I stare at him and the gun in his hand. Everything around me seems to slow before bursting into clarity.
“Nikko, are you okay?” he roars.
