“Okay. Good luck.”
“Good luck to you, too.” A ghost of a smile passes over his lips. “I can’t believe you’ve got your celebrity crush stashed away at your place.”
“Ha. It’s bizarre, right? And I better get back to her. She’s kind of having a hard time dealing with things.” I clap a hand on his shoulder. “Later, skater.”
At home, I find Nikki in her room, as usual, watching TV. The door’s open but I knock anyway and she sits up when she sees me. “Hi.”
“Hey. How are you doing?”
She shrugs. “Okay. I was just watching this show,Crossroads of the Heart.”
I blink. “Huh.” I pause. “How about that walk?”
She blows out a breath. “I don’t know.”
I step closer. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m tired. Also I don’t want to see people.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about seeing people. There won’t be that many out, and we’ll bundle you up. And we don’t have to go far. If you’re tired, we’ll come home.”
She appears to mull that over, then says, “Okay.”
Whew. It’ll be good for her to get out. “Dress warm, it’s freezing out.”
This fact does not make her happy. She’s used to spending a lot of time in California now, I guess. “Don’t be a wimp. You grew up here. You’re tougher than this.”
A ghost of a smile crosses her lips. “Right. I am.”
I smile back and leave the room, closing the door behind me so she can get ready.
It doesn’t take her long. She appears dressed in black leggings, socks, and a fitted black turtleneck sweater, carrying a pair of knee-high black boots. How does she look so goddamn sexy in such a plain outfit?
“Do you have a hat I could borrow?” she asks.
“Yeah, sure.” I have a bunch of knit beanies. I grab a couple out of the closet and give her a choice. She chooses the black one. “Going for the full cat burglar look, I see.”
She gives me a tiny smirk and eye roll as she sits to pull on the boots.
With sunglasses, her jacket, and a scarf around her neck, it won’t be easy to recognize her.
We set out down to the walkway along the river. The sun radiates golden light in the clear blue sky, but the temperature is chilly. Across the river, the tall buildings of Manhattan gleam and glint in the sun.
“It’s a lot busier down here in the summer,” I tell Nikki as we walk. “There are kayaks and paddle boards at a place over there.” I gesture to the pier. “And a place that does sailing tours.”
“Oh, that would be cool. Do you stay here in the summer?”
“Actually, no. I go home to Sherrinford. But I’m back and forth a bit. There’s a lot to do here.”
“Yeah, there is.” After a moment of walking in silence, she asks, “How was your practice?”
I tell her about the pranks that transpired and she actually laughs. And I fucking love that. My new mission in life: make Nikki laugh.
“One time on a road trip we swapped out all of Crusher’s toiletries—like, his shampoo, body wash, deodorant—for condiments from the hotel dining room.”
She laughs. Love it. “You told me about racing the luggage carts in the hall.”
“Oh, right.” I grin. “Sometimes you just have to let off a little steam.” I fill my lungs with crisp, fresh air. “It’s nice to get out, even if it’s cold.”
