She full on smirks this time, and my belly swoops out from under me. She’s so stunning it hurts; the best kind of painful.
I snatch her drink and suck it down to the dregs just to avoid any further torture at her hands—or lips. Whatever.
Lor laughs and I grin, then we get down to business.
We decideto move clear across the country, getting nearly as far from the midwest as we can. Truthfully, I’m willing to go anywhere, but Lor’s star-chaser gifts are what dictate our next moves. She feels a strong inclination to go west, wanting to try an area with less frequent impact sites. I’m more than happy to get as far away as possible from Chicago’s underground. Neither of us have heard or seen anything to indicate her former blackmailer is planning any sort of retaliation, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t. I suspect he’s biding his time, letting things settle down before making a move.
All the more reason to disappear.
So we spend the next couple weeks packing up Lor’s meager belongings and selling most of my eclectic collection, then set off for Oregon with Kahlo in a brand new cat backpack.
It’s a blissful few days of riding through fields and then mountains with only what we can carry on our bikes. We often drive late into the night, which suits me just fine as it gives one of my surprises time to heal. Lor has a sense of freedom about her,a loosening of her limbs and softening of her face that allow her to truly shine. She’s been hiding, protecting herself, and I never want her to feel like she has to live that way again.
We periodically veer off-track when Lor has a pull to follow the stars, and her bags are quickly filling with extra sacks of stardust. I don’t know what she’s going to do with all of it, but she seems content to have it with her for now. I offer to carry some to help distribute the added weight, but she gives me her previously packed bags instead. If she keeps it up, soon all she’ll have is stardust, and I’ll be in charge of the rest of her belongings.
I wonder if that means I get to decide what she wears?
A devious smirk crosses my face as we pull into a motel parking lot on the outskirts of a small town in northeastern Oregon, only a few hours from our destination. Kahlo yells their displeasure at being confined for so long, and I cringe. Poor cat did not sign up for this, although they’ve been doing surprisingly well.
“Just one more day,” I say, reaching a hand into the backpack to rub their soft cheek.
I’m itching to tell Lor about the surprise I’ve been working on. Ever since she expressed a desire to go west, I’ve been hunting for the perfect place for us, but I want to see her face when she realizes for the first time what it means.
So I bite my cheek as I stride into the dingy lobby, and drop some cash for a room. It’s not the best, or cleanest, but they allow pets, so it’ll do for our last night on the road. I let Kahlo out, and set down a tin of wet food as Lor situates her many bags.
I don’t know if she intends for her impromptu strip show as she drops her clothes on the way to the bathroom to be an invitation, but I’m certainly taking it that way. Little does she know, I’ll be holding the rest of her clothes hostage.
“You ready to be done moving?” I ask Lor as I follow her lead, leaving a trail of clothing on the floor, and then dropping my rings next to the sink with a series of plinks.
She shrugs in answer to my question as she sticks her hand around the curtain to test the water.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be done moving,” Lor says. Her eyes hold a depth of sadness I wasn’t prepared for. It guts me, but I refuse to let her history dictate her future. I’ll hold onto hope for both of us.
“Then we’ll move,” I say. “Whenever you want, wherever you want.”
I step into the shower, not caring how hot or cold it is, and tug her in with me. She hisses at the chill, sending me a scathing glare while melting into the heat I push through my skin.
I swing one arm around her waist and palm her ass, then twine my other hand into her hair as she arches into me. I don’t care that we should probably be wearing flip flops, or that the towels will undoubtedly be scratchy.
Having Lor in my arms, languid and trusting, is all I want or need.
Then she freezes, and her eyes latch onto the new tattoo above my heart. The one I got right before we left, that I haven’t let her see yet. It’s still healing, but doesn’t look too bad.
Lor’s eyes flick up to mine for a split-second before returning to my chest. She reaches up with one finger, but doesn’t touch, tracing the air a scant inch above my skin as she follows the thin lines of the tattoo. It’s all black and grey with intricate line work, and her lips part as she takes it in.
A shooting star with a fiery tail, exploding right over my heart.
“Ro,” she whispers, still staring at it. “Is this…”
I tilt her chin up, and she tears her eyes away from the tattoo to meet mine.
“Yes, Starfire,” I say, dipping down to brush my lips against hers. “It’s for you. My star-chaser. My heart. My everything.”
Her beautiful grey eyes turn glassy as they dart between mine, and her lower lip starts to tremble before she sucks it into her mouth and bites down on it. I smile, a gentle, understanding one, knowing this is a lot for her. I can’t hold the words back any longer, though.
“I love you so much, Lor,” I murmur.
I know she’s not ready to say it back, even though I also know she feels the same. So I thread my fingers through her hair, and tip her head back into the water now that it’s warmed up. Her silver locks darken, a metallic sheen bending the light as water sluices down her hair and along the gentle curves of her body.
