Chapter 2 Anomaly #2
"Not really," she commented, already reaching for a second shot. "You’re just so fun to tease."
The second went down more easily. Rin barely noted the burn in her throat.
She licked the salt off the peel, running her tongue over the tangy dryness. Her nose scrunched up. "It takes more than a few shots to get me so loose-lipped."
She eyed the final, untouched glass near Kit with longing. He moved it out of her reach, gesturing to her plate of food.
"You should eat. That stuff needs to be soaked up. You’ve not eaten all day, right? Don’t lie." Kit started to cut into his meat while more sizzled on the grill between them, long shoots of asparagus charring beside it.
She hummed around a bite of rice.
"That’s not an answer. Do I need to talk with Lucien?" The corners of Kit’s lips turned down at the man’s name.
Rin snorted at his obvious disdain for her childhood friend, companion, acquaintance, neighbor.
Rin didn’t know what to call him—her and Lucien’s relationship had always been complicated.
His family had lived in the house next to hers, and he had always watched her from his bedroom window, right across from hers.
Lucien wore glasses that made his green eyes even more prominent, and his nose was always stuck in a book.
Every time she knocked on the door to his house and asked if he wanted to play, his answer was always no—she wasn’t sure why she’d ever tried.
He had been too old to play childlike games.
But she had caught him watching as she ran in the yard with a toy gun, pretending to kill Rogues.
The only reason he hadn’t died five years ago was that he was away at med school. Seven years older than her and a scientific prodigy.
And now… he was her doctor.
"No," Rin grumbled. She ate a few more bites of rice and meat to appease him. The dull ache in her temples and shakiness in her hands abated as she filled her stomach. She hated it when Kit proved himself right.
As the alcohol buzzed through Rin as they ate, she forgot all about her worries of why she was accepted into the Alpha Team and if Sabine and Talor would be safe on their research trip off-planet.
None of it mattered. Not when she was with Kit.
Later, when her stomach was full and her eyes sagged with exhaustion, she found herself resting her head on her hand, even knowing it was in poor manners.
Kit ran a finger over a discarded orange peel, deep in thought. "I am proud of you," he said.
There was now enough alcohol in her system to make her thoughts spill unbidden from her traitorous lips.
"Of course you are, you love me." She smiled. "Don’t worry—I won’t let myself die. I don’t want to go back to the Stars just yet.
I’ve not met my Soulbond, you know. Who knows, I could find my Soulbond at the Academy… "
But probably not. Rin had been wishing to meet her Soulbond for twenty-two years now… Wishes were futile.
Kit made a gruff sound as he watched her. "The Academy is no place to meet a Soulbond. A lot of egotistical bastards, if you ask me."
"But you were at the Academy."
Scorching heat simmered in Kit’s eyes, concealed by teasing looks. "I know. If any of those dicks at the Academy try anything, use the pistol I gave you. Plead self-defense. The Blackfall name will get their attention, so while you have it, prove they shouldn’t mess with you."
The rant had turned deadly serious.
"I’m not going to shoot anyone if they try to kiss me, but if they try to hurt me… well, I won’t be held accountable," Rin teased. She jolted when something hard hit her shin. "Ow! You kicked me."
"Don’t think about kissing or Soulbonds when you’re there, Rin. You’ll only get your heart broken."
She crossed her arms under her breasts, the action tugging the already low neckline of her black, skintight gown further down her chest. Kit’s brown eyes dipped.
"Stop being so overprotective."
She was pinned to the booth by his stare.
His white button-down strained over the muscles of his chest as he reached across the table and notched a finger under her chin. "Only for you."
Her heart fluttered in her chest, her pale grey eyes growing wide. Was this another episode? So soon after the first?
But no, there was no telltale tightening in her chest or cold sweats cascading over her body. This was an entirely new sensation. She would blame it on the shots.
The leather of the booth creaked as Kit stood. He opened his wallet, threw down some bills, and then held out a hand for her. "Come on, let’s go home. You’re tired, and you have to get moved into the dorms before Monday."
Rin followed the veins in his wrist up to his forearm, then finally met his gaze.
She swallowed as she placed her hand in his, and he helped her to stand.
Her bare thighs stuck to the leather; she used her free hand to hold down the hem of her dress.
Swaying, she braced a delicate hand on his lower stomach.
"Careful," Kit murmured.
She looked up, realizing just how close they were. And just how quiet the steakhouse had become as the evening had worn on and curfew loomed. Only a few people were left, and staff scurried about, wiping down tables and righting chairs.
Kit tucked a strand of her white hair behind her ear, fingertips burning against her skin. Her lashes tickled her cheeks as she blinked up at him.
Her lips parted, but she never knew what she might have said, for Kit gave a small shake of his head. Clearing his throat, he used his grip on her hand to tug her to the door and outside.
"We’re cutting it close to your curfew," Kit commented as they left the gilded awning outside the steakhouse and walked the ornate paved sidewalk. Over the high-rises, the sun was low, golden rays catching off the gleam of the city.
"Don’t have a curfew anymore. I’m a trainee now," Rin replied tartly. Her fingers curled around his elbow as he led her to the parking garage.
His answering hum rumbled through her. "Nice try, sprite. You don’t have your registration card yet."
The dim, echoey space of the multi-level parking garage made their footsteps sound louder. It was relatively vacant since it was so close to dusk.
All normal citizens had to abide by the curfew for their safety.
No one was allowed out after dark. That’s when Rogue activity grew exponentially; though, they were still active during the daylight.
The only exception was those with the clearance to be out—Kit, as a member of the Fleet.
And now Rin—or at least, in theory. On her first official day, Monday, she’d receive her registration card, legally declaring her fit to be out after curfew.
Not that that had stopped her in the past… But at least now she wouldn’t have to be careful about being caught.
She was distracted from her thoughts by a soft beep of the car alarm as they approached, the vibrant headlights flashing in the dimness.
The sleek car door opened upward. Hands against her waist helped her in, and the seatbelt tugged over her chest.
The swish of the door falling shut barely registered as Rin let her head thunk back on the comfortable seat. The alcohol warmed her insides. Exhaustion made her lids drift shut.
The driver’s side door opened and closed, letting in the faint early evening air and muted, echoed sounds of the city that pierced through the concrete parking garage. The purr of the engine rumbled through her, nearly lulling her to sleep.
As Kit navigated out of the garage and down the winding city streets, flashes of neon billboards and bright headlights sparkled behind her closed lids.
The air conditioner was on, and her flesh pebbled with chill.
She sleepily wrapped her arms around her waist and snuggled deeper into the seat.
It smelled like Kit in here. Leather and cotton.
It reminded her of standing on a windy beach, wrapped in his jacket.
She always swore he smelled like the wind itself.
As a level three Airborn, Kit had an affinity for the air—maybe that was why he chose the Fleet.
Something thick and heavy landed on her lap.
She cracked open an eyelid, fingers curling in the jacket he had given her. He kept one hand on the steering wheel as he tucked it around her.
"Thank you," she mumbled, nuzzling into the stiff fabric. His scent was even stronger at the collar. "For everything."
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee—
"Ugh." Rin reached out with a hand, blindly smacking her bedside table to turn off her alarm. Once silenced, she flopped onto her back, throwing a hand over her pounding head.
The hangover was mild, but she still winced as she cracked open an eyelid, staring up at the fluttering white canopy above her bed. Through the white gauzy strips of the closed curtains, bright sunlight filtered in.
It was too early for this.
She sat up, running a hand through her tangled, white hair and grimacing as her fingers caught in some snarls. The house was still. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand.
No texts. She sighed.
"I guess Sabine and Talor are still gone, then," she mumbled, clearing her dry throat mid-sentence.
Saturday, the screen on her phone read. And under that, a reminder on her calendar for…
"Shit," Rin breathed.
A doctor’s appointment at Solar City General Hospital. She had to have up-to-date information to give the physicians at the Academy. She had completely forgotten about the appointment.
And it was in one hour.
She threw her legs over the side of the bed, standing. The fuzzy threads of the rug tickled her bare toes as she padded to the walk-in closet. The lights flicked on automatically as she walked in, and she winced at the assault on her eyes, head throbbing steadily.
How would she explain that to Lucien?
The sleeve of her large t-shirt fell off her shoulder, cool air skimming her bare upper thighs as she rose on her tiptoes. Now that she thought about it, she barely remembered coming in last night…
Had Kit carried her to her room? Had he…
She swallowed.