Chapter 3 #3
Suddenly, I get this slight twinge of guilt.
Nolan has to be careful wherever he goes, whether it’s TerraPura or just following curfew laws.
If I went home and told Apollo I was seeing his best bionic friend and that there’s nothing he can do about it, we could be hanging out at home, in the kitchen or in my bedroom, where he’d definitely be safe and not have to worry about these wackos trying to mold him into a weapon or kidnap him.
I’ve never had much of a poker face. Nolan brings me out of those thoughts with a gentle twirl of my hair between his sturdy fingers. “Mia.” The way he speaks my name is enough to anchor me again. “It’s really okay. I take all necessary precautions.”
Most people worry about losing their partner in a dangerous fire when they’re involved with firefighters. But not me. At least, not yet. “Promise?”
“Promise,” he says with a confident smile.
Reassured, I let my concerns fade. A soft breeze tousles my hair and carries his scent to me. He doesn’t smell synthetic; he’s wearing a warm, woody cologne that isn’t overpowering. All I want to do is bury my face against his shoulder, his chest, and let the rest of the world melt away.
But I don’t know where to begin, to tell him what I’m thinking. “Today was really amazing. I thought it was going to be nuts, but you made it manageable, and time flew by in a different way. Where I almost didn’t want it to end. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Not when you light up every circuit in my system,” Nolan answers, his gaze sweeping over me in a way that’s got me feeling like I’m about to float to another planet. “I had fun too.”
I feel like I need to address the thoughts that are currently hanging over my head.
About Apollo. About TerraPura. About everything and anything.
But they’re all so serious, and it’s so early for me to be thinking like this.
I want to be open, forthright, but I also want to slow down, enjoy this moment.
“What do you think? Do we count this as our first date?” I ask.
“No, I want a do-over.” Nolan continues to toy with the ends of my hair, and I’m in real danger of either melting like butter on this bench or internal combustion. Or somewhere in between. “Today was great, but I think I can do you one better.”
“I look forward to it, then.” I stifle a yawn. I don’t have to glance at the clock to know it’s getting late.
“Tired?” Nolan asks me. “It’s been a long day for you.”
“A little bit.” I lean back, swinging my legs back and forth lightly. “Do you sleep?”
My heart skips another beat when Nolan flashes his charming smile. “Not quite like you. Just powering down into standby while my battery charge.” He leans a little closer to me. “Anything else you’re curious about?”
“Oh, tons of things. But I don’t want to scare you off just yet,” I reply with a coy smirk. “What about you? Any questions?"
“Have you ever gone on a date with an android before?”
“Nope, never. You’re my first bionic person.”
“Bionic person,” he repeats, impressed as he folds his arms. “Not a term you usually hear from people new to androids.”
“I have some pro-bionic friends, and androids are everywhere in SoCal. I’ve picked up on some of the lingo. I know droid is okay, depending how you use it. Android is fine. Bionic is preferred. Robot is kinda informal, but it depends.”
“You’re telling me things I didn’t even know.” Nolan shrugs. “I don’t typically go out of my way to immerse myself in the virtual cultures others have made. I’m just Nolan.”
I feel like the luckiest girl in New Carnegie right about now. I was so worried that canceling our original date, working, and dealing with shoplifters might spoil the mood.
“Shall we keep walking?” I ask, getting up.
“After you.” He rises too, towering over me.
I gently take his hand and squeeze it. We continue down the path, and I’m thinking about how I wish we weren’t in public.
That I want to be as near to him as I can.
I should be taking things slow, but goddammit, he makes it so difficult.
When I spot a path that goes into a lightly forested area, I stop thinking anything completely.
I pull him after me, encouraged by his soft, rumbling laughter, and find a big oak tree to lean against as I turn to him.
“Feeling adventurous today?” he asks.
“Maybe,” I answer just as playfully, wondering what it would take to get this man to kiss me.
His lips look so soft and luscious, beckoning me.
It’s like he knows. He closes all distance between us until we’re chest to chest. He tilts my chin up, brushing his fingertips along my jaw, my cheek. “Maybe I just wanted to get you alone.”
“Well, it worked.” By the way his gaze flits down to my mouth, I can tell he’s thinking about it too.
“I like you, Nolan,” I admit, glancing up at him.
My back is pressed into the bark of the tree as he leans over me.
Our noses could touch if I moved just a little, so I do, nuzzling him lightly.
“I know we’re just talking, and I know we have to be careful, but .
. . I really like you. But I don’t want you thinking I’m easy, or insane, or—”
“I didn’t think any of that at all. Not once.”
“Really?”
“I think you’re brave.” He caresses my cheek, drawing out the tension, driving me insane with wondering if and when. “I think it took a lot of courage for you to get on that plane, leave home, and come here. I like that you aren’t shy, that you say what you think.”
I’m abashed. “If I can even get the words out right.”
“I like that about you too.” He chuckles. “I admire someone who sees what they want and goes after it.”
Several different men have tried their hand at talking me up. I know lip service when I hear it. You’re different from other girls. Thinking about those times and what I learned from them makes me cringe. But Nolan?
There’s a genuineness to Nolan, a sincerity that can’t be faked.
He doesn’t have a single reason to try to lead me on. There’s nothing but truth in the way he looks at me. I don’t think he would, even if he wanted to.
“What about you? Are you someone who goes after what he wants?” I’m so impatient.
I want to pull him closer, feel him press me into his towering body.
I’ve caught myself a few times wondering what he’s built like underneath his clothes.
I know he’s powerful; he has to be in his line of work.
But his gentleness with me right now is what’s making me weak in the knees.
“I’d like to think so.”
I nibble on my lower lip. “Prove it.”
Nolan leans in, brushing his lips against mine. When I claim his mouth with hunger, a muffled chuckle sounds deep down in the back of his throat. He wraps his arms around me, lifting me up off my feet, and I hook my ankles behind his back, legs secure around his waist.
Delightful shivers run along my spine as he trails his broad hands over my back beneath my shirt. Our kiss deepens, his tongue slipping past my lips to find mine. He tastes normal. Not odd, or chemical or metal. He’s warm and inviting.
Nothing before has felt like this. Every sense I have awakens, aroused to a level I’ve never known before.
All from a kiss. I’ve had my share of make-out sessions, but holy shit.
Nolan has me so spun around, I can’t even think or care to recall the names of previous dates gone wrong.
I feel fresh, new, different. Heat pools between my legs.
If he pushed for more, I’d give in happily. Recklessly. Right here in the park.
Our kiss breaks, leaving me dizzy. Nolan traces circles on the small of my back, his soft, deep laughter dancing in my ears. “Easy, there. We’re a bit exposed. We should be careful.”
I’m breathless. “Right, you’re right. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about. It’s you.”
“Don’t be. It’s just like you said. I know what I want.” I steal one more kiss as he lowers me down, setting me reluctantly on my feet. “I want you, Nolan.”
“You make it very hard for me,” Nolan admits, his hand brushing lower from my back to my ass.
“Oh?” A grin spreads across my face, playful. “How hard do I make it?”
He stares at me a moment while it sinks in. “I meant—” He returns my smile. “Well, you do that too.”
Nolan rests his forehead against mine. If I could live in this moment forever with him like this, I think I’d be okay. I shut my eyes and breathe him in again, trying to rein in the part of me screaming, go, go, go!
“I want you to know I’m going to talk to Apollo as soon as I can find a way to do it,” I reassure him. “As soon as possible. It’s one of my top priorities.”
“I appreciate that.” Nolan sounds relieved, and I wonder if this has been eating away at him, even for this short time. “I’m not built for keeping secrets, Mia.”
“I know.” I’m not sure I am either. And even though we might not have gotten along before, after everything Apollo has done for me, this is something I really need to figure out.
Nolan holds his hand out to me. “Maybe it’ll be fine. We won’t know until it’s out there.” He cants his head. “Come here.”
I take his hand, and he pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me. “Just remember, after it’s out in the open—you owe me a date,” he murmurs, stealing another slow, heated kiss from me before he nuzzles my ear, speaking softly. “When do you think I can collect?”
One little nibble of my earlobe, and it’s a miracle I’m still standing upright. Every hair on my body is standing on end. “Whenever you want.”
“That’s a dangerous thing to say to me.” He rubs the small of my back. “Do you have a ride home?”
“I borrowed Jess’s car. I don’t have my own yet,” I reply. “It’s on my to-do list. Do you?”
“No. I usually walk.”
“By yourself?” I ask. “What about Humanity First? Or TerraPura? Don’t they jump androids walking alone?”
“If they know I’m an android, sure. Maybe. Nowadays I don’t often go out at night, though.”
The thought of him being beaten up in the street by angry, jobless people frightens me.
Nolan being turned into a mindless drone for a cult, twisted into a weapon? That’s even worse. All those worries from earlier rear their ugly heads.
“Then come back to the shop with me. I’ll drop you off around the corner.”
The walk back flies by. Time moves way too fast when we’re talking and laughing and discussing the state of the world.
Nolan is so easy to talk to. Something about him grounds me in a way I’ve never felt or appreciated before.
Like I have a reason to return from all my daydreaming of what I want from my life, bringing me back down to earth in the best way.
I drive him to the corner where he can get out and head back to the station without being seen with me.
It’s risky, but we can’t help ourselves.
We share just one more stolen moment. He cups my face with his hands and tantalizes me with another slow, deep, smoldering kiss, one that warms me all the way to my toes.
When he pulls away, I’m moments from entering another dimension.
Spellbound by his touch and the feel of his lips against mine, it’s a wonder I can operate a vehicle.
I couldn’t resist him if I wanted to. He says good night, and then I watch him walk away, admiring his body, the confidence in his stride, his unapologetic demeanor.
He looks over his shoulder, the backlights of his irises flaring as he smiles at me, and then I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m in trouble.
His lips on mine. That’s all it took. One kiss was dangerous. Several, and he’s ruined me.
And if I have anything to do with it, he’ll ruin me some more.