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He pulled me into his lap, my knees against the piano bench. It was awkward at first, because it made me higher than him.
Victor’s hands remained on my hips, over the large T-shirt.
My hands held his head.
My heart was speeding up until I was shaking, too excited to stop. I kissed him. He kissed me back. That’s all there was. Lightness, like his song.
His hands moved from my hips.
Thinking was hard because of the kiss. All I knew was that suddenly there was music behind me. It almost felt natural, and it was soft, that I thought I was dreaming it in my head. A soundtrack between us.
Then I realized he was playing something with his arms around me.
My heart lifted. I tried to make myself small so he’d continue. I also smiled, which made kissing hard.
He smiled, too, missed a note and played an wrong one. He grunted. “Saw this in a movie once,” he whispered between kisses. “Harder than it looks.”
I giggled at that. Perfect Victor playing a wrong note.
He chuckled, played, hit another wrong note and then stopped playing. He stood and grabbed at my waist.
Suddenly my butt was against the keys. The sound was loud and off-key. I worried I was breaking his piano. Excitement shifted through me in waves, realizing he’d given up his song.
He held onto my legs and bent down, kissing me again.
Soon, the sound of the keys silenced, and we kissed more.
I held on to his cheeks.
His mouth opened up, dipping in to draw me out.
His fingers drifted up, until he was holding my back, sliding across my rib cage. Each touch was soothing, like his sunshine song. Between his lips and his fingers, he was the musician, and I was the instrument. Music flowed through my brain: the song he’d played. I was molded into what he wanted me to feel or think...of sun and meadows and springtime flowers.
Emotion welled up in me. This could be us. All of us. Gabriel, Dr. Green...could it be? Victor not only accepted that we could be like this, but encouraged it. He wanted this. Was this what it was like for Lily? How did she do it? How did it work?
I wanted to know. Instead of being tired, I was energized. I was full of questions, of a desire to learn.
Victor’s kiss encouraged me. Silently, he was telling me no matter what I chose, he’d be there. He wanted to be. A long as I let him, he’d be beside me. Whatever I wanted.
I wanted to believe.
A DOCTOR’S DELICATE HEART
I was still on the piano when my phone rang in the bed.
Victor groaned and slowly released me so I could stand.
“I hope this is good news,” he said and quickly moved away to fish the phone out of the bed.
I remained by the piano. My fingers moved to my lips, wiping at the moisture, and yet wanting the feeling to remain. Thoughts slowly invaded. Was there still a rule? Had I kissed first or had he? Technically, he just put his lips near mine and I’d started, didn’t I? I’d have to ask someone else.
I didn’t have time for this rule. There were too many other things we needed to worry about.
I needed to talk to Gabriel. And Silas. I needed to be honest with them all. I needed them to know.
Suddenly, I realized Mr. Blackbourne had been telling me to do this. To find out where everyone stood. I had thought it was only to figure out who was on my side for joining the Academy. That was partially true, but I had a feeling he was also trying to figure out where the boys stood as far as how they felt about me.
“This is Victor,” Victor said, answering my phone once he found it. He climbed off the bed with it, moving to where I stood. He scooped up my hand, holding it while he listened. I could hear Kota talking, but not what he was saying. “Damn,” Victor said. “Seriously? Okay, okay. I’ll go.” He punched the button and put down the phone, sighing. He passed it to me while still holding my other hand. “He’s still out there.”
My heart dropped. “You have to go?”
He nodded. “They’ve always got perfect timing, don’t they?” he asked, his lips picking up into a smile
I sighed. The situation was serious, but I selfishly wanted Victor to stay. We’d just kissed and now he was being rushed off. What was the harm if Mr. McCoy was watching? He couldn’t enter. Not with Victor’s security team out there watching. We were safe.
Kota was right, though. We needed to find out what he was up to, to figure out why he was following us around. If we solved these issues—the problems at the school—then we could work more on us. The boys wouldn’t have to stay in school. They could move on.
I might be going with them.
That gave me new hope, a new energy to solve the issues that surrounded us. What would life be like once we got rid of these problems? We could focus on us.
I squeezed Victor’s hand. “The sooner we figure it all out...” I said, meaning to finish but struggling for the right words.
Victor smiled, the fire glowing warmly in his eyes. He squeezed my hand back. “Then I can take you to France.”
It was a surprise he said it. Was he thinking of running off...
Before I could finish the thought, he laughed and shook his head. “Not to keep you there.” He held my hand firmly and then leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Just to visit. We don’t need to keep all of us in a bubble. If we consider all this carefully, we can go and do whatever we’d like. Together. We can bring whoever wants to go.”
I smiled. It sounded like a nice idea.
He released me and headed toward the closet. “We should get dressed,” he said. “I’ll drive off. Dr. Green will be here soon. Even if McCoy follows me, you’ll still need a ride to school and someone to watch out for you.”
I nodded, realizing it was back to work for us. It was still super early to be getting ready, but I wasn’t going to be able to sleep now. I wanted to plan, to work out how we’d figure out Mr. Hendricks and his plans, who his third team member was. Maybe I could give Mr. Blackbourne the answers he needed and we could be done with it all. I wanted to talk to Lily more, too, and to have answers for everyone.
Later, Victor had his book bag and was heading off. I’d washed quickly in the sink and went to the closet to find some clothes. There were a few things, but mostly shorts and lighter clothes. I did find some jeans and borrowed one of Gabriel’s hoodies to wear, mostly black but with red plaid patches worked in. I ended up in sandals, the only pair of shoes that fit me that were available. After I dressed, I watched from Victor’s bedroom window as he left in a different car, a green one he’d pulled out of the garage. Victor Morgan had cars to spare. It was an odd thought, considering most teenagers had one car or not even that.
And that’s when it hit me. What to get for Gabriel for his birthday. I hadn’t realized it, though I don’t know why it struck me just then. What day was it?
Could we by him a car? Was there enough time?
I picked up my phone. I didn’t know who to talk to first. Mr. Blackbourne? Was he asleep?
Suddenly, I flipped through my messages and paused at North’s. Victor could buy things. Mr. Blackbourne was in charge. Kota made decisions about the family.
North worked on the cars, though. He was also reasonable. He’d tell me if it’d be too much to ask. He’d know who to talk to about it. I didn’t know why. My heart raced. This felt like something I could do.
So I sent North a text. I shouldn’t have. He needed to sleep. But I couldn’t help it.
Sang: Can we get Gabriel a car for his birthday?
I waited after I sent the text, hoping he’d answer quickly. I hoped, too, that North had slept some and I wasn’t making a mistake making him grumpy.
While I waited, I suddenly had doubts. Was it silly? Buying a car wasn’t like getting someone a birthday card. It wasn’t like a new pair of earrings or a water gun.
It seemed like an answer, though. He’d be able to go when he wanted. He wouldn’t have to rely on Victor or the others. I didn?
??t know why, but it felt like a very Gabriel thing: to have his own car so he could blaze his own trail. Could we afford a car? Maybe if we pooled our money. I had a jar of cash at home. I wasn’t sure how much was in it.
Suddenly, the phone lit up. North was calling.
I answered.
“I offered to get him a car months ago,” North said. His voice was deep, clear. He’d been awake. “He told me he didn’t want one.”
“I just thought he’d like one.”
North chuckled. “Maybe he does. Gabriel’s picky about his shit. He’s probably got one in his head somewhere. Something bright orange.”
“...The car you offered...was it black?”
“Maybe.”
I smiled into the phone. “Well, that’s it. Maybe it wasn’t the car. Maybe it was the color. He’s just picky about the color?”
“I don’t think he liked the model.”
