“Then I want to see it. See you.” She flinches. “For my research, of course.”
“What other reason is there?”
There’s so much unsaid, and every inch of me screams in desire. I’ve never been with someone like her before, never hung out with someone so casually. I want to kiss her. I want to undress her and devour her right in front of everyone.
But that’s the old Dante.
Patience. The best things in life are worth waiting for.
Her fingers twitch at her side. Is she thinking the same things I am? Then a sequined woman careens toward us like ameteor of glitter. Her face locks onto Reese’s, and my protective instincts spark up. My pulse races, my body her shield.
Headlines scroll through my mind:America’s Darling Caught in the Undertow of the Underground Scene.
My scene.
“I love you!” The stranger laughs and embraces Reese as time suspends. Fuck, I promised her this wouldn’t happen. Reese’s careful composure fractures. Then the stranger turns to me. “I love you too.” And she drifts off, rubbing the leaves of an innocent potted plant against her face.
I exhale, and so does Reese.
“Oh heavens, I thought—”
“Your cover was blown?”Me too, I don’t add. “Don’t worry, she seems to be experiencing some chemical-induced enlightenment.”
“Right, uh.” Reese shifts, her fingers worrying a strand of hair, her eyes wide with discovery. “I don’t—I don’t want to do that.”
“You don’t have to,” I say. “Say the word, and we’re gone.”
I’ve had my fair share of nights dissolved into altered consciousness, but being here with Reese fills me with unease, like I have to stay alert, to stay focused.
To make sure she’s safe.
“No, I trust you. I can’t see anyone’s face; I doubt they’ll see mine. This is a lot.”
Maybe it’s too much too fast?
“I knew you were a good girl, but you’re from New Orleans. You never go down to Mardi Gras?”’
“My parents never let me go downtown when the parades were happening. We did the sanitized version—St. Charles early in the morning, church bells, Mom’s store-bought king cake.” Her hand moves to her pearl necklace. “But I was also out of town a lot. Left at eleven to shootClubhouse.”
So much of her childhood was taken away. “When they clipped your wings.”
“I’m not some caged bird.” But her voice wavers. “Just…inexperienced.”
I lean close enough to catch her perfume. Cedar. Magnolias. All Reese. “Don’t worry. Tonight we’ll break every rule you never knew you wanted to break. Safely.”
I want to show her everything. The violence of surrender, the sweetness of defiance, but I want to do it right.
Tonight, she’s in my world, and I want to ensure it doesn’t swallow her.
“This is hardly a place for fairground rides.”
“Better. It’s a place for pure fucking transcendence.”
Tonight isn’t exclusive—it’s forbidden. And that makes all the difference.
“Show me,” she says. Her smile turns feral, unscripted. This is what I’ve been chasing—not the high, but this moment of watching someone step off the edge of themselves. “I said I wanted to get into character, and that’s what I’m going to be doing. And I feel like Robyn would go for a drink in this situation.”
“Follow me.”
