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We climbed into his car and I looked over, trying to see onlyhim underneath his glamour. "What's my family emergency?"
"I've been worried. You haven't answered your phone in a couple of days. "
That would be because the underground Center had zero cell reception. "I lost it," I lied, hating myself.
"I figured. Being worried was just an excuse to break you out. " He flashed a grin, pulled out of the lot, and drove through the tree-lined streets toward the freeway. "My afternoon class got canceled, and I had a sneaking suspicion you wouldn't mind missing gym. "
"Gorgeous and smart. I'm a lucky girl. But, umm, it's kind of creeping me out to be attracted to you when you look exactly like your dad. Glamour shift?"
He laughed, his dad's face shimmering into Lend's standard dark-eyed dark-haired hottie. "Better?"
"Definitely. I won't need therapy now. Well, much. "
He laughed again, reaching out and taking my hand in his. "Still, it's a nice trick for rescuing my girlfriend from torture. "
"I'm not complaining. " I settled back in my seat, loving the feeling of Lend's skin on mine. I never got tired of the contours of his palm, the way his fingers laced through mine like they were designed to fit together, or how he unconsciously stroked my thumb with his. This was where I belonged.
He pulled off in an unfamiliar area, parking in front of a hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant.
"What are we doing?"
"We're going to see if we can't finally find something too hot for you. "
Ever since he found out a few months ago that I could eat spicy foods-ridiculously spicy foods-without batting an eye, he'd made it his personal mission to find something too hot for my tastes.
"Just because you've got a wimpy tongue doesn't mean I do," I said.
He smiled slyly at me. "Wimpy tongue, huh? I'll have to show you what it can do later. "
I smacked him in the shoulder, unable to hold back another laugh. "Oh, I'm a fan of your tongue, no worries there. "
"I'd like to get that printed on a shirt. "
"At least I know what to get you for Christmas. "
We walked into the restaurant, and an hour later walked back out. Lend scowled in frustration. "One of these days I will find
something too spicy for you. "
"Too bad we'll have to go on so many dates while you search. "
"Alas, all noble causes require sacrifice. "
We drove back toward home, but rather than taking me to the apartment, Lend turned down a narrow road that led into the trees and meandered around until it dead-ended.
My communicator beeped loudly in my backpack and I jumped. Lend looked over, raising an eyebrow. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, I was busted.
"Looks like we found your phone. "
I let out a nervous bark of a laugh. "Yeah. In my backpack the whole time. Whoops. " He smiled and parked while I tried to calm down my heart. Keeping secrets was going to kill me one of these days.
He turned off the engine. "This is our stop. " I looked around, seeing nothing but trees. He pulled a couple of blankets out of the back, then opened my door for me.
We walked through the woods and stopped at a tranquil pond. The autumn leaves reflected around the edges, making it look like the water was burning. Lend spread one of the blankets out on the ground and lay back on it, patting the space next to him. I started to cuddle in, then sat up, looking warily at the water.
"Your mom isn't in there, is she?"
He laughed. "No. It's just been too long since I was around water. "
