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“Champagne?” I hear Dillon ask behind me and the characteristic pop of the cork.
“Don't mind if I do,” Perez sighs, taking the first glass and practically chugging it before holding it out again for a refill immediately. “Oh my stars, that is good!”
I slide behind Bella, angling her and nudging her subtly toward the front of the boat. We don't really have to talk to Perez. Dillon can handle that. But Dillon told me that I needed her to be in position for the second part of our cruise.
She holds her champagne flute up, clinking the rim against mine and taking a slow sip. “This really is quite delicious,” she says slyly, rolling her eyes as though she understands just how ridiculous our guest is.
“I'm really glad you like it,” I answer truthfully. My heart is beating fast. Hers is too, I see, though she has that same calm exterior like always. Or maybe I'm mistaken, maybe it's just the vibrations of the boat motor. Maybe it's a slight chill from the breeze that is waving the shiny tendrils of her hair out behind her.
I slide an arm around her shoulders and draw her closer to me. “Are you cold?”
“I'm perfect,” she sighs.
“You really are, you know,” I answer.
“Well, I am a fairytale princess, after all,” she quips, a little sarcastically.
“No, I really mean it. And I don't mean the fake parts, or the showy parts. I mean, like… you,” I mutter, stumbling over my words and feeling stupid as they come out. “I mean, what I know of you anyway. I'm sure there's more.”
She shrugs shyly, glancing away, taking a sip of champagne. “No, I think that what you see of me is probably all there is.”
I want to laugh at that. “Bella, I think you may be the most complicated person I ever met,” I confess. “And I've met a lot of people people. A lot of really weird people.”
“Ha!” she laughs, the sound bouncing musically over the water. “I might be weird. I do spend a lot of time by myself, talking to myself. I think that's like the definition of weird or something.”
“I suppose it is.”
Suddenly it feels like a first date all over again. I'm awkward and unsure, wanting to ask her about herself, not knowing how to put the words together. I have that strange urge to tell her everything about me, to reveal something no matter how stupid it is, just to keep her talking. I just want to be close to her in even minute ways.
“What about you?” she asks me suddenly, squinting, looking up and then away.
“Me? Well I think we've already established I am pretty weird too.”
She laughs again, a sound I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing. “Okay, then… tell me something else about yourself.”
“Like what?”
“Like… something other people don't know. Like, what's your secret desire? If you could do anything?”
“My secret desire,” I repeat, obviously stalling for time. “I guess that would have to be… privacy.”
“Privacy?” she asks, glancing at me suspiciously. “That's sort of a surprising answer.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you do seem to kind of seek out attention, you know, at least a little bit…” she scoffs. “Like with congresswomen and stuff like that.”
“Oh!” I chuckle. “Yeah, well what are you gonna do? But what I mean is… sometimes I want to escape. Do things like write a donkey down the side of a hill in the Grand Canyon. Take a train across Europe, not a jet. Go on a sightseeing tour bus, you know, like people do.”
“Like people do,” she smiles. “I would like these kinds of things too.”
I just grin at her. That's when I was hoping she would say. I start to ask her something else, but her attention is diverted away.
As we round a bend, the sun is just about set now. The pinkish hue of the river is being obscured by the darkening air, turning into a deep amethyst. But above us, Riordan Tower looms straight and tall into the sky. Clouds float behind it, accentuating its dark, angular shape. It's completely black, as though the power has gone out or something. None of the window lights are on at all. Then suddenly, it begins to change.
“What the?” she gasps, squinting up at the building. I do the same thing.
As we watch, a thousands office windows flicker between light and dark, as though there are thousands of strobe lights in every office. They flash randomly, seeming to sparkle like fireworks. Gradually, the sparkles begin to order themselves, then change colors to pink. When the rest of the window lights go out, a big heart remains lit in the center of the building, glowing out for everyone to see.
