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“Do I want to know the story of her family?” Nathaniel asked from his place on the couch.
“No, you probably don’t, and I don’t want to think about it right now. Can you just ask me more of your endless questions so I can think about something else?”
His lips quirked up. “Do you have a sweet tooth?”
“More than I’d like to admit. I’m trying to convince one of my cousins that I don’t, so you have to keep that a secret.”
“So getting you chocolate or ice cream isn’t the way into your heart?” He grinned.
“Definitely not. Ice cream is only for really bad days, and I actually don’t like chocolate.”
“How dare you? Isn’t that considered sacrilegious or something?” He was full-blown laughing at me now.
“Okay, I’ve decided I’d rather be the one asking the questions since you seem so insistent on judging me for all my answers.”
“Ask away.” He kicked up his feet, assuming his favorite position of taking up the entire couch.
“What does it feel like to fly?”
“Like shedding chains and finally being free. Keeping my wings in all the time is like being curled into a ball and stuck in a tiny space. The wings get in the way, but it’s more comfortable to have them out.”
“I wish I could fly. I know that’s probably the most unimaginative thing I could say, but I’ve always wanted to know what it would feel like. I blame the childhoodPeter Panobsession. I’m that person who will actually wait two hours to go on that ride at Disneyland where you sit in a flying ship and can see the stars below you.”
“You do know that stars aren’t tiny lights in the sky, right? You can’t just fly up to them.”
I glared at him. “Yes, I know that. Stop ruining my fantasy.”
He stood and tossed me the sweatshirt I’d hung over one of the chairs at the table. “Come on, let’s go. I can do better than thePeter Panride.”
“Where are we going?”
“You said you want to fly.”
“Wait, what?”
But he was already heading out of the apartment and into the hallway beyond. I followed him to a stairwell and up floor after floor until we reached the door at the top. I’d been on the roof of the building many times, but I had never brought Nathaniel up here.
He looked around. “Perfect.” He stripped off his T-shirt, tucking it into the waistband of his jeans, and then his wings unfurled.
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking around even though I already knew I wouldn’t see anyone.
He held out a hand to me. “I’m taking you flying.”
My breath caught. “For real?”
“I rarely say things I don’t mean, baby girl.” He wiggled his fingers at me. “Scared?”
Terrified, I thought. But I wasn’t going to admit that to him. I took a deep breath and placed my hand in his. “You promise you won’t drop me?”
He tugged me into his warm chest, turning me so my back was to his front, and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I promise.”
And then we were shooting upward.
My stomach dropped to my toes, and my eyes closed on their own to protect against the rush of wind hitting me in the face. And then we were evening out. Nathaniel’s legs tangled with mine, holding me more securely against him.
“You okay?”
“Mm-hm.”
