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A loud vibration from my own cell saves me from another of Lily’s comebacks. I already know who the text will be from before I open the message.
Luca
Watch out for Lily. But not too closely.
I appreciate the sentiment,I do, but I got this. I travel all the time. I click off my phone, toss it on the couch, and pluck myself out of my seat.
“I’m going to need to lie down after that.”
“Don’t blame you.” She stretches her neck from side to side. “Are we doing anything for dinner? I’m going to get hungry soon.”
“How do you feel about street food?”
“If it has the word food in it, I think I’ll love it.”
My mouth curls into a smile. “Cool. There’s a market with different vendors we can check out in an hour or so.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
* * *
“Ahh!”I thrust my hands into the air above me, attempting to fight off whoever is suffocating me in my sleep.
Through a mess of fabric, hair, and flesh, I grab something and crush my fist over it.
“Ouch!” Lily shrieks above me. “You grabbed my boob, Nico.” She smacks me with the plush murder device.
“Were you trying to kill me?” I lift myself off the mattress.
“You sleep like a dead man.” She collapses on the bed beside me. The room is pitch-black except for the stream of light coming from the crack in the doorway. “I’ve been trying to wake you for a half hour. I had to take extreme measures.”
“By choking me?”
“I didn’t know what else to do. The next attempt was going to involve my hair curler.” Her voice is unusually shaky.
I pull myself out of the covers and walk over to the window to roll up the shades. In the light of sunset, I can see her better.
Lily sits on the bed dressed in a low-cut black tank top, a tight skirt, and her combat boots. Sharp black eyeliner stretches across her lash line, giving her Cleopatra eyes. The swells of her cheeks and the slope of her nose are pink, her freckles mimicking a night sky. Her obsidian hair sits loosely across her reddened shoulders.
I need to stop staring at her, especially when she looks about as angry as a starved panther.
“Next time, I’d prefer a bucket of ice water.” I smirk. “Or, better yet, a kiss.”
“You freaked me the fuck out, Nico.” Her eyes don’t lie. Lily actually looks concerned.
“It’s just the jet lag, Lil.”
She frowns. “We made plans.”
“And I fell asleep; it’s no big deal.” My tired legs carry me back to the bed, and I plop down beside her, the sun fading in the windows behind me.
“You could’ve set an alarm or something. I don’t appreciate being stood up.”
“I didn’t stand you up,” I say defensively, but the torn look on her face sours my attempt to put up a fight. “Look, I’m sorry. I—I overslept. I can be ready in five minutes.”
“Nico, you said we were going to leavetwohours ago. I checked online, and the market you mentioned is already closed.”
Two hours?“What are you talking about?” I search for my phone between the sheets but remember it’s still out in the living room. “Look, I’ll just find some other place for us. Sound good?”
