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I have never, not once, not even when I was a little girl, daydreamed about a wedding or a white dress or some nameless, faceless groom who would stand at the altar with me. Even with Chris, I never imagined a future together. I’ve always lived in the now.
Why, then, am I thinking of all the things I want to teach Chance about computers? Or how I want to make sandwiches—though I never cook—and come back here with a picnic lunch someday soon?
When I ask myself why I’m imagining all the things we can do in bed together, I realize that’s obvious. He’s the sexiest male I’ve ever met. Imagining how his four legs will somehow fit with my two just seems like an arousing challenge.
Suddenly, I catch something out of the corner of my eye.
“A drone,” I breathe as I watch its movement. It’s not hard to do since it’s keeping pace with us.
Chance speeds up, trying to avoid it, I imagine, then shakes his head.
“I don’t think we can escape it,” I say.
It eases closer, making no secret that it’s surveilling us. The thing looks like a miniature black helicopter and is barely bigger than a football.
“Leave us alone,” I say, my displeasure clear in my tone of voice.
It doesn’t waver from its path, which never veers more than a few feet from Chance and me.
“Slater…” My word is full of threat, though I have no power to back it up.
“This is not Slater, Ma’am. I’m Corporal Barton. I simply wanted to inform you that the area is surveilled by cameras. Just a simple communication of facts.”
Anger flies through me, hot and fast. I’ve always had a quick temper. When I fully realize our predicament, I can’t help but laugh.
I signed all my rights away yesterday in that foot-tall contract. And Chance probably has no rights at all. I imagine there’s no legal status for the splicers. There are only a handful of people in the world who know of their existence.
If the powers that be, which means Colonel Slater, decide they want to watch the comings and goings of everyone on this base, they have every right to do so. Actually, it was nice of Corporal Barton, whoever he is, to alert us about the cameras.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” I say, looking directly into the camera, then giving my best imitation of a salute.
“We should get back,” Chance says as he wheels on his hind legs.
In a final, ridiculous act of defiance, I plant a kiss between his shoulder blades as he takes off in a dejected trot.
I thought we were going to fast-track it straight back to the office building, but Chance detours into the thickest part of the woods. It would be possible for that little drone to follow us, but I doubt it will. Corporal Barton made his point.
Maybe Chance has the same idea as me—to share another incendiary kiss before we’re back in that sterile office.
We’re making our way through thick woods when we stumble into an almost-magical clearing. Here, surrounded by trees, is a round meadow filled with white and yellow flowers.
Chance slows to a walk, then stops and turns to look at me.
“I was never bold enough to imagine a kiss like the ones we shared, Jo. Not even in my dreams. It’s just as well I never dreamed of it. It could never have been as good as the real thing.”
Though we just met, our connection is so strong his praise touches me deeply, flowing through me like a warm summer stream.
“But if I had been courageous enough to visualize such things, it would have been with a woman I knew and liked.”
He twists at the waist to see me better, then grips my hand in the sweetest gesture as he gazes into my eyes.
“Jo, I definitely like you, but I can’t say I know you. Is it crazy for a male to say he wants to slow things down? That less than two days ago I’d never met a female and believed I’d be relegated to the reject barracks forever? Is it insane that I want to savor this? That I want to know everything about you?”
Heat flashes through me as I realize I’ve never had a relationship with anyone as sweet or sincere as Chance.
“No. Not insane.”
“It’s like I was just born two days ago, Jo. I’m trying to pick things up at lightning speed, but I’m a babe at this. I imagine I shouldn’t tell you that just holding your hand like this makes me weak in the knees—all four of them.”
