Page 44 of Somewhere Only We Know
She didn’t turn around, of course. Fern had only been her name since last night. I pushed through the tourists streaming into the center until I got to her. I resisted reaching for her. “Fern!”
“Excuse me,whoare you?” Her voice was icy and her eyes fixed on something in front of her. We were shuffled along into the visitor center.
Think, Jack. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Be a cad?” The words flew out as quickly as her head swiveled. I resisted flinching visibly. Damn, she could be scary.
“Yes. Er, a cad. I was teasing… I didn’t realize…” I stumbled over the words. This lack of cool was very disconcerting.Smooth the situation over, Jack. Smooth it!“I would have said it to anyone! Not because of how you kissed.” Okay, theleastsmooth thing you could have said. The least!
Her look of disgust confirmed this. “Why, thank you. Thank you, oh experienced lover.”
The word “lover” almost made me laugh, but I stopped myself. An awkward silence fell between us as we walked into a narrow but tall building encased in glass. Escalators led to various levels filled with souvenir shops and attractions. One sign near us pointed to the “Sky Terrace.”
Lucky stopped in front of the sign, then looked at me. “What’s the Sky Terrace?” Her voice was flat, still annoyed at me.
“We can skip it. It’s so touristy. You can still see great views from other parts of this area.”
She stared at me, her mouth a straight line like that one emoji.
Those tickets were another fifty Hong Kong dollars or so. I closed my eyes. All right, I had my credit card. If this story panned out, I’d get my money back and then some. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Thank you,” Lucky said, voice still cool, but her step lighter. She was excited.
After I got the tickets, we took the escalators up to the terrace in further silence. She kept her cap lowered on her face and crossed her arms. This melancholy was bumming me out and suddenly the only thing I wanted was to get her out of it. Her smiles from the morning felt like a faded dream.
Jesus. Faded dreams, flower petals, and feathers? What was goingon?Stay focused, Jack.
When we reached the terrace, a cold wind kicked up around us. We were at the very top of the peak with 360-degree views of the city. I hadn’t been here since I first moved to Hong Kong, and forgot how cool the view was. If you could squeeze between the people pushing against the railing.
Pulling her hat down to obscure her face, Lucky made her way to the edge, wriggling between people and leaning her body against the railing and glass partition. We were on the side facing the city, tall apartment towers shooting up around us like something from Minecraft.
I took a shot of her from behind, her hair picked up by the wind, her body bent forward, reaching for something. The staggering skyline in front of her.
When I managed to make my way next to her, she kept her face resolutely away from me, looking at the view. I was Lucky’s first kiss. I felt like a jackass but I felt something else… honored and happy?
No, this was bad. On so many levels. No kissing the subject, Jack.Also, I wasn’t supposed to know why she kissed me. What was she going to say about it? I had to unfreeze this situation, even if it meant being a pest.
“So, do trams normally put you in the mood?”
“What!” She turned to me quickly, mouth agape.
Gotcha. I unleashed the smile that my sister Ava called, with disgust,The Devastation. Like it was a ship. “I’m not complaining.”
She glanced around us, as if everyone and their selfie sticks cared about this conversation. “No.Trams don’t… get me… in themood.”
I didn’t say anything. The less I said the better, probably. I wanted to see how she would lie her way out of this one.
“I was… curious.” And she looked me straight in the eye when she said it. I felt a jolt because, again, her lying skills were amazing. She picked the one truth. And knowing that the whole “Quick! Kiss a Stranger!” move could have meant something more than a diversion?
I swallowed, and it was the most difficult task of my life, getting that saliva down my completely dry throat. “Curious?”
She nodded. “I’m curious about a lot of things.”
Another dry swallow. “Yeah?”
She peered at me from below her cap, and her lips curved into a smile that sunkThe Devastationin one quick, brutal shot.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
