Page 47 of Somewhere Only We Know
“So you feel strongly about me, then?” Jack asked, still touching the sleeve of my jacket. His fingernail got caught on the shirt underneath and when he pulled his hand away a strand of thread unraveled from it, the fabric puckering.
I huffed. “Yeah, I strongly feel that you areannoying.” I tried to pull my arm away to yank the hanging string off, but he held my wrist up to his face, examining the thread.
“What are you—”
His gaze moved from the thread to my eyes. And without looking away, he brought my wrist up to his mouth, placed the thread between his teeth, and pulled.
The thread broke off and fluttered to the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
JACK
I wanted Lucky to stop talking about her feelings. But after that piece of thread fell to the floor, the look in her eyes wasn’t something I was anticipating.
Her pupils turned black black black, filled her entire eyeballs almost. The heat in them almost knocked me over.
A voice crackled over the speakers as the ferry stopped with a gentle bump. Nausea came up in waves; whether it was from the movement or the look in Lucky’s eyes, I don’t know. I wasn’t prepared for the depth of feeling in them.
“Let’s go,” I said, dropping her wrist. Because I was confused by my own feelings, too. Guilt mixed with, well, being flattered.
We both staggered up and got off the ferry, ending up at a port across the street from giant buildings filled with super-high-end stores. Everything in Kowloon was larger than life.
I walked ahead of her, trying to sort out my thoughts with every brisk step. When we reached the crosswalk, I jabbed at the walk button and felt my head ache with every ring of the crosswalk signal.
What. Ding.Are. Ding.You. Ding.Doing.
Earlier today, I felt like I knew exactly what I was doing. The mission was clear: Get the photos. Get the story.
But now? Now everything was all muddled. I was Lucky’s first kiss. She trusted me enough to do that. She had told me she liked me. The matter-of-fact confession had shocked me, but I had hid the feeling. Self-preservation had kicked in.
I needed to ignore feeling pleased by it. And I had to stay focused. Despite the guilt. I couldnotfall for this girl.
We crossed the street. I glanced behind me to make sure she was close. She was, keeping her head down, her body turned inward again.
It wasn’t a good feeling. This shaking of my confidence. Feeling like I crossed a line somehow.
“Do you want to know where we’re going?” I asked after a few silent minutes walking past the long lines for Prada, Hermès, Gucci, etc. Lucky shrugged in response to my question.
Today felt like a tug-of-war between me feeling good and feeling like a jerk. And now, after she told me she liked me, after being her first kiss… I knew that I couldn’t keep doing this to her. Celeb undercover or not, she had no idea why I was going hot and cold today.
Story or no, she didn’t deserve it.
“I’m taking you to a movie theater with a bookstore. I think you’ll like it.”
She nodded, concentrating on keeping her face hidden as she dodged the crowds. I reached for her hand and held it tight. Sendingreassurance through the firm grip. Even if she didn’t know that I knew why she needed it. Even if it made her like me more. Mademelikehermore.
The hand-holding relaxed her and she smiled at me. “So that’s where my pointing led us? To a bookstore?”
“It’s special,” I said. “You’ll like it. Old movies are always showing at the theater. It’s all very… romantic.” I muttered the last word.
But Lucky was back to her feisty self. “Pardon?Romantic?”
I laughed, and it felt so right to be holding her hand at that moment. “Yes. Romantic.”
“Well, youdostrike me as a romantic guy. Reacting the way you did to me telling you I liked you.” Our hands swung between us.
The crowds started to thin, and the buildings transformed from sleek glass behemoths to older apartments with businesses on the ground floors. Kind of like in Sheung Wan but way bigger. There was a lot of construction going on, bamboo scaffolding encasing entire buildings. Men in jumpsuits teetering on ladders as they worked at impossible heights.
