chapter XVI
I OPENED MY EYES and stared at the ceiling. For the briefest of moments I could remember everything. Then it was gone, “like a fart in the wind,” as Kim would say. What did I miss? I felt dirty, like someone or something was watching me. I knew we were being followed, I could feel it. Was it the Brotherhood? Was it right now? I didn’t know.
Kim had snuggled up with most of the blankets in her sleep, leaving me chilly and naked on the bed. Becoming more aware of my surroundings, I panicked: Is Michael in the room? I covered myself as best I could and looked around. I spied Ellie in the bed opposite. She was sleeping. Do angels sleep? I guessed I had seen Kreios sleeping. I crossed my arms over my chest and sat up slowly.
I looked closer at Ellie. She was out cold. I figured maybe we would miss dinner. At least some of us would, anyway, and I was capable of getting some takeout for the rest of our little group so they could have something to eat whenever they woke up. As for me, I was hungry. Freaking starving.
But I was naked. Yikes. I looked around again. Ellie had been on a mission to get some gas station clothes, last I knew. Sure enough, there on the desk chair sat several shopping bags, and it looked promising: they were a big step up from convenience store quality. They were mall quality.
Go Ellie!
I grabbed the bags and made a dash for the bathroom. I never was the kind of girl who could walk brazenly across a women’s locker room, whether anyone was aware of me or not. I didn’t know how some women could do that. I was too shy for prancing in my birthday suit; it always made me uncomfortable. But what else could I have done? I wasn’t going to get dressed right back into my filthy clothes after I had showered. Gross.
I shut the bathroom door behind me and flipped the light on, rummaging through the haul of stuff Ellie had brought back. I was stunned. It was like I had been out shopping myself. There were a couple of pairs of designer jeans, some really cute little tops, even some accessories like a little packet of hair ties. And—thank God—some high quality unmentionables. Where did she find this stuff? Did Arlington, Oregon have a Victoria’s Secret? It was crazy, and everything fit perfectly. The other bag had some shoe boxes inside. No way. Again, I was stunned. I pulled out a pair of sturdy lightweight hikers with an aggressive tread on the sole. They fit my feet like they had been custom made. Insane. I ran my fingers through my hair and tied it back loosely with one of the hair ties. Lookin’ good. I didn’t know what to think.
I checked my reflection one last time and then turned off the lights.
I quietly left the room and went down to the lobby.
Michael was sitting in a chair by the coffee maker, reading a newspaper. He looked clean and fresh, wearing jeans and a button-up shirt. He saw me and smiled, folding the paper and setting it down. “Hey. You get a good nap?”
I nodded and hugged him, laying my head against him. I could hear his heart thumping in his chest. “You smell good,” I said, relishing the familiar. “So…you’re catching up on sports, or…?” I motioned to the paper.
His eyes sparkled. “Comics,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Nerd.”
He kissed my cheek, setting me afire. “Where’s everyone else?”
I pushed him away gently. “‘Everyone else’ is still sleeping. I figured why wake them.”
“Cool.”
I could tell he was going to ask me something important, something potentially awkward.
“So,” he said, “You want to try that date again?”
My heart skipped a beat when I realized what he had said, and my mind flitted back over all the—well, the Audrey Hepburn moments we had had. The awkwardness I had felt. It was like he was asking me out for the first time. Um, again.
“On one condition, mister. This time, no thuggish fights in the parking lot.”
He laughed, a musical sound. “No worries. So, what’ll it be? Pizza? Or pizza. That’s, like, all they have here.”
“Hmm,” I rested my chin on my finger, thinking. “Let’s see here. I’m gonna go for pizza.”
He nodded as if I had said something very wise. “Good call.”
“I could eat a whole one all by myself,” I said. I loved that I could be a pig and not worry about…about being a pig. I could be me with Michael, and I loved that.