Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (51 page)

     
I felt
completely energized as I climbed onto the scaffold. It was still early on, but
I already knew…this mural was going to be beautiful. Even if Ethan didn't like
it, I would.

     
I tuned out the
rest of the world, the paint in front of me being my only focus. Time began to
pass quickly. At some point, I received a call from Ethan telling me that he
had an unexpected meeting in North Seattle that would prevent him from seeing
me for the rest of the day, but to make sure I went into the break room to eat
the lunch that Douglas had left in the fridge. I felt ridiculously spoiled. But
rather than feeling guilty as I normally would've, I found that I loved it.

     
"Say
thanks to Douglas for me."

     
"It's his
job," Ethan replied.

     
"Let him
know that I'm really thankful or I'll have to find a way to let him know for
myself. And when I do, I'm sure you won't like it."

     
His voice
lowered, "Are you threatening me?"

     
"No. I'm
warning you."

     
"Don't
think I won't remember this."

     
"I'm
hoping you won't. I'll talk to you later. Hope the rest of your day is full of
sunshine and daisy chains."

     
After taking my
lunch break at around two, I went straight back to work. I didn't stop until
just after seven, when I was too worn out to continue. My arms ached and my
back hurt. I was starting to get a headache and my stomach had just begun
growling. I needed to go home. I needed my bed.

     
After I got
everything cleaned up, myself included, I started the walk back to the
apartment, welcoming the cool fresh air. It was fairly dark out, but I felt
safe.

     
As soon as I
walked in the door, I was hit with the heavenly scent of pizza. Dale was
sitting on the couch watching a movie.

     
"Hey,
Babydoll. Pizza should still be warm."

     
I froze when I
heard the buzzing hum of a lightsaber. "Which one is that?" I asked,
taking off my sweater.

     
"Empire.
It's at the end. Decided to have a little marathon."

     
"Looks
like I arrived just in time, then."

     
I woke up the
next morning with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was happy with all the
progress I had been making. But on the other…I felt like I needed a change of
some kind. Still, I forced myself to get up, eat, and get ready for the day.

    
 
My mind was elsewhere as I made my way
into the building and up towards my workspace. I was operating as a polite
human being, smiling when expected, but otherwise I tuned out the rest of the
world. There was only one thought on my mind - finishing as much as possible. I
even tuned out the background music, focusing solely on what was directly in
front of me. I was desperate to get the ceiling over with so I could move on to
the final part.

     
I was taking a
lunch break when Ethan texted me:
Break Room.

     
Already here
,
I messaged back.

     
He walked in
just a minute later, stopping to study me with slightly agitated eyes. After
which he shut the door and came to sit beside me. It had only been a day since
I'd last seen him, but somehow it felt much longer. He wrapped an arm around
me, kissed me on the cheek and leaned back, exhaling.

     
I swallowed my
bite of food. "Everything okay?"

     
"It is
now," he replied, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head on the
sofa. I squeezed the hand he had around my shoulder. "Will you come home
with me tonight?"

     
"It's
Friday, right?" I nodded excitedly. "We can sleep in!"

     
Giving me a
sideways glance, he smirked.

     
"And maybe
we can play another game instead of doing the lazy bum thing - if you aren't
too tired."

     
"I love
your games."

     
"We'll see
about that. It won't be like musical chairs."

     
"Whatever
it is, I look forward to it." He leaned his head down into the crook of my
neck, kissing it softly. The feel of his warm breath on my skin sent a rush of
blood flowing to my head, making me heady. "I have something for
you."

     
"…Oh?" I watched carefully as he reached into the inner pocket
of his jacket and pulled out a medium-sized jewelry box. Then I panicked.

     
"Remember…you
agreed," he said, now watching me with a wary expression that probably
matched my own.

     
"I
did?"

     
"You
did." He handed me the box.

     
Trying not to
chomp so hard on my lip, I took it from him and opened it. It was a necklace,
of course. The chain was gold - thin in the extreme with a small bezel set
diamond in the center. It was simple and didn't stand out. I loved it. But I
was confused. "What exactly was the agreement?"

     
"So long
as you're wearing that, I'll always be able to track you."

     
"Oh."

     
"You
promised," he reminded me again. "Basically."

     
"Yes, I
suppose I did." I examined it closely, trying to make out any trace of
whatever chip or gadget might be in it. The only thing I could see was the
extraordinary way the light reflected off the diamond.

     
"If you
want a different design, or even something else…earrings, perhaps-"

     
"It's
perfect," I interjected. "It won't clash with any of my
clothes."

     
"You'll
wear it, then?"

     
I handed the
box back to him. "Put it on me?"

     
He took it,
relieved, and very carefully removed the necklace. As he unhooked it, I turned
away from him and pulled my hair up. I felt a slight tingling sensation
throughout my neck as his hands reached around me. He clasped the chains
together and put his hands on my shoulders.

     
"Is it
safe to wear out in the heavy rain?" I asked.

     
"It's
entirely waterproof. You can wear it in the shower and you should even be able
to sleep in it without it tangling in your hair. There's no reason for you to
ever take it off."

     
His words
almost had me comparing it to a collar, but it wasn't as though he was keeping
me on a leash. I turned to look at him. "So you can rest easy, now."

     
"A little
bit, yes. Thank you for letting me do this."

     
Ethan wouldn't
be finished with work until six, which left me with about three-and-a-half
hours to finish what I could. I already knew that I wouldn't be coming back
here for the weekend, so I pushed myself to work even harder.

     
It was a long
process, making the paint look like actual skin and hair, but I was glad that
I'd finally developed my own easy method of layering and texturizing. I still
made mistakes, of course, but they weren't too hard to fix. The most important
thing was to be patient.

     
I relaxed onto
my back as the hours passed, continuing to tune out everything, even the
beautiful angelic vocals that filled the small space. My arms started to ache
much faster than they had the day before, but I managed to ignore it.

     
I almost lost
track of time, but the darkening sky was a reminder that the day was coming to
an end. I was just about done cleaning up when Ethan texted me, telling me to
meet him in his office.

     
Although I
hadn't been paying attention while I'd been working, the heavenly choirs that
had played in the background were somehow echoing in my head when we began
making our way to the elevator. I felt at peace…at least until a cramp shot
through my right hand. Grabbing it with the other hand, I flexed my fingers.
Ethan noticed, of course.

     
"You'll be
taking a break for the weekend, right?" he asked as we stepped into the
elevator.

     
I nodded,
moving to lean against the mirrored wall. As we stood in silence, waiting, I
rested my head against his arm.

   
  
"You look like you need a nap, Kitten," he
said softly.

     
I smiled up at
him. I don't know what it was, but just being able to lean against him - having
someone who cared so much about me… "I love you." I didn't wait for a
response. I didn't need one. I just needed him to know how I felt. Closing my
eyes, I nuzzled my head into his arm.

     
The elevator
dinged then, opening up into the parking lot. Ethan put an arm around me and
spoke somewhat breathily, "Time to get you home."

     
He walked me towards
his normal parking space, but I was confused when we ended up standing in front
of a silver car that I didn't recognize at all.

     
"Where's
the Audi?" I asked, looking around as though it would magically appear.

     
"Home. I
decided to take this one out for a spin instead."

     
He opened the
passenger door and motioned for me to get inside. I was still searching around
the parking lot as I got in. Once inside I began looking at the interior.
Immediately, I began freaking out when I saw that there was no gear stick. In
fact, most of the center console seemed to be nonexistent, aside from a large
touch screen on the center dashboard.

     
"Ethan,
it's missing parts!" I said, waving my finger towards all the absent
components when he entered. He shut his door and paused, looking at me
quizzically.

     
"It's
electric."

     
"…Oh." I'd heard about those before. But I had always imagined
them to be tiny little egg-shaped things in bright neon colors…not as slick-ass
silver beauties. "Wait, what the hell does that even mean? Is it going to
drive itself?" Why was there no gear stick?

     
He shook his
head and started the car -
without
using any keys. "Put your
seatbelt on."

     
"Where the
fuck is the ignition!?" I grabbed the seatbelt just as he began backing
out. "How are we moving!?" Was this the future?
No, dipshit. This
is the present. You've just been living in your bubble of the past. Story of
your fucking life.

    
 
Ethan broke into laughter while I sat
holding onto the bottom of my seat in a mix of shock, awe, and terror.