I’d rather he didn’t. “If you’d give me a few days of space, that would be nice.”
A claw hooked on the bottom of my chin and pushed my face up. “Space? You know that word you hate? I hate space the same way. I hate when you tell me you want space. What that tells me is that I’m invading your space as if it’s a universe, and I’m a giant blob inside it. I’ve only had you for a half a night.”
“I only meant I’d like to get around by myself for a while.”
“You mean…independent of me?” He said “independent” as if spitting out a nasty bug. “Ever rode a bike?”
“No.” Disaster!
“Then you depend on me, ’cause I gotta teach you how to ride in the city. Streets, buildings, how to land, where to go. What the fuck?”
“Only three days alone.”
“No way.”
My eyes watered. Tears threatened to spill. I blinked them back and hiccupped. Tomorrow was too soon.
“What is that? Are those tears?” He swiped a thumb under my eyes. Could he see in the dark? I was pretty sure we cuddled in a dark room.
Jamie put something in my hand. A tissue. He sees in the dark.
“Only three days?” he asked.
“Three.”
“A courting,” he declared. “For three days. You want me to court you.” A pause as he mulled it over. It took only a minute, and by the time he was done thinking about it, I felt like I’d been lying on pins and not a mattress. He pecked my lips. “The days are yours, babe.”
The nights were Jamie’s.
Chapter Six
Rey
Midmorning, I sat up on the bed and listened. The house was quiet. “Jamie,” I called out and waited. Nothing. He kept his promises. Excellent news, because I could explore and get a good feel for my new home. I needed to know where things were so I wouldn’t trip over anything.
After the shower, I found a new dressing for my hand by the sink and replaced the old one with it. On my way downstairs, I counted the stairs of a three-bedroom townhome and came to a stop on the bottom floor. Hand stretched out in front of me, I counted my steps to a dark painting that hung against a white wall right across the stairs. I followed the hallway along the wall. It led me into a large room. I rounded the corner and hit a marble counter. This was the kitchen, and it was done in dark colors against white walls and floors. The contrast was a good thing.
Both hands running along the counter, I inspected it for electronics and objects, but mainly for the stovetop and the oven because those burned. I mentally marked the first corner, then a long workspace, then another corner where I found the coffeemaker and a toaster before a double-door fridge. The fridge fit into the third corner. A step away from the sink was a stovetop with an oven underneath.
A car zoomed above the house. I froze, hoping it wasn’t Jamie. Did he own a car? When the car landed on the road with a soft hiss, I knew the kitchen window above the sink opened to the street. I waited for someone to come in, and wiped my sweaty palms on my shorts. After a while, when nobody showed up, I reached up and checked the window. The drawn blinds blocked the morning sunlight. And prying eyes. Good.
Next, I searched for a dining room table and found a bar island in the middle of the large kitchen. It had drawers underneath and barstools around it. I sat on the tall stool and tapped the bar’s smooth metal surface. In the middle, I found a pen, a rectangular paper—probably a note—and what I thought was a stack of cash. On top of the note Jamie had left me was a small oval object. It had two buttons. Okay, then. I pressed one.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beeeeep!
An alarm sounded.
I pressed the same button to shut it off.
It didn’t shut off.
I leapt from the chair and got down on all fours with high hopes I wouldn’t hit my head on the wall. All fours was better than tripping and injuring myself, so I scooted out of the kitchen, around the corner, and to the end of the hallway, where I threw my hand out and hit a smooth metal door. The front door. The car beeped behind it. I pressed the other button.
The car alarm kept beeping.
I pressed it again.
Nothing.
“The hell!”
I pressed both buttons.
The beeping ceased.
I exhaled a breath and leaned my forehead on the door.
Jamie had left me a car or a bike I couldn’t drive. Jamie had left me a note I couldn’t read. In the cities, they might have tech that could read things to me, but since we didn’t have high tech in the communities, I wouldn’t know where to look or how to use it. Another thing I needed Jamie to do for me. What could I do for him before I asked him a million and one things I needed to become independent? Could I get out of here on my own? I could. I’d figure it out.