Spark(20)

“Good.”
He held her gaze and leaned forward. The promise of a kiss tingled in the space between them—and the kitchen door swung open, letting in a blare of music. And Burt.
“Everything all right in here, Miss Jaxley?”
It had been, until he walked in.
“Sure,” she said. “Burt, you remember Aran, from lunch?”
“Of course.” His voice was flat.
“Hey,” Aran said.
His eyes were guarded. For a long moment he and Burt just looked at each other. If they had hackles, she was sure they’d be raised.
“Burt,” she said, “Aran’s going to take me out to see the city. I’ll be back after sunrise.”
“I don’t think so.” Burt crossed his arms.
“I’ll take good care of her,” Aran said.
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Stop it.” She stepped between them. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Burt, you’re my security team leader, not my dad. Besides, I know the protocol.”
Aran raised his brows. “Protocol?”
“I’m only allowed to be gone four hours, have to activate the locater in my wrist-chip to a specific frequency, and check in every half-hour.” In some ways, having a security team was worse than parents.
“Being a super-celebrity seems pretty tweaked, you know that?”
“Oh, I know.”
All too well. But tonight she wanted to shut away that part of her life and be an ordinary girl.
“Hold out your hand,” Burt said, gesturing to Aran. “Let me see that chip.”
“So you can short it out?” Aran asked. “No thanks.”
“Mr. Cole, if you don’t want me to throw you out this very moment, it’s a requirement.”
Aran hesitated. She could see his throat move as he swallowed. Then he rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm, wrist up.
Burt leaned forward, gave a grunt, and with his thumbnail flicked the chip completely off Aran’s wrist. It sparkled, turning in the air, before Burt caught it in his meaty fist.
“Burt! His chip—you can’t do that.” Turning to Aran, she grabbed his hand, inspecting his skin for blood. “Are you all right?”
“Sorry, Spark,” he said. “It was a fake.”
“What?” A spurt of anger heated her blood, and she dropped his wrist. “Are you a fake, too? Is your name even Aran, or is this some game you’re playing?”
“No.” He gave her a pained look. “This is real.”
“Aran Myeong Cole,” Burt said. “American father, Korean mother. Ostensibly lives at 1418 Circle Court, with two siblings and both parents. Graduated from high school two years early, and was accepted on full scholarship to several elite colleges. Attended none of them, due to—”
“All right,” Aran said, his voice raised and uneven. “Real enough for you? I think I’m done here.”
He turned and started for the door.
“Wait.” Spark caught his arm. “You can’t just leave.”
“It was nice meeting you,” he said. “I’ll always be a fan.”
“No.” Her fingers tightened. “We are not finished. I need to know what you did today, in Feyland.”
Aran jerked his head up, his pupils wide. “I told you. I explored the world a little bit. That’s it.”
“He’s lying,” Burt said.
“Aran, listen to me.” She had no idea how to say this, especially in front of Burt. “The game is… different. Be careful.”
Aran’s brows drew together, and she could see the pulse beating fast in his neck. He glanced at Burt, then back to her.
“Goodbye, Spark.”
Before she could react, he leaned in and brushed a kiss over her lips. Then he pulled away, out of her grasp, out the kitchen door, out of her life.
“Miss Jaxley—”#p#分页标题#e#
“Why did you do that?” She whirled on Burt. “The one guy who treated me like a real person, and you drove him away!”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s my job. That boy has a criminal record for running drugs. And he was lying to you. You spending time with him was a no-go.”
Great. She’d been all too right about Aran’s rebel streak.
“I’m going back to my rooms.”
She stalked past Burt, taking the other exit from the kitchen. If she had to walk back through the VirtuMax party, she would scream at the emptiness of it all.
Burt followed her without a word, just doing his job. Whether she wanted him to or not.
There was no escaping from her life. Not even by playing games, the way she used to do. Now her life was a huge, complex game, played on VirtuMax’s system.