The Girl Who Would Be King(13)

“So what’s your deal, Lola?” he says suddenly, but not unkindly.

“My deal?” I echo lamely.

“Yeah, you got balls of steel or what?” But I have no idea what he’s talking about so I wait for more. “I’ve never seen anyone stand up to Melvin like that. Even Felice is a little bit afraid of him. I once saw a dude piss himself after getting yelled at by Melvin,” Adrian says, chuckling lightly. The waitress sets down our coffee and pie and leaves.

“Really? Hmm. I wasn’t that impressed,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee. “He looks like someone’s loser uncle who drank about a thousand six packs too many and likes to touch little kids for fun.” I finish. Adrian laughs, nearly losing a full mouthful of coffee back into his cup.

“Balls of steel it is, then,” he says, and then adds. “But don’t ever say that to his face. Seriously.” His face suddenly looks a bit pained. We sit there for another long moment, sizing each other up. He’s definitely handsome. I never thought a guy as good looking as Adrian would ever be interested in me, superpowers or no, but he is; I can tell from the way his heart beats. The way his pupils dilate. It feels like hunting, sitting there with him. Like I’m the hunter now, but what about later? I’m worried about falling in love with him. Wouldn’t that make me the prey? Regardless, I suppress this strong desire to taste him – to literally just like reach out and lick his cheek – I imagine it would taste bittersweet. People have all different kinds of flavors. Felice tastes almost briny to my senses, while Melvin feels rancid, like something well past its expiration date. There’s something else about Adrian, vibes or pheromones or something that he’s giving off, something refreshing and new. That’s it. New. He feels new. Like a clean sheet of paper, untouched, and full of possibilities. It’s tempting as all get out. I’m resisting it, but so far it’s kicking my ass, and it’s only been like, an hour since I met him. I don’t want to fall for this guy. This would be a very inconvenient time to fall in love. I have so much to do and I never put love on the list. I don’t know how to insulate myself from it happening. Or deal with it if it actually catches me.

“So Lola,” he says. “I gotta ask – how old are you?”

I gulp hard on a bit of cherry. I’m not sure whether to lie. At the last second, I decide not to; I don’t know why, “Sixteen. How old are you?”

He smiles broadly. “Seventeen.” I can tell we’re both relieved and there’s a long pause. “I’m sorry I laughed at your name,” he finally says.

“Oh, I forgot all about that.” I say, and I’m not lying this time either; I did forget. Who could remember something silly like that when you’ve got Adrian flirting with you? He looks at me and I just know how things are going to go with us. It’s almost like I can read his mind, all his plans for us mapped out so clearly in his dark eyes, his smile equal parts playful and sexy. I swallow hard.

It’s going to be really hard to keep my head with that smile around all the time.

“So, I guess you better tell me about these people. Your, what do you call them, a crew, team…what?”

“Crew is as good a word as any, I guess. They’re mostly good people. Melvin is a dick but he’s definitely the brains and connections, and leader by default, I guess, so there’s no helping that. Felice and Melvin met up years ago and have been working together ever since. Enrico’s an old friend of Melvin’s; he’s a good guy, solid, y’know? And a little more even-tempered than Melvin. Felice’s boyfriend Jorge also works with us. He’s a sweetheart, a little dense sometimes, and definitely not super-talented, but he’s trustworthy and stable, which is kind of key.”

“So, what do you guys do…exactly?”

“Well,” he looks around cautiously as if to see if any of the scattered diners are listening, they’re not. “I mean, we do the kinda stuff you did the other night. We usually go a little bigger, I mean, in the sense of a bigger take, y’know, since it’s got to be split five ways.”

“Well, there was plenty of other stuff to take when I took the necklace,” I say. “It’s just the one thing I had my eye on.”

“I kind of love that about you.”

“What?” I blush

“Just that you pulled that heist all on your own just ‘cause you saw a necklace you wanted. It shows you know what you want. It’s good, it’s great.”

“Um…thanks,” I say, my face getting hotter by the minute as I push my plate of cherry pie bits away. Adrian does the same with his plate of blueberry.