I nudge his arm when he doesn’t answer right away. “Do you? Do you like it?”
He nudges me back. “Don’t ask me questions like that unless you want them to lead somewhere.”
“I want them to lead somewhere. I want them to lead everywhere.” I bite my lip and glance up at him.
The pressure of his body against mine feels like a million hugs.
Then he halts suddenly, and I would’ve face-planted right on the street if it weren’t for his firm grip.
“Whoa. Look on the ground, do you see that?” He points to a hidden corner near a brick wall.
I hold my wig hair back with my hand, squinting as I sway a bit. “That? That little brown bug down there?”
Mack undoes my grip on his arm but holds me by the shoulders, ensuring I’m steady before letting go. “Hold still, just for a second.” He crouches down. “That’s not a bug.”
“What is it?” I ask.
But I can’t focus on what he’s looking at very well because everything is glowing in a beautiful hue. Including Mack. There’s a golden halo engulfing his entire body.
When he stands back up, he holds out his palm to show me the little creature in the middle. “He’s a rainbow land crab. Definitely not from around here. Wonder what he’s doing so far from home?”
“He still looks like a bug to me,” I say, but then I narrow in on him, his little brown and red body, only about an inch wide.
“To be technical about it, all bugs are crustaceans, but not all crustaceans are bugs. He lives in the water.”
“You found a little sea bug!” I exclaim. “How cute! A little sea bug for a seaman!” My hand goes over my mouth. “Oh my god, do you hear what I said there? Seaman. Get it? Like semen?”
Mack rubs his chin, as if he can’t believe how corny I am. He shakes his head but then holds out his free hand after dipping the little crab into his front shirt pocket. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
I point ahead as if I’m a sea captain. “Back to your place!”
And in my body, I’ve never felt more alive.
Chapter 21
As always, Mack’s building is quiet. “Does anyone even live here?” I ask softly as the elevator doors close on us.
“My dad owns the building. All the residents are retirees. If you don’t count me, that is. Although I do feel retired from life in a certain kind of way.”
“Your dad?” Memories of a conversation with Kate swim through my brain. “Your dad is John Vasser? Real estate tycoon?”
Mack nods. “That’s the one. For better or worse.”
“’Til death do us part!” I throw in the non sequitur.
Mack Vasser. Jules Lowe. Mack Vasser and Jules Lowe.
I’ll have to do the math on our names later. For now, I glance up at the elevator ceiling, the warm glow of the drugs still coursing through my system. I’ve never done ecstasy before, but is it really supposed to make you feel this way?
Like you’re floating on a cloud?
Like you want to live forever?
Like you’re . . . madly in love?
Oh god, even under the drug spell, my hand comes to my mouth. Relax, Jules. Just enjoy the night for what it is.
By the time the elevator doors open, I’m already a million stories high.
I’m not sure if Mack is feeling the same way. Not sure if the drugs are doing the same thing to him as they are to me.
We tiptoe through the hallway because even with the cloak of Little Mermaid disguises, it’d be better not to see a neighbor.
Mack’s steady hand unlocks his door, and when he opens it, we enter silently. He walks to the corner of the room where there’s a very small tank next to his larger one. He dips his hand into his pocket and gently lets the small crab scurry into the tank.
Then he makes his way back to me.
We’re standing in front of the door. I wonder if he’ll grab me again like he did before when we made out in front of his door in a furious flurry.
But he doesn’t. Instead, he swallows hard. The irises of his eyes are almost completely black. Shark.
“I’m feeling a little . . .” He pulls on his collar. “Different . . .”
“Different how?” I ask, my mouth gone dry.
“Like I wanna do things to you. Lots of things. Lots of different things.”
I bite my lip and nod my head. “Uh-huh . . .”
