Kate stepped out of the silver slippers, then retrieved her own shoes from the carpet. “A text? From who?”
“From Lucius,” he said, his face unreadable. They began walking.
Uh oh. “Everything okay?” she asked, trying not to think the worst.
“Nothing too major,” he said as he began texting back. “Water on the floor in
the lab from a backed-up sink. And Barney got loose again.”
“Who's Barney?”
Peter held his hands apart about two feet. “A Bearded Dragon, about so long.”
“Oh, yeah. Didn't he win that beard contest in Golden Grove a few weeks ago?”
“This guy's a lizard.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
A smirk. “He's gotten out before. He usually hides in the maintenance room
where the heaters are.”
They'd reached one of the hallways that led out into the main rotunda. The
crowd noise was louder, echoing off the marble walls.
“Ah, the joys of teaching,” she said, forcing a cheerful tone. “I'm glad it's not
serious.”
His expression hadn't changed. “No, it's just…I need to head back.”
“Oh. Of course.” They'd been having such a good time, joking, laughing.
Flirting. She hadn't thought about the end. But here it was. Again.
“Look, Kate, I'm sorry. Even if I leave now, I won't be back in Golden Grove
before eight. Between a lizard hunt and the water it might be a long night. I can't let Lucius deal with this alone.”
She was waving her hands. “No, no, that's all right. You need to be there.”
And he did, because he was Peter, and that's where he belonged. Her heart felt
dim and far away. It had been going so well. But what had she expected? He had
to go back sometime.
“Where can I drop you off?” he was asking as they stopped under the planes
hanging in the aviation section.
“Oh, no problem. I can catch the electric train to Millennium Station. It'll be
easy to get home from there.”
“You sure?”
“Hey, I'm a city girl these days.” It was supposed to be a joke, but it felt flat.
He smiled anyway, crooked but sad.
And then he kissed her.
He reached out with his arm, pulled her close in one smooth motion, leaned
down, and kissed her.
It wasn't really sparks that were flying behind her eyes, but there were fireworks going on somewhere. The room was reverberating. He released her but
kept a strong grip on her arms. She could smell him, like fresh air and peppermint, and her heart tried to recover its balance.
She could feel the stares of people around her, but she didn't care.
“What was that for?” she said finally.
“They say that if you kiss someone under the wing of the airplane, it's good
