Page 104 of Jagged

"My closest friend is someone I met while in Portugal. We still text all the time. She works at Laboratório de Polícia Científica, a forensic laboratory in Lisbon. Things are very different there and it's interesting to me."

"Understandable for sure. Tatiana has been hassling me to visit there with her and her mom."

"You should. I would love to go again. I'm ready for another adventure." She raised a single fist in the air. "My next destination was to visit South Africa."

"That's far…"

"Everywhere seems far from here. That's why you have to plan stops in between." She tapped her lip then held one finger up at each mention. "Fly from Seattle to New York City. Have a stop over there to walk around the city for a while. From New York to Dubai for a bit, check out the sites, then finally Dubai to Cape Town. It's a riot of an adventure worth having."

"How long does that take?"

"A few days if you space it out. The layovers make it cheaper, too."

"That's a lot…"

"You can always go for something less transitional and more direct. It's more expensive and not as exciting, but it's doable for sure."

"I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it."

"Well, the good news is it's not necessary." She gave me a gentle pat on the arm. "And you never have to do what you don't want to do. If you're happy in Seattle, you're happy in Seattle."

"What if you want to travel and I don't?"

"Would it bother you if I went alone?"

"No, I don't think so. We're separate people in the end." I laughed softly at the thought. "Would it bother you if I slept until noon on weekends then did nothing all day except roll around on a skateboard or hangout at a tattoo shop eating pizza?"

"Nope. Separate people!" She snickered and wiggled around a bit. "Speaking of pizza, I would like to have it. Even though I cooked. It's what I want."

"I will have both. Let's order."

"Done deal."

Chapter Fifteen

I walked around the gallery where we'd spent the morning transporting all of Tatiana's artwork. The tall, white-walled, geometric building design overwhelmed me with its vastness. I never understood why they made ceilings so high sometimes. All that empty space served no purpose save to amplify echoes and drive me insane. Even with just four people in the space, the sound killed me. I could barely manage it when Reagan shrieked in between her giggles. Wyatt chased her about, the two of them neck-deep in fun and frivolity while I covered my ears in the corner. Tatiana narrowed her brow when she met my gaze.

"I'm fine," I offered.

"I mean, yeah. How do you handle gunshots and policing if echoes make you nuts?"

"Not sure." I dropped my hands when the playful duo ran off. "It's different. Plus, we rarely fire weapons outside of a range. As it should be."

"Noted." She smiled and handed me one of her smaller paintings. "Where should that go?"

"In between the two big ones. The symmetry will make it stand out more."

"Good idea." She bounced on her toes then hopped over to the spot I indicated. One of the gallery workers took it from me and we watched as she climbed the ladder to secure it.

"Are you bringing Clem to the opening?" Tati asked while we watched her collection fall into place.

"Yeah. She's looking forward to it." I took a step back, allowing myself to absorb the full vision of the gallery surrounding us. "Look around, Tati."

"I know." She smiled when her hands fell to her hips. "It's surreal."

"It shouldn't be. You're incredible."

"Well, a show and sales are two different things." She leaned against me, and I dropped my arm around her shoulders.

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