Page 58 of Scattered Glitter

I continue to observe her closely as she moves toward Levi. She’s casual, acting like this is a game, but I can see the gears turning in her mind. She’s trying to anticipate his actions. Good.

Levi, on the other hand, is relaxed, open, and unguarded, which is his status quo and perfect for seeing what she can do. She circles him and brushes her fingers against his glittery sleeve. I can’t help but be amused by the way she leansin, pretending to charm him and how Levi responds with an exaggerated smile.

“So…” She grins, “You think you’ve got something worth losing?”

Levi chuckles and leans against the stage as he plays the part. “Oh, I’ve got plenty, Little Bird.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Her fingers brush his chest as if she’s fixing his collar, but I catch the sleight of hand as she slips her fingers into his back pocket and effortlessly pulls out his wallet.

He doesn’t even notice.

She steps back, twirling the wallet between her fingers with a triumphant grin. “Looks like you’ve already lost something.”

Levi glances down in surprise and then lets out a chuckle. “Come on, that’s basic shit.”

She shrugs and snarks back, “So basic that you couldn’t prevent it?” Then she tosses the wallet at him.

Levi catches it, shaking his head as he opens it to check its contents. “Nothing to it, really—”

“Looking for this?” she interrupts, holding up his black credit card.

Not bad.

Also not impressive.

Levi’s eyes go wide. “What the—”

He reaches for the card, but before he can grab it, she makes it vanish from her hand, holding up her empty palms. “Oops.”

Okay.Better.

Levi blinks, trying to figure out where it went. “Where the hell—”

She grins, stepping closer, tugging the card from behind his ear. “You’re not very good at keeping track of your things, are you?”

I have to suppress a laugh at the way Levi stands there, completely dumbfounded.

Fine, maybe she’s better than I thought.

Before Levi can grab the card again, she makes it disappear once more, slipping it into his jacket’s pocket. “You…” she gives him an innocent look as she toys with his shirt again, “… should really be more careful.”

Levi is still laughing as he checks his jacket, though it turns confused when the card isn’t where she put it. “Okay, seriously, where is it?”

She angles toward him and plucks the card from his collar like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “Right where you left it.”

Levi reaches out again, more determined this time, but she tosses the card up in the air, and when she reaches out to catch it—nothing. Her hands are empty again, and the card is gone.

Holy shit.

I inch closer so I’m standing next to her now, wanting to observe her as closely as possible. She’s playing this perfectly, and I want to see how she’s doing it.

She wiggles her fingers and encourages Levi’s attention to stay on her empty hands, giving him a playful smile. “What? You think I’m going to make it that easy for you?”

Her elbow brushes my side when she shifts her stance, and the slight contact makes me shudder. I force myself not to show it in my expression and ignore the way my pulse just quickened.

Her newfound confidence is hot as fuck.

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