Page 96 of Reckless
“Very good, Gray,” he murmurs. “Being close to me always was the most difficult part for you.”
“That’s typically how it is when someone is insufferable, yes.”
“All right, smart-ass.” He’s looking down at me, smiling slightly. A long moment passes. “Are we going to dance, or would you rather continue staring at me?”
I look away, cheeks burning. “I was not staring at you.”
“Fine. You were admiring me, then—”
“You haven’t answered my questions,” I cut in.
“And you haven’t honored my terms.” He nods down to my planted feet. “We still aren’t dancing.”
“So start leading, Azer.”
His eyes flick between mine before a smile lifts his lips at my challenge. “Yes, darling.”
He begins a simple step, forcing my feet to stumble in time with his. After several counts and far too much concentration, I finally relax into the movement, letting my feet find the familiar rhythm.
“So,” I say slowly, “my question.”
“Which one?”
“Ava.” I pause. “Why did you tell me about her?”
He sighs against my hair. “Do you… do you remember the second ball, when I was—”
“When you were belligerently drunk?” I say, tilting my head to look up at him.
His smile seems sad. “Yes, when I was belligerently drunk. Which was your fault, by the way.”
“My fault?” I scoff. “How was that my fault?”
“You were dancing with my brother; that’s how.” He spins me then, surprising me into tripping over my feet. “You were giving him that look like you do.”
“What look?”
“I’m not quite sure,” he says quietly. “You never gave it to me.”
I look away, uncertain what to say. He clears his throat. “Anyway, one thing I remember very clearly from that night was when I dragged you onto the dance floor.”
“Yes,” I smile, happy to have changed the subject. “I remember that very clearly too.”
“I kissed your hand before we danced. Do you remember?”
I nod slowly, recalling how his mouth brushed my knuckles for everyone to see.
“And then my lips found the pad of your thumb.” His voice is a murmur, a memory made words. “I hadn’t even realized I’d done it.” He shakes his head. “And until that moment, I hadn’t done it in years.”
“I remember that too.” I search his face in the shadows. “I wondered what it meant.”
“Ava was a Crawler,” he says quietly, still dancing slowly. My mind wanders to the many figures I’ve witnessed scaling the crumbling buildings on Loot Alley, their ability allowing them to climb effortlessly.
“She was only a Defensive Elite,” he continues, cutting into my thoughts. “Some people say that your level of power is due to how strong you are physically and mentally. And Ava was born weak.” He spins me again slowly. “As she got older, using her power was difficult. She would grow tired and fall from the walls. Then she would cry, saying that all she wanted was to be strong.” He sighs through his nose, looking up at the stars. “So, I would kiss each of her fingers to ‘give’ some of my power to her. She loved it. Made it higher up the wall every day. But she especially loved when I kissed her thumbs, told me it gave her extra strength. So that’s what I did. I kissed her thumbs every day until Kitt helped me bury her.”
I haven’t realized there are tears in my eyes until one threatens to fall. “You loved her very much,” I whisper.
“I did. Ido,” he says simply. “And I’ve never kissed a thumb that wasn’t hers.”
