Page 154 of Conner's Luna

So, College Barbie sexually assaulted my man. I'm not dumb enough to tell Conner that. Men have their pride and Conner has it in excess, but College Barbie and I are going to have words someday.

I snag the jar of honey and try to twist it open. The lid won't budge. With a huff, I extend it to Conner, who looks a little like a whipped puppy. He opens it (with no visible effort) and hands it back to me.

I take a spoonful of the dark brown gooey goodness. "We have to discuss how tightly you close lids," I tell him. I hold out the spoon for him to eat.

His eyes light up. I'm mesmerized as he takes the bite of honey and smiles at me. "I love you," he whispers.

"I love you, too," I reply, maybe a little too fiercely, if the raised eyebrows around us are any indication. Except for Dad. He just laughs.

I'm still fuming as the meal winds down and people start drifting off to dance and talk in small groups.I wander into the crowd with my Dad and Velia. The three of us get separated from Conner for a minute, although his green eyes follow me carefully the entire time. I'm looking for the grey-eyed girl, but she's disappeared.

"Luna?" a tap on my shoulder startles me into spinning around. Right away, Sarj is at my shoulder, posturing defensively at the distraught-looking women who approached me. Velia fades back, and to my surprise, Dad steps up on my other side.

"Ariana. I'm surprised you came," Sarj says, warning in his tone.

She nods, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "I just wanted to say hello and give the luna this," she says softly.

I reach for the gift reluctantly, but Sarj snatches it faster than I can. I toss him an appreciative look. The box may look innocuous, but something is off about the whole thing. No one else handed me a gift, unless you count the scrapbook, but that wasn't wrapped and she handed it to Conner, first.

"Thank you, Ariana," I say, feeling like I'm missing something.

"My sister is the one who... died yesterday," she explains.

My heart plummets. "Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," I say softly.

She nods, squaring her jaw. "This is a better place for you," she says firmly. "I'm glad our Alphason got you in the end."

Dad says 'thank you' for me, because I'm feeling too surprised at her bluntness to respond. She wanders off, and I look at the box Sarj is holding, then at him.

He sighs. "Let's get Conner and open it, yeah?"

"I have no patience," I warn him. His lips quirk, but with him at my side, we make it through the crowd of well-wishers much faster than I would on my own.

"Conner, Ariana just gave this to Bailey," Sarj hands him my present.

"Was it cleared?" Conner asks with a frown at the pretty, green-and yellow polka dotted gift-wrapped box.

"Nothing smells off. Could be wrapped in plastic," Sarj says blandly.

"Let's run it through the scanner, to be sure. She handed it directly to you, honeygirl?" Conner asks me. He doesn't wait for a response as we walk out of the fancy-pants garden-slash-ballroom and into a plain white corridor.

"This place is like the White House," I whisper to Dad as we walk into a room that is clearly the 'back of house' security space.

He smiles, but it's really more of a grimace. I know that I should be more worried, but it's not until I see the mountain of presents that I understand. There is a group of four men and one woman, alternating between sending each gift through a scanner, logging them into the computer, and unwrapping the few that don't pass the initial inspection.

"Sam, scan this through," Conner hands him the gift. The man immediately sends it through, a frown on his face as he watches the computer.

"Looks clean," he says calmly. "You want me to open it?"

Conner nods, so I bite back my protest. I don't relish the idea of anyone risking themselves, but this man is clearly a professional.

Sam walks behind a partition of solid plexiglass and dons a pair of thick nitrile gloves, and protective headgear before slicing open the box with a utility knife. He pulls out a very pretty candy dish. Placing it on the table next to box, he lifts out a sheet of tissue paper, then curses audibly behind the mask he's wearing.

"What is it?" Conner snaps.

Sam lifts a small sheet of paper from the box. Conner approaches and reads it, then he inhales and mutter's, "fuck that bitch!"

I rush over, wondering if Arianna was foolish enough to give me a threat, or if someone else planted it in her gift. No, that doesn't make sense. She handed it to me personally.

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