Somewhere Only We Know(36)

I took a shot of her from behind, her hair picked up by the wind, her body bent forward, reaching for something. The staggering skyline in front of her.

When I managed to make my way next to her, she kept her face resolutely away from me, looking at the view. I was Lucky’s first kiss. I felt like a jackass but I felt something else … honored and happy?

No, this was bad. On so many levels. No kissing the subject, Jack. Also, I wasn’t supposed to know why she kissed me. What was she going to say about it? I had to unfreeze this situation, even if it meant being a pest.

“So, do trams normally put you in the mood?”

“What!” She turned to me quickly, mouth agape.

Gotcha. I unleashed the smile that my sister Ava called, with disgust, The Devastation. Like it was a ship. “I’m not complaining.”

She glanced around us, as if everyone and their selfie sticks cared about this conversation. “No. Trams don’t … get me … in the mood.”

I didn’t say anything. The less I said the better, probably. I wanted to see how she would lie her way out of this one.

“I was … curious.” And she looked me straight in the eye when she said it. I felt a jolt because, again, her lying skills were amazing. She picked the one truth. And knowing that the whole “Quick! Kiss a Stranger!” move could have meant something more than a diversion?

I swallowed, and it was the most difficult task of my life, getting that saliva down my completely dry throat. “Curious?”

She nodded. “I’m curious about a lot of things.”

Another dry swallow. “Yeah?”

She peered at me from below her cap, and her lips curved into a smile that sunk The Devastation in one quick, brutal shot.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN


LUCKY


The fact that Jack knew the kiss was my first freaking kiss was the worst thing in the world. The embarrassment about killed me, and I needed to assert myself. Smoldering K-pop video queen stares? Check. Jack’s reaction was exactly what I had hoped for.

The truth is, the Lucky who oozed sexuality and confidence onstage was a total charade. Not every part of me used to be that way—I was goofier, more girlish than vixen. But now, so much of me was Lucky-the-fantasy that I wondered where she ended and I began. The line had become so blurred, and it was only today that helped put it in focus again—the contrast between Lucky and me had never been sharper.

Spending time with Jack, running around somewhat anonymous in a foreign city—there was something about that, you know? That put all of LUCKY! in relief against Fern.

And … what was that kiss?

Whatever I was expecting, it was not that.

I must have been looking at his mouth then, because Jack sucked in his lips self-consciously. I pressed my palms onto the metal railing, willing myself to cool off, looking at the view in front of me instead.

He seemed to believe my “I was curious” explanation. I’m sure lots of girls were curious about what kissing him would feel like.

It was a clear day—the smog inching in had dissipated somewhat, and the lush green hills, razor-sharp buildings, and pristine waters of Victoria Harbour were practically sparkling. Beckoning.

“Want to try something fun?” I asked, feeling that streak of impulsiveness again.

Jack tapped the railing with his hands, keeping his eyes on the view, too. “Do I want to know?”

I pulled him away from the railing and walked us toward the center of the terrace, on a concrete platform. “You’re going to spin me around while I close my eyes and point. We’re going to go wherever I land.”

“What if you land in the middle of the water?” he asked, completely nonplussed and his mouth already quirked into a smile. He was so game. For anything. He didn’t care that any of this was totally wacky. He had zero expectations of me.

It was such a good feeling.

I covered my eyes with my left hand and pointed straight ahead with my right. “Then we go to the water.”

A second of silence passed before he reached for my shoulder and waist. “Okay.” His voice was low and very close to my ear. Something fluttered in my stomach and I sucked in a breath. Bastard.

And then I was turning counterclockwise, my feet shuffling, my body hitting Jack’s at certain points. Laughter bubbled out of me. “I’ll tell you when to stop!”

He didn’t answer, but kept spinning me, and finally when I felt a wave of nausea I cried out, “Stop!”

Jack’s hands stilled me instantly, firmly holding me into place. When I opened my eyes, I followed my pointed finger to a random spot on the mass of land across the water.

“Kowloon,” he said with a furrowed brow. “I know where to take you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “It has to be where I pointed.”

“Close enough.”



* * *



We were on a ferry.

It glided through the water, quiet and slow. I took in a deep breath of salty air and let it out in a loud, gusty pfffft, leaning so far over the railing that my feet lifted off the hardwood floor.

I felt good, but one glance at Jack told me that I was the only one. He was sitting down in one of the seats, an old wood bench lacquered over in black paint, and his face was pale.

“Are you okay?” I asked.