Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(63)

Lexis's brow furrowed as she turned a dial on the scope. "Who?"

"Elaine Daringer. You know - " ugh, I can't believe I was going to say this " - Draino." A new name was definitely needed, and it was time I put my immense brainpower into thinking of one. Let's see, let's see...The Zapper? No, that still had a negative connotation and she wasn't a negative girl. She was sweet and needy, and had probably been made to feel unworthy all her life for something she could not help or control. Princess Draina?

"No," Lexis said. "Nothing on her. But then, I haven't really spent any time with her. Haven't touched her, which even I can't do. And to learn something, I'd at least need to go near her, which I don't - "

"Great. I'll make arrangements when we get back."

Finished with the equipment, she threw herself against the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. "You are so pushy. I don't know what Rome sees in you."

Truth be told, all the months he and I had been together, I'd wondered the same thing. I wasn't easygoing like Lexis. I was more trouble than a school of unsupervised four-year-olds. (If only the first step to recovery was admitting it.) But for some reason Rome loved - had loved - me, and hadn't wanted to change me.

I'd come to think he liked the excitement I brought to his life, the amusement. I mean, I wasn't just another of his lackeys. I didn't take everything he dished. Didn't do everything he commanded. Well, some things I took, some things I did. But only in the bedroom.

Was that what Memory Man liked about me, as well? I found myself wondering.

"Like you're an angel," I told Lexis, making one of my horses kiss one of Sherridan's horses. "But I don't want to rehash the fact that you've stabbed me in the back, betrayed Rome with your lies and destroyed Tanner's heart. Actually, you don't get to talk badly about me." She banged a fist into the comforter. "You don't have a child with Rome! You don't know what it's like, tucking your daughter into bed at night and having her ask you if her daddy can come over and read her a story. You don't have to watch in horror as your daughter mists through walls you can't reach, just to find her daddy. You don't have to hold your crying daughter at night and take care of her by yourself when she's sick."

"No," I conceded softly, "I don't." And now, because of her, would I have the chance? Yeah, my heart ached with each picture drawn by Lexis's words. But..."Believe me, I know what it's like to grow up with only one parent. But, Lexis, Sunny is lucky. She has two parents who love her. Two parents who will always be there for her. And you know, deep down, that you and Rome are not meant to be. You once told me that yourself."

Sherridan tapped her chin as she studied the board, as if she were deep in thought about her countermove.

Another thought slammed into me. If the world righted itself, meaning Rome's memory returned and we ended up married, would I want to have a child? I mean, I didn't know if the little tyke would inherit my powers, since they weren't actually part of my genetic makeup - or were they now? We also had to consider Rome's powers. If we had a four-elements-wielding, jaguar-shape-shifting kid...wow. Just wow. Sunny placed herself in danger every time she walked through walls. How much more danger would my kid be in? My stomach twisted, shooting a sharp pain through my chest.

I wanted so badly to talk to Rome about this, get his opinion, but he might freak at the thought of me with a child. In his mind, we were practically strangers. Strangers who had made out against my bathroom door, but strangers nonetheless.

I wanted to interrogate Lexis, too, but wasn't sure she'd tell the truth. She'd told me I would end up marrying someone else, after all, and I knew that wasn't going to happen. Ever.

"Anyway," I said, "Rome's a good father. He runs to your side anytime you call. He phones Sunny every night, goes to see her every day. You don't do everything on your own. He and I have brought medicine and stayed with her, too. At your house, no less. If that girl even sniffles, Rome and I are at her side as fast as we can get there."

She had no reply to that, so Sherridan and I continued our "game" in silence, our pieces practically making out with each other. My mind continued to swirl, though. If Rome ever got his memories back, he and I would need to have a long talk about this baby thing. Did he want to have one with me? Maybe even more than one?

Those were the kinds of questions couples needed to discuss before they walked down the aisle. I'm not sure why we hadn't. Or maybe I did know. We were crazy in lust with each other, and sex seemed to be the only thing we concentrated on when we were together.

Was that a good thing? Don't get me wrong, that kind of passion was a must for any romantic relationship. But what kind of things did we have in common, aside from our powers and PSI? He liked action-adventure movies (when he wasn't critiquing them and telling me "that could never happen"). I liked romantic comedies. Well, he pretended not to like those, but it was really only his tears during those black moments that he hated. He listened to crappy classical music - I know, it had surprised me, too - and I listened to rock.

Depression settled heavily on my shoulders. What if Rome's memory returned, but we realized we were never meant to be together? Not like I'd done any planning of said wedding lately, anyway. I didn't have a dress, hadn't ordered invitations yet, hadn't reserved a church.