I sent Reese a quick message, letting him know that Lana had stopped by and insisted we go out. I turned the dial on my tub, waiting for the water to fill while I watched my analog screen for his message.
Finally, it came: Understand. Some other time.
My heart ached. I hated that I couldn’t give him a normal night while being a normal couple. But the truth was, we weren’t. And for now, we had to keep hidden—our relationship as well as who we were. We weren’t supposed to exist. And as far as Haven was concerned, we weren’t supposed to date, either.
Chapter Twelve
LANA SLIPPED HER COMMUNICATOR into her bag. “Ready?” she asked. She picked up her leather satchel and draped it across her chest, then adjusted her mini-corset.
“Yup.” I finished applying my kohl liner and fluffed my dark hair around my shoulders. “How are we getting to Cogs? Steam trolley?”
Her reflection in the mirror gawked at me. “No. The guys are on their way. Figured you knew that.” Her lips quirked into a side-grin.
“The guys? Like Jace and Nick?” I turned to face her.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t they come? We always go to Cogs together.” She waved her hand in front of my face. “Man, Dez, did you bump your head during the change? You know Jace wigs if we go anywhere alone. Especially now with the Narcos in town. He’d freak if you went there without protection.”
“You mean he’d freak if you went there without protection,” I corrected her.
She huffed. “Yeah, whatever.” She shook her head. “Come on. Nick just sent a data message. They’ll be here soon.”
I grabbed my pouch, remembering the last time I’d used Lana’s bag to hold my makeup and forgetting it there. Not that I’d have to cover a mark tonight, though. The thought brought heat to my cheeks as I remembered Jace’s lips on my neck. I shook the thought away. So much had changed since that night.
“Bye, girls. Have a fun time,” my mom called out as I opened the front door.
“Thanks, Mom.” I closed the thick mahogany door behind us just as Nick and Jace hovered up to my walkway.
“You’re mom’s different,” Lana said. “She’s not telling us a million ways we could die tonight.”
“Yeah, I guess the change changed her, too.” I smiled to myself.
I caught Jace’s brilliant blue eyes as we walked up to the levibikes. It was the first time I wasn’t wearing eye lenses around him. My heart beat widely as he looked into them, but he only smiled.
“Hey, ready?” he asked, taking my hand and helping me onto the back of the seat. He held my hand a moment longer after I was seated. I’d held his hand many times in that same action, so why did this time feel different?
“Yeah.” I shrugged the weird feeling off, assuring myself it was probably the change. He had his full power now. Maybe a few things were different because of that. He lowered his goggles over his eyes, and I noticed his Kythan ink for the first time. “That’s a pretty cool tatt you got there.”
He laughed. “Yours is pretty hot, too.”
My eyes enlarged, shocked. But words failed me as we sped off. Jace seemed more laid back. Maybe the change was good for him. Maybe we could even go to Cogs and have a fun time without getting violent with the Narcos. I laughed silently to myself. This I have to see.
As we pulled into Cogs, I looked around, searching for Narcos. I knew there had to be some here tonight. If Lana was right, and all the Academy kids were partying, that meant them, too.
I scooted off the seat, and Lana hooked her arm through mine. “I can’t wait to see Devon. It feels like forever since I last saw him.”
“I didn’t know you guys were getting serious,” I said, scoping out the entrance. A line of waiting patrons wrapped around the building. Devon hadn’t opened the doors yet.
“Pfft,” Lana blew through her lips. “Serious? Me? He’s just smoking hot. I’ll have a new fling going on at the Academy by this time next week.”
I nodded, but I knew she was full of it. I’d never seen Lana interested in one guy for this many consecutive months.
Lana entered something into her communicator, then tugged on Nick’s arm. “Hey, Devon said to go around to the side entrance. He’ll open it for us.”
We started toward the side of the building, passing by a group of Narcos. I checked out Jace’s reaction. He was stoic. I breathed a sigh of relief. “So, what’s the mission tonight?” I asked, gauging his response. “Diversion tactic?”
He grinned. “How about Mission Have a Good Time?” My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
As we entered the club, I felt at home. I’d spent so much time at Cogs since we started training, and I realized how much I’d missed it this past week. I smiled as Lana went straight for Devon, wrapping her arms around him. Devon beamed, his dimples deepening as a warm smile slid across his face. This wasn’t just another infatuated guy—he truly cared about her. My heart ached. As happy as I was for my friend, I couldn’t help envying her. She could be with the guy she cared about—no complications.