Chapter 4

Gin reached the end of the street first. Laughing, he crossed the road to lean onto the guardrail. Sherry reached him just as he managed to catch his breath.

'What a night!' she commented. 'This is the kind of mission I wouldn't mind being assigned to every now and then!'

'If only…' sighed Gin, still laughing. Peeking down the hill, he scrutinized the darkness.

''If only' what?' Sherry questioned with a grin. 'If only more missions were like this one, or if only I were assigned to go with you?'

Gin raised an eyebrow at her.

'It is impolite to ask such things,' he scolded her jokingly. 'It can turn conversations very awkward to…'

'Just answer straightaway!' she protested with a smirk. ''If only' which?'

Gin turned his face away from Sherry and stared into the distance. The lights of the city twinkled against the deep blue of the sky.

'What a night,' he whispered.

'A good one,' Sherry noted. 'Quite fun.'

''If only' both.' Out of the corner of the eye, he saw Sherry glance at him. 'If only more missions were this fun. But, most importantly, if only we could be together more often.'

Sherry's hand grabbed his and Gin felt blood rush up to his cheeks.

'If only,' she repeated. 'If only.'

'I wouldn't want you to come to most of my missions,' he confessed. 'They're all about blackmailing, and threatening, and… killing.' He gulped. 'It's not fun – not at all. Murder never is. But this, today, it has been… innocent?' He kept quiet for a moment. 'I have had fun. And it has been wonderful to be with you.'

'I've enjoyed it, too,' she agreed.

A high whistle pierced the air. Immediately afterwards, a beam of light darted up from the horizon and, reaching a good altitude, exploded with a loud crack.

'The fireworks!' Gin exclaimed. He climbed the guardrail trying to get better views of the colorful light. 'We've arrived just in time!' He looked at Sherry, who had followed his example and stood straight on the top of the metallic structure. Flashes of green and red lightened her face up for a delightfully long while.

The breeze carried a faint smell of gunpowder when the echo of the last firework died away. Gin and Sherry jumped back to the ground, the two virtually at once.

'It's been awesome,' she commented.

'A great way to end the night,' he added.

Sherry took a step closer to him.

'Actually…' she started. Her gaze dodged Gin's, 'it doesn't have to. There's no need to call it a day… yet.'

Guessing what she referred to, the boy grinned and moved closer to her.

'Do you want to try "that" thing?' he asked. 'You know, what those two were busy with back at the high school…'

The intensity of the blush that covered Sherry's cheeks could only be compared to that of the smile she made. She grabbed his hand and whispered, 'In my room'.

Gin nodded in approval and the two broke into a run.