Chapter Fifteen. - O is for Opportunity
"Rise and shine, Cowboy."
I managed to briefly open my eyes but they closed of their own volition. I was exhausted. All the fighting and running on top of whatever the hell happened with my legacies– I needed more sleep.
But Six thought otherwise.
When I felt the covers being pulled off me and I reached out and grabbed a fistful of the comforter. But my fellow Garde used her telekinesis to loosen my grip and removed the covers completely. I started to fight back but then I stopped. It was too much effort. Besides – it's not like I would have a chance at beating Six.
Along with the covers she took the towel that I had been sleeping in as well. Leaving me stark naked and curled up in a ball, holding tightly to the pillow. Maybe she thought I would attempt to cover myself but she was wrong. I had no problem sleeping nude.
I yawned and buried my face into the pillow, closing my eyes. I could hear her walking around the room. Drawers opened and shut. The faucet in the bathroom ran briefly. The hairdryer came on shortly afterward. I think I nodded off at that point because the next thing I knew she jumped onto the bed, treating it like a trampoline as she bounced all around me. It was like trying to sleep through a major earthquake.
"Stop," I grumbled as I awoke.
But she didn't listen. She was jumping dangerously close to me. At times her legs would land on either side of my head and I knew it was just a matter of time before she 'accidentally' landed on me. Groggily, I forced myself to use my own telekinesis to knock her down before she fell on top of me. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, swinging my feet down toward the floor. Sitting on the side of the bed, I noticed that she was already dressed and ready to go. My clothes were hanging on the back of a chair a few feet away.
"What time is it?" I muttered as I sifted through my clothes trying to locate my boxers.
"It's almost five," she replied.
That meant I'd only had about three hours of sleep.
"In the morning."
"What?" I replied, only now comprehending that it was pitch black outside. I'd slept close to twelve hours – but it didn't feel that way at all.
"We need to go before the maids start their shift."
"Yeah. Okay." I was too tired to argue. I finished getting dressed and used the bathroom. Following behind Six, we went out the door, down the hallway and into the elevator. Before we hit the ground level Six took my hand and turned us invisible. We came out of the elevator and walked through the grand lobby, completely undetected.
Now that we'd done this a couple times I was starting to get used to being invisible, though I did accidentally walk up Six's heels twice.
Once we were past the valets and into the parking lot, she turned us visible again. Looking down the length of my arm I saw our entwined hands. Six kept hold of mine seemingly with no intention of letting go – as though it was totally normal for us to walk around holding hands.
Like we were a couple.
I was sober now and the images from last night, though unforgettable, were beginning to fill me with regret.
How could I do that to Sarah?
I detached myself from Six burying my hands deep in my pants pockets.
"You okay?" she asked, eyeing my hands – no doubt wondering if I was still unable to control my lumen.
"I'm good," I told her. "Just being careful."
She seemed to accept this answer and didn't say anything further. That was good because I wasn't sure I'd be able to effectively hold up to any sort of interrogation she would give right now. Through my headache, my mind was spinning with all sorts of questions. The most important of which was what the hell happened with my Legacies –and would it happen again?
I hadn't discussed it with Six but my theory was that it had something to do with my alcohol consumption last night. Although there was a slight bit of doubt in my mind as to the validity of that hypothesis. Six drank just as much as me – if not more – and she didn't seem to have the same reaction. I decided it was best not to compare myself to her. She was older and female and probably more experienced with that sort of thing.
Actually, she seemed more experienced with a lot of things…
But I had to stop thinking about those things.
My dick didn't agree and as ridiculous as it was – I felt the beginning of arousal between my legs. What the fuck was wrong with me?
"You sure you're alright?"
"I'm tired."
"I'll bet."
I didn't look at her when she said that but I could hear the flirty inflection in her reply. I imagined her cocky smile and sultry eyes.
Why was I thinking these things?
I was in love with Sarah Hart… wasn't I?
I used to think so. But now I was second guessing myself. How was it possible to be in love with Sarah when I practically had sex with Six? The only reason I didn't wasn't because of my high moral fiber - it was because my lumen burned the fucking wall!
Ugh. What the fuck! It made me cringe to think about it - that big scorch mark on the fancy wall paper. Wonder what the maids will think when they see that.
But back to the sex question…
If the Lorien love forever – then infidelity should be impossible – right? I mean how can you be in love with one person and want to fuck someone else? That was such a human characteristic. Henri even said that if I loved Sarah – that was it for me.
So, I asked myself again – Why did I let things go so far with Six? Why I kiss her? Why did I enjoy kissing her?
"You're very quiet," Six remarked. I could see the suspicious look on her face.
"I told you - I'm tired."
Her hand slid up my arm to my shoulder, where she amicably rubbed my shoulder blade. Pretending to dodge a puddle I moved to the side, out of her reach. Even with Sarah foremost in my thoughts, there was something about Six that dispelled any resistance I could muster.
A few steps later found myself back within her reach, letting her touch me again.
So much for will power.
I convinced myself that it wasn't cheating – as long as there was no kissing and I remained fully clothed.
Yes. That made perfect sense.
We were at the far side of the hotel's spacious parking lot when something caught Six's eye. "Over here," she changed course heading toward a cluster of cars. I stood beside her gazing at the prize before us. Even in the dark the canary yellow paint of the Corvette shone brightly.
"Have you ever stolen a car?" Six asked, a sly smile spreading across her lips.
"Oh hell yeah," I replied wanting to seem cool. I had to redeem myself after the fucking fiasco of last night. Besides, it wasn't as though I was lying. Sam and I did take his father's truck without permission – which technically was stealing.
"Let's go," she smiled at me.
I heard the distinct sound of locks popping open.
My stomach lurched as she opened the driver's side door. Taking the truck was one thing. Boosting a Corvette from the valet lot at a five star hotel was a bad, bad idea.
But the thing was…
There was a part of me that wanted to do it.
"Other side," I said stepping up beside her. "I'm driving."
She gave me a look, but backed up and went to the passenger side. I slid into the driver's seat. It was low, and after driving the truck it felt like I was sitting on the ground.
I started the engine with my mind, happily winning Six's approval - "So you have done this before."
I gave her a cocky smile. "You haven't seen anything yet." I'll admit, driving a sports car was something that I'd always dreamt about. Now that I had the opportunity – I planned on taking full advantage of it.
I reversed out of the parking space and threw the car into gear. I'd never driven a manual transmission before and the gears screeched as I tried to go forward. There was a rough jolt as the car bucked forward. Six nearly hit her face on the dashboard.
"Sorry," I muttered as I shifted the gears again. Beside me Six fastened her seatbelt.
"Really?" I looked at her in disbelief.
She shrugged.
"You ride your Ducati without a helmet and now you're concerned about safety," I snorted as I reached over and unbuckled her. "Trust me."
She shook her head sending her blonde hair swaying from side to side. "Alright," she agreed. "But you owe me one."
I was all too aware of the sexual implication of that comment.
"We'll discuss that later," I told her, wondering how I could possibly manage to keep my hands off her. Even now I caught myself trying to look down her shirt…Shit. I needed to get myself under control. Concentrating on the 'Vette I spun wheels leaving black skid marks on the asphalt as we tore through the lot. I took a corner too fast and we nearly flipped over. It took both of us using our telekinesis to get the wheels back on the ground.
I blew through a red light and got onto the interstate.
"You're fucking crazy!" Six screamed elatedly when the speedometer passed 120 mph.
Flying down the empty road, adrenalin pulsed through my veins. Music blared through the custom sound system. Six and I bobbed our heads with the beat.
The open highway before us was nearly empty. We passed a tractor trailer here and there but mostly we were alone, speeding through the wee hours of the morning. My mind wandered into dangerous territory.
For a split second I saw it.
The future.
Our future…
Six and I together. Living life on the road. Battling for Lorien. Dusting Mogs every chance we got.
As perfect as I imagined us – there was something standing in the way of that fantasy.
Sarah Hart.
In the seat beside me, it should be Sarah riding shot gun. It should have been Sarah in the hotel room with me.
What the hell was I going to do?
"OH FUCK!" Six cried loudly, seconds too late.
The police cruiser had already caught me on radar and was pulling out from the shoulder. The siren blared as the red lights flashed in the distance.
"FUCK!" I slammed my hands on the steering wheel as I started to pull over onto the shoulder.
"What are you doing!" Six yelled at me.
What did she think I was doing? I wasn't about to get into a high speed car chase that would probably end up on the local news.
"Don't slow down!"
My foot sunk to the floor and she used her telekinesis to keep us moving.
"We can't outrun 'em!" I yelled back taking my foot off the pedal – which had no effect as Six kept the pedal to the floor.
"He's far enough behind us," Six said pressing her hands against the dashboard. "I've never done this before but I'm going to try something."
"That sounds reassuring." I could see the red lights closing in on us.
"Get off at the next exit – but don't slow down."
How the fuck was I supposed to do that?
We were a half mile to the exit. What if there was traffic light at the end of the ramp? Did she expect me to just go through it? What if I hit someone? No. I had to stop.
My foot hit the brake.
The tires squealed and the car jolted again.
"What the fuck!" Six shouted. "I'm trying to concentrate here."
"What exactly are you trying…?"
I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence because she'd managed to turn both of us and the entire Corvette invisible.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" I screamed as I lost control of the vehicle.
The car vibrated as I hit the grooves on the side of the shoulder. I heard the scrape as the passenger side made contact with the guardrail.
Note to self: It's fucking impossible to drive a fucking invisible car.
Instinctively, my telekinesis activated and I managed to get on the exit ramp. But I over-corrected to get off the shoulder. Now we were headed into a ditch on the other side of the road still going close to ninety miles an hour. The underside of the 'Vette took a beating as the car bottomed out bringing us to a dead stop.
I was thrown forward and hit my face hard against something. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth and a throbbing pain ripped across my temple.
The irony of dying in a car accident as opposed to at the hands of the Mogs was not lost as I sat there wiping something wet from under my nose. Even though I couldn't see what it was – I was sure it was blood.
"Keep going!" Six screamed over the sound of the music.
The car had stalled and now that it was transparent – I had no fucking idea how to get it started again. I closed my eyes and imagined the engine. I focused hard and it sputtered to life. Somehow I managed to get us back onto the street where we saw the sparks of the rims as we rode along the paved road. Obviously we blew a couple tires along the way.
I still couldn't see myself or Six or the car.
But I did see the red lights of the police cruiser.
Heading in the opposite direction.
"In there," Six instructed. "Behind that building."
Limping the Corvette across the road and in the direction of the large stone structure. I noticed that parts of me and the car's interior were starting to become visible again. It was a strange, blotchy world for several seconds before everything was back to normal. I parked on the far side of a series of dumpsters so the car wouldn't be seen. Then I cut the engine leaving only the silence of the sunrise around us.
Beside me, Six was sunken back into the seat. Her hair was wet with sweat and perspiration ran down her face.
"I did it," she said softly, her head tilting my way.
I nodded. She certainly did. Good thing she was taking full responsibility for totaling the sports car.
"I've never been able to turn anything this big invisible," she continued smiling proudly. "And for so long. That had to be at least five minutes – right?"
"Is that a fucking joke?" I looked at her. "We just wrecked someone's car and nearly got ourselves killed."
"Killed?" she laughed. "I think you may be overreacting."
"Overreacting!" I yelled. I shoved my blood-smeared hand in her face. "This is blood!"
"Looks like my tiger turned into a little kitten, aye." She reached over and ran her fingers down my cheek and across my swollen lip. "The good news is – it's not fatal," she paused to look into my eyes. "But to be on the safe side, I should give you a complete physical."
My body reacted to her words. Pumping blood to places I didn't want it to.
Sarah.
Sarah.
Sarah.
Six scooted closer to the center of the car, leaning into me expectantly. Her hand slid across my thigh. I wanted this – but at the same time – I felt guilty.
Sarah was my girlfriend.
I told her I would love her forever.
With her mind, Six popped open the button on my jeans.
"I…I…I can't," I managed to stutter yanking on the door handle and getting out of the car as fast as I could.
Shit.
What the fuck was I going to do?