Page 8 of Sweet Dreams

But then, I shifted my hips slightly, moving her from her seat upon my lower belly. With her, it wouldn’t matter if we didn’t touch.

I already craved her every second of the day. It was dangerous to get so close. And this…this was far too close.

But yet, still, I didn’t move. I was transfixed now, as she laughed at my little joke. I was never funny. This surely was a fluke, but I was going to soak up every moment of it.

“My name is Zaldi.”

Her head cocked, deep brown hair brushing over her cheekbones as she studied me. After a moment, her eyes narrowed. “You’re new here, and yet, you seem so familiar.”

“How do you know I’m new here?”

“Because, I’m a townie and, even if I’ve been away for a while, I can tell when someone is new here. There’s a vibe, I swear.”

“And the woman who almost ran you over? You know her?”

“Yes, I’m afraid this is not her first near-miss with vehicular manslaughter.”

I frowned at her, then realized that she was still perched over me. “She needs to be talked to.” With a grunt, I lifted her body off of mine and shifted her to the side. Rising to a squat, I clambered up and reached for her arm. Gripping her jacketed elbow, I hauled her up beside me.

To her credit, she moved easily with me, leaning down to brush the dust off her clothes after standing.

Then, her eyes, bright and curious, were back on mine. And I panicked, just for a moment. Would she recognize me? Would my glamor slip? Traum had said before that his own sometimes flipped around Bailey because she saw him for what he was.

But, this woman, who I knew so intimately, didn’t blink.

While I should be glad, something deep in my gut twisted.

I shook myself free of it a moment later. “My name is Lulu.” With a smile, she held out one hand, the tips of each nail delicately painted. I stared down at her hand, realizing for the first time that I wasn’t ready to touch her. Because the evil, dark part of my heart still wanted me to have a very different kind of effect on her.

Because in her dreams. She’d begged for me. She’d talked to me. We bonded.

And, it didn’t matter to my stupid demonic heart, I wanted that same closeness here too, in the living world.

“Oh, uh. Okay.” Lulu slowly dropped her hand, awkwardness invading the space between us instantly.

“Sorry, I don’t like to touch people.”

The awkwardness only rose to be thicker, more tense. I needed to fix this or back off. I could almost feel her growing unease.

“I promise it’s not you,” I rushed on. “I’m just…oh God, I’m not good at this.”

To my surprise, she laughed now, the sweet sound registering in my mind and immediately taking root. “It’s okay. Really. I’m not offended. At least this time. Maybe next time we can work up to a handshake. Especially, since I greeted you by tackling you.”

I couldn’t stop the stupid smile on my face. “I think it might have been me who tackled you. And, next time?”

White teeth bit into that soft lower lip that I had fantasized about so many times. But now, I waited, my heart pounding in my chest. After a moment, she picked up a pen that had fallen to the sidewalk during my rescue and slipped it into her pocket. When she met my eyes again, there was a soft smile on her mouth.

“Even if my newbie radar was off before, that definitely sealed your identification.” She looked over her shoulder the way she’d been going. And, then, another quick glance as she started to back away from me. “This is Salus Glen, Zaldi. It’d be impossible to not see me around.”

With that, Lulu raised her hand and gave me a soft fluttering wave which I returned.

And then, smooth as butter, she swiveled and began to walk back down the sidewalk towards main street.

And I tried not to stare. I tried to bring my eyes to my legs, to dust off the imaginary dirt as she had. But, I couldn’t help but watch as she made her way away from me.

That was until a sharp poke in my ribs nearly sent me flying into an unassuming shrub. “Holy Gods,” I twisted away from the pain, turning to stare at my new sister. “Bailey, what the fuck?”

I rubbed at the spot, unable to stop myself from checking to see if Lulu had heard the commotion. She hadn’t.