But if I stacked the numerical order and isolated the j—
“GiGi?”
“Huh?”
David turned onto the highway. “You’re on a date, remember? At least pretend you’re having fun.”
“I’m sorry. I am having fun.” I was on a date with the greatest guy in the world, and he didn’t think I was having fun. I sucked at this.
He reached across the cab and took my hand. “Tell me what’s bothering you so we can fix it and have a good time tonight.”
“Who says something’s bothering me?”
David squeezed my fingers. “I’m waiting.”
“You know me too well,” I grumbled. “Lip gloss or eteus code. Take your pick.”
“Let’s go for lip gloss.”
I held up the tube. “Do you want me to put more on or leave it off?”
“The lip gloss is pretty if you’re not going to be kissing someone. But I intend to kiss you at least a billion times tonight. My vote is that you leave it off.”
“A billion?”
He caressed his thumb along my hand and smiled. “Possibly a trillion. Good thing you’re a genius. Not many girls can count to a trillion.”
We both laughed, and the eteus code and lip gloss issues effectively faded away. That was one thing I liked about David. He knew the perfect things to say to lighten a moment.
Twenty fantastic, conversational minutes later, we pulled into the Boardwalk’s packed parking lot. The Boardwalk stretched three miles along San Belden, California’s coast. Amusement rides, food, dancing, Roller-Blading—you name it, the place had it. It never closed down.
David cut the lights and engine. “Don’t you dare open that door.”
I held my hands up.
He came around and opened it—very gentleman-like—and I climbed out. Closing the door, he pinned me against the truck and rained kisses over my forehead, my eyes, cheeks, lips, chin, and ears. He moved to my neck and nibbled a path down one side and up the other.
Pressing a kiss to my nose, he stepped back. “I hope you were counting because that covered a big chunk of the trillion.”
“Thirty-six,” I breathed.
He looked at me. “You
did
count?”
“Yes. Wasn’t I supposed to?”
David laughed and took my hand. “Come on.”
We wound our way through the sea of vehicles until we stood on the Boardwalk’s edge. My stomach grumbled at the smell of fried food.
He gazed right and then left. “Where do you want to start?”
“Food.” I hadn’t eaten since this morning. “Can we get a hot dog?” Something about the carnival atmosphere made me want one.
“You can have anything you want.”
We joined the crowd moving up and down the Boardwalk. Men, women, couples, families, and others our age. Black, white, Hispanic, Asian. Fat, skinny, short, tall. Pierced, tattooed, or plain.
Unique people packed the place. I’d never seen anything like it.
Latin music poured from a flashing nightclub. I glanced in the open doors as we passed. Bodies gyrated to the pulsing sound.
David led me through the crowd over to a hot-dog stand. “How do you want yours?”
“Relish.” I normally ordered onions, too. But with the trillion kisses . . .
We took our hot dogs to a vacant bench. With the beach and ocean at our backs, we ate, watching the crowd shuffle by.
There was something meditative about people-watching. Hearing them talk, seeing them laugh, observing their body language. TL taught a whole class on it back at the ranch. It was easy to see who felt happy, who was sad, who had hidden secrets.
“Hiii, Daaavid,” two girls flirted, coming toward us.
I recognized them from the university. Their perfection reminded me of all those girls who used to make fun of me back in Iowa, before I joined the Specialists.
They gave me a polite, fake smile. I shoved the last bite of hot dog in my mouth, and relish dripped onto my blue sweater.
I stared at the green clump and oddly enough didn’t feel embarrassed. I felt relieved, glad to get it over with. I knew my klutziness would come out at some point.
One of them giggled. That would’ve intimidated me at one time, made me feel even more awkward. Now it only fueled my self-worth. I mean, really, who cared if I dropped relish? No one was perfect.
Using my napkin, I wiped up the green clump.
“All done?” David asked.
I nodded.
Picking up my garbage, he threw our trash in the can beside the bench. “You ladies have fun tonight.” He took my hand. “Let’s go.”
As we walked through the crowd, I glanced over my shoulder back at the two perfect girls. With matching haughtiness, they stared at our backs.
I smiled, kinda slow and la-dee-da like.
He’s my date and not yours.
Rotten of me, but I’d never done that before.
Glancing over to the Ferris wheel, I skidded to a stop as Chapling and the code we’d been tinkering with popped into my brain. “Wait, I have to write this down.”
“What is it?” David asked with a grin.
I ripped the notepad and pencil from my back pocket, flipped through pages and pages of code until I found my spot, and began scribbling.
“And that’ll circle back around to . . .” I mumbled and continued jotting. “But then if I go this route . . .” Feverishly, I wrote code before I lost any of it. “And then Chapling won’t agree so I’ll have to do this. . . .” On and on I scripted until I proved every single block.
There. Holding the pad away, I studied what I’d done. Chapling was going to love this.
I jerked my eyes up. David had moved us off the Boardwalk over to the beach. I hadn’t even realized we’d moved. “How long have I—”
“Ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes? I’m so sorry. I saw the Ferris wheel, and it reminded me . . .” I closed my eyes and groaned. I was
such
a geek.
David tapped my forehead. “I think smart chicks are cool.”
He’d said the same thing to me twice before. I opened my eyes. Behind him the Ferris wheel slowly rotated, illuminating the night sky.
A moist breeze blew in from the ocean, and I shivered.
“You’re adorable.” Wrapping his arms around me, he gave me a tender kiss. “That’s thirty-seven.”
I smiled. “Wanna ride the Ferris wheel?”
“Definitely.”
And we did. We spent hours weaving our way up and down the Boardwalk. We rode rides, played games, ate cotton candy. David won me a tiny stuffed giraffe at a coin toss, and we had our picture taken in a photo booth. It was the best night of my life.
He linked fingers with me as he led me from the Boardwalk through the parking lot back to the truck. In thirty minutes it would be midnight.
“Yo, David,” a group of guys called.
He waved. I recognized them from the university.
“A couple of those guys are in my physics study group.” David brought our hands to his mouth and kissed the back of mine. “They’re so jealous right now.”
“Jealous?”
“Because I’m with the tall, hot, smart chick from the ranch.”
“Tall, hot, smart chick?”
“That’s what they call you.”
Nobody had ever called me a tall, hot, smart chick. “What do
you
call me?”
We reached the truck. David leaned back against it and pulled me into his arms. “My girlfriend.”
My heart pitter-pattered. He’d never actually called me that before. “Girlfriend?”
He squeezed me. “You don’t mind do you?”
I looked into his eyes and smiled. “Umm—”
Bzzzzbzzzzbzzzz.
[2]
bzzzbzzzbzzz.
David and I pulled apart. We both glanced down at our cell phones clipped to our jeans.
* * *. TL’s code to return to home base. ASAP.
David texted TL that we’d be there as quickly as possible.
I smiled a little to hide my disappointment. Sure our date was almost over, but TL’s text had cut it a little short. I’d actually been enjoying myself tonight and had almost forgotten my other world. Not that I didn’t like working for the Specialists, but I never really got a taste of what it was like to be a normal teenager. I felt like my life was always in mission mode.
David took my hand, obviously picking up on my bummed-out mood. “At least we just about made it through the whole date.”
I nodded.
David opened the passenger door. “This is our life, GiGi. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I know.” I climbed inside the truck. There wasn’t anything else
to
say. This
was
our life.
Closing my door, David circled around to his side and hopped in. “As much as it sometimes annoys me, I wouldn’t swap it for anything in the world. It’s a privilege to work for the Specialists. And I’m glad I can share it with you.”
I nodded, softening a little at his last statement. David always came across level-headed about this secret life we lived. I didn’t know how he did it. He willingly accepted whatever happened. Never once had I seen him not be positive, not be the voice of reason. Never once had I heard him say a negative thing or express discontent.
But then he’d lived on the ranch his whole life. He didn’t know anything other than this private world.
He leaned over and kissed me, caressing the back of his fingers down my cheek. “I want you to answer my question before we leave.”
“What question?”
His eyes did that sexy crinkle thing. “You don’t mind if I call you my girlfriend, do you?”
I didn’t even try to hide the huge grin that crept onto my cheeks. “I don’t mind at all.”
David laughed and started the truck’s engine. Any lingering melancholy drifted away as we pulled away from the Boardwalk.
thirty minutes later, we entered the underground conference room and closed the door behind us. I wondered if TL held meetings at such weird hours as part of our training. I’d been to unexpected meetings at five in the morning, three in the afternoon, and midnight.