Gifted by H. A. Swain

Author:H. A. Swain
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250086853
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

ZIMRI

Brie’s POD is always a wreck, which is one of the reasons I love to come here. The retractable furniture is usually out: table and benches and kitchen counters covered with dishes; sleeping unit and couch both rolled out from the walls so there’s only a narrow space to walk. And since she and her mother, Elena, have been on opposite shifts for the past week, the place is messier than usual. Laundry, shoes, shopping bags, and empty food containers cover nearly every surface.

I stand in the gap between the kitchen area and main living area, acting out today’s warehouse drama for Brie who lies in the nest of covers on the bed. “Then he’s all like, ‘You’re staying and working late!’” I pretend Jude is hustling me to the side against the flow of bodies.

“He’s such an enema!” she squeals.

“I know, right?” I’m so relieved to see her and tell her everything that I nearly throw myself in her lap. “Just a few days ago he was asking me to do him a favor, then he acts like that!”

“What favor?” she asks.

“Oh my god, he picked me up in his stupid little cart and he was like…” I flop down on the bed beside her and grab her thigh, just like he did to me, then I get my face way too close to hers and say in a deep grumbly voice like his, “You know we make a great team.”

“Ew, gross! What kind of team?” Brie asks. “Beach volleyball? Tennis doubles? Two-man bobsled?” she jokes and we laugh. “For real, though.” She rolls to her side and props her head up on her elbow. Her brown curls are especially wild today and her freckles are out since she got some sun. “What did he mean about being a team?”

“He thinks there’s a mole from Corp X and wants me to keep an eye on him,” I explain.

“Who is it?” she asks, leaning forward, eager for more details. She has the same eyes as Elena, dark brown with flecks of gold that match her warm skin.

“A guy named Aimery,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant, which is hard when his face flashes in my mind, grinning at me with those perfectly straight white teeth while running his hand through his mat of dark hair that has grown unruly over the past few days, as if he hasn’t showered.

“Do you think he has a thing for you?” Brie asks.

“Who, the new guy?” My palms get sweaty and blood rushes into my cheeks as I think of him by the river tonight. What was he doing there? And that strange glove on his hand, like the one Tati described seeing in the City …

“No,” says Brie. “Jude. Because of the way he grabbed you and what he said. Hey, wait a sec.” She sits up and examines my face. “You’re blushing. Are you … do you…?” She flings herself away from me then whispers, “Do you have a thing for him?”

“For Jude?” I squeal.

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