Page 86 of Nova Academy

She sniffled. ‘Can we even have kids anymore, A? Won’t the nanites destroy that chance?’

I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t know how the nanites would react to a pregnancy, but I refused to think about it now. I wanted to pretend. To imagine a future with a loving husband and a round belly and little feet running through the house, echoing off the concrete walls.

No, not concrete. I would never live anywhere near concrete. I’d livein a tree, high up off the ground. With the Drakferns. I’d look out my window to see the rainbow of colours as they flew by, their feathers bright and beautiful.

Maybe I’d fly one day too.

‘Just imagine it, L. The life we could live, away from here. The freedom to choose. No experiments, no surgeries, and no pain. The sun on our faces whenever we pleased. We could see the ocean,’ I rambled on and on until her body relaxed into mine.

‘I think I want to sleep now, A.’

‘As long as you wake up, L.’

‘I will if you will,’ she replied, the phrase one we repeated to one another many times over the years.

‘I will if you will, L. Get some rest.’

When her eyes closed and her breaths evened out, I held her closer and watched over her while she slept, keeping her safe the best and only way I knew how.

???

My eyes snapped open before my internal alarm could wake me up. It was still dark, and I was in one of the single pull-out beds in Addy’s spare room. I hadn’t taken Bromm up on his offer to share a bed the past couple of nights, taking the cowardly route by letting two of the other pairs take turns in the larger beds.

Bromm had managed to snag the bed opposite mine, however, so when I sat up to find him already awake and watching me, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

'What are you doing up?’ I asked him in hushed tones so we wouldn’t wake the others.

'Couldn’t sleep,’ he said. ‘I was sorta hoping to have a snuggle buddy, but I didn’t get the chance,’ he said, giving me a pointed look.

I was unsure how to respond to that, so I didn’t.

‘You wanna shower first?’ he asked instead.

‘Yeah, may as well hop in now,’ I accepted the offer. We both knew I was going in first anyway.

‘I’ll just be here. Thinking of you. Naked and soapy. Soapy and naked.’

I huffed out a quiet laugh, unable to stop myself. ‘Okay, okay. I get it. Why don’t we go to the living room and we can talk and not wake anyone up?’

He pouted adorably. ‘So no soapy nudity?’

My lips pulled to one side in a smirk. ‘Not yet.’

He sighed dramatically but when he stood he followed me out, making sure all doors to the living room were firmly shut to ensure our privacy.

‘You said you were okay with me saying no,’ I started the conversation before he could.

He grimaced. ‘Arty, I wouldneverforce you to do something you weren’t comfortable with or didn’t want to do. But you also said my feelings were reciprocated, so I’m holding onto hope.’

‘Bromm…’ I began, but didn’t know what else there was to say. I wanted him. Bad. But I couldn’t have him. It was as simple as that.

‘No, listen. I will respect your wishes. You told me no and I’m not forcing you, but I need to get this off my chest. Whatever it is that’s holding you back, and whatever it is that you’re hiding – yes, I know you’re hiding something – I don’t care. You’re all I think about. Every night I replay your words in my head, the confirmation that this isn’t just one-sided. I remember the way you taste, and the feel of your body beneath mine. I also frequently fantasise about being a bad boy so you’ll punish me accordingly,’ he winked. ‘But most of all, I can’t seem to stop my feelings for you from growing. I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone else, and I don’t care if you’re hiding an extra arm attached to your abdomen or whatever it is you don’t want me to see. I just… will you give me a chance? To prove that I’m worth it, that you can trust me?’

I was speechless. No one had ever admitted anything close tothat to me before, let alone about me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to cry while I kissed him.

So I surged forward and did just that, damn the consequences.

My lips found his easily in the darkness, as if they were pulled together by magnets. They were as plump and soft as I remembered, and his salty-sweet flavour burst on my tongue when I used it to spread them. His own tangled with mine, smooth, strong, and delicious, but he didn’t fight me for dominance. No, this man knew his place and it was beneath me.

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