Page 90 of Ordinary Secrets

She nods eagerly. “Sure.”

Taking her face into my hands, I press my lips against hers. She tastes like mint gum and not like Arella at all. Well, she’s not Arella, so what did I expect?

Bailey’s not a terrible kisser. She’s just... different. I prefer the way Arella runs her fingers through my hair. And the way she lets out those soft breathy moans. And how her kisses alwaysgive me tingles that shoot down to my toes. The worst part is that Bailey doesn’t smell like lavender and springtime. She smells of vanilla and coconuts.Gross.

Feelings of desire rush through me, but they aren’t mine. I expand my powers to latch onto someone—anyone—else. Within seconds, it masks Bailey’s emotions from my head. I don’t want to want Bailey, and I especially don’t want her emotions to control how I feel.

Disgusted, I pull back and drop my arms to my sides.

“Wow,” Bailey says breathlessly.

At least one of us enjoyed it.

Without a word, I rush inside to go find my girl. Call me a dick for leaving Bailey like that, but I don’t care. I need Arella.

She’s not in the kitchen. She’s not in the living room either. My chest gets heavier with each step I take throughout the house without seeing her.Where is she?I need to hold her to feel like the world is right again, and it needs to happen within the next five seconds.

Oh, fuck.What the hell am I gonna do once I complete my mission? Will my world ever feel right if she’s not in it? Will I ever be able to kiss another woman without thinking of her? I know the answer, and it makes my lungs tight.

Maybe once I complete my mission, I can continue my relationship with her. I’ll just have to hide her from the zovernment and make sure that she never finds out about my powers. I could stop using them, couldn’t I? I’ll do anything if it means I can keep her.

Then again, how will I explain to Arella that we can never get married? The Supes monitor all marriage licenses to ensure that our Zordi laws are followed. Maybe I can forge marriage papers to make herthinkthey’re official.

I’ll also have to come up with an explanation as to why we can’t have children. Telling her that I’m of a different humanspecies with the inability to mate with her won’t go over well. I could tell her that I’m infertile or we could adopt. How hard can it be to forge adoption papers?

Then again, what would happen to Arella and our fake family if I’m caught and taken away? How long will I go to z-prison for? Actually, having a secret Ordinary family with forged papers is totally grounds for a death sentence.

My chest aches as I continue my frantic search for her. When I finally find her, it’s in an upstairs bedroom with Liz and Emmy. She’s stationed on an accent chair, about to say something, when I drop to my knees in front of her. Desperately, I clutch her face and press my lips against hers.

It takes her a second, but eventually, she eases into me and kisses me back. Our embrace is rough and intense. Still, it feels like coming home.

I slide my tongue into her mouth and bask in the familiar taste of her. The familiar scent of her. The familiar way she feels against me. The more we kiss, the more my anxiety flushes away.

Finally, after who knows how long, I pull back. We gasp for air as I press my forehead against hers and brace my arms on the chair.

When I open my eyes, her brown ones are looking back at me. That deep bliss and panic in my chest returns, rushing through me like a hurricane. It washes away the unease while also drenching me with pain.

I can’t live the rest of my life without this girl.

I can’t.

I won’t.

26

TREY

The next day,my mind is a clusterfuck. Kissing Bailey made me realize that I never want to kiss anyone but Arella—ever. Now I just have to figure out how to make that happen.

On my way to pick up my girl for dinner, a wave of nausea hits me. My gut feels like someone’s jabbing it with a wrench, so I drink the warm water from a half-empty plastic bottle that’s been stewing in my car for a week. It does nothing to ease the tornado in my stomach.

This better go away soon, because I’ve got special plans to take Arella back to Long Beach, where we had our first date. I’m hoping that since she’s more comfortable with me touching her now, she’ll actually dance with me this time. I’m also hoping that being around her will help me figure out a plan as to how I’m going to keep her.

I’m about ten blocks away from Arella’s apartment when my chest tightens like someone’s got a tight grip on my heart and they’re squeezing the life out of it. I white-knuckle the steering wheel as my lungs lose air. The dry-ass desert in my throat makes me cough, and I swear heavy sandbags have been dropped onto my chest and have made my lungs their home.

As my car pulls up to Arella’s place, I tell myself the pain will pass. I’m still coughing as I knock on her door. A faint sound comes from inside. I press my ear against the door, wishing I was an Eavesdropper with enhanced hearing like Jess. I’m not, so all I hear is... screaming?

I try to turn the doorknob. Locked. With the wave of a hand, I fix that, and the door flies open.

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