Page 7 of Reckless Love

Chapter 3

Istared at my clothes for a long time. On the left were my “Dr. Brown” clothes. My sweaters, blazers, jeans, and comfy shirts. In the middle were my “Esme” clothes. The pencil skirts and blouses, high heels, and dresses. I loved this part of my closet. In many ways itwas the most “me” of any of it. On the right were my Rosalind Brown clothes. I hated those clothes but I needed them. My clothes represented the roles I needed to play and Rosalind’s were the ones I needed the most. Slipping back into my old life took an entire shift in my brain to complete.Usually.

“Not today,” I muttered, my hand moving from the conservative black cocktail dress I knewIshouldwear in order to draw as little attention as possible. But you see, I was tired of hiding. Tired of being wrong. So instead I selected a black strapless dress I knew Leo would love. I placed it in a garment bag and zipped it closed. The red heels and makeup went in my giant handbag.

“Ready for work?” Leo asked from the doorway.

For work I wore my favorite jeans, red flats,and a red sweater under my black blazer, and Leo seemed to be drinking up every inch. He was taking me to work today so he could pick me up on the way to my father’s party. It was my first time bringing him as my date and I was a little nervous.

Okay, there was nothing little about my amount of nervous.

“How would you feel about office sex before the party?” I twisted my fingerstogether because I knew he was going to say no. As much as sex was my go-to move for instant calm, Leo preferred to save the kink for later. And today...I was going to need the kink in the same way some women needed a hot bath and a glass of wine after a hard day.

“Love, you know I’m always in the mood for sex with you. Anytime, anywhere, but I don’t think you’ll want me ruining yourdress and makeup.” He sucked a kiss to my neck then whispered, “And trust me, I’d ruin them.”

I swayed toward him. “If you ruin them then we won’t have to go.”

He took my chin between his finger and thumb, gazing into my eyes until I was well and thoroughly hypnotized. “And lose a chance like this? No.”

Pretty much the only reason I ever showed up when my father called wasto exploit the opportunity for information. I asked Leo to come with me because I knew tonight I’d be able to put the pieces together. I couldfeelit. I also told him because I could feel how desperately I didn’t want to go. And not going, despite my instinct to flee, was not an option.

“But,” he murmured low and sexy, “I promise to fuck you any way you wish afterward. Deal?”

“Deal,”I grumbled. It wasn’t what I wanted but it would have to do.

Work went by in a whirlwind, mercifully. It was one of the things I loved about my job. Between my students and classes, the lab, and the research, I rarely had time to stop.

I was just finishing up work on a new interactive map for the website when Jeffry popped in. “Nowthatis cool. Show me how it works.”

To sayI was proud of my work was an understatement, but this project in particular got me really excited. Needless to say, I was happy to show it off. “Now that we have permission to use most of the data we’ve collected we’re launching a new website. People all over the world will be able to trace history geographically and through time. This section of the website is strictly educational. It’ll be greatfor students working on school projects or history buffs who enjoy learning.”

Jeffry ran his palms together. “And the other sections?”

“A partnership with the computer science department. They’ve created two games. One is a mystery. Players are given clues and they use the real data on the website to solve it. The other is a first person adventure game. There is a free version availableto everyone and a paid version with more levels and options. The hope is the paid version will fund the website while the free version gets us free word-of-mouth publicity.”

“Fucking genius.” Jeffry took my seat and began playing with the design. “Is there a beta version? I’d be more than happy to help test it.”

I was absolutely sure of that. “We’re working on details now. I’ll makesure you get invited to the beta when it launches.”

He gasped as he clicked through the adventure game and a three-dimensional recreation of an Egyptian pyramid appeared along with a map, inviting him inside. “This is incredible! It looks real!”

“That’s because it is real. Archaeologists have scanned these pyramids inside and out. Depending on where you are in time the game eithershows you the pyramids as they are now, or the recreated versions as they would have been. This is the real deal, we’re just putting it into a narrative that makes sense to more people.”

He sat back in the chair with his fingers interlaced behind his head. “This is the future of teaching history.”

That was the idea. In a perfect world this technology would be in classrooms. Whetherit worked remained to be seen. “It’s expensive and time consuming but this data needs to exist somewhere the public can access it.”

“They have access, Esme, they just don’t know they do. And even when they know they don’t care because it’sboring.This isn’t boring.”

“Storytelling is what makes us human. The ability to convey thoughts to another person, to see places we’ve neverbeen and experience feelings from events we’ve never experienced, is what makes us unique. We’ve been telling stories since the beginning of time. We work so hard to preserve those cave paintings and funeral rites, but if we don’t tell the story then we can’t relate. It’s why people love a big sweeping historical blockbuster. They have a hero they can root for, a villain they can hate, and a worldto lose themselves inside. Facts aren’t stories. Facts aren’t human. This,” I waved at the computer, “is my attempt at making facts resemble a story. You don’t just read information about pyramids or Pharaohs, you go inside, you become them.”

I had a dream that someday everyone would enjoy history and stop repeating it. It wouldn’t happen, but I was going to try anyway.

The alarmon my phone went off. “All right Jeffry, time to go. I’ve got to get dressed for a party.”

“Oh a party! Can I come?”

I looked at his bright green t-shirt that proclaimed, “This is my humerus shirt” with a picture of the arm bone beside it. “Um, I don’t think this is your kind of party. It’s for Leo’s work.” I didn’t mention it was a cocktail party at my father’s house because Jeffrydidn’t know I was related to the owner of the Renegades and I planned on keeping it that way.

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