Perfection

by Melissa Koberlein

  As if reading her mind, Mazy shook her head, her lengthening blond bob swinging across her shoulders. “No, Iris, I don’t have a thing for Gage anymore. We’re just friends.”

  “Oh. You talk about it a lot. In the past three days, you’ve mentioned him six times.”

  “Six? Really?” Mazy pursed her lips. “Huh.”

  “It makes me…uncomfortable.” Iris clenched her jaw and smoothed the fabric of her dress on her thighs to distract herself from the unexplained heat flushing through her body. She glanced up at Mazy, who appeared to be deep in thought. She was attractive and had great taste in fashion. Iris groaned loudly, fighting the urge to shove her out the window.

  “OMG.” Evie finally looked up, eyebrows raised. “You’re jealous. Sloan, are you hearing this?”

  Sloan wound her hand around her long, brown hair and twisted it into a knot. “Sure am. Sometimes a little competition is just what you need.”

  “Guys, stop. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Mazy looked at Iris. “I’m sorry. Our friendship is important to me. I’ll be better about not bringing up my past with Gage.”

  “Thank you,” Iris said. “I—” Her phone dinged, and she pulled it out.

  GAGE: Our date ended too quickly. Miss you already.

  Iris smiled down at her phone.

  “Oohh, is that from Gage?” Sloan asked.

  Iris nodded. “He said he misses me already.” She typed her reply: I miss you too.

  “Hey, Evie, are you expecting Adam?” Mazy said, looking out the window.

  “No, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t show up when he feels like it,” she said getting up to join her at the window.

  Mazy pointed. “Look over there by the evergreen. It looks like a shadow of a person.”

  Evie pressed closer to the window. “It does.”

  Sloan joined them, her head bobbing back and forth to get a better view. “Where?”

  “There,” Mazy said.

  “Oh, I see. Who do you think it is?” Sloan asked.

  Iris was only half-recording what they girls were saying at the window. Her attention was on the three little bubbles in her chat box with Gage, her heart aflutter. Their kiss on the porch still had her insides warm.

  Evie opened the window and leaned out. She whisper-shouted, “Hey, who’s out there? The sheriff lives here.”

  “Oh my God, it’s Gage,” Sloan said, turning toward Iris.

  “Where?” Iris dropped her phone and plowed into the girls crowding around the window. But she saw him before the others could answer her question. Her heart jumped into her throat. He’d come back.

  He waved up at them.

  “What should I do?” Iris asked. Her heart pounded in her ears, and all the hairs on her arms stood on end in anticipation.

  Before the other girls could answer, Sloan waved him to climb up.

  “Sloan!” Evie said. “My dad will kill him. Seriously.”

  But it was already too late. Gage climbed onto the roof and crouched down by the window. “Hey, girls.”

  Iris’s phone dinged on the bed at the same time she realized that this was not Gage. She backed up, afraid her own eyes might not be processing properly. She picked up her phone and looked at it.

  GAGE: Just got home. See you tomorrow?

  Before Iris could open her mouth to tell the girls that this wasn’t Gage, Steel grabbed an unsuspecting Mazy and pulled her out onto the roof. Everything after that happened in slow motion as Iris calculated her options. Evie and Sloan leaned out the window looking for Mazy.

  Iris sprang into action. She grabbed the girls by the shoulder and split them like data sets in launching herself out onto the roof. Steel had Mazy in front of him, his arm firmly placed across her chest, his hand on her shoulder. Mazy looked confused and terrified all at once.

  “Let her go, Steel.” Iris narrowed her eyes.

  As soon as his name left her lips, recognition registered on Mazy’s face, and she pried at his arm. A muffled, “Let me go,” left her lips as Steel covered her mouth with his other hand.

  He laughed. “Oh, you’re no fun, Iris. Can’t I come to the slumber party?” He leaned down and nuzzled Mazy’s hair. “Have you girls started washing each others’ hair yet?” He drew in his bottom lip. “I call next.”

  Enough. She didn’t have her internal weapons any longer, but she could kick his ass with ease. And he knew it too. She crouched, ready to spring into action.

  “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that,” he said, glancing around. “Another time?”

  She launched at him, predicting accurately that he’d shield himself with Mazy. She grabbed Mazy before she could fall and roll off the roof.

  Steel ran to the edge of the roof and jumped.

  Iris turned to Mazy. “You okay?”

  Mazy nodded, her eyes welling with tears. “I think so.”

  Iris nodded for her to go back inside. Instead of following, she vaulted herself off the roof to pursue Steel.

  He headed for the tree line, his silhouette visible thanks to a full moon. She reached him before he found cover and tackled him to the ground. Quickly, she flipped him over and straddled him, pinning both his wrists to the ground.

  His instinct to fight waned under her touch almost immediately. He smiled and wiggled his hips. “I remember this.”

  Files from her past flashed before her eyes. Her body went rigid. How dare he? She tilted her head back and struck him in the face with her own.

  “Yeow!” he cried out as blood poured from his fractured nose. “Damn, I thought you were supposed to be more human-like?”

  “I am.” She rose and towered over him. “I believe that’s the proper response for your behavior.”

  “Damn, did you have to break it?” Steel rolled back and forth on the ground, wincing.

  “No,” she said, a shadow of a smirk creeping up on her lips.

  Shaking his head, he got to his feet. He pulled his black T-shirt over his head, wadded it up, and held it to his bleeding nose. Iris couldn’t help but stare at his chest. A menacing snake tattoo engulfed his right pectoralis muscle and stretched from shoulder to abs.

  Steel glanced down at his chest and smiled. “Want to touch it?”

  “No.” She crossed her arms and focused back on his face. She’d followed him for a reason. “I told you to leave my friends alone.”

  “Oh, come on. You can’t blame me for that. I happened to be in the neighborhood, and the girls invited me up.” Steel leaned closer, his eyebrow arched menacingly. “I think Mazy kinda likes me.”

  “You’re delusional. And to think, I was worried that I’d have trouble fitting in with humans.”

  “Don’t be jealous. You’ll always be my first love.” He reached to touch her face, but she swatted his hand away.

  “Knock it off, or I’ll break something else.”

  “Fine. Be a bitch. We through here?”

  Iris narrowed her eyes at him. “For the last time, leave my friends alone.”

  Instead of answering, Steel waved at her and backed away into the trees.

  She looked down at her dress and groaned. She should have calculated a better way to subdue him. And why hadn’t she taken her dress off the moment she went upstairs? Ugh. She would have to recalibrate her special skill set to mind her fashion sense. Blood on lace was not a good look.

  14

  Glitch

  Gage

  Gage perched on a stool at Jack’s snack bar and watched soft pretzels rotate on metal hooks while Adam and Derrick battled it out on pinball. He’d had a night without dreams. Considering the terrible ones he’d been having lately, it was a refreshing change. He had a pretty good idea about why his mind had granted him a reprieve. His thoughts drifted to the interrupted kiss with Iris the night before. She was meeting him here soon. He drew in a ragged breath as his stomach did somersaults.

  “So, you and Iris, I hear?” Daisy, who’d chosen to color her hair blue this week, set a drink in front of h
im.

  “Yeah. We went out last night.”

  “That’s awesome.” She pursed her lips. “I’ll assume your granddad wasn’t aware?”

  “Nope.” He swallowed hard. There was that. His granddad wouldn’t be happy that he liked Iris. He’d likely forbid it and try to manipulate him into not seeing her.

  “Good luck with that.” She looked behind him and grinned. “She’s here.”

  Gage turned. Iris looked beautiful, but she always did. She was wearing a soft pink sweater. Evie was with her. He hopped off his stool and walked over to them as “Pretty in Pink” started on the jukebox. He smirked. Adam.

  Heat rose on his cheeks. She had the sexiest mouth. The urge to ask her to go someplace private and continue what they started last night was palpable. But he wasn’t an asshole so instead he settled for, “Hey.”

  Before Iris could answer, Evie huffed. “That asshat of a brother of yours came to my house last night and attacked Mazy.”

  Her words punched him in the gut. “He did what?”

  “He climbed up to my window on the second floor and pulled Mazy out onto the roof. She could have fallen. Thank God Iris was there to take care of him.”

  “Is she okay?”

  Iris frowned at him as if working something out in her mind. She touched his forearm. “She’s fine. I helped her back inside.”

  “Oh, good.” He let out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck. It was one thing for Steel to come after him, but his friends? And a girl as nice as Mazy? He’d known her for most of his life. Even if it didn’t feel anything romantic for her, she was still important to him.

  “Well, you should be thanking your girlfriend. She went after him,” Evie said, crossing her arms.

  Girlfriend? He blinked and shook his head. Oh. She means Iris. “You shouldn’t have done that. You saw what he did to Coach Smith. He’s dangerous.”

  Iris took a step forward and pressed her hands on his chest, forcing him to focus on her. “So am I. I warned him to stay away from all of you.” She arched an eyebrow. “I hope he listens.”

  Yes, you’re definitely dangerous and on more than one account. He looked down at her hands, one warm against the beating of his heart. She was so calm. Like she had no idea of the danger she had been in. His mind drifted back to the game and the incident with Coach. Then he shifted to the dream that plagued him nightly—men bleeding from their eyes, noses, and mouths. That could have been her. It could have been any of them. His heart clenched, and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

  “I’ll make sure he listens,” he said, closing his eyes.

  Iris flinched but eased against him and murmured against his shoulder, “I’m okay.”

  “I know, and I’m glad.” He let her go and breathed deeply. “So, what happened after you told him to stay away?”

  “Was that before or after you broke his nose?” Evie asked.

  Gage’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

  “It was after I broke his nose. He didn’t respond when I asked him to stay away from everyone, so time will tell if he’s going to or not.” Iris crossed her arms and looked away. “He didn’t the first time.”

  “First time?” he asked.

  Iris opened and closed her mouth as if thinking better of what she was about to say. She did tend to say whatever her head computed. “Yeah. He must have seen me working at Dalia’s. He tried to speak to me there.”

  Gage narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like this, not one bit. Steel was still connected to Bio-Core, and who knew what he could do. “What did he say?”

  Iris glanced down at her feet. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  Before he could reply, Evie said, “Well, I, for one, am happy you’re around and staying with me.” She spotted Adam who was still playing pinball and smiled. “Have fun.”

  After she left, Gage put his arm around Iris. “You sure you’re okay?”

  She nodded and smiled. “I’m more than okay when I’m with you.”

  Her smile melted away his concerns. For now. He’d talk to his granddad about it. Not that there was much he could do where Steel was concerned, but it was worth a conversation. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

  “Good plan.” She leaned into him, resting her head against the crook of his neck.

  After what seemed like only a few minutes of walking, Gage realized they’d come to the end of Main Street. Time stood still when he was with her. They chatted about school, Adam’s game, and whether or not Gage would give her another shot with a basketball. She smiled and laughed more freely than she ever had. He barely recalled that she processed information instead of thinking with an organic brain. She was acclimating to her life with humans.

  “I guess we should turn around?” he asked.

  Iris squeezed his hand and nodded toward the bridge that spanned over the main road. There was a shaded, grassy area underneath that was out of view from Main Street. His pulse quickened. He knew the spot. Kids from school went there to hook up. It was private, and the only concern would be that it was already occupied.

  “How do you know about that place?” he asked.

  She leaned forward and smiled. “Sloan told me.”

  “Of course she did.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. Sloan spent more time toking instead of hooking up there. But not lately. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Sloan with Luke much either. He wondered if it had anything to do with Luke’s infatuation with a certain waitress at Dixon’s.

  He looked back at Iris. The intensity in her eyes and her soft lips were enough to motivate him. “Okay, let’s go.”

  They walked hand in hand down to the secluded spot, her in front of him. He looked at the length of her as she walked. She really was perfection. Was that what Bio-Core had intended when they created her? Adam said she was a highly skilled killer in SIM. The perfect assassin—beautiful and deadly. He didn’t see the latter anymore. He squeezed her hand, and she looked back at him, eyes glassy. He didn’t know when it happened, but he no longer feared her. His chest heaved as the revelation freed him. Somehow, deep in his bones, he knew she’d never hurt him.

  As soon as they were out of sight, she turned toward him. He couldn’t stand it any longer. He’d wanted to do this the moment he first held her in his arms back at Bio-Core.

  Her lips parted as he drew her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers. She returned his kiss with as much fervor as he sought. Her hands reached around the small of his back, kneading him. He moaned and ran his fingers through her loose hair. He let go of her lips and kissed her cheek, followed by a trail of kisses down her neck. That continued for a while until he found his way back up to her lips.

  Iris tugged at his shirt, and he froze. What were they doing? Not here.

  He pulled back and reached for her hands. “Sorry. I—”

  She tightened her grip on the front of his shirt, pulling him back to her again.

  “Whoa.” He smiled and grazed his lips with hers one more time. “I think I might be in trouble with you.” He grasped her shoulders and pushed her away. “I think we’d better stop.”

  “Why?” she whispered, eyes still closed.

  Gage caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. Slowly, she opened her eyes. They were still the most striking eyes he’d ever seen, like amethysts. “Because I don’t want our first time to happen under a bridge.”

  “First time?” She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

  He hadn’t considered that. It wouldn’t be his first time, but it was likely hers. Even more reason to stop. He grabbed her hand. “Come on, I’m starving.”

  She frowned but acquiesced, her breath still ragged from their make-out session.

  They walked back down Main Street to Dixon’s Diner. Gage grabbed the last booth on the right, taking the seat facing the rest of the restaurant. Iris slid in the seat opposite him, facing the window. Celia Black skipped over to their table, a broad smile on her lips.

  Gage smiled back. She was
always cheerful. Guess that was why she was so into cheerleading.

  She set down two menus. “Hi, guys. Something to drink?”

  He glanced at Iris and smirked, remembering her order from the lodge.

  She smiled knowingly back. “I’ll have a Coke.”

  “Make it two,” he said.

  Iris looked down at the menu and flipped it over. A second later, she glanced back up at him. “I’m ready.”

  “Okay, then.” Gage laughed and looked down. He’d eaten here since he was a kid. He knew everything on the menu too. He reached for her menu to put with his.

  Celia came back with their Cokes. “Do you want some more time?”

  “No. I think we’re ready.” He nodded at Iris to go first.

  “’Kay. What’ll you have?” Celia had her pen at the ready on her order pad.

  “I’d like to try peanut butter pie, please.” Iris smiled up at Celia.

  “Great choice. It’s pretty good here,” Celia replied.

  Dessert, huh? Gage nodded approvingly at Iris.

  “And you?” Celia glanced at Gage.

  “I’ll have a turkey club.”

  “Chips okay?”

  “Yep.”

  Celia took their menus and walked away.

  Gage leaned across the table and whispered, “You really do have the most amazing eyes.”

  Iris leaned in too. “Thanks. It’s special to my line.”

  “Oh.” Gage sat back. He’d allowed himself to forget that she wasn’t like Adam, who was the only one like him. But there were more of Iris. How many? He glanced out the window, the thought not sitting well with him.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, of course not.” He shrugged, his eyes still focused outside.

  “It’s what I said about my line. It freaked you out.”

  He looked back at her serious eyes. “A little.”

  “I’m not like the rest of them.” She reached for his hand, and he complied.

  “I know. I just forget sometimes about all that and that my family is responsible.”

  Iris sighed. “Don’t think that way. Besides, I’d love to forget where I came from too.”