“No, don’t be. It’s okay. I wasn’t here.” Sully shrugs.
“I still can’t believe you went above ground to the surface,” Jared leans in and says solemnly.
“I know. What were you thinking? Leaving here where it’s safe and, well, wonderful, to go there.” Kim shivers and screws up her features.
“I had my reasons,” Sully answers, his expression enigmatic.
“What was it like?” Denise asks.
Sully flicks his wrist nonchalantly. “Oh, I’ll tell you all about it another time.” He smiles, an expression that’s brittle, at best, but his friends don’t seem to notice. They’re too busy glancing around the room and waving, soaking up the opulent ambience. “I don’t want to ruin the night with details.”
“You always were the adventurous type,” Denise shakes her head and says.
“Is it true you’re staying with the General Population?” Kim asks.
“Kim!” Aiden’s eyes widen as he speaks.
“What? I heard a rumor and want to know if it’s true.” Kim tips her chin.
“But it’s impolite to discuss such matters,” Aiden says with a wooden smile plastered on his face.
“Oh, Sully and I have known each other forever, haven’t we Sully?”
“We have,” Sully replies.
“All of us have, but still,” Aiden protests.
“Ah don’t sweat it, guys. The rumor is true. I’m living in GenPop.”
The server returns with long-stemmed glasses that glitter like stars. He places them in front of Sully and me. Then displays a long tubular container filled with dark liquid.
“Excellent!” Tanner nods.
The bottle is opened and set on the table. Tanner dismisses the server. He fills our glasses, and then adds to everyone else’s.
I lean in close to Sully. “What is this?” I whisper as Denise, Cynthia, Kim, Aiden and Jared congratulate Tanner on a wonderful selection.
“It’s wine,” he whispers back.
I arch a brow at him.
Casually, Sully stretches and settles his arm on the back of my chair. He tilts his head so that his lips almost brush my earlobe. Goosebumps race across my flesh when his hot breath caresses the shell of my ear. “Just sip it slowly and enjoy how it makes you feel.” He straightens but his eyes remain on mine. “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry,” he says with sincerity that makes my breathing catch. A small smile plays upon his lips, but it isn’t his usual, naughty smirk. It is another expression entirely.
“So, getting back to this business of you living in GenPop,” Kim returns our attention to her.
“What about it?” Sully asks.
“Well, what I want to know—what I think all of us want to know—is why?”
“Why am I living there?” Sully echoes her question.
“Yeah, I mean, you aren’t one of them. You’re one of us,” Kim says flatly.
“I know, right?” Denise adds as she pets her long silky hair. “Don’t you want to get married, have a nice place to live, and a family? If you stay in GenPop all you’ll have is a small room and one child.”
“The people in GenPop can only have one child?” I surprise myself by interjecting and asking.
“One child only if it’s approved by the President’s staff and a license to birth is obtained in advance,” Cynthia adds.
My mind is dizzied, swirling in lopsided circles around what I’ve just heard. Suddenly parched, I lift my glass to my lips and take a long drink. Thick and with a flavor that’s similar to a spicy, under ripe berry, the liquid in my glass does little to quench my thirst. To the contrary, it burns down my throat and makes me wish I had water. “What happens if a pregnancy occurs unexpectedly, without approval and a license?” I ask.
“That’s against the law,” Kim shakes her head and purses her lips disapprovingly. “The couple wouldn’t be allowed to keep it.”
Shock has silenced any further questions. I’m fuming, angry in a way I cannot remember ever being before. I hide it, though, for Sully’s sake. This is his night to visit with old friends.
I’m reminded of that fact when Cynthia says, “Why would you want to be a part of that. Come back home. We miss you!”
“Yes, do come back,” Tanner agrees. “And bring Avery. She’s not from Washington Central originally, but I’m sure your father would make an exception. He’s the President. He can do whatever he wants!” Tanner laughs. He’s obviously proud of what he thinks is a wildly witty and amusing comment. I laugh only because I feel sorry for him. That charity comes to a screeching halt when he says, “Maybe you could even marry her!” He refers to me then laughs.
“Nah, I’m not marrying anyone,” I say above the other voices.
Six sets of eyes suddenly watch me. Nervous sips of wine are taken and after an uncomfortable pause, light conversation resumes. Most of it centers on memories and stories of their childhood. I smile when I’m supposed to smile and force laughter when necessary, but on the inside, I am a festering wound. Continually, comments that range from subtle to not-so-subtle are made and emphasize that the people at my table believe they are better than the people of GenPop. I glance at Sully and watch the way the muscles around his jaw flex and work. I see the small tick of his brow. He’s as annoyed as I am.
I’m grateful when our food arrives and the others are too busy stuffing their faces to talk. The meal is amazing. I have no idea what I ordered other than the word “chicken” was included. A type of white meat that I’m told is raised for food in a section of the city, the chicken dish I’m eating is mild and tender and slathered in a light-brown sauce that is savory with a hint of sweetness. I continue to sip the wine and find myself growing increasingly relaxed.
After the plates are cleared and discussion of something called dessert begins, Sully nods to me knowingly and stands. “Well, I hate to break up the party, but we have to get back.”
“Oh, no. Stay!” Kim whines. “We’re going dancing later!”
“Yes, do stay. We’ll order more wine and more food, and then go dancing, just like we used to,” Aiden adds.
“No, thank you. This has been wonderful, though, really,” Sully says. I hear the strained tension in his voice. They miss it, of course, but I don’t. I know him. I feel as he does. He reaches into his pocket and retrieves several bills with numbers on them. He drops them on the table. “It was great to see you.” He turns and takes my hand, and together, we walk away.
“Why would he do that? We have plenty of money.” Kim’s voice carries over the other conversations, but Sully doesn’t stop and he doesn’t turn.
He releases my hand when we step out of the eatery and tunnels his fingers through his hair. “Wow,” he sighs.
“I know.” I shake my head. “But for what it’s worth, it was a nice evening even though your friends are . . . different.” I temper what I want to call them: a bunch of elitist snobs.
“Different,” he snorts. “There’s a word. If by different you mean jerks, then yes, they’re different all right.”
I toss my head back and laugh with abandon. I feel looser and less inhibited than normal. And it’s not an unpleasant sensation. “No argument here.” I hold my hands up in front of my chest in surrender.
We begin walking, navigating the labyrinth of pathways that bend around lovely building after lovely building. But the harder I look at them, the more they reflect the people I just met. I find myself being less and less impressed by them.
“Thanks again for coming.” Sully turns toward me. “Sorry I put you through that.”
“Oh it wasn’t that bad.”
His head whips in my direction. “Come on, you expect me to believe that?”
“Well the food was good, and the wine was too, after the first few sips.”
“Fair enough,” he agrees. “And I got to see you looking so . . . beautiful.” After saying the word “beautiful” he looks away immediately.
Warmth swirls in my chest and branches to
every part of me, coloring my cheeks. Sully walks beside me, so close our hands almost touch. Energy hums between them like an invisible force. If I were to stretch my fingers, they’d meet with his. Just contemplating it makes my stomach bottom out. The feeling surprises me, especially since I’ve spent time with him before. But it was never like this, never as relaxed and enjoyable as it is now.
Following a cobbled path I don’t remember following on our way to Washington Central, I spot a courtyard ahead. Redolent with the heady scent of roses, benches are interspersed among white arches along which vines burst with blooms.
“The flowers,” I inhale deeply and remember times I spent in the field of wildflowers with June. “They smell so nice.” I close my eyes, and when I open them Sully is watching me. He’s smiling, and my heart skips a beat.
“I hate to tell you this because you’re enjoying them so much, but they’re artificial. The flowers are plastic.”
“Oh, right.” A small frown tugs the corners of my mouth downward. “Without sunlight, they’d never grow.”
“Right, and the smell is pumped in here through some kind of automatic atomizer. Sorry,” he says sheepishly.
“Don’t be. They’re lovely, and the smell is beautiful.”
“Want to go sit for a while?” he asks.
“Should we? It’s so late already,” I fret.
“The only parts of this night I’ve truly enjoyed are the parts when we were alone.”
His words stop my heart. Those are the parts I’ve enjoyed as well.
“Our passes are only good until morning, and I know I don’t have the right to ask anything more of you but, please, sit with me.” His russet eyes are unfathomable pools.
“I’d love to,” I smile and say.
We find an empty bench and sit together. All around us, tender blossoms in an array of colors are positioned, artificially perfuming the air with heady fragrances. We sit in silence for several moments, free of tension, free of pressure.
“Sully, can I ask you a question?” I’m the first to speak.
“Shoot.” He turns to face me, prepared.
“Why don’t you move back here? You’d have a better life, dinners like the one we just had all the time, and the wine, of course,” I try to lighten my question. The truth of the matter is, it sickens me to think of him becoming like Tanner, Jared, and Aiden, becoming a part of Washington Central. I asked out of obligation, courtesy of his father.
His lips press to a tight line and he shakes his head slowly. He stands and paces. I regret asking and stand as well. “Do you think I would ever do that? I left here because I couldn’t stand the separation between two parts of the same city, and because humans were suffering above ground. I needed to help. You think I could turn a blind eye to everything and everyone else and only care about myself?”
What he’s said is the core of who he is, and why I respect and admire him as I do. He’ll never succumb to manipulation, and I haven’t the desire to manipulate him. I will figure out another way to save June from being returned to the surface.
“No, I don’t see you doing that,” I say and place a hand on his arm. Then under my breath, I mutter, “We’re so alike,” before my hand falls.
“Yes, we are,” he stuns me when he responds to my comment. “You always know what I’m thinking. We’re always on the same page.”
On the surface, his words are little more than an observation. But inside they resonate deep in my marrow. We are such similar creatures. I stand, suddenly beset by nerves so pronounced I shiver. Sully rises to his feet too. “Are you okay?” he asks. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” I touch my hand to my forehead, suddenly hot and cold simultaneously.
“Then what is it?” He places a hand on my forearm.
The fine hairs on my body raise and quiver at his touch. I look up at him. “It’s you, and me,” I babble. I want to tell him that a wave of emotions has crashed into me, that I feel as if I am seeing him for the first time and am thrilled by what I’ve found, what was always there, but the words are lodged behind a lump of fear in my throat. “I’m not making any sense.”
“No, you are.” He licks his lips. “It’s always been you and me. You’re who I want to be with,” he says tenderly. No games or confusion, no competition, he wants me. He sees what I see, believes what I believe. And he wants to be with me.
Standing as close as we are, I’m reminded of how tall and broad he is. I’ve spent so much time with Sully, but never really bothered to truly look at him. My thoughts have been so preoccupied with June and survival, and, at times, Will. There hasn’t been room for anything else. But as I gaze at Sully now, as I look upon his chiseled features, his short, tousled, sandy-colored hair that falls across his forehead and his piercing brown eyes fringed with long, dark lashes, I see something that I’ve never seen before: my future. Reaching out, he touches a lock of my hair. He coils the curl around his finger and smiles. “These curls,” he chuckles nervously.
“My dad used to say my curls are my wild twisting out of my scalp.” I laugh at the memory.
“Maybe.” Sully shakes his head slowly. “Whatever it means, it’s beautiful. You hair is beautiful. You’re beautiful.” His finger leaves my ringlet of hair and trails down my cheek, leaving a tingly path in its wake as it continues to my jaw.
The hurried throb at the base of his neck is visible. It pounds in time with my heart when his hands grip my waist and pull me close. With infinitesimal slowness, he lowers his head, tilting it slightly to one side, until his lips hover above mine. My heartbeat races so frantically I fear it’ll break free of my ribcage. His warm breath feathers across my lips, and I rise onto my tiptoes to close as much distance as I can.
Unable to wait a second longer to taste his lips, I close my eyes and press my mouth to his. Instantly, his soft lips meld with mine, his heart thundering against my chest, and the world around us dissolves. A thrill of excitement bolts down my spine and my skin is claimed by pinpricks of exhilaration. He draws me closer, deepening our kiss, and I have to remind myself to breathe.
I place my hands on his chest and can feel the heat of his skin through the thin material of his shirt. His proximity, his lips on mine, though terrifying, are also thrilling. It feels so right, so warm and wonderful.
Sighing, my lips part, and I succumb to the prickling sensation that makes my scalp shrink and goose bumps arise on my flesh.
The world around us disappears. The scent of flowers, the lavishness of Washington Central, the memory of Kim, Aiden and the rest of his friends vanishes. All that is left is Sully and me. I am in a warm cocoon of bliss, heat diffusing through my chest as he pulls me close, enveloping me. My arms move, as if of their own volition, and slide around his neck, as my body sinks into his.
Our breath mingles. He tastes sweet. The air is stolen from my lungs, and suddenly I can’t remember how to breathe. His embrace tightens; an urgency sparking between us that rivals a brushfire. I’m swept away on an all-encompassing tide of elation.
I do not pull away. I do not want to ever pull away. What’s happening feels comfortable, right; and better than anything I’ve ever experienced. I never want it to end. But I know it has to. We need to return to GenPop. Reality awaits us.
Our kiss becomes a series of light pecks. Sully’s lips brush the corners of my mouth, my cheeks, and my eyelids. We hold each other for a long while. He plants kisses on my forehead again and again, swaying so gently I’m nearly lulled to sleep.
With heavy eyelids, I rest my cheek against his chest. His voice rumbles and echoes in my ear when he says, “We’d better get back. I’m sure it’s almost morning.” Regret saturates each word.
My heart is heavy, but I nod in agreement. He interlaces his fingers with mine and we start walking, hand in hand. As we step out of the garden, I see two large men, guards I presume, escorting a young girl I recognize from GenPop. Her face is streaked with tears and her hair is disheveled
. She appears to be returning to our side of the city.
I shiver and Sully draws me close. I curl my body to his and say, “What did she do?”
“I don’t know,” he replies tightly. “But it doesn’t look good.”
We leave New Washington and return to our familiar section of the corridor. Sully walks me to my door, and for a moment, we simply stand, our fingers entwined, our bodies close. The air between us quivers with unsaid words. He lowers his face and kisses my cheek gently. “This night was perfect,” he says. “And if I have to wait an eternity to do it again, I will, just promise me we’ll do it again.”
“We will,” I say and feel an ache in my heart so pronounced I clutch my chest.
He smiles at me. “Good night, Avery.”
“Good night, Sully,” I reply.
I slide my keycard into the slot and enter my room. June is fast asleep. The only sound I hear is her deep, even breaths. I pause a moment, leaning my forehead against the back of the door, and a pang of guilt strikes me unexpectedly. Will’s face appears in my mind. I don’t know why I see him there, but he won’t go away. Perhaps because I don’t know for sure whether he’s really with Sarah. It certainly appears that way. But as time goes on, I’m learning things are usually as they appear.
Confusion rushes at me like a current, tossing me around before sweeping me up in its tide. All I thought I wanted was to get to New Washington, get June settled in and explore my feelings for Will. But now things have changed. My feelings have changed. My evening with Sully has opened my eyes. Sully understands me better than anyone I know, better than June even. He wants what I want, feels what I feel, and champions what I fight for.
Shoving myself away from the door, I pull my dress over my head and slip into my white jumpsuit. I slide beneath my covers and instantly recall the warmth of Sully’s embrace, the feel of him rocking ever so slightly. Instantly, I’m enveloped in a nest of warmth and comfort. Sleep pulls me into its darkened embrace, and I fall deeply.
Chapter 18
I wake on my own after only a few hours of sleep. Impossibly, I feel refreshed and well-rested. Graced with deep, dreamless sleep, my eyes open and my thoughts return to Sully. He was the last person I thought about before bed, his face the last image my mind produced. And now he is the first I think of. I remember the way he smelled, that spicy masculine scent that made me want to snuggle close to him, the way he looked, the way his lips felt against mine. Just recalling it makes my stomach feel as if it’s filled with innumerable butterflies beating their wings at once. I smile and shake my head, suppressing a giggle that wells from deep within me.
The Underground City (Book 3): Planet Urth, no. 3 Page 20