I couldn’t contain my excitement as I practically bounced to the screen that would allow her entry into my building. I grinned wider with each button press that unlocked the door just for her fingerprint. I knew we were about to have a serious talk, but the thought of seeing her in person was overwhelming any sense of anxiety about it; instead, all I had was pure joy and anticipation. I messaged her on my WaComm giving her instructions on how to enter the front door.

As soon as I’d sent the message, I decided I didn't want to do things this way. Giving her access to my apartment like ths was so impersonal – I wanted to walk her up to the elevator, escort her through the hallway, and let her in myself. I pushed through my apartment door, springing down into the elevator, and out through the lobby. It was all I could do not to run to meet her.

She stood there just about to push the building door open when I’d reached the lobby. The sun shone bright through the windows, reflecting and bouncing around the shiny floors. She opened the door, the glass reflecting as it moved, blinding me momentarily.

Her hair was in two buns this time, instead of her usual hairstyle. Typically, she used two clips to hold back just enough from her face, letting the rest bounce freely about her neck. I found I liked this look much better; with her hair up and out of the way, I could see the graceful curve of her neck much better. As always, she was breathtaking. She hadn’t dressed up, or at least, she was wearing what seemed to be casual clothing, nothing like the dresses I’d dreamed of seeing on her. Instead, she had donned a loose fitting sweater, hung loose off of one shoulder, and a pair of comfortable looking jeans. She still looked a vision, though, even without a polished outfit.

“Hey,” I croaked out. “Glad you found the place.”

She looked around, her big brown eyes taking in the sights of the lobby. “I should’ve expected something like this,” she said. “Which unit is yours? You didn’t say.”

“Oh, the whole building is ours,” I said with a forced casualness that I didn’t feel. I wanted her to be impressed. “I have a whole floor to myself.”

She didn’t answer, instead just standing there, still looking around. I couldn’t tell if she was impressed or not. She didn’t say a word and kept on her poker face. Was she overwhelmed by my wealth? Suddenly, I felt ashamed of all that I had. Would seeing my apartment be too much? I remembered her small, cozy house, and realized it would fit its first floor in half of my building’s lobby. Did she realize that too?

“Erm, we can go on up,” I said. “The fifth floor is mine, my stepmother has the one above, and my father’s office is the eighth, but they’re not here right now.” I was rambling. She made me nervous, even after all we’d been through together. There was just something about her that did things to me.

She followed me into the elevator, still just taking in the sights and not saying much.

“I guess we can talk more when we get into the apartment.”

She just nodded, calm and collected while I was falling apart.

I gulped; what was she thinking? Was she going to tell me bad news, and didn’t want to break it to me before we got somewhere comfortable? Did she not want me to make a scene? It wasn’t as if there wa s a lot of people down there, and I’d pretty much told her we were the only ones in the building at the moment. I found myself becoming more and more confused by the minute.

The elevator dinged, telling us we were at the floor I’d designated. Mine.

“This is it,” I said unccessarily.

We stepped out towards my door, which in my excitement, I’d left partially ajar, earning a raised eyebrow from her. I said nothing about it, instead opening it for her, like the gentleman I so desperately wanted to be.

“Um, sorry if it’s messy,” I said. “I haven’t been home much lately.”

Of course, it was still spotless. I’d fine tuned a few things, and the maids had been continuing their work as they always had. I’d never come home to a messy apartment; I didn’t know why I was apologizing for something I’d never expect.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said, turning around slowly as she took it all in. “I almost can’t believe it.”

“I feel the same way,” I whispered, but my eyes were on her.

She flicked her gaze back towards me, her cheeks reddening. She’d heard me. She stopped her perusal of the living area and made her way to the couch. When she sat, she patted the seat next to her.

“We should talk,” she said.

I swallowed hard. She was about to tell me she didn’t want to see me anymore, I just knew it. But, like the lovesick puppy I was, I followed her instructions, sitting softly onto the luxurious cushion and stared into her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said, stopping me before I could say anything.

I blinked.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been talking to you much lately,” she continued, continuing to surprise me. “Things have been really busy with Ka Po’e. Their expectations of me have been growing and growing, and I’ve not been able to turn them down.” She looked down at her WaComm. It was visibly cracked and dingy. She tapped it, hard, barely waking the screen. “And this thing is a piece of shit. But that’s not an excuse.”

“Mea, I understand,” I said, surprising myself with how compassionate my voice sounded. I didn't know I had it in me, and that was coming from myself. “I know what it’s like to have to live up to other people’s expectations of you, to have people counting on you.”

She smiled softly at me. “Of course, you do, Lord Montgomery.”

I blushed. “I’m not a Lord yet,” I said. I eyed her old, barely functioning WaComm, and decided that I would buy one for her as a surprise. Then, she wouldn’t have that holding her back, and maybe she could talk to me more.

“Not yet?” she said playfully.

“Not yet. Although I think it’ll be sooner that I’d ever expected.” I sighed. “Can I tell you a secret?”

She leaned in to face me, her big eyes imploring. “You’ve kept my identity secret, I can keep one of yours.”

“My father is sick. Like, really sick. He’s training me as his apprentice, but he plans on retiring by the end of the year, I think. Much sooner than I ever would’ve thought.”

“So, you will be a Lord soon,” she said, this time, with a hint of sadness and compassion instead of the playful teasing that had been there a moment before.

“It seems so,” I said.

“I’m sorry your father isn’t doing well,” she said, leaning in even closer. “May I hug you?”

I smiled shyly. “Mea, you never need to ask.” I closed the distance between us, her arms wrapping around my shoulders, the heat of her breath on my neck.Her presence was comforting, as much as exhilarating. We broke apart, and she slipped her hand from my shoulder to my knee.

“At least you get this chance to say goodbye,” she said wistfully. “If it really is so serious.”

I hadn’t thought of it that way. All this time, I’d been worried about how I wouldn’t have enough time to learn from my father to succeed him. Mea was worried I wouldn't have enough time to say the things I needed to say to him. She was right, and I needed to tell him about the AUT deal, how I’d turned it down. And much else besides.

Which reminded me. There was another person I needed to tell about those developments.

“Mea, I have another secret to tell you,” I said sheepishly.

“Another?”

“There’s a lot, actually… but I’ll tell them all to you. Just give me a moment, and then I’ll answer whatever questions you have.”

She nodded.

I proceeded to tell her from the beginning, how AUT had approached me, how they’d brokered a deal, exchanging Alyss for their crucial support in making me PM. I told her how Alyss and I went to the police charity ball, the new stop and search law, how Alyss had stayed the night. I skipped some details, of course. No need for that. I’d broken things off with AUT and Alyss regardless. I also left out the brunch with Alyss this morning, as that chapter was over with. What would help by telling Mea how I’d spent even more time with another woman?

“…and as it turns out, just before you came by, I called AUT to tell them I wasn’t taking their deal. I wouldn’t sell my heart for their money.”

She blinked. It was a lot to take in, I knew, but she was a smart girl. I just hoped she wasn’t an angry one. How would she take all of this? I basically just came clean about seeing another woman, even if it was forced. I expected to be slapped, for her to run off, tears even. But not this.

“You said there’s a new law in action?” she said finally.

“Um, yeah,” I said. “That wasn’t the part I thought you’d take from that, but yeah.”

She looked visibly paler. “That’s… very bad news, Torven. We’re already being targeted, and if they enforce that law, take advantage of that law? Our freedoms, what limited ones we have, are going to be trampled upon. My people will fill the jails, I’m sure of it.”

“It’s all to find this rampant murderer, though, Mea,” I insisted. “It’s for the greater good. The sooner we find that psycho, the faster everyone is safe, and then we can all go back to normal.”

She stayed silent for a moment.

“So you’re not mad about the whole Alyss and AUT thing?” I said quietly, as if treading on eggshells.

She sighed. “I’m not angry. I’m disappointed.”

“I’m sorry I spent time with another woman like that, I had to! I don't want to! I wanted her to be you the whole time –“

She cut me off. “I’m disappointed that you threw away your best future for me.” Her eyes stared into my soul, and I don’t think they liked what they saw. “You tossed away the most monumental chance, one that people like me would never even see, and for what? I don’t like the idea of you dating another woman, obviously, but this almost hurts worse.”

That really was unexpected.

“We barely know each other,” she continued. “I’d like to get to know you better, of course I do, but this is crazy!” She grabbed both of my hands. “You have to see that this is crazy.” Her eyes roamed mine, desperate, pleading.

I kissed her. I held her face in my hands, gently, so gently, and kissed her soft, sweet lips. She leaned into it, twisting my hair in her fingers, pressing closer and closer into me until we fell back onto the couch. Still, we kissed, our mouths a dance, our breath exchanging, our hearts beating like a stampede. It was feral, a frenzy, the passion that we shared. We couldn’t stop, couldn’t sense anything else except each other. I couldn’t feel the couch below me, except I knew it must be there.

Suddenly, she broke away, straddled stop me as I lay back on the couch. She breathed heavily, as did I, her lips swollen from our sudden embrace. Her eyes were searching, vulnerable, and she whispered to me.

“Why did you do it? Why would you turn that down?”

There was only one answer. “For you.”

A moment of silence as the knowledge dawned in her eyes, the truth that I was absolutely smitten with her, in love with her even. Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine, then to my lips. I rushed back into her kiss, blood pumping in my ears, my heart, my throat. There was nothing but her; I was consumed by her being. In between sighs and pants of breath, I heard her heart pounding too. It was as if we were one person in two bodies. This was so much more than Alyss could ever give me, though I could barely connect enough of the dots in my head for that to even occur to me.

Ping pong ping pong

I groaned, unwilling to stop what we had started. And, after hearing that obnoxious and ancient ringtone, I was really going to have to buy her a new WaComm with the discreet sensor ring, like I had.

She answered it, sitting up, a concerned look on her face. It only grew darker and darker, her expression stormy and filled with anger, yet there was unmistakable fear in the slightest tremble of her lips, even though she held them taut. Something bad was happening, of that there was no doubt. I settled back into the couch, waiting for her to tell me.

She hung up, resting the WaComm on her leg.

“It’s Ha’ana,” she said as she gathered her WaComm back into her pocket, her hands searching for her wallet and whatever else she had brought here.

“She okay?” I asked. I was worried – first of all, it was clear that Mea was leaving, which was something I didn’t like. Whatever Ha’ana had said on the WaComm, it was bad news, so I didn’t like that either.

“Yes – well, no – but it’s not Ha’ana, it’s Pa’ani.”

“Who?” I shook my head, confused. “Wait, what is happening?”

“Pa’ani has been arrested,” Mea said, standing up and patting her pockets to double check everything was there. “Shit!” she hissed.

Mea was becoming more and more panicked, her fear trembling her fingers, though she spoke calmly. I tried to remember if I’d met anyone named Pa’ani, or why Ha’ana would be so upset about it.

“Mea, stop.” I grabbed her wrist and forced her to pause in her panic.

She flailed back at me wildly, instantly incensed by being tethered. But, it did what I wanted it to. She was focusing on the here and now, instead of what could be happening out there.

“Mea, talk to me. Tell me what happened, and we can figure out what to do about it.” I dropped her wrist.

Her eyes narrowed at me, wary, then softened. She sighed. “Pa’ani is Ha’ana’s daughter. She’s been arrested, on the grounds of that new fucking law. That poor child is in custody right now. Do you have any idea how terrifying that is for me? For Ha’ana?”

I remembered how she’d lost her brother in a similar situation. Pa’ani was probably like a daughter to her, as Ha’ana was her best friend. I could see how Mea was reasonably upset and worried, but there really wasn’t much we could do. Besides, if Pa’ani was innocent, then there’s nothing for her to worry about.

“Mea, Pa’ani is only a kid,” I said, trying my best to remember if Mea had mentioned anything about her before. “The cops won’t hurt her. And she’s innocent, she’s got nothing to hide. The cops are just trying to find this murderer, not trying to terrorize children.” I took in a deep breath to calm both myself and Mea. It didn’t really work. “Besides, what could you even do about it?”

“I could go in there and demand they let her go, for starters!” Mea spat.

“They’re legally able to do this now,” I responded. “They’re completely within their rights. Pa’ani isn’t their target though, she’ll be totally fine.”

“Isn’t she, though?” whispered Mea under her breath.

I wondered if she thought I didn’t hear her. I ignored it, in case she didn’t want me to. Of course Pa’ani wasn’t who the police were trying to catch, she was a child! But Mea was in no state to hear that, I knew. Instead I tried to comfort her, but Mea kept walking away. She was headed towards the door, and if I couldn’t talk her out of it, she would march right up to those cops and probably get herself arrested, too.

“Pa’ani is the one who stole your wallet that night,” Mea spat as she maneuvered around the couch towards the exit. “Do you think she has nothing to hide?”

My jaw fell open. That little brat is Ha’ana’s daughter? I barely remembered her from that night, as it was mostly a drunken blur. She pickpocketed me, then ran away and led me to be mugged. Although, undoubtedly, it did end with meeting the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, so I’d quickly forgotten those inconveniences.

“Exactly. Pair with that her association with me and Ka Po’e, and she’s as good as dead in that jail.” She turned on her heel and marched away.

But just before she touched the door to open it, she turned back around to say one last thing to me.

“You want us to be together? You have to change things for us. The Nari’e need to be able to live here, freedom uninhibited, or be allowed to return home. And maybe you could’ve done something about it.”

And with that, she slammed the door behind her, the effect of her sharp words and then the silence of her absence piercing through my entire soul.