[b][u] [center]Tuesday: 708 pm[/u] Enrick Valdea [/b][/center] I could barely register the kiss before the alarms went off. All I had been thinking about what how impossibly soft her lips were, how her breath, flavored by spiced rum, felt warm against my cheek. I could still feel her hand, bunched on the fabric against my shirt. It felt terribly addictive. I stared into her eyes, our noses only inches away. I had a terribly wonderful idea. I wanted more. My right hand automatically rose up and slid across her elbow toward her wrist. I leaned in… [i][b]”You talk too much."[/b][/i] And then it was gone. She was suddenly at her usual distance and the lights in the bar had flicked to emergency haze red. I wasn’t given much time to mourn over the situation, I had other, more important things to worry about. [i][b]”Don’t be a hero…”[/b][/i] [b]”You shouldn’t be here,”[/b] I replied. I was irritated, more than I ought to be but I refused to think about why. I didn’t say it to be mean, I wasn’t petty. I knew Kassie hasn’t kissed me because she liked to toy with men’s emotions. I said it because it was true. Around me the panic had already started. The patrons pulled at the door, as if somehow the fifth time they jerked on the handlem the lock mechanism would magically release. A new cocktail waitress was screaming at my manager, demanding to know what was going on. A few people tried to click through the news data feed on their regulation digital watches. From their irritated faces, I was guessing they weren’t working. Besides Kassie and I, only the band members seemed resigned to the situation. And why wouldn’t they be? They were getting paid no matter what. Lucky bastards. I moved away to pour a drink for the singer before returning back to my partner’s side. [b]”You really shouldn’t drink so much of that,”[/b] I said and tapped the label, [b]”For one you’ve drunk about a week’s worth of my pay and for another it’s specially designed to go right to your head. Insta-drunk as I like to say.”[/b] I took the bottle away and returned with a glass of water. I didn’t understand why she needed to be drinking quite so much. She’d visited me several times at the bar but I’d never seen her go at it like this. [b]”If the kiss was that bad that you have to drink just to forget it, we don’t have to do it again.”[/b] I said, trying to lighten the mood. It was clear from her behavior she was feeling upset about something. [b]”But in all seriousness, they’ll be screening people soon…”[/b] I watched her face for any change of expression. [b]”…I’ll think of something. They can’t have you.”[/b] [i]Too.[/i] I was tired of having the people I cared about stolen from me by the government. And if they could, they certainly would try to steal her away. Unlike me, your average working class citizen, Kassie had no papers and no legitimate source of income. It seemed like in the Rebel’s world either you were slumming at two jobs or in too deep to hold even one. [b]”I’ll just vouch for you. Maybe you’re my roommate or my long term-girlfriend.”[/b] It was one of the few perks of lower citizenship. So long as we promised not to breed too much, we could choose our romantic interests. [b]”You…uh…just forgot your papers at home.”[/b] I wondered if she heard the desperation in my voice. ---- [b][u] [center]Tuesday: 708 pm[/u] Louissa Essair[/b][/center] We didn’t bother waiting for the check, we simply grabbed our things and headed to his car. While I was in the restaurant, the whole affair felt dream-like. Like it was happening to some other Louisa in a far-away place and time. Then I sat down on soft leather seats, the car door slammed beside me, and everything fell into place. There had been an explosion at Section 8. The Section I had been doing the security details on. The Section Gabriel had been overseeing. Would they think we had something to do with it? Did he blame me? I hazarded a look towards him out of the corner of my eye. He seemed relaxed but his eyes were focused on the road. I took in his flawless face and full lips that looked soft and inviting. I never stood a chance. The car radio was off from the drive over when we’d been chatting but I wasn’t brave enough to break the silences Around us I could hear police sirens as blazing red lights lit up the night. It felt like the world was going to end and in some ways it was, at least for me. We pulled into the garage of the Security Office. It was ill lit but at least it didn’t have any flashing red alarm lights. We sat there in silence, neither one of us wanting to go in just yet. Not being able to help it, I began to fidget with my hands in my lap. I looked over at Gabriel. [b]”I…”[/b] What was there to say? Anything I could think of just made me seem guiltier. But looking into his startlingly blue eyes, the same eyes I’d tried to make sparkle for months, I forgot about the sirens and the alarms and the awkward silence. For all I knew, I could be marching out of my meeting in handcuffs. Working for the Security Office had taught me that innocence didn’t mean much when it came to matters of public safety. My tongue brushed across my mouth as I nervously licked my lips. [b]”I…I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time and I worry if I don’t…”[/b] Then I acted before I had time to think and second guess my actions. My fingers reached out and ran through his silky blonde hair to the base of his neck. His mouth felt as good as I’d always imagined it would as even the barest caress sent tingles down my spine. My toes curled, my heart spend up, I swallowed the urge to moan.