The Nowhere Girl

8. Thick Thighs McGee

"Easy, Arsenal," I say. "I'm a friend of Jason's." I don't know if friend is the right word, but I use it anyway.

Roy's red is held back by a scruffy baseball cap.

"Hey Red!" he shouts back into the apartment. "There's a chick out here. Says she knows you."

A couple seconds later Jason comes from the direction of the kitchen with Starfire. The tall, beautiful woman has deep red hair that looks like shimmering flames when it moves. Her skin is perfectly tanned, like shining bronze. Even her eyes seem to have an eerie grass green glow. She looks... ethereal. I wave shyly at her, and she smiles slightly, but as soon Jason sees me, he rolls his eyes so far back they're in danger of becoming stuck back there.

"Let her in Harper," he says. The arrow is retracted, and I climb through the window. "I thought I blindfolded you, Blue."

I shrug, taking six of the little spider-sense gadgets from my pockets. "Well... I'm spiteful," I say. "I just came to drop off that tech for yer bucket, but I thought you'd be on patrol or something."

He says nothing, taking the gadgets from my hand. He lingers a second longer before nodding to his friends, but I can tell he wants to talk. I want to talk too.

"This is my team, Roy and Kori. We're Outlaws."

"You're a charmer Jaybird," Roy says, coming over to which Jason shoots him a glare. Roy just smirks at me. "I tell him to be himself. Or the best version of himself. But whoever listens to me?"

"Curse of being ginger," I say and extent my hand, deciding I like this Roy. "I'm Bluey."

"Roy." He takes my hand but instead of shaking it, he presses a kiss to my knuckle, ignoring Jason's glare. Roy leans down next to my ear and whispers, "Pardon mademoiselle. Ah, voulez-vous me donner un baiser de français?"

I blush. Hard. I'd learned French in school.

I'm almost temped to say "Yes" just to see his reaction, but I also have something called self-respect. I kiss him on the cheek. "Next time Harper."

"He's an unavoidable nuisance," Jason remarks, his cheeks growing red either from him being flustered, or more likely, irritation. Roy raises his hands in surrender as Kori approaches me.

A small yelp escapes me as Kori scoops me up easily into a hug. I come up to her shoulder, my face pressing against her warm bare skin. She's like snuggling under a heavy blanket on a cold night.

"Sei così bella," I mutter. (You are so beautiful.)

Kori cups my face and then she leans in and kisses me. I'm too stunned to think, but after a second, I'm kissing her back. Time passes at a snail's pace, I completely forget Jason and Roy are in the room with us, and then she pulls away slowly and says against my lips with a kind smile, "Penso che anche tu sia molto bella." (I think you are very beautiful as well.)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Compliments are the one thing I can't hand, but a sexy one? From Starfire? As soon the words leave his mouth, my brain explodes and I blue screen.

Error message: Sexy compliment towards Bluey

Brain does not compute. Calculating response.

Best course of action: Mild cardiac arrest

My silence doesn't go unnoticed by Kori, and she draws back, fiddling with her hands. "My apologies – on my planet lip contact is one of the ways Tamaranians assimilate language, knowledge – I am learning things are different on Earth; that kissing is used for something far more intimate."