The Ark

7.

I blinked back my shock and turned away, hoping the professional gymnastics going on in my stomach were not evident on my face. A run-through of our last encounter flashed through my mind and I flinched.

"Seriously though." His voice was rough, as though he'd been shouting before he'd just appeared out of nowhere. "You were the last person I expected to see here tonight."

I took a hit of my vape and turned back toward him. He'd positioned himself a few feet away, leaning on the railing with his eyes trained on the lightning in the distance. Like the rest of the guests, he was dressed formally. A suit in an inky shade of blue made him barely recognisable from the thug he'd been at the bullet station, but his dark hair was just the same—wild and flopping in his eyes.

"How's the jaw?" I asked. The quip was spoiled by a wobble in my voice.

He chuckled, pulling a vape of his own from his pocket and pinning it between his lips. "It's fine—no thanks to you."

"Well, maybe it'll make you think twice before you try and mug someone again."

He grinned, putting his weight on one elbow and twisting to face me as he blew three neat smoke rings over my head. "Just as getting laser-shot might have taught you to mind your own business."

I bit down on the end of my vape as I put it back in my mouth. With a deep inhale, I dragged my gaze away from his in favour of the distant, flickering clouds. The thumping at the back of my head had competition—my heartbeat was thundering in my ears. I wanted so badly to make an excuse to slink away, but the draw of answers was too magnetic to escape.

"So, what are you doing here? he asked again. I could feel the unnatural blue of his eyes boring into my cheek. "Because something tells me, despite its beauty, you're not here to check up on my jaw."

A silent laugh escaped through my nose, making me expel a cloud of vapour like a dragon. I couldn't quite bring myself to meet his gaze. So I stared at my vape as I rolled it between my fingers. "I'm here with my dad."

He snorted. "No better offers on a Friday night?"

An indignant blush climbed my neck. "I could say the same to you."

"I'm here for work," he said flatly. "No one would choose to come to one of these things." There was a brief pause while he grinned to himself. "Well, most people wouldn't anyway."

"Oh really? And what is it that you do exactly?" I asked with venom, "Because unless you get paid to be mouthy to strangers, I don't see you getting much work done."

He drew his bottom lip between his teeth in a terrible attempt to hide his smirk.

Anger flared in my chest, but it was mostly directed at myself for not being able to take my eyes off his mouth.