Glitch

“Please, promise me you’ll stay safe. No unnecessary
    risks. Don’t try to contact the boy and don’t talk to Molla or
    Max in classes or the hallways. It’s clear they’re watching us
    more closely than ever.”
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    Heather Anastasiu
    I didn’t say anything.
    “Please,” he said, suddenly crouching back down and sud-
    denly pulling me into a close hug. “Please,” he whispered
    into my ear. “Stay safe, for me. Promise?”
    I was shocked silent. For a stunned second, I let myself
    sink in against him. It felt so right to be here. So good to be
    held by him. Something else, some wild roaring thing seemed
    to erupt inside me.
    “Promise?” he whispered again, his voice ragged, so far
    from the calm he projected the rest of the time. His arms
    tightened. I held him back tightly. His closeness made the
    thing inside me take fl ight, like I was soaring, up, up, up.
    “I’ll try.” I pulled back and looked in his eyes. Our faces
    were inches apart, and I noticed how long his black eyelashes
    were, how his strong eyebrows and deep- set eyes made my
    stomach feel strange inside. I let my eyes trace down his ar-
    row nose to his thick lips.
    And then I did what felt like the most natural thing in the
    world— like two magnets that had been pulled apart fi nally
    clicking together again. I leaned in and our lips met in the
    gentlest touch. I closed my eyes and my mouth melted into
    his. I didn’t notice lips or teeth or tongues or anything else— I
    only felt a shining joy searing through my chest.
    Adrien’s eyes were open, watching me in what looked
    like shock. His body was completely rigid. I pulled back. Oh
    no, I’d done the wrong thing.
    Then, so quickly I could barely register what he was do-
    ing, he cupped one hand gently behind my neck and pulled
    me in again. He kissed me, gently at fi rst, but I could feel a
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    G L I TC H
    desperate longing in him coming through the kiss, like he’d
    been waiting for this forever.
    His other hand clutched my back, pulling me up onto my
    knees to meet him. I kissed him back and curled my fi ngers
    in his thick brown hair, pulling him in even harder. The kiss-
    ing wasn’t gentle now. It was raw with need, like I couldn’t
    get him close enough, couldn’t get enough of him at once.
    His hands dropped to my waist, kneading my body with
    his fi ngers. The touch made sensations I’d never felt before
    rise up in me. A soft moan came from my mouth and his
    body shuddered in response. I clutched him tighter, wanting
    to cement every part of my body to his.
    So this was what Max meant about plea sure. Max. The
    thought stopped me abruptly. I pulled away with a gasp.
    Adrien looked at me a moment a short silent moment,
    bewildered. He watched me for a moment, out of breath. I
    had turned away, a wet droplet stinging my cheek. Adrien
    hesitated, then planted a whisper- soft kiss against my cheek:
    “Good night, Zoe.” He pushed the tile aside and was gone.
    I stared after him when he’d gone. I lay down, my face
    hot with the memory of what had just happened. I put my
    hands to my cheeks, to my lips, remembering.
    Was it wrong? I felt guilty, like I was betraying Max.
    From the beginning, he’d been so worried about me want-
    ing Adrien instead of him. I’d thought he was overreacting,
    but what if he’d noticed what I’d been too naïve to see— the
    electricity that was charged in the very air whenever Adrien
    and I were together.
    I pulled my pillow underneath my head and closed my
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    Heather Anastasiu
    eyes tight. Sleep. I needed to sleep now. But I couldn’t stop
    thinking about the feel of Adrien’s lips on mine, of his arms
    curved around my back clutching me to him. Needing me,
    wanting me, and the pressure of his chest against mine . . .
    I twisted in my bedsheets, wondering if I’d ever get to
    sleep.
    I slipped down the hallway the next day to the meeting place
    Max had told us about, making sure to follow his directions
    to stick close to the left- side wall, out of sight of the cam-
    eras. I looked at the door in the corner. I tentatively swiped
    the thin square card Max had given me in front of the glow-
    ing access panel. Max said he’d made copies of an adminis-
    trator’s card, explaining the non- drone admins didn’t have
    implanted wrist chips like us. They used these external ones.
    The door slid open easily and I stepped through.
    “Zoe, good.” Adrien ushered me in, then glanced both
    ways down the hallway before