As they kissed, Ari’s body buzzed with an electric kind of joy. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt. Tangled in each other, they kissed until Ari lost the feeling in her lips.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Sloane said as she kissed the column of Ari’s neck.
Ari processed her words on a delay as she indulged in the sensation of her mouth. “Well, I don’t think I’d fit into any of your work clothes,” she joked between sighs. “I have to go, or I’ll never make it on time tomorrow if I have to sit in tra c on the way home and then to the o ce.”
“You can always go now,” Sloane said as Ari’s hands slipped down her side and gripped her thigh. “Grab a few things and come back.”
Ari’s chest stretched to bursting. “I could do that,” she replied as if mulling it over. “You can come with me and we can pick up something to eat,” she suggested, hoping Sloane didn’t want to part with her that long either.
“I guess,” she said, pretending she didn’t care, but Ari was learning to read her too, and she didn’t buy the indi erence for a second.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER. . .
Mornings in Ari and Sloane’s downtown apartment flowed like clockwork. Since they’d moved in a few months ago, they’d decorated the modern loft with a few pieces they picked up second-hand and rehabbed themselves. It had started with a side table Ari spotted at a garage sale. To Ari’s surprise, Sloane had taken a sander to it and painted it a lovely turquoise color.
The hobby snowballed from there, and now everything in their house had been up cycled by Sloane. Ari’s favorite was the antique desk that served as their entry table. Atop the restored oak was a picture of them cage diving with sharks.
It sat next to the framed image of a lemur they’d ceremoniously adopted by sending a donation to a conservation society.
Ari held the door open for Sloane, who had two travel mugs of co ee in her hand and granola bars under her arm.
When Sloane was out in the hallway, Ari slung both their workbags over her shoulder and locked the door behind them. After a thirty-floor elevator ride to the parking garage,
they climbed into Sloane’s car. Ari had finally grown used to the spaceship and its ostentatious falcon doors.
“I think I’m going to miss walking to the o ce,” Sloane decided as they waited for the gate open.
Ari laughed. When they’d been looking for a place together, she’d shot down Ari’s idea of finding something within walking distance. It had taken a lot of convincing to sway her.
“You were just complaining yesterday how hot it is in May and how much you hate walking in the heat,” Ari countered with a smirk.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss the convenience of walking,” Sloane replied as if it should’ve been obvious.
Ari sipped her latte. “We could take the metro to the main building and avoid this.” She pointed to the tra c lined up ahead of them.
“It smells like pee,” she decided flatly.
Ari chuckled. “You get used to it.”
“This is your fault, you know. You just had to go and be a superstar and get us moved up to juvenile so soon,” Sloane teased before accepting the granola bar Ari opened for her.
“I bet Ralph has been lobbying for your promotion for months,” she joked. “I don’t know why you just can’t let stu go with him.”
“Because he’s a waste of a suit,” Sloane countered. “Did you hear from your friend? Is she finally coming back?”
Ari smiled. Sloane had come a long way with being nicer to people. Well, everyone who wasn’t Ralph. “As of last night, she was. I told her we’d take her to lunch if the timing lined up,” Ari said between bites.
“I can’t believe we have to do more training. We learned all this stu during the first six weeks,” Sloane complained before turning toward the sprawling, peach-colored building that served as the main o ce. The place where they’d s
tarted a lifetime ago.
“This is only a couple of weeks,” she reminded her. “And it’s specifically about prosecuting delinquency cases. The rules are di erent for juveniles.”
“Obviously,” Sloane complained before taking a drink from her stainless-steel cup. “Did you tell your parents my mother has that re-scheduled physical therapy appointment today?”
Ari nodded. “My mom said she’d already made the soup so she’s going to take it over for lunch. Apparently, your mom is going to teach her to play canasta so they can play with some other friends while she’s o for the summer break.”