I continue to code, help each group with their unique project, and assist Tito when required. It’s a smooth day, aside from me having to fight my thoughts that are telling me I’m horrible for doing this to Tito, to our team. But I’m not going to corrupt the tech this time. I don’t care what the FBI has to say about it.
If Tito can get his tech to the elders like he’s said, then by next weekend, his family will have succeeded. There’s no way they could say no to these inventions anyway. They’re clearly superior to anything on the market, and I’m assuming that includes the mafia world too. The FBI will have a lot harder time pinpointing and getting to the root of where the tech has gone after that. By then, my contract will be void; it would have to be if they couldn’t use me to do their dirty work.
“Deep in thought?” I look up at Tito, looming over me as I work on the last device of the day. It’s a homing device, helpful for tracking and finding the best access points to any area depending upon the people it senses.
“Hard at work.” I correct him, though he knows me too well because I certainly was far away in my mind.
“Is that why you’re connecting the blue wire to the green?” He crouches down beside me; I love it when he does that. Love when he’s at eye level, and I can look into his kind eyes, always listening to me like I’m the most interesting thing he’s ever encountered. I like that too, being interesting. I’d take it over being pretty any day, though I know he thinks of me that way too.
“Shoot,” I whisper, and he chuckles deeply, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we going?”
“Well, work ended about,” he flicks his wrist up to check the time. “Two hours ago.”
“How do we always do this?” I press my fingertips to my cheek and turn my face towards his.
“I think we’re just really passionate.” The way he says this makes me think he means more than just about our work. And I hope that’s what he means because my stomach is already fluttering.
“Yeah,” I whisper for no reason, and his press-lipped smile grows into a dimply one. The swooning flip my heart does in my chest, makes me instantly feel guilt. Though I’ve tried to fight the feeling, I can’t help but remember the lies I’ve told him. Because of them, everything could be in jeopardy. That is, if we don’t pass the test run on Monday.
“Should we head home then?” I stand up, breaking us out of the moment, so my heart stops racing, and I can stop feeling such a confusing mixture of emotions I normally never give into.
“The real question is… Should we have aCowboy Bebopmarathon all weekend?”
“All weekend?” I laugh as he finds my hand, and we walk to the door, swinging our arms like we’re cartoon lovers.
“What? You think you’ll get sick of me.”
“Never.”
“That's a heavy word.”
“You’re a strong guy.” As we exit the building, I give him a side-eyed smirk, and he busts out laughing at my ridiculousness. I join in, too, as we approach the car. It’s nice to see Van in the driver's seat as Tito opens the door for me. I greet him, and he asks me how my day was as Tito jumps in the car. I tell him it went fine and ask about his.
“It keeps getting better.” He nods, pulling out to the road. A part of me feels guilty because of what the failed tech did to cause him harm. Actually, all of me feels the weight of that guilt, and I think that's another reason I’m willingly defying the FBI. At first, I didn’t realize it because Tito being in harm's way took over my brain and made me sick to even think about. But Van is also like family to Tito, and I wouldn’t ever want him hurt because of me.
I wouldn’t want anyone hurt because of me.
After we arrive at the house, Tito and I go straight to his room and turn onCowboy Bebop. We don’t stop for anyone, even Vince, who wants to have a chat with Tito about the prototypes. I try to let it roll off my back because Vince doesn’t look at me any differently than he has. This conversation seemed to be more about figuring out what happened to them, but Tito waved him off and said he was done for the night.
“We’re only on the second episode?” He furrows his brows as the show starts, and I’m curled up on his chest. I let out a laugh and trail down his mountainous abs.
“We had other things going on.” I remind him, and he chuckles.
“Oh, yeah.” He draws out, lightly grazing his fingertips down my back, sending chills throughout my body.
“Hey, you’re gonna talk with Vince, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“About the prototypes. He seemed adamant.” He waves his hand dismissively in response, and I look up at his nonchalant expression.
“He always seems adamant.”
“What does that even mean?” I laugh, and he turns his smile down at the corners.