She pressed her face into my chest, right over the scar the leopard left, right over the graft that hummed warm and satisfied with her proximity. Her arms came up around my back, and we stood there in the alcove while the world moved past us and didn't matter.
"Sunday," she said into my shirt. "Boba. No thinking about gates."
"No thinking about gates."
"And you're paying."
"I always pay."
"Because you have Aurora's credit card."
"Technically I have Aurora's emergency backup credit card that she doesn't know I have."
Naomi laughed, and the sound of it was worth every broken bone Vale had given me. She pulled back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, pretending she hadn't almost cried, and I pretended I hadn't noticed because that was what she needed.
"Class," she said. "Nishimura reading."
"Nishimura's the one who throws chalk at people who fall asleep."
"Nishimura's the one who threw chalk at Jordan so hard it left a mark." She grinned. "I'm not Jordan."
