When Colin taps "Share Location" in exchange for a sultry summertime promise, Lyra blends satellite precision, Fae magic, and his growing obsession into a seduction so charged, pleasure can be given, or taken, without even a touch. That's the beauty of it. That's the game.
*Text messages are marked by initials. Cell phone notifications in bold brackets.
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{Notification: Colin has turned location sharing on.}
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The truth is, for as long as he lives, I can find Colin whenever I choose. But knowing that would only unsettle him, and reveal far too much about what I'm not.
Convincing him to share his location through his phone, on the other hand, was something he could understand. Something he could choose. Or at least, he could
tell
himself he'd chosen it, in exchange for my promise not to wear panties all summer.
Of course, GPS only tells me where he
is
, not where he's
going
. What I do with that information... that's where the magic comes in.
I play with him in small, silly ways at first.
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The Monday after he shares his location,
I spend the afternoon in the park across the street from his office. I lounge on a blanket, facing away from him in my saffron sundress. The back is cut so low that, from his perspective, I appear naked from the waist up.
{Notification: Missed call from Colin}
C:
Hi beautiful. I see you. Pick up?
L:
No.
C:
Won't you even turn around?
In reply, I sweep my long hair into a messy bun, exposing the line of my neck. Then I curl back onto my side, book in hand, the shape of my body languid and deliberate. The breeze plays with the hem of my dress, and it flickers over my bare feet like a flame.
He sends me a photo--
me,
just as he sees me now. Graceful neck, sun-kissed back, the valley of my waist, round hips, all perfectly framed. His riposte plays to my vanity, ties it to him.
A springtime sweetheart, green and tender, might have thought themselves rebuffed by my actions. An indulgent autumn love would have brought a sweet treat to share on my blanket. But Colin is proving to be an ideal summer lover, and so has earned a reward.
I whistle softly to the wind and let it lick my dress nearly high enough to imply a glimpse of cheek. Then I smooth it back down with a quarter-glance over my shoulder, as if chastising him for peeking.
He doesn't text me again. But I feel him watching--pleasure traced with possession--until I leave.
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On Wednesday,
I send the sound of my bells ahead of him while he shops for groceries. I sense his anticipation, fizzing like champagne caught in the hand and lost through the fingers each time he turns a corner, thinking he's found me.
Outside, I toss a full bag of peanuts to the parking lot crows and leave them two strands of shiny bells. One to weave around the windshield wiper of his car, the other to keep for their own amusement.
He doesn't find them
until the thunderstorm on Thursday.
{Notification: Missed call from Colin}
C:
Lyra. I was on the highway and I could hear your bells over the rain.
C:
I pulled over to take them off. I couldn't think straight with the sound.
C:
My wife didn't hear them. She thinks I'm crazy.
C:
Now I'm soaked. And hard as a rock. In a goddamn gas station bathroom.
C:
Don't touch my car.
L:
I didn't.
{Notification: Missed call from Colin}
C:
DON'T touch my car. DON'T lie to me.
C:
I swear to God Lyra
L:
Careful, Colin.
L:
You might get what you ask for.
{Notification: Colin has turned location sharing off.}
His anger and arousal crackle around me long after the messages stop. It feels like melting into a mineral spring just hot enough to sting.
Everyone knows that contact with my kind destabilizes humans. What they don't know is how they affect us in return. They pull us back into time--into urgency, into intensity. We become sharp, bright, full of blood and heat. A rare intoxication, for a race as long-lived as mine.
I linger on the porch long into the night, savoring the sensation as lightning strikes the ridge beyond the lake.
By Friday, he's had a change of heart.
{Notification: Missed call from Colin}
C:
Please pick up. I'm calling to apologize for not believing you.
C:
And for losing my temper.
C:
There was parking lot footage. It was a crow.
C:
They collect shiny things and hide them. I had to Googled it.
C:
I should've known by the way the ribbon was stuck in there.
C:
You could never do that with your fingers. I had to cut it out.
C:
I'm so sorry Lyra. Please forgive me. Let me make it up to you.
L:
I'll consider it. After I consult the crows.
C:
Will you pick up if I call again? Or I can come over.
C:
Please, I can't tell if you're joking over text.
L:
I'm not.
{Notification: Colin has turned location sharing on.}
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I leave him a gift that
next Monday morning.
A tall red candle burning on an oak stump, right where he pauses mid-run.
Beneath it, a note:
Burn for a dream of me.
C:
Is this you forgiving me about the thing with the car?
L:
It is.
C:
Thank you.
C:
I'm not complaining, but leaving it lit like that... that's dangerous.
L:
Only for you
L:
But if you want me...burn.
L:
Be brave, Colin.
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