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He wraps an arainst him as atch the fishermen Adam doesn’t recoil from my touch, doesn’t run away or look at me like I’ what’s in my past and what I have the potential to become tomorrow—but somehow he does

17:30

We return to Future-Adam’s house and spread our supplies across hisproducts Baking soda and sugar A party-sized bag of ice I lean against the counter and try to iine e’ll use them for but come up blank

“Nohat?” Chris asks

Adas it on the back of a chair “Noe put those cheood use”

“Uh, I failed che skills too”

Over the next hour, Adam puts all of us to work With Trent, hesoda in a skillet with some other chemicals This makes a smooth, brown mixture that they form into little round blobs and bake in the oven like cookie dough

Meanwhile, Ada products and all of the ice we bought They work so fast I can barely keep up, but Zoe and I assist the them more supplies In the downti’s lobby and sixth floor, using h estiht caras doused in chloroforh to get us inside

I check my watch “We still have a few hours before we et some sleep”

“Not sure I can sleep,” Chris says “I’m too amped up”

“Me too” Trent says, but he yawns “Okay, ood”

We split up and shuffle off to different bedrooms Adaers into mine We don’t speak as alk down the hallway and find an empty room with a queen-sized bed, then shut the door

I remove my jacket and slip off my shoes My clothes are still damp underneath, as are Adam’s There’s no e can sleep in the me in only my bra and jeans, and hear his sharp intake of breath He re me another look at his toned chest

I lead hi up at him I’m tired and I know I should rest, but now that we’re alone, the last thing I want to do is sleep These ht be my last few hours alive My last few hours with Adahmy cheek, my chin, my neck My muscles tense with anticipation but not fear Never fear, not with Adam I close my eyes and let hiers brushat the ink on the down my forearm that wrap around a pink flower, a dahlia, with a name written below the petals “‘Esperanza,’” he reads “What does it mean?”

“It’s my mother’s name It means ‘hope’ in Spanish”

“Hope” He touches the other tattoos on my arms—the spiderwebs, the black stars, the blue waves His hands trail acrossthe last of h they are flying up into the sky “And this one?”

“It sy the foster care syste able to live without fear

He leans down and presses his lips to asp I’ up to my neck

I can’t take it anymore I turn around and pull his mouth to mine Our lips meet and fire dances between us We fall back on the bed, our legs twisting together, lasses come off I kiss his face, his neck, his shoulders, and everything in between His hands tangle in ainst his mouth