Command • T'Challa

Lost, Part 2

She was so struck by him that, against her better judgement, she'd offered him the use of her umbrella on his way back- she insisted she'd be fine with what she already had, she said, her eyes darting to and from him.

"It's my mama, you see," she said, trying to smile. "She worries that I'll catch a cold unless I'm protected from the rain in every way,"

"Not so protected as to keep you from finding me." James quipped.

"Just take it-" she said, putting the umbrella handle in his hands.

"How will I find you to give it back when the sun's shinin' again, miss?" he countered.

Now she looked him in the eyes.

"You know you can't do that, not here, not now. That's not how it works." she answered, stepping back. James closed the space that she'd made, standing near her again.

"Just- just keep it. I'm sure I'll see you again, perhaps someday." she said.

"Perhaps? Perhaps I'm a gentleman and I must make it up to you." he said.

"No- keep the umbrella. I'll tell my mama I gave it to someone who needed it more than me. That'll be enough." Grace said.

"It'll be enough, if- when the sun is shining, you'll kindly meet me for ice cream down the street at Wally's? How about Thursday at lunch, or whenever works for you?" James asked with his suavest smile.

She gave him a small smile, blush creeping onto her cheeks. She didn't look like the girls at school- maybe that's why he took her in like she was the rarest diamond in the world, like nothing he'd ever find again. No, he wasn't going to pass up on a girl like this.

"Here's my address, my apartment number." she said. "There's a fire escape at the back. I'll be at Wally's on Saturday evening."

"I'll be seeing you, Grace." he said.

......

"What are you daydreaming about, James?" Grace asked him, waving her hand in his face.

"Just remembering the day that I first saw you, darling." he said, smiling at her.

"You ready to go? How long will your folks be out?" he asked.

She frowned, turning back to look at herself in her big mirror.

"I guess I am, except my hair, and my lipstick is missing."

"Oh, you mean this?" James asked, twirling his fingers at Grace's right ear, a little bullet-shaped tube of lipstick seeming to come out of thin air.

"Where'd you find that?" she asked, smiling and taking it from his hand. He closed his fingers around it, holding it out of her reach above her head, grinning at her.

"You didn't answer my second question, and you look amazing, by the way." he said.

She tried to frown. "My parents won't be back until ten, at least, that's what they said. Now give me my lipstick." she said indignantly.

"I saw it on the windowsill," he said. "I knew you'd be looking for it- kiss me before you put it on."

"James, why?" she whined.

"Because what will my parents think when they see lipstick on my neck-" he started.

"James, stop it!" she exclaimed, kissing him. He kissed her back, bringing his hand down to give the lipstick to her.

"I love you." he whispered in her ear.

He went back out through the window and the fire escape, and Grace left through the front door of the apartment. Leaving a note for her parents would do no good- they just had to leave and hope that they didn't come back earlier. if they said ten, then Grace knew that she'd better be back by a quarter after nine, back in bed, looking as sick as possible. It was so risky, a black girl sneaking out with a white boy, but she didn't care. She knew that James wasn't as careful as she tried to be, because he always wanted to see her. He was pretty much the only white boy who swaggered through her side of the neighborhood without a care in the whole damn world- because he didn't give a damn who saw him, except Mr. and Mrs. Alburn, of course. On that end, he kept the lowest profile possible, hard as it was.