Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,64
called a ‘turtle neck,’ which made sense. She had flicked through her internal encyclopedia and saw a plethora of turtles and their necks. But she was a person and not a turtle.
“I don’t like the sweater,” she said finally.
Lucas laughed. “See, you already know what you like. Or don’t like, anyway. One minute. Let me grab a couple more. Don’t move.”
Lucas returned with three sweaters. “Do you like any of these?”
“This one.” Kaitlyn reached for the charcoal v-neck, then moved to tug off her sweater.
Lucas grabbed her hand, speaking quietly. “Not here, Kate. You need to go in the dressing room.”
“Oh, right Sorry, I forgot. All the time being observed by the cameras.” Kaitlyn dropped her head and went back into the dressing room. She was so used to everything being recorded; it was going to take some time for her to adjust to the idea of privacy. Moments later, she came out with the sweater and jeans in her hands. “These will work. I guess I’ll never be able to wear a dress again. At least not in public.”
Lucas frowned and glanced around for eavesdroppers before he said, “We could always change the coating to look like skin.”
“No. I like the reminder of knowing exactly what I am.”
“You’re unique.”
Kate smiled. “I guess that’s one way to put it.”
“Do you want to keep shopping or finish later?”
“Later. I just wanted something to wear for our date. Shopping doesn’t seem as fun as Quess makes it sound.”
“I’m not much of a fan of shopping, myself.” He kissed her gently, his thumbs brushing her jaw line. “You can change in the bathroom, and then we’ll go on our first official date.”
Lucas pulled into a bowling alley. “Heads up. I used to be on the bowling team. I figure I might actually have a chance of beating you at something for once.” He gave her a crooked grin that made her heart skip a beat.
“I guess we’ll see,” she said smugly as she shut her car door and walked around to take his hand. “My visual-spatial awareness is quite excellent.”
Competitiveness was ingrained in her, even before she had died. She’d been captain of the swim team for two years. She broke the tri-county meet record her junior year. Kaitlyn realized it was the first time she’d remembered that since her memories were unlocked, and it brought her a pang of sadness. Her parents had been at that meet. They’d been so proud of her.
Lucas glanced over at her. He stopped walking and tugged her around to face him. “What’s wrong?”
Kaitlyn smiled sadly. “I was thinking about my parents.”
He didn’t say anything, but he wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight for several moments.
When she was ready, they walked into the dimly lit building hand in hand. They were assailed by the smell of fried food and stale beer, and Kaitlyn stepped back as a tipsy brunette in high heels bumped into her. The girl balanced her clear plastic cup of beer and waved at Kate before she wandered off. “Sorry!”
“I’m going to get our shoes and lanes,” Lucas told Kaitlyn, squeezing her hand before he let go. “I’ll be right back.”
Kaitlyn nodded and scanned the bowling alley. It was really loud. There were a lot of people inside, congregating on the hardwood of the lanes and wandering around the area near the bar. It made her uncomfortable.
She turned back to watch Lucas. A pretty blonde girl stood behind the counter, smiling at him. Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes as the girl threw back her head and laughed at something Lucas said.
Caution, flashed on her screen. Her body tensed, and she made her way to Lucas’s side.
She snaked her arm around him and glared at the girl. Lucas patted her hand, and she relaxed somewhat, but kept her eyes glued to the blonde. The girl dropped the money as she handed it back to Lucas, and Kaitlyn registered her suddenly elevated heart rate; Kaitlyn had made her nervous. She wondered what made her mood change from laughter to a bundle of nerves so quickly. She must have done something wrong.
Lucas grabbed their shoes and pulled her with him. “What was that about, Kate?”
“She was potentially a threat.”
“To who?” he asked wearily.
“I don’t know. I got the caution flash.”
Lucas groaned. “We’re going to have to make some changes to your programming now that we know you have feelings. Could you have been jealous and saw her as a threat?”
Kaitlyn thought about the emotion