Eight (Josh)

Devina and I enjoyed walking around whatever city we were in until our feet hurt. Then, we would take a cab or some other mode of public transportation back to our hotel and fall to pieces.

Today was no different. It was a beautiful fall day in Baltimore. But as we walked along as we always did, I couldn’t help thinking something was off.

I reached over and grabbed Devina’s hand. It was something I tended to do a lot, especially when I was scared.

“You okay?” Devina asked as she threaded her fingers between mine.

I shook my head.

“Something feels off,” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno. It’s like something’s in the air.”

“We can go back to the hotel.”

“No. It’s okay. It will pass.”

“Okay. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

“Okay.”

Devina squeezed my hand reassuringly.

We turned into Banana Republic and Devina promptly led me to a dress that caught her eye. It was grey with black on the sides and sleeves.

“Ugh, this is fantastic!” she said.

She searched the rack for her size while I uneasily looked around the store. Nothing seemed out of place but I couldn’t shake this feeling.

Devina grabbed my hand again and pulled me along as she continued browsing. She stopped suddenly and I nearly bumped into her. She was looking at me with an examining eye.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Your hand is sweaty,” she said.

“Really, I’m fine,” I replied.

“Josh, we don’t have to be out if you don’t feel comfortable. It kinda defeats my purpose.”

“I don’t want to spoil your fun.”

“No, dear. I won’t be having fun if I’m worrying about you. I’ll just try on this dress and we can go.”

I looked at her face. Her emerald-green eyes held nothing but sincerity and worry.

“Okay.”

She smiled at me and I smiled back.

We walked over to the changing stalls and I sat on the couch while Devina walked into an empty stall. I looked around nervously. The store only had a few people in it. But there was one guy who kept looking over at me.

My initial reaction was that I’m a celebrity, but this was a dude in his 30s. Not exactly my fan base.

I felt my pulse quicken and my hands become even more sweaty than they already were.

“Josh? Could you help me with this zipper?” Devina called.

Oh, thank god.

I tried to control myself from jumping up and running into her stall. I probably wasn’t very smooth as I came to the door.

“Honey, you need to open the door for me to help you,” I said.

“Oh, right.”

Devina opened the door a fraction and I pushed my way inside, shutting the door behind me. It was a pretty small space and there was barely enough room for both of us to move around. I didn’t meet her gaze in the mirror as I zipped up the dress.

“Josh, what’s wrong?” she whispered.

Damn! How did she know??

“The dress looks beautiful on you,” I said instead.

Devina turned in a flash to face me. Her hands came up to the sides of my face and she forced me to look at her.

“You tell me right now what you saw out there,” she said in a low and dangerous voice.

For a moment I forgot how scared I was and was instead trying not to feel turned on by her power. She was downright sexy when she took control.

I closed my eyes and mentally shook myself.

“There’s a man out there �" brown hair, mid-30s, in a brown jacket �" he kept looking over at me,” I whispered.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen him?” she whispered back.

I tried to think if I had seen him before. Nothing came to mind.

Devina shook me slightly by the shoulders.

“Joshua! Is this the first�"”

“YES! Jesus, Devina! I had to think about it!” I snapped.

“Sorry,” she said.

She looked at the floor as she thought. When she looked back at me, I saw a determination in her eyes that startled me.

“Listen to me carefully. I’m going to buy this dress �" mainly because I want it but it would look weird if we just left. Do not let go of my hand unless it’s to put your arm around my waist. Do not resist my lead. If I’m pulling you along, do not try to pull in an opposite direction. And most importantly, play along. Whatever move I make, just go with it. Understood?”

I nodded.

“Yes,” I replied with hardly any air behind my voice.

Her hands went back to my face. She looked at me tenderly and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you.”

I nodded again and before I could stop myself, dove right in to hug her. She was tense at first but then she wrapped her arms around me. I held her tight. I was terrified.

“Okay, I need you to unzip me again. Then wait outside for me,” Devina said as she pulled away from me.

“Aww! I can’t watch you undress?” I whined.

She rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, my dear, I don’t really care. BUT you draw enough attention to yourself without me. Plus you’ve been in here for a while,” she replied smartly.

She rummaged around in her purse for something. A moment later she stood up straight with a tube of chapstick in her hand.

“What’s that for?” I asked curiously. 

I would never understand how her mind worked. I guessed that’s why she was in the German CIA and I wasn’t. She reminded me a lot of Connor with her effortless genius.

“Might as well make it seem like we’ve been doing something other than formulating a plan. Here,” she proffered the chapstick. “Moist lips make it seem like we’ve been sucking each others’ faces.”

Effortless genius.

I took the chapstick from her and applied it while she ruffled my hair. She made some other adjustments to my appearance, then looked up at me.

“Okay. You’ll be fine. I’ll be out in a flash,” she said.

I nodded and turned to go.

“OH! Zipper, please,” she said.

I turned and pulled down the zipper, slower than was probably necessary, but it would probably be the only time I’d get to do it. YOLO.

“Thanks,” she said as I turned once again to leave.

As I left, she gave my a*s a slap. I was surprised for a split-second before remembering we had a cover to keep up. I grinned to myself as if we really had had a makeout session. Kinda wished we had; the idea of making out with Devina in a changing stall was really hot.

Before I could entertain the thought much further, Devina was standing by my side. She grabbed my hand and we walked over to the cashier.

I freed her hand and put my arm around her waist instead. I looked over my shoulder. The man watching me was still there.

“Could I have your autograph?” the cashier suddenly asked.

I turned back to the blonde behind the register. She was looking at me hopefully.

Way to draw attention to me.

“Sure,” I agreed, hoping my smile didn’t seem insincere.

She handed me a frequent buyer sign-up card. I flipped it over and quickly signed my name.

“Thanks!” the cashier squealed as I handed it to her.

“No problem, sweetie,” I replied.

Devina handed the girl her credit card. I could tell she was refraining from slapping the girl for practically announcing I was in the store.

I cleared my throat.

“8 o’clock,” I said softly.

Devina lifted her chin slightly in acknowledgment.

“Would you like a hanging bag?” the cashier asked.

“No, thank you. A regular bag will do just as well,” Devina replied.

The girl handed Devina her bag and we were off. I took Devina’s hand and squeezed it. I tried to act as casually as possible. It wasn’t working so well.

“Did Thomas tell you he thinks we should go to Atlantic City?” Devina suddenly asked.

I was relieved for the conversation.

“No, he didn’t mention it,” I replied.

Wait… was she talking about our next destination in front of this guy who had been watching us? No, she was smarter than that.

“I was really thinking upstate New York or maybe Boston.”

“Boston would be great.”

We walked out of the store and turned down the street in the opposite direction of our hotel. I panicked for a second, but then I realized Devina was trying to create a diversion. I tried to remain as calm as I could. 

Devina looked over at me and I looked at her. The action allowed both of us to look out of the corner of our eye. There was no doubt this man was following us. 

Idle chat was made as we walked; I tried my hardest to keep up with her talk. After four blocks, she turned to look behind us.

“He’s still following us,” she said. “Okay. Remember everything I told you. Here we go.”

Oh, Jesus. She squeezed my hand and I squeezed back as we turned into a boutique. I didn’t know what Devina was thinking. Honestly, I was too blinded by fear to try and figure it out. I just walked with her.

We quickly moved toward the back of the store, hiding behind displays to give us cover. I looked over my shoulder. The mystery man had entered the store but hadn’t located us. 

“Josh Hutcherson!” a female voice suddenly squealed.

I turned back around but what happened next was a bit of a blur. 

“Oh, you’ve got to be f*****g kidding me right now,” Devina said and pulled me quickly away from the girl. 

“Sorry, honey, gotta run!” I said to her as we passed. 

I glimpsed over my shoulder again. 

F**k. He saw us.

But luckily for us, a small of crowd of people decided to leave the store at that moment and blocked him from getting to us.

Devina and I were running now. We bolted through a door labeled “Employees Only.” It was concealed from the front of store. There was a staircase and Devina didn’t hesitate to start climbing.

Once we were on the roof, we ran over to the ledge. It broke our run and forced us to lean over and see the street below. Our breaths slowed from heaving as we watched the people below. After a couple of minutes, the man following us came out of the store. He looked around for a moment, then went on his way.

Devina collapsed on the ledge next to me.

“Oh! That was way too close,” she mumbled.

She was right. My heart was still pounding. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins. And I wasn’t thinking clearly.

When Devina stood up straight again, I stepped into her and kissed her. 

I kissed her. 

My lips on hers. Crossing the boundary she had established. 

No, obliterating it. 

Devina tensed at first in surprise but quickly relaxed. She tasted as beautifully as she looked. Her lips tasted like mangoes. I had just identified their flavor when she pulled away. 

Oh, s**t. She was going to slap me again. I opened my eyes to see the bafflement on her face.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“For saving my life,” I replied breathlessly.

Devina just stared at me with a puzzled expression.

Oh my god. Just say something, Dev.

But she didn’t.

“Devina, I’m sorry. I just got caught up in the moment and the excitement and I�"”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to her, covering my lips with her own. It was my turn to be surprised. I didn’t let it stop me from indulging in her. I had wanted this for days. To hold her in my arms every night and feel her body against mine but being unable to kiss her was torture.

She kissed me sweetly but with a sense of urgency. I couldn’t read much more into it before she pulled away.

We were both silent for a long moment.

“We need to go,” Devina finally said softly.

“What?” I asked. I wasn’t expecting that to be her response.

“We need to pack up now and move on, force them off our trail.”

Right. Back to business.

“Okay.”

Devina leaned over the ledge and searched the street with her eyes. When she determined it was clear, she turned to me.

“Let’s go,” she said.

She grabbed my hand and led me to the stairs. I couldn’t help feeling confused. Devina was always business, but I had caught her with her guard down. I don’t know what I was expecting though. For her to say “I love you” and ride off into the sunset with me?

C’mon, Josh. That’s not Devina at all.

As we rode back to our hotel, I tried my hardest to convince myself the kiss was a reaction to the moment, a one-time thing.

Devina didn’t hold my hand like she had done more often lately. She wouldn’t look at me either. Her stare was focused out the cab window for the whole ride.

I tried not to let it hurt my pride, but it wasn’t working. I was scared and wanted her to comfort me. But I had to tell myself that I couldn’t ask more of Devina than she was willing to give.