Chapter 5: New York State of Mind (R-18)

Ravyn walked quietly at Matt’s side, with Bally scouting high above the pair in the clear blue sky. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten stuck on survey duty in this damn desert with the boy. Well, yes she was. The others needed a break, and maybe, just the tiniest bit, she wanted some alone time with Matt.

She wasn’t going to tell him that, of course.

Ichi Island was hot. Hotter than any town in Nyarlea or the bright summers on Ni Island. The sun was a constant beat down, threatening to burn her pale skin to a crisp. Whenever she wished for a breeze and had it granted, she immediately regretted it. Just a blistering stream of sand whipping around her face and sticking to her hair. How did the girls here wash the sand out of anything?

This garbage has been in my ears since Portia dumped us here.

“The oasis makes for a pretty nice camp, huh?” Matt asked, struggling to find a conversation topic.

“Mhm,” Ravyn hummed, scratching a few detestable grains from her ear.

“Fresh water, at least. Not as many sandstorms.”

“What, you haven’t grown to love eating sand yet?” Ravyn snickered. “Three meals a day. All your grains and shit included.”

Matt grinned—that warm, silly grin that he gave her whenever she said something snappy—and her heart skipped. Just the heat. She opened her mouth to add one final sharp remark when it happened.

They weren’t in the desert anymore.

Impossibly tall structures made of metal and glass towered above them. The once-silent atmosphere was a cacophony of horns, whistles, beeps, and voices. The sand beneath their feet had vanished, replaced with a thick, black, uneven material that Ravyn didn’t recognize. Foreign scents comingled in the air, filling her nostrils and setting her on edge.

“Nani the fuck?” Ravyn murmured, unsure where to look first.

“The hell?” Matt asked in the same breath. “Hey, look out!” He snagged her arm and pulled her to the side as a giant metal box zipped past them. A man leaned over and flashed his middle finger out the window.

Ravyn mirrored it, recalling when Finn had taught her the hand signal. “Fuck you too, buddy!”

“No, Ravyn. That one’s on us. We shouldn’t have been standing in the street.” Matt brushed a hand through his hair and shook his head. “This is wild.”

“Roads are for horses and carts. What in Saoirse’s name was that?” Ravyn gestured to the moving metal, then to the buildings. “Or these? Or any of this?”

Matt looked around, then nodded. “This looks like New York City. It’s a place that existed in my old world.”

Ravyn blinked. Another metal box zoomed past, and she realized it was on wheels. What was pulling it? Did it keep horses under the metal part? And how were they moving so fast? “Did we die?” That’s how Finn and Matt had made it to Nyarlea, anyway.

“I don’t think so.” Matt peered through a large nearby window. “It’s weird, though. I’ve never been to New York myself. Just saw it in the movies.”

Ravyn paused. “Movies. Those are your magical moving pictures, right? Like the window Tristan had in his room?”

Matt nodded. “Something like that.”

“Wait, magic. This could be magic.” Ravyn snapped her fingers and turned her face to the sky. “Bally!” she called, then waited. A few passersby shot her an awkward glance, but her trusted familiar didn’t appear. “Shit.”

“Looks like you may be right.” Matt shrugged. “Well, if we have to find the caster, we may as well look around.”

“Where would we even begin? There are so many people here.” On second glance, another realization struck. “There are so many men here.”

“I’ve told you that before.”

“I know. But just seeing it. It’s fucking weird,” Ravyn countered. “Mattaku. Whatever.” She lowered her eyes and sighed.

“Nice threads, by the way,” Matt chuckled. “It’s interesting to see you in that style.”

“Threads?”

He gestured to her clothing, then shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.

Ravyn looked down. Her [Sorcerer]’s dress had been replaced with a white, button-up blouse tucked into a slim taupe skirt that stopped high on the thighs. Her once thigh-high black boots had shrunk to knee-high heels the same color as the skirt. A thick necklace and bracelet—wait, what was that giant pendant on the bracelet?—completed the ensemble. “The hell is this?” she motioned to the heavy bracelet.

“It’s a watch. It tells you the time.” Matt smirked. “I have to admit. It’s nice knowing things that you don’t know for once.”

“Baka! Maybe if you asked more questions, you’d learn things faster.” She touched the thin belt around her waist and lifted her left foot. A string of tassels dangled from the side of the boot, and she tugged on one. “...I don’t hate this.”

“Well, that’s a plus.”

“But! You got to wear your [Civilian Mode] clothes! So, why?” She thumbed beneath the hem of the blouse and twitched it forward for effect. She craned her neck over her shoulder, spotting a gap in the skirt’s fabric that allowed her tail to flow free. “It has room for my tail! I don’t see anyone else here with a tail!”

“I mean, when in Rome, right?”

“...Nani?” Ravyn narrowed her eyes. It was normal for him to speak a slew of nonsense a couple of times a day, but this was getting out of hand.

“Don’t worry about it.” Matt’s grin returned, and he had that glimmer in his eyes that said he had an idea. She would have bet her tail that it was one she wasn’t going to like. “Hey, why don’t we have some fun while we’re here?”

“...You’re joking.”

“Not at all. I live in your world every day, and you’ve never seen mine. This is as real as it’s gonna get.” He knocked on a nearby window to illustrate the flimsy point he was trying to make. “Magic or not, it’ll be fun.”

Ravyn stole another whiff of air, her mind racing with a dozen ideas of what each smell could be. Curiosity was quickly winning over hesitation. Whoever was casting this, the magic didn’t seem malevolent. At least so far. “Okay. Fine. But if things start to go to shit, we do it my way. Deal?”

“Deal.” Matt held out his hand.

Ravyn rolled her eyes and batted it away. Handshakes are ridiculous. “I’m hungry.”

“This is Times Square. I think it’s time for you to try some pizza,” Matt quipped.

Ravyn chewed her lip. Finn had talked about pizza like it was crafted by Saoirse herself—one of the top things he’d missed from his world, he’d claimed. She thought about relaying it to Matt but held back. It wasn’t so much that she wanted to hide her relationship with Finn anymore. She’d slowly realized that she felt quite the opposite—she didn’t want mentioning Finn to harm whatever it was that was building between her and Matt.

“You okay? That’s a pretty serious face to wear for pizza.” Matt cocked his head slightly, brown hair trailing into his amber eyes. Another habit that made him look far cuter than she wanted to admit.

“If this is how we die, I’ll never forgive you,” Ravyn grumbled. “Where’s the damn pizza?”

Matt strolled further along the glass, gripping a black handle and pulling it back. A panel of the window opened, creating a doorway inside. “Lucky for us, it’s right here.”

Through the window? What was wrong with doors? Not wanting to sound any more foolish, Ravyn pursed her lips and marched inside.

The warm scents of freshly baked bread, bubbling sauces, melting cheese, and roasting meat greeted her on entry. Her stomach grumbled, and she licked her lips. She tried to imagine how large the kitchens must be to accommodate so many different cooking styles, and the picture in her head didn’t seem to fit inside the modest back rooms. Had Matt and Finn both downplayed the magic of their world? Surely there was no other way to hide that much food inside such small quarters.

“What do you want on it?” Matt asked, gazing up at a lit sign bearing carefully scripted words and numbers across it.

Ravyn frowned. “How should I know?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry,” he chuckled, then stepped forward.

A young woman with ears like Matt’s and a distinct lack of tail stood behind a counter, staring up at Matt expectantly. She smiled a perfect white smile, and her hand hovered over a metallic box with more buttons than Ravyn could count.

“One large pizza with everything on it,” Matt announced. “And a pitcher of Yuengling.”

“Anything else?” the girl behind the counter asked.

“Nah, that’s it.” His smile faded as he felt around his belt. “Wait, hang on. My [Cat Pack]’s gone.”

Ravyn hadn’t thought about hers, either. A black bag hung from her shoulder by a silver chain—had it been there since they’d arrived? “Matt, would they even accept Bells here?”

“Erm, we just take dollars, if that’s what you mean,” the girl said.

Matt felt around his pockets, then fished a strip of polished leather from his back pocket. “A wallet?” He unfolded the material, then split it open at the top. “There’s money in here.”

“Uh, sir, is that not your wallet?” Her eyes flickered from Matt to Ravyn. “Should I call someone?”

Baka! Ravyn heartily laughed, swiping Matt across the arm with one hand. “Of course, it’s his wallet. And obviously, that’s your money. You just got paid, remember?” From what, she couldn’t decide. What was normal in this world? Would claiming he slept with multiple catgirls be feasible?

“Right. Y-yeah. Sorry, just started a new job.” To Ravyn’s relief, he recovered from the initial surprise. “How much did you say it was?”

Once he’d paid for the food, they took a seat in the far corner of the restaurant, weaving through multiple occupied tables that spared them little more than a passing glance. Do they not notice my tail? They took a seat, and Matt poured them both a glass of the pale yellow liquid.

“That was smooth, Matt,” Ravyn chided. “Almost got the guards called on us.”

“There aren’t any guards in New York; it would have been the police. Drink your beer.”

“That’s what this is?” Ravyn lifted the glass and peered through. “It’s so…clear.”

“Welcome to the USA.” Matt tipped his glass toward her and took a drink.

Ravyn waited for a few heartbeats. If it was poisoned, at least she could try to save him so long as she wasn’t also poisoned. Matt set the glass down and wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. She sighed. Fuck it. She threw back the glass and stole a deep drink. It was light and fluffy and freezing. Where did they keep their kegs? “This is like drinking water,” she scoffed when she lowered her glass.

“You’re not wrong.” He laughed.

A young man in an apron delivered the pizza to their table. A thin circle of bread with more cheese than she’d ever seen in her life, topped with more ingredients than she’d ever seen in one place.

His eyes lingered on Ravyn’s legs as he asked if they needed anything else.

“No, that’s great, thanks.” Matt caught him staring. When he didn’t leave, Matt put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey. I said we’re good.”

Ravyn smirked behind her beer. So protective. She re-crossed her legs and waited for Matt to divvy up the pizza.

That first bite was heaven. Her eyes widened, and her ears flicked forward with joy. She couldn’t hide her excitement—she’d never had anything like it.

“Enjoying yourself?” Matt asked. He hadn’t taken a bite of his yet; he’d been watching her.

She ducked before he could see her blush. “It’s delicious,” she admitted, shoving more of the slice into her mouth. “I could eat the whole thing.”

“Be nice and share.” He finally bit into his slice and hummed with content. “God, it’s been too long.”

“I think we could make this. Cannoli can help me,” Ravyn said mid-chew. “They’re missing out.”

“I’m sure Tristan would be happy, too,” Matt agreed.

They both ate through the pizza before Ravyn realized it. She licked her lips and drained the rest of her beer.

“Even if it was poisoned, I’d say that was worth it,” she murmured, tapping her napkin against her lips.

“I’m glad you think so.” Matt ran his hand through his hair and relaxed in his chair, resting one arm over the back. “I wonder how far Coney Island is from here.”

“Oh? An island?” Ravyn raised a brow. “At last, a term I’m familiar with.”

“It’s actually not a complete island. But there’s an amusement park.”

Ravyn crossed her arms, tapping one long finger against her elbow. “Oh, yes, right, the amusement park.”

“How do I explain this one.” Matt drummed his fingers on the table. “There’s rides, games, and food.”

“Games and food sound like a fair. We have those on San Island every so often. Shulan is pretty known for them.” Ravyn nodded slowly. “But rides? Like riding a horse or a gigashank?”

“No. Like roller coasters.” Matt smiled.

“Like what?”

---

“Oh, no. Hell no. You won’t catch me dead on that thing.” They stood at the base of a gargantuan wooden torture device. Thin, cross-crossed planks weaved and whipped in and out of one another, looping and twisting in patterns that made Ravyn dizzy just looking at them. It was taller than any Defiled she’d ever faced. Nearly as tall as the sky-high buildings in the city itself.

“Aw, Ravyn—” Matt pleaded.

“Absolutely not.” A crowd of people surged around them, men, women, and children laughing and holding hands. Tiny fists clutched mysterious pink threads attached to a paper cone. Some crunched on white kernels from a red and white striped bag.

“You live on the edge of a mountain, and this is what scares you?” Matt laughed.

“Don’t be ridiculous. This abomination isn’t scary. It’s a death trap,” Ravyn snapped. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to die today?”

A line of metal boxes chugged up the wooden slope, hovering at the top before descending into free fall. The people trapped inside screamed.

“Hey. You’re not going to die. Come on. I’ll be there with you the whole time.”

“No means n—”

“Daddy! Daddy! Can we go on the roller coaster?” A kitte— …child, that barely came up to Ravyn’s waist jumped up and down, pointing at the wooden monster.

“Of course we can, champ.” He swept his son from the ground and set him on his shoulders. “Maybe even mom will join us.” He grinned at a blonde woman beside him.

Is this what families look like in Matt’s world?

“He’s like half your size,” Matt murmured.

“Kuso! Baka! Fine! Let’s go.” Ravyn adjusted the strap on her purse, then marched forward.

Matt doubled his steps to catch up, laughing.

He guided them to a pointed tent with a flag flapping in the chill wind. Exchanging more of the strange paper bills he’d used for the pizza, he handed her a pink piece of paper with perforated edges.

“What’s this for?” Ravyn studied it. Admit One was scrawled at its center.

“So we can ride the roller coaster.”

She gaped, incredulous. “You pay to torture yourselves?”

“Land of the free, baby.”

She didn’t bother correcting him. “I have no idea what that means.”

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“It means you pay for torture. Shall we?” Matt held out his hand once more.

Something told her he didn’t want a handshake. Ravyn hesitated, and he waited, searching her face with that sincere expression he always had when he wanted to make her feel better. With a huff, she took his hand.

“I don’t want to get lost in the crowd,” she murmured.

“Of course,” Matt replied.

But his palm felt so warm and comfortable. Their shoulders brushed as they walked, and he entwined his fingers through hers. Her heart skipped, and the roller coaster had nothing to do with it.

They were forced to wait in line, but Ravyn kept hold of Matt’s hand. Even if this world was packed and insane, she found more comfort than she’d expected in standing beside him.

At least until she stepped into the roller coaster’s metal chamber. Matt had picked the front car. Why did he pick the front car?!

“This is safe? You’re sure?” she demanded, her heart hammering in her chest as a young woman in a visor pulled a cushioned bar over her lap.

“It’s safe. I wouldn’t take you on it if it weren’t.” Matt said with a laugh.

She squeezed his hand, nails digging into his tan skin. “Fuck, I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

“You’ll love it. I promise.”

The girl with the visor signaled to a young man at the podium with a tightened fist, and the car lurched forward. The floor beneath her feet rumbled and vibrated, and she clung to Matt’s hand and the bar over her lap for dear life.

Metal chains ticked beneath them, crawling higher and higher up the incline. Ravyn simultaneously wished it would go faster so she could get it over with and slower so she could get off the damn ride. But it continued, and Matt looked infuriatingly calm.

“Check out the view!” Matt pointed out over the side, down at the park below.

For a split second, Ravyn forgot that she was trapped on Hell’s Torture Device. The park lights and the city's blinking towers were breathtaking, shimmering against the ocean water far below. The people looked so distant and tiny, moving around the park in droves.

Then the coaster tipped over the edge.

Ravyn’s stomach went to her throat as they dropped. She screamed and grabbed onto Matt’s arm. He laughed and hollered in delight as the car sped, hurling toward the bottom. Just as she was sure that this was the end, they smoothly curved upward, then zipped around the first bend in the track. The coaster never slowed, taking them through the loops and corkscrews she’d seen from the ground. She could hardly find her breath for the full duration, and her fingers and toes went numb.

To her surprise, when the ride slowed into the beginning, she was giggling.

“Oh. Fuck. Why…why am I laughing?” Ravyn asked, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Could it be? You actually had fun?” Matt teased.

“Yes! Fine! It was fun!” Ravyn’s heart hammered, and her skin tingled. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Good. Let’s get you a treat.” The girl with the visor released the bars over their laps and stepped aside.

Ravyn followed Matt out of the car, and they moved through the exit. “I’m not Buttons! I don’t need a peanut!” she countered, though the giggles were still threatening to bubble over.

“No. But I saw you eyeing the cotton candy.” She must have made a face because he continued, “That pink stuff? You’ve stared at it every time a kid’s got it in their hands.”

She paused, then held out her hand. “...I’d like that.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” Matt accepted, twining his fingers through hers once more.

---

“This building is taller than the others,” Ravyn noted, glancing side to side. “A fuckton taller.”

Matt chuckled and squeezed her hand. “And that’s where we’re going to eat dinner.”

Ravyn gawked, incredulous. She pointed to the top and stared at him in disbelief. “Up there?”

“Mhm. I didn’t think you were afraid of heights. What, with the mountain-side living and all.”

“I didn’t think I was, either,” she grumbled, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms. “First the roller coaster, now this.”

“At least there’s not a drop at the top this time,” Matt reasoned. “Come on. I’ve never been to the top of the Empire State Building, either. It’ll be an experience for us both.”

Ravyn noted other couples passing by, dressed in finer fabrics and tailored dresses.

Wait, other couples? She looked at Matt. Did I just assume—

No. Don’t be stupid.

“It doesn’t look like we’re dressed for this.” Ravyn pointed to a woman in a violet dress, her human ears decked in gemstones and curls of hair flowing over her shoulders. “This outfit’s cute, but yours is definitely too…civilian.”

Matt tugged at the edges of his jacket, looking over his attire. “I think it’s good enough.”

“Baka.” She shook her head. “We can just get another pizza. I refuse to embarrass myself with a man who has no clue how to dress.”

“Harsh.”

Ravyn smirked. “The truth always is. Let’s—”

Before the words could leave her mouth, her outfit shimmered, then changed, dissolving into a long, black dress with red floral embroidery. A tall collar hugged her throat, and two slits rode high on her thighs. Heeled slippers appeared where the boots had been shortly before, and the shoulder bag transformed into a small, rectangular satchel with a golden clasp. The ensemble was reminiscent of her San Island attire. She smoothed the silken fabric over her stomach. “Well, this is a nice change.”

“I don’t know if I agree. This is pretty damn stuffy,” Matt murmured.

Ravyn glanced up to see that his clothing had also changed. Black slacks and a black jacket with sleeves rolled up to the middle of his forearms. A grey vest and a crisp white shirt lay beneath, complete with a black tie that vanished behind the vest. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she looked away before Matt could see. “I think it looks nice.”

“Oh?” That knowing smile returned, the one that drove her mad. “A compliment?”

“Mou ii. Let’s not stand out here and starve, hm?” She snatched his hand in hers and led him inside. He followed with a chuckle.

Inside they were greeted by ceilings of gold reflecting on the floor’s polished patterned tiles. The sparkling lights were enchanting, and Ravyn caught herself staring in wonder until a sudden thought dawned on her.

“Wait, how do we get to the top?” She looked left and right. “We’re not walking up that many stairs are we? In this dress?”

Matt ran a hand through his hair, smiling sheepishly. “What if I told you we were?”

“Nani? Are you serious?” Ravyn’s ears flattened against her head, her tail whipping between her legs with agitation. “What the hell, Matt?”

“Deep breaths. I’m joking.” He motioned to a group of people stepping into a carpeted box. Metal doors closed, masking the people behind them. “We take an elevator.”

Ravyn bit her lower lip. She’d seen elevators used in some larger Nyarlea buildings. Shaky, rickety contraptions that she was not about to trust her life to. Not going that high up. “I think I’d rather take the stairs.”

“Trust me. No you won’t.” Matt found her hand and took it. “It’s safe. We’ll be together the whole time.”

Ravyn heaved a deep breath. He said the same thing about the roller coaster. I guess that turned out okay. “All right. Fine.”

Of course, that didn’t stop her fingernails digging into her palm or her transfixed stare on the illuminated buttons designating which floor they were passing. The ride seemed to take ages. It wasn’t nearly as unstable as the Nyarlothep devices, but the thought of how high they were unnerved her. When the doors parted on the eighty-sixth floor, she leaped through them and exhaled a breath she’d been holding for at least forty stories.

“See? We’re fine.” Matt laughed, joining her at her side.

Damn, he really does wear that suit well. “That meal better taste like a million Bells,” she grumbled.

“The view should be worth it, at least.” He held out an arm, and she reluctantly accepted it.

They were seated at a table overlooking the city. Oranges, purples, and dark blues painted the sky as the sun prepared to set, and the blinking lights of the buildings below looked like stars from so high up. It was breathtaking. The food was almost as good. Almost.

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” Matt noted, cutting into his steak, eyes never leaving her face.

“I am,” she replied. “I know. I’m surprised, too.” As she stole a sip of the clear, sparkling wine that Matt had requested, a wave of memories washed over her. “It’s funny, I think this is the kind of life my mother wanted to live.”

“Yeah?” Matt asked, carefully setting his silverware on either side of his plate. “You haven’t talked about her much.”

Ravyn nodded. “She spent most of her life in a Party with my father. I don’t remember his name.” She traced the edge of her glass in slow circles with one finger. “Families here are so different.”

“Generally, they are. But a lot of kids here have home lives like that, too. Where they don’t know one or either parent,” Matt explained. “Was your mom not around much?”

Ravyn shook her head. This was personal, intimate territory. Yet, somehow, she felt comfortable talking with Matt about it. What had changed? “Not really. The first face I remember seeing was a Nyanny’s. I thought she was my mother for a long time. Even so, mom always made sure I had plenty of money. She lives on Nyarlothep in a house that’s way too big for her.”

“She’s still alive, then?” Matt asked. It was a fair question; a lot of catgirls didn’t live to see their sixties.

“As far as I know. I haven’t been back in years.” Ravyn lifted her fork and poked at the remnants of what Matt had called a ‘potato.’ “After I moved to Ni, I told her to stop sending me money. I had plenty saved from…from my time with Finn.” She took a deep breath and continued, “Besides that, girls in Junonia started paying me to hunt Encorachers and the Defiled that showed up.”

“Where were the heaps of Bells when you killed the drider?” Matt laughed.

Ravyn sneered. “You’re right. Keke and Cannoli should have paid a lot more for their lives.”

To his credit, Matt had the humility to blush. “Yeah, I royally screwed that one up.”

“I wasn’t exactly helping.” Ravyn laughed, taken back by the softness of her tone. Was it the wine? The view? She locked Matt’s gaze, her heart racing. No. It’s Matt. It had been a long time since she’d felt like this. “Besides, you…behaved.” She stood and circled the table.

“Like an idiot,” he added, eyes glued to her form. His gaze was intense and burning. Like she was the only thing deserving of attention in the world.

“I think…I think that’s okay sometimes.” Ravyn slid into his lap, hands resting on his chest. Her voice lowered to a murmur. “To let yourself go.”

Matt circled his hands around her waist, tipping his forehead until it touched hers. “You sure?”

The sunset erupted in a cascade of reds and purples, bathing the room in a spectacular glow. Ravyn tilted her chin up and pressed her lips to his. His embrace tightened around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck. She traced his lower lip with the tip of her tongue, hardly able to breathe. He let her in, meeting her passion with his tongue. He tasted like Champagne, cotton candy, and home. The rest of the world seemed to melt away, wrapped in dusk’s warm colors.

Behind them, the room and its occupants vanished. The chair beneath Matt became a large bed covered in plush pillows and blankets. The enormous windows remained, looking out onto the city below them, painting a romantic background punctuated by the sunset. Magic, Defiled, it didn’t matter. Ravyn couldn’t let him slip away from her a second time.

Without breaking their kiss, she slid the jacket from his shoulders and worked at the buttons on his vest before moving to the ones on his shirt. Even with the thin layer of fabric between his chest and her fingers, she could feel the heat from his skin. He moved one hand around her neck, cradling her chin in his palm.

Once she’d stripped his chest bare, he reached behind her and unzipped her dress. Their embrace broke for a moment, just long enough for Ravyn to step out of the gown and slip off her shoes. Even that minor pause seemed like ages before her mouth found his again. The longer their bodies lingered against one another, the more her heart ached in his absence.

Their underthings joined the pile of clothes on the floor, then Matt guided Ravyn back, laying her gently on the bed.

“You’re intoxicating. You know that?” he murmured, moving above her and brushing a few errant strands of hair from her face.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Ravyn teased, pulling him down until their chests touched and lips met.

Matt aligned his hips with hers and slowly united their bodies. Ravyn gasped, her back arching with pleasure. She had only ever imagined how sex with a man would feel. The more she gave in to the ecstasy, the more she understood.  There was no comparison. Matt was her match.

The gentle intimacy they shared was sweet and perfect. It made her dizzy, and her toes curl. His ragged breathing blended with her soft moans. She wrapped her legs and tail around his back, holding him in every way she could. I never want to let you go, Matt.

“I’m close,” he murmured, his body tensing.

“Then come with me,” she whispered against his mouth. A thin sheen of sweat glistened from both of their bodies.

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.” She wanted to feel him. All of him. And there was no one in this world that she would rather have at her side.

Their movements grew faster, more desperate. His name escaped her lips, and he climaxed, pulling her over the edge with him. His kiss deepened as their bodies pulsed, descending from the high.

The air cooled, and Matt rolled to his side. He pulled her close, and Ravyn rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“Good thing the people in the restaurant didn’t join us, huh?” Matt asked with a chuckle.

“A little exhibitionism never hurt anyone,” Ravyn replied, running the tip of her tail down his spine.

He shivered. “You’re a dangerous influence.”

“Hm. Baka.” She laughed and kissed his chest. “I could say the same about you.”

Ravyn relaxed in his embrace and fell fast asleep.

---

“Well, this is new,” Keke’s voice rang in Ravyn’s ears.

Keke? How’d you get to New York? Ravyn blinked, a sleepy haze in the corners of her vision.

“Oh my goodness,” Cannoli squeaked, grabbing Keke’s arm. “That’s so cute.”

Ravyn shook her head, then sat up. Matt’s arm had been around her waist, and hers rested on his hip. They were inside Agni’s tent, laid across one of the blankets over the sand. What the hell…?

“Ravyn? Are you feeling all right?” Ceres asked, sitting up on the opposite side of the tent.

Ravyn didn’t know how to reply. Where was the roller coaster? The pizza? The room with Matt? Matt…

Matt blinked awake and yawned. His gaze flickered from Keke and Cannoli to Ravyn, sliding to the hand on his hip.

Was it all a dream? “I-it’s not what it looks like!” Ravyn leaped to her feet, brushing the sand away from her dress. “Just…nightmares. That’s all.”

Matt ran a hand through his hair and yawned again. “Did I miss something?”

Keke shrugged. “I was wondering the same thing.”

“So cute!” Cannoli squealed again.

“I’ll be outside,” Ravyn muttered, turning toward the tent’s flap.

“Wait,” Matt said, getting to his feet. “Ravyn, you’ve never been on a roller coaster. Right?”

Ravyn paused, her hand on the opening. “Of course not.” Brushing one hand through her hair, she turned. It was impossible not to imagine Matt in his dinner attire. “But…why don’t you tell me about them later?”

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