My phone buzzes. I’m a bit surprised that it is working this high in the air. I transfer all of Colin’s weight to one arm, and drop one of his wrists.
He screams, using both hands to cling to my arm. I use my newly freed hand to pull my phone from my pocket.
I’m not surprised to see Piper’s name on my screen. I punch the green answer button.
“Hello, my flame.”
“Ant! Where are you? Are you alright? What is happening?”
“I am perfectly fine. I’m about eighty feet above your apartment. I just wanted to talk to Colin alone, to give him a chance to cool off. I promise that I will not kill him.”
There’s a short pause on the other end of the line before she laughs. “Ant, please don’t kill him.”
“I won’t!” I protest with a grin. “I promise you right now, that I won’t. Killing him is the furthest thing from my mind.”
She laughs again. “It’s just that the more you protest, the more it feels like you might kill him.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. I said I’m not going to kill him. Even though it would be very easy for me to just drop him right now and let gravity do all the work,” I tease. I glance down at the man, who is now attempting to cling to my arm with both hands. “Why would I say I wasn’t going to kill him, if I was just planning on killing him?”
“An alibi?” she jokes.
“Hmmm, not a terrible idea.”
“What is he doing?”
I look down at Colin, whose eyes are squeezed shut. His lips are moving silently. “I think he might be praying?” I offer.
She laughs again. I love it. “What are you going to do with him?”
“I’d love to drop him in a lake.”
“Oh dear. That would absolutely ruin his hair,” she teases. “You know there’s that duck pond in the park near your place.”
It will beourplace soon enough. After this morning, I am never going to let Piper out of my sight again. “Colin seems like the kind of guy who loves ducks.”
“I don’t want to begin this relationship by ordering you around. But, if you wanted to cool him off?—”
“Ducks are super cool,” I say, already flying in that direction. Colin screams and begins flailing again. “I had better go, my flame, before I drop my cargo.”
My intelligent lovely mate is so full of great ideas. I am going to marry her one day. It’s something I hadn’t really considered possible before but after attending Sacha’s wedding, I know I need it to happen. White dress. Ceremony. Food and drinks. All the people we love coming together. Ours will be at night, and the music will be quieter. Maybe even a silent disco.
By the time I have come to this conclusion, I’m hovering over the duck pond.
As I get lower to the water, Colin’s tirade changes, from pleading for his life, to a long string of curses and insults.
He definitely isn’t looking forward to a dip in the water.
“I’ll sue you! I’ll tell the news about this! I’ll have it all over the internet. Reporters will be knocking at your door! I’ll ruin you!” He’s ranting, but it’s pointless.
About a foot above the pond, I drop him.
The park is empty right now, so no one notices the very loud splash noise. Or his flailing. He disappears below the surface for a very brief period of time, then his head pops back up, and after some fumbling, he stands. The water comes up to his chest.
“You can swim, right?” I ask, hovering a couple feet above the water. “I definitely should have asked before.”
“You idiot!” He’s yelling, which means he’s not drowning. So I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine. “I’m calling the cops!” He pulls a waterlogged phone from his pocket, and his face falls.
“And tell them what? That you got drunk and fell into a lake?”
