Free Bladed Wings by Jarod Davis

and made the little roll of her shoulders look sexy and sweet. “Maybe I’ll go to Hollywood and strike it big as a screenwriter.”
    “Good luck.”
    “I think I’ll need it.”
    They leaned there, and it was comfortable, and then Timothy felt stupid because he wanted to keep talking. He wanted to hear her voice so he went back to that first question, “What’s he like? What’s Terrance into?” Timothy decided that Terrance was a name for bad people—all of them.
    She inhaled for the answer, but paused, “I, uh, I’m not really sure.” She said it like a revelation, turning to Timothy. “You know, I really don’t know.”
    “How long have you been together?”
    “A couple months. I mean, we met and it was pretty incredible. Like instant chemistry.”
    “Really?” All of his effort aimed at keeping the jealousy out of his voice. “How?” Timothy asked because masochism is easy in college. Jeremiah would have asked so he could better simulate the experiences, thus making it easier to supplant this Terrance when the time was right.
    “I don’t know,” Jenny said, her eyes directed out at the sky. It was barely past four thirty, but the sun was still half way down. The sunlight looked pale, everything cast in gray. “It was like he was really strong, but really sensitive too. Like I could look at him, and we felt right together. Chemistry. Not much more. Do you know what I mean?”
    “Not really.”
    “We go out and he’d listen to me and I’d feel special because he’d have all of his attention on me. Like with Travis, my last boyfriend, we’d go out and it didn’t bug me then, but Travis would always be checking out other girls.”
    “How old was he?”
    “Does it matter?”
    Timothy laughed, “Probably not.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Do you think so little of us?” he laughed.
    “What? That guys are actually that superficial?” Lips tightened in thought, she decided, “Yeah, I do.” But she chuckled and Timothy didn’t care if he had to sell out every other guy just to hear her laugh again. Those sounds made him happier than good grades or winning money . She didn’t need to do anything else. Then again, being near her had the same effect. Something about her intoxicated and hypnotized. She triggered the happy parts of his brain.  “Travis was a jerk anyway.”
    Jenny was an angel. And Timothy couldn’t tell if it mattered, if she got some superpower because of her heritage. Like maybe all angels were hot and evoked the same feelings in the people around them. For a second, he tried and failed to think of something better than her. Tripping over a fist-sized nugget of gold, getting elected President, or discovering an immortality serum wouldn’t have felt as wonderful as talking there with Jenny.
    “You okay?”
    “Uh,” he said, “yeah,” and snapped back to that walkway with that girl.
    “You looked pretty lost. Anything good?”
    “Not really.”
    “C’mon,” Jenny pulled, “I’m telling you everything about me and Terrance and you can’t share one little thought with me? Doesn’t sound fair.”
    “I was thinking. Just thinking.”
    “C’mon now,” she said again. “You have to tell me.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I said so.”
    “That’s not much of a reason.”
    “But it’s true. You have to tell me. I’m telling you, you have to tell me.”
    “And that makes it true.”
    “Sure,” she said with a straight face that still had the corners of her lips tugging up, like it took all of her concentration to stay serious. “It’s a new law. One I just made up. New, sure, but just as valid.”
    “I’m pretty sure you can’t do that.”
    “Prove it.”
    “You can’t prove a negative.”
    “Of course you can,” Jenny said, “Watch.” Holding one hand up, palm flat, she waved at it with the other, “See this?”
    “Yeah, your hand.”
    “Well, there are no peaches in it. See, I just proved a negative.” Grinning, she stuck out her tongue. He crossed