“Yep, I think so. She knew Murdock from when she was aboard the
Her mouth twisted into a wry grin. “I’m not sure she fits on the
“Anyway, Brill was pretty sure that if Murdock got anywhere near me, she’d latch onto the fresh meat. And she did.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Diane and Bev were livid about it, but Brill is a powerful force in her own right. I think that by the time Diane and Bev found out, it was a done deal and the meet-up at Jump! was only a matter of timing.”
“And you got pissed because they set you up? Is that why you unloaded Murdock?”
I shook my head. “A couple of days ago, I probably would have been. This is going to sound strange, but something happened up at Henri Roubaille’s—some kind of odd bonding. The whole thing was surreal. I think we became friends. Not just shipmates, but real friends.”
“You think? Isn’t that something you know?”
“Probably for most people, but I’m handicapped in that way.”
She gave me a crooked grin. “I dunno, Ish. You look pretty healthy to me.”
I laughed. “Yeah, physically. But I wasn’t kidding about my mother the lit professor. We lived in the university enclave on Neris almost all my life. Just mom and me. I wasn’t just an only child, but I was also an outsider in my peer group.”
“Have you always talked like that?”
“Yeah, pretty much as long as I can remember. Why else do you think I was the outsider in my peer group?” I teased her.
“Point taken.” She released my hand then and took my arm. It felt nice.
“Anyway, the nearest thing I remember to having a friend was Angela Markova about a lifetime ago. She left when her father went to work for another company.”
“Oh, my. Please pardon this next question…”
“No, I’m not a virgin,” I said with a crooked grin.
“Whew, I’m feeling guilty enough about cradle robbing without having to deal with that, too,” she said teasingly.
“I said I didn’t have friends. I knew a lot of kids. Some girls are turned on by brains—even some of the pretty and popular ones. They just wouldn’t talk to me when anybody else was around. I haven’t been a virgin since I was fourteen. I don’t even remember her name.”
“Good grief!”
“So, the upshot is, I’ve read about best friends. I know the idea of the boon companion. I’ve just never had one. It’s kinda weird.”
She looked me in the face. “You’re serious.”
“Very. Being aboard the
“You seem pretty well adjusted,” she commented.
“Thanks. I’m very aware that my youth, while odd, carried a lot of advantages that many people never had. I was never hungry or beaten. We always had a roof over our heads and something interesting to do. I hear horror stories of people who grow up hungry, hurt, and abused, and I feel really lucky. My only problem is I never had a friend.”
“So you think that you and Brill and the others are friends now?”
“Yeah.” I paused and took a slow breath while I thought about it. “Something like that. And I think they see me as a bit of a shy backwater nerd who needed a little help in making a sexual connection. And I think they thought it should happen before we get underway again.”
“Why would they think that?”
“This is the first time I’ve been off the ship past 22:00 since I came aboard last September. They know I haven’t been sleeping with anybody on board and they know I haven’t had any opportunities in port. Pip got injured at my first port of call and I never even got off the ship for over three months. When I did, it was just to go out to dinner so I could have a meal I didn’t have to clean up after.”
“Yet you still seem relatively sane. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, well, that’s open to debate,” I said with a grin.
“And you think they set up Murdock?”
“Oh, I know they set up Murdock. That’s a given. And I’m pretty sure they did it because they thought I needed it and Murdock was a sure bet. Distasteful, but certain. I think Brill provided the opportunity but left the outcome up to me. Murdock was there, she was available, and if I wanted it, I could have it.” I shrugged.
“And you didn’t want it?”
“Of course, I want it. I’m as healthy as anybody. I just didn’t want it with her.”
“Well, then why me?”
“Because you were the sexiest woman in the room and just watching you was driving me crazy.”
“And because you figured if you could get me, you’d prove to Brill and the others that you didn’t need their help.”
I shrugged. “Well, perhaps as a side benefit, but that wasn’t the main reason. I’ve been looking forward to tonight, to the possibilities, ever since the other day in Chez Henri. I really didn’t think I would wind up with you on my arm like this. I was prepared for you to cut me off at the knees.”
“Well, then why?”
We stopped and I turned to her. “I’ve been cut off at the knees before. It’s not that bad. And there was the possibility of something magical happening.” I took her face gently in my hands and moved close to hers, feeling her breath on my skin. I smiled but did not kiss her. Instead, I turned back and tucked her arm back under mine and started walking.
“You bastard!” she said with a shaky laugh.
“So? I found you fascinating, sexy, powerful, and beautiful—not necessarily in that order, and I thought I’d like to leave the bar with you at the end of the night. Is that so bad?”
“Thought? Past tense?”
“Semantic trap. I thought that then because it is in the past. That has nothing to do with the way I feel about you right now.”
“And how do you feel about me?”
“You are a fascinating, sexy, powerful, beautiful woman, and I’m enjoying every instant I’m with you. Now it’s your turn to be on the hot seat. How do you feel about me? Why did you let a common engineman dance with you?”
“Oh, that’s easy…because you asked, and very nicely, I might add. And you should probably know that you are not a common engineman.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because a common engineman wouldn’t go to a bar wearing Henri Roubaille.”
“Okay, you got me there. But why cradle robbing? You got a thing for young stuff?”
“Truthfully, I was just dancing until we sat to talk. I had no intention of leaving so early with anybody when we sat down.”
“What happened?”
“We didn’t talk.”
“I remember.”
“I don’t know the last time somebody just sat with me without trying to impress me, get into my pants, or kiss up for one reason or another.”
“Well, for the record, I was trying to get into your pants,” I said with a grin. “I was just waiting for an invitation.”
She laughed again, and I found that I liked her laugh a lot. “Damn, you are good.”
“I interrupted, please continue.”
