Whenever she asked questions regarding his time away, hewould steer her attention to another subject. They ended up spending a majorityof their time together alone talking and getting to know one another. He hadtaken her on more in-depth tours of the ship and she had watched him spar inthe rec room with other warriors when he had the opportunity but she never hadthe opportunity to talk to other warriors. Wheaton seemed to want her tohimself and for right now she realized she was okay with that since she wasn’ttoo keen on sharing his attention either. The two exceptions were Dathrow andThorne. She had talked to them a couple of times when they stopped to askWheaton questions or have him sign papers.
In the evenings, Wheaton now made sure they shared theirmeal and talked. Some nights he would connect her music to the speaker systemin their rooms and listen to her eclectic playlists. Their names always stumpedhim though. She smiled, thinking about the long discussion they’d had when shetried to explain Hootie and the Blowfish. He didn’t seem to like any music thatwas too moody, which meant she had to sing to Adele during the day when he wasgone. One day when he’d come back from a meeting, he caught her dancing aroundthe room to ABBA and laughed when she ended with a bow. Dancing with him wasfun and she loved to see him smile as she tried to teach him some moves. Hisdancing always came out like a fighting stance, but she didn’t care. He seemedto be enjoying himself and that was all that Poppy cared about.
After their dinners, she started showing him some of herfavorite movies. He, of course, loved the action movies with explosions but alsopaid very close attention to the mushy movies she picked out. Watching himconcentrate on the TV screen, she realized he was studying the interaction ofthe characters. Wheaton would now reach for her hand or put his arm around hershoulders when they walked up and down the gleaming metal hallways. Chairs werepulled out when she went to sit down and he stood when she entered a room. He’dquickly become one of the most attentive boyfriends she’d ever had.
Late evening had become a time both of them had begun toanticipate. Cuddling without clothes but keeping sex in the “not yet” categorymade Poppy feel like a teenager. It was during their naked times that theyasked each other the real personal stuff. They talked about what they liked anddidn’t like. Poppy wasn’t a prude but lack of experience had dented herconfidence a bit. Wheaton had explained they had “pleasure ships” the warriorsvisited but he also had been nervous about what would happen when his bridearrived, which explained the porn. She was curious about the Pleasure Sectorbut did not necessarily want to hear about it from her future husband.
Poppy asked him how many children he wanted to have and hisresponse had been sweet when he said, “The number you bless me with will be theperfect amount.” Soon their discussions led to touching and touching led tosome heavy petting and full-body kisses but that was as far as it went. Wheatonand Poppy had decided to wait until they were positive their match waspermanent before having full intercourse. Wheaton had not been too enthusiasticabout the decision but grudgingly admitted it made sense. Poppy was no longertaking her birth control pills, and risking a pregnancy when they were stillfeeling each other out seemed too risky.
Thinking back on the past few weeks and smiling to herself,Poppy realized how much she already cared about him. She was positive thatWheaton was “it” for her and she was anxious to call Pixie and run some stuffby her. Pixie tended to be the thinker of the sisters, something that Poppy hadused for her benefit when it came to relationships.
Anxious now for her call to her sister, she got the screenready. Setting up the com units had actually been a harder thing to do thaneither one of them had figured. They required special permission via a Councilvote to contact Earth. Final decision was that the Council would allow “calls”as long as they were monitored. Poppy was unsure what they thought might besaid but she wasn’t going to ask too many questions considering she had gottenher way.
Seeing Pixie’s face fill the screen made Poppy tear up.
“ET, phone home. ET, phone home,” Pixie deadpanned.
“You’re so stupid, Pix,” Poppy said with a smile.
“Damn, Pops, I’ve missed you! You look great, by the way. Iassume the humidity is controlled up there, considering that’s the best I’veever seen your hair behave.”
“Ha!” Poppy snorted. “Sometimes you’re such a bish. I’vemissed you too.” Poppy grinned into the screen.
“Seriously, is everything going well with Mr. Tall, Dark andGreen? Do we need a code word in case I need to hijack a ship and head your wayfor a jailbreak?” Pixie whispered while covering one side of her mouth, as ifthat would make their conversation private.
“Everything is going really well. I’m happy and Wheaton isgreat. We had a couple speed bumps the first few days but that’s been workedout…it’s actually really great right now. We talk all the time and I’ve decidedI’m staying,” she blurted out in one gust of air.
Wow, Poppy realized that saying it out loud wasn’t as scaryas she imagined. She really was happy. And she couldn’t imagine beingthis happy without Wheaton. She didn’t want to say that her happiness hinged onhim but she knew that he was the main reason she was happy. His smiles,laughter and touch had become addictive.
Pixie sat with an expression on her face that was hard toread. Poppy couldn’t yet tell if she was happy or sad at the decision.
“So you’re staying, huh?” Pixie asked.
“Yes, Pix, I think I’m in love with him,” Poppy said softly.
Pixie looked as if she might cry. Poppy shifted her eyesaway from the screen. If one cried then the other
