“You’ll never hit the target if you don’t pull the trigger,” she whispered a piece of advice she’d heard countless times from her fathers. It wasn’t a perfect fit for the situation, but it was good enough.
She called him before she could change her mind.
“Hey, Tix, everything okay?”
She smiled at the way his voice rumbled through the speaker on her comms.
“Hi, Mace.” Now that she’d made the call, her brain decided to purge the databanks, leaving her with no idea what to say next.
“Uh, I hope you don’t mind that I called you instead of answering with a text message.”
“Why would I mind? It’s nice to hear a friendly voice that is not my batch-brother.”
“The link between you two won’t work once he gets a certain distance away. Right?”
“He will be forced to stop yapping at me about two hundred minutes from now. Not that I’m counting.” His deep laughter made the comm vibrate in her hand.
“And how long until he’s back?” she asked.
“Depends on when the delivery happens. He could return tomorrow night if it all goes quickly. It could take longer if there are delays with traffic control, docking, or with the client. If you’re worried about a start time? Let’s say three days from now. That way he has time to clean up after a few days of living like the slob that he is.”
She smiled at that. She hadn’t seen anything on board that made her think either of them was messy. “What will you do while he’s gone? I mean, you live on theTrue, and it’s not here.”
“Me?” He sounded surprised to be asked the question. “I don’t need to sleep every day. Medi-bots will keep me on my feet and functional. I’ll pick up extra work if I can. The rest of the time I’ll wander around the station and explore a little.”
“That sounds…” She paused, searching for the right word.
He finished the sentence before she could. “Boring?”
“I was going to say lonely. I know what it’s like to be alone here. It’s a big place full of strangers with their own problems to deal with.”
He didn’t answer immediately. Tish hoped she hadn’t said the wrong thing and was relieved when he finally replied.
“I wouldn’t be alone if I had someone to talk to. Like you and me are doing right now. And it would be better if I had some company. So, uh, I guess this is a good time to ask if you’re busy tonight. There’s a new band playing at the club I work at. It’s called the Quantum Forge. I’m allowed to bring guests in so long as it’s not too busy.”
Her heart did a tap dance on her ribcage, but she managed to keep her voice calm and level when she asked, “You won’t get into trouble having someone with you while you work?”
“I won’t. Xaber has come by a few times. I’ll confirm it with my manager later today, but I already know she’ll say yes. You could hang out with me and enjoy the music. It’s something called the blues. I don’t know what that is, and I haven’t looked it up yet.”
“Blues?” She perked up. “My dads love that genre. I grew up listening to it.”
“Is that a yes?”
She laughed as she realized she’d left him hanging. “Yes. Thank you, I’d like that.”
“Good. I’d like that too. And uh, if you like, we can grab dinner here? The food isn’t as good as Flek’s, but they make a decent burger.”
“Burger and blues sounds good to me. Apart from last night, I haven’t been anywhere on the station other than work and my hotel.” She glanced at the disassembled air recycler. “Speaking of work, I should get back to it.”
“You’re working right now? After all the time you spent getting theTrueready to fly?”
“I am. You know the old saying. There’s no rest for the wicked… or the broke? I definitely fall into the latter category.” Then she realized what she’d said. “But don’t worry, I can afford tonight.”
“No.” His tone held a note of command that sent a thrill down her spine and had her wondering if she needed to check the thermostat. She gave herself a mental shake. Nope. She wasn’t going to let him do this.
“I bet that deep, growly voice intimidates plenty of beings into agreeing with you, but it does not work on me.” That was technically true. She wasn’t afraid at all. She might be hot and bothered, but she was not intimidated. “You paid last night. If anything, I should be buyingyoudinner.”
“You’re not paying.” He chuckled. “But I won’t be either. The pay is lower than at some of the other clubs, so they offer the staff free meals.”
