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J'avet stepped closer to me, until his nose was a handspan from mine. "I have the authority to have you put you on night shifts, and him on days until we reach Agus. I have the authority to order you both to refrain from fraternising. I have the authority to throw you both in the brig."
I swallowed. Not because I was scared of him, but because his proximity threatened to set my blood on fire.
"Commander," Danec began.
I interrupted him. "We're doing nothing wrong," I said coldly. After all, it was him who had approached us and insulted my intelligence, literally. I was furious, but I managed to contain myself, at least for now.
"See you don't," J'avet said. "One toe out of line and you will be in the brig until we reach Agus. Upon our arrival there, you'll be placed on the first ship back to Earth."
I had never wanted to punch someone more than I wanted to punch him. If I didn't believe his threat, I might have. Unfortunately I did believe it. I would have to watch myself, especially when he was around.
"We'll both be… be model passengers, sir," Danec stammered.
"See you are," J'avet said without taking his eyes off me. "I'd hate it if you shared her fate because of your poor taste in…friends." He glanced toward Danec and nodded.
"I'm sure both of you have somewhere else to be." Apparently he wasn't going to order us to avoid each other, at least not yet.
"Yes, Commander." I actually managed to keep sarcasm out of my voice. Gold star for me.
"Yes, sir." Danec put a hand on my shoulder and steered me toward the door.
It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that I let my anger show.
"Who does he think he is?" I snapped. "Surely the rec room is there for everyone?"
Danec sighed. "It is. I think I angered him when I didn't respond to the drill fast enough. He thinks I'm incompetent." He looked so sad, my heart went out to him.
I put an arm around him and gave him a hug.
He looked at me in surprise and his eyes lingered on mine for a moment. He swallowed audibly, then looked down at his feet.
"I don't think it's you," I assured him. "It's me he doesn't like." I had no idea what I had done, but his attitude pissed me off. At least let me screw up before you decide you don't like me. Then it might be justified.
"They said Parvorians are difficult," Danec said.
"They were right." I tucked a curl behind my ear, then did it again after it popped straight out. "From now on, I'll do my best to avoid him."
"Good idea," Danec said. "Is he what you humans would call an asshole or a dickhead? Or a prick?"
I laughed. Leave it to Danec to turn this into a learning experience. "I'd say he's all three. And a few more words as well."
Danec nodded. "Asshole-dickhead-prick. That's quite a mouthful."
"I recommend you don't call him that to his face," I said. Although I would dearly love to.
Danec laughed, but cut it off when the doors slid open. "We shouldn't allow ourselves to be overheard," he said softly.
"Right." We would have to watch our backs until we reached Agus. I wasn't going to let any asshole-dickhead-prick get the better of me. No way. Whatever his problem was, it was his problem, not mine. He could carry around his groundless grudge, if that's what made him happy. I would forget all about him and get on with my life and my work.
If only I could forget how it felt to be that close to him. Perhaps a nice cold shower would help. Or a workout session with my trusty vibrator. We couldn't get to Agus soon enough, as far as I was concerned.
