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My com continues to beep as my mind spins. Does he regret it? Did he decide to ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen? Did he panic and leave?
I drag a hand down my face and scrub at the skin over my heart. No. Zenth wouldn’t just leave without talking to me, not after what happened last night. He’s probably in the bathroom. He’ll be out in a minute.
I take a deep breath and answer my com on audio only. “Vera, here.”
“Where the hell are you?” The large room swallows Ada’s voice, making her sound far away. I check the time and realize immediately what’s wrong. We’re late.
“Havaford wants to leave. He’s pissed that you and Zenth aren’t back. He keeps telling Galen he expected a better example from Zenth. Get your ass back here.”
If Ada’s rambling, things must be tense. The Captain wasn’t happy about making this stop to begin with, and he was very clear he wanted everyone back on time.
“Give us five.” I hang up before she can argue, grab my dress off the floor, and wiggle into it as I hop towards the bathroom.
“Zeny?”
It’s empty.
I search the main living space again. Nothing. That’s when I notice a silent notification on my com from Zenth. He probably didn’t want to wake me up.
I went to get something. Meet me back on the ship.
That’s it. Two sentences that could be read so many ways. What could he have gone to get? Is he withdrawing or is it just coincidence that he’s gone the morning after he made me orgasm three times? Fuck.
I feel exposed. Before this, I didn’t regret what happened. But now, all the insecurity I couldn’t bother feeling when I was in Zenth’s arms comes rushing at me like a spaceship in hyper-drive.
What were we thinking? I don’t want things to be weird between us. I want what we had last night. Fooling around with Zenth was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was more intimate because we already knew each other so well.
I try to push all my doubts aside as I gather up my things and rush out the door. The landing strip is a flew blocks away and everyone’s waiting, so I kick off my heels and run. The movement helps clear my head. Even though I’m panting by the time I get there, I feel more grounded.
I need to tell him how I feel. That I want to be with him. When I climb the ramp into the hanger bay, Zenth is already there and Havaford is yelling at him. Ada and Galen are standing off to the side, looking awkward, like they want to leave, but aren’t sure they should.
Holland puts a hand on Havaford’s arm, and he stops long enough to take a deep breath. That’s when they both spot me. Zenth’s expression is entirely blank. It makes my stomach bottom out. What the hell is going on?
Before Havaford can say anything, I apologize profusely. He runs a hand through his hair, clearly stressed. I thought he’d be all relaxed after spending uninterrupted time with Holland, but clearly that must not have gone as planned.
“I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours solving the kinds of problems that only arise from being on a pleasure planet, and I want to get the hell out of here.” He storms off, and Holland gives me a sympathetic look as she follows him.
“So…” Ada says. “Can I assume I know why you’re late?”
Zenth doesn’t say anything. He’s looking at the ship, rather than me, and I can tell something’s off. I turn to Ada and say, “Can you give us a minute?”
“No problem. I have to run the pre-launch checks, anyway.”
“I should get to the bridge,” Galen adds.
I wait until they’re both out of earshot before saying, “Are we going to talk about this?”
“What’s there to talk about?” He walks away, but I grab his arm to stop him.
“Seriously, that’s it?”
He has the gall to look confused, and it just makes my anger rise. “Where the hell did you go this morning?”
“Oh,” he rubs the back of his neck instead of his head like he usually does. “This morning? Right. Just needed some fresh air.”
Something is wrong. This isn’t just Zenth being awkward. He’s not acting like himself at all.
“I should… check… the electric… things.”
