Chapter 16
Aiden
Once the GN officers finished with the ‘inspection’ and went back to their own ship, Aiden crawled after Darren out of the hiding spot.
They found Bea waiting by one of the fuel cell racks on the engineering level above.
His body still buzzed pleasantly from being so close to Darren, and the back of his neck was a little warmer than usual.
“We still dropping by Mars?” Bea asked, her lips quirking up as she tried and failed to restrain a smile at Aiden.
A wave of self-consciousness flooded him, crashing into his fluttering stomach.
Why was she smiling? Was it because she could tell he was flustered?
He’d sufficiently calmed down already, and it wasn’t like anything had really happened down there.
For all he knew, she was giving him this look because she knew Darren would’ve showed him that pretty view and not because his face gave away how right it had felt to be stuck together in the confining space.
“It didn’t sound like this was anything other than a routine check,” Darren pointed out, sounding no different than usual. Aiden agreed, concluding that just like Nyle had suggested earlier, the GN officers had likely just picked the Maine at random.
“It didn’t feel like it was,” Bea said, shifting her attention to Darren as she hopped down from where she was perching on the edge of a console terminal.
“Then we proceed as planned.”
Bea clapped her hands on her thighs and followed Darren out of engineering.
“Cool. I’ve got the location from Nyle,” she said, producing her tablet as Aiden caught up to them.
“It’s one of Regan’s orbital offloading sectors.
RCS-4 on the western side of the spaceport.
We’ll be there in about four hours and your friend will be at the burger joint in the departures area. ”
“Bea, are you docking or keeping the Maine off-station?” Darren tossed over his shoulder.
“Docking. There’s a shipment of cooling brackets going through the port that I want to hunt down, so Kristen stops whining about having to keep doing maintenance on our current ones. Are… both of you meeting with Rick Degrasse or?”
Darren glanced at Aiden, a question written on his face.
Aiden considered whether he wanted company. “I’d like to go alone,” he said, figuring that was best if he wished to avoid needlessly intimidating his friend.
Not that Rick was easily intimidated or that Darren gave off such a vibe, but keeping in mind the circumstances and the conversation they were about to have, he deemed it best not to introduce external pressure. Besides, he needed to apologize and fix things if Rick was willing to allow it.
“I’ll stay with the ship then,” Darren said as they reached the elevator. He leaned against the wall across from it and flashed Aiden an easy smile that caused tingles across his skin. “Aiden. Make sure you don’t forget the glasses.”
Aiden nodded, entering the elevator. “I won’t. And… I’ll see you in a bit.”
Darren tucked his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. See you later.”
“Catch you in a bit, Kesley. I’ll let you know when we’re about to dock,” Bea said as the doors slid closed.
Aiden got off on the level below and went to his quarters.
He took a long shower, staying under the hot water until the skin on his fingertips wrinkled, and then lay on his bunk for a while.
He could still feel the sensation of having Darren’s body plastered against his, though eventually the warm and pleasant prickling just under his skin wore off.
He got up and retrieved the bag with the club clothes from the desk chair.
When he pulled the disguise glasses out of the pile, the black thong fell out too, having caught on the glasses’ frames.
He hadn’t paid the underwear much attention at the hotel, but now that he was holding it, the silk felt smooth and luxurious against his skin.
It was definitely high-grade material… which made the thong a gift more so than something Darren had picked up as part of the goth/punk outfit.
Aiden spent a few more moments appreciating the feel of the silk between his fingers, then left the thong along with the bag on the bed.
Tossing a clean beige shirt and a pair of black cargo pants on, he paused in front of the mirror on the wardrobe door and put the thick-rimmed glasses on.
He still looked tired, but the dark circles under his eyes weren’t as bad as he remembered them.
His hair was back to its natural copper-blond, and while he had picked up some dye during one of their shopping trips, he didn’t think he was going to use it.
When he made it upstairs, Darren was in the command center just off the curve of the corridor, standing by the holographic map with a tablet and a little box in his hands. He noticed Aiden immediately and aimed one of those subtle but so very charming smiles his way.
“Hey,” Aiden greeted a bit awkwardly, massaging that spot above his elbow that always made him feel less nervous.
Placing the tablet on one of the desks cresting the map, Darren rocked back and forth on his heels as he rubbed his thumbs along the box’s edge. “Hey.”
He rolled his shoulders and kept his eyes locked on Aiden for longer than strictly necessary, the scrutiny kicking up Aiden’s heart rate a notch and unleashing a cluster of tantalizing sparks along his spine.
Running his tongue over his bottom lip and piercing—and did that make Aiden’s gaze drop lower—Darren flicked open the small box and produced a set of wireless earpieces like the ones they’d used to listen in on the GN officers and Bea.
“This is tuned to the ship’s encrypted frequency. Bea and I have our own and I’ve configured yours,” he said, holding the box up. “You can use just one earbud or both, it’s up to you.”
Aiden inched in closer, taking one small earbud. Its discreet size and low opacity made it easily concealable. He didn’t think anyone would even notice him wearing the device unless they were close and looking for it.
“What’s its range?”
“Up to a five-mile radius from any eligible receiver. So other than me, you can also contact Bea while we are on Regan,” Darren explained, watching him put the earbud on.
For some reason, this felt like he was officially being accepted as part of the Maine’s crew even if he’d technically been with them for over a month now. He didn’t know why he thought so, or why Darren giving him a comms set mattered so much, but his stomach filled with butterflies all the same.
“Thanks,” he said, not withholding a smile of his own.
Darren’s eyes zeroed in on his mouth for a second, turning darker as he gave Aiden a slightly stiff nod.
“Yeah… You’re welcome.” Shaking off whatever complicated thoughts had flooded his head, he shifted his attention to the tablet and picked it up.
“I’ll monitor any station surveillance and comms I can intercept, but it would be best not to stay too long. ”
“I agree. I’ll keep this as short as I can.”
“Alright, boys, we’re almost there,” Bea informed them via the ship’s speakers.
The Maine took a sharp left and Aiden glanced through the narrower part of the bridge into the cockpit ahead.
Out of the central viewport, he could see the L-shaped docking platforms that shot up from the main section of the spaceport like the spokes of a wheel.
The Maine approached quickly, and was secured to a bay within minutes.
He and Bea got off, each with their own errand to run.
Once they passed security, they split. Aiden followed a wide glass tunnel which led him from the docking platform to the center of the station where shops and the offices of logistics companies fought for space.
It was crowded, though nothing like the hive of activity Chicago or Atlan’s spaceports were, and certainly not quite as sophisticated in terms of design.
Still, Aiden found the place just as impressive, marveling at how a massive structure like this now existed here, when some forty years ago there had been nothing but suffocating red-tinted darkness.
Using one of the interactive holographic maps scattered through the spaceport, Aiden located the burger joint and wove his way to the food area, situated along a stretch of leisure-focused establishments.
They numbered about twenty, including both stores and food outlets, and as soon as he neared them, the aroma of grilled meat and various spices hit his nostrils.
He’d not eaten since dinner the previous day, and, by extension, he doubted Darren had either, so he swung by the kiosk of the burger venue to place a takeout order he could pick up on the way back to the Maine.
Then, running a hand through his hair, he walked over to the table in the corner where Rick was battling a monstrosity of a wrap.
“You came,” Aiden said as he approached the table from the side, turning the earbud on so Darren could listen in. He didn’t have to do that, but knowing Darren could hear what was going on calmed his nerves a little.
“Aiden!” Rick shot up, knocking his chair down in the process, and crashed his bulk into Aiden in an awkward hug.
He was dressed casually in brown cargo pants and a leather jacket, as if he was here for work and not because he was meeting a fugitive.
“Shit. I’m so glad you are okay! I was so worried! ”
The genuine concern in Rick’s voice stirred a pleasant squeeze in Aiden’s chest. Offering a tight smile, he tipped his head at the table. “Let’s not attract too much attention.” He tapped his glasses, checking to make sure they were still in place.
“Yes, of course.”
Aiden took the seat opposite Rick and helped himself to the spare bottle of water. “How much did Nan tell you?” he asked, observing Rick’s face for a reaction.