Chapter 7 #2
Because following orders was easier than panicking over having nothing to wear, Holly stepped into the privy to pull off her yoga clothes and slide the dress over her head.
It closed up her spine with a press of a nearly invisible button at the back of the high neck, creating a seamless seal that made it look like she had been sewn into the dress.
She ran her hands uncomfortably down the front. It ended halfway down her thighs, but the skirt was tight. The entire thing was tight! It didn't even need a bra. It secured her boobs just fine without one and even gave just a hint of nipple without being obvious.
“No way,” she said, rushing from the room, ready to run to her closet to grab anything else.
Hattie was waiting for her right outside the privy.
She caught Holly just as she tried to rush by, wrapping something flowing and blue around her waist. A skirt.
A long one. It was a simple pattern of waving, oblong ovals with pointed ends in alternating shades of blue that gave the illusion of water as the three layers swept around her legs.
It tied on after being wrapped around her body rather than being pulled up over her legs.
Having her legs covered calmed her more than she thought it would.
She didn't even fight when Hattie dropped a pair of sandals in front of her – plain leather with very minimal bead work since they wouldn't be seen beneath her skirt anyway.
As Holly stepped into them, Hattie moved around her, sliding blue beaded necklaces over her head, slipping more over both wrists, then tying her hair back in an artfully messy bun with a white ribbon.
“There.” Hattie stepped back, looking her over with a nod of approval. “You're perfect. Stand straight. Shoulders back, let the girls lead. I straightened your bed. Food is on the table. I'm going to clear out now. Give you plenty of room for your date.”
Holly's face burned, fingers clenched tight in her skirt. “It's not a date!”
Hattie smiled indulgently. “Of course, not. Don't forget to tell me how the paté tastes. I'm determined to find a meat dish we can all agree on.”
Humming happily to herself, Hattie left the room, leaving Holly standing awkwardly in front of her own privy door. Heart racing with anticipation despite her best efforts to calm it this morning.
It wasn't a date, dang it.
Biting her lip, she resisted only a few seconds before running back into the bathroom and cleaning up her discarded yoga clothes from where she had dropped them on the ground. She tossed them into the laundry chute and checked herself in the long mirror along the wall.
She was fully covered, except her arms. But she didn't look prude-ish. She looked sexy in an understated kind of way. And, if not confident, then at least comfortable. Her eyes shined with excitement, her cheeks maintaining their pink flush.
“Not a date,” she whispered the soft reminder to herself repeatedly as she turned to go back to her room. She had to find her combot and check the time.
She had just retrieved it from her hip pouch when it rang an alert. A message from Romival. He was approaching their rooms.
Holly's heart jumped in her chest. He was here. For their interview. It was an interview. Nothing said unsexy quite like astronomy, right? The beauty and infinity of the cosmos wasn't romantic in the slightest. It would be a very dry and boring, downright academic conversation.
She was still nervous, wiping her palms on her skirt, as she left her room to go to the front door of the common room. The storm outside was down to a gentle drizzle at the moment. It provided a soft white noise as she waited.
She didn't have to stand there long. The door chimed, announcing the visitor’s arrival. She hesitated only a second before granting permission for it to slide open.
Romival was waiting on the other side. Looking especially delicious today.
His wizard robes seemed tighter around the chest than normal.
Or maybe she was just noticing how broad his chest was.
He wasn't the biggest domini she had seen, but he had nothing to be ashamed of at all.
And he was an example of an ultra-nerd on this planet.
A sexy ultra-nerd who wore a dark green color today.
Though the shimmering green robes overtop were much brighter, they covered a darker robe beneath them.
So, his skin was dark green, while his robes appeared mostly spring green, giving him a pretty two toned effect that was made even better by the white thread creating delicate, floral work along the hems of his outer robe that she dearly wanted to trace with her fingers.
He saluted her gently, fist to his heart, as he stared at her with his fathomless blue eyes.
All three of them, including the upper eye that could move independently of the other two, focused solely on her.
His hair was fully loose today. She had the insane urge to run her fingers through it and see if it was as soft as it looked.
Her tongue was too fat in her mouth as she greeted softly, “Hey, Romi.”