Chapter 15
15
Sitting on my bed, I turned the card over and stared at the opening line, tracing a finger over its slightly slanted letters.
My dearest Phoebe,
A little bird told me you had to wake up early this morning. On the off chance that you have time to nap later today, I hope these might help you sleep. Tonight, if you’re feeling up to it, is there any chance you’d like to meet up with me? Dinner and drinks? My treat.
Respectfully yours,
Joshua
P.S. I can still feel your lips on mine. Still taste them, even sweeter than I remembered, like honey. Please say yes.
After pressing the card to my chest for a moment—for reasons I couldn’t quite explain—I set it down beside me, pulled the red ribbon free, and raised the lid on the box. Inside, covered in a thin layer of white tissue paper, I found a soft, thick pair of cream-colored Venusian wool socks and a sleep mask identical to the one he’d been wearing when I’d stormed into his pod in a hot swell of indignation. Holding the mask to my nose, I breathed in the same vanilla and lavender scent I’d noticed on him then. Maybe it was the sweetness of the aroma, or the sweetness of the gift, but I suddenly had a very hard time remembering why I’d been so upset with him to begin with.
Stripping out of my clothes, I rolled on the socks, put on my favorite nightshirt, inhaled the sleep mask one more time, and crawled into bed. Opening the Squee app in my VC, I found Joshua’s profile and clicked chat .
Phoebe: This might be the most thoughtful present I have ever received.
I awaited his reply for one minute, two, my patience fraying around the edges. I’d almost given up when a message from Squee popped into my vision: Joshua is requesting a video chat. Do you accept?
After scrambling to find the techPad on my bedside table so frantically I chipped a nail, I assumed my most convincing I’m just lounging on my bed, not at all losing my shit over a pair of socks pose and clicked on the incoming Squee call. “Hello, darling,” I said after he appeared on my screen.
“You like them?” he asked. His face was dark, barely lit.
“Where are you? I can hardly see you.”
His grin was impish. “I’m hiding in a utility closet. I’ve been reading in the library.”
“This ship has a library?”
He chuckled. “It’s not much bigger than this closet. But it does. And I never thought I’d know something about this ship that you didn’t.”
I took that one on the chin. “What were you reading?”
“Oh, nothing much. Poetry, mostly.”
“Poetry?” Why did this make me bite my lip? “Anything notable?”
His gaze sank to my mouth, lingering there, and I felt it like a live wire wrapping around my heart. “There was this one verse. It’s from a poem by a Portisan empath named Lurian, about sleep, ironically.”
“Read it to me?”
“Okay. Let me find it again.” He glanced down at the book in his hand, his techPad bobbling while he flipped through the pages, showing me his chin, his throat, his chest covered by a crisp white button-down. Repositioning the techPad, he swept his bangs back off his forehead and recited,
“I feel the change in your breath
a whisper after the storm
and in your dreams we float on our backs
while I vow to love you forever
under these stars that formed us
so long ago”
“Hmm.” I sighed, sinking back onto my pillow. “That’s lovely.”
“It is.” He set the book down, bringing his techPad closer. “You look beautiful,” he said, his eyes glittering in the darkness. “But a bit tired.”
I laughed, appreciating his diplomacy. “I’m sure I look more than a bit tired. But now that I have this”—raising my hand, I dangled his sleep mask from my fingers—“I think I might finally get some sleep.”
He cleared his throat. “Did you get the socks too?”
“I did.”
“Are you…wearing them?” he asked, his pupils dilating.
“I am.”
“Can I see?”
Standing from my bed, I propped my techPad on my dresser, then moved far enough away that my body filled the frame. I teased the hem of my shirt, raising it just enough to reveal the top of the socks. They were so long they reached above my knees.
“Good lord.” He bit his knuckle. “That is the single sexiest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.”
I snorted, looking down at my fuzzy, wool-covered legs. “You are a strange man.” I raised my shirt a bit higher. “But I think I have something you might find even sexier.”
“Wait. What are you doing?” he said in a flustered rush.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“Sun—Phoebe, I mean. Don’t. You shouldn’t. I shouldn’t.”
“You want me to stop?” I teased, sliding my shirt up an inch higher, and then another. “What are you afraid of, Joshua? It’s not like anyone can see you, all alone in your little closet.”
He pressed his lips together, stifling a moan. “Yes, but ‘The Ignisar ’s new LI am awake. It is—I accessed the time—seventeen hundred. And I just had the most fascinating conversation with our favorite Argosian.
He responded almost instantly. Good afternoon. About?
The professional response was a relief. I liked knowing we could keep things separate—work and play, business and pleasure. Clear lines drawn in molten lava. Kasa has asked him on a date this weekend.
Good man. Laughter rang through his voice. He’s feeling unsure of himself, I gather. If he came to find you.
That is correct. I could use your help. Care for a late night this weekend?
After a brief moment, A late night working, you mean.
I took my own moment. An evening spent hiding behind the scenes, turning Garran into Argos’s most eligible bachelor, could be fun. It could be romantic. But it was also clearly work. Yes, that’s right. Working.
Then I am at your disposal.
But do me a favor? I commed, detecting the hint of disappointment in his tone.
Anything.
Please let Joshua know that Phoebe is looking forward to seeing him for dinner tonight.
His low laughter rumbled over the comm, the vibrations sinking straight into my core. As soon as he stops fantasizing about how soft Phoebe’s lips are, I will.
I had just stepped out of a scalding shower when a comm from Chan came through .
Sorry to bother you on your day off, Sunny. But something’s come up.
His tone was dire, tinged with apology, which only meant one thing. While I swiped my hand through the steam on my mirror, Phoebe watched date night with Joshua slip like sand through her fingers. Hello, Chan. How can I help?
Senator Ramesh has been called in for an emergency meeting of the KU senate, and her wife has gone off-ship briefly due to a family emergency.
A cold sweat broke out Pavlovian-like across my forehead, my face going from shower-blushed pink to a waxy pale in the mirror. Leaving Sai alone, I commed, silently pleading with the universe that he wouldn’t ask me to?—
Can you watch him? You’re the only crew member available who’s even slightly qualified to babysit a child.
I inhaled sharply, my cold sweat freezing to ice in my veins. Because what was he talking about? How would he have any idea what kind of experience I’d had with children? Did he know something?
You did such a stellar job watching over those Martian movie star brats last month, he explained, settling my heart rate a few beats per minute. A ten-year-old boy should be a walk in the park by comparison.
Leaning forward, resting my elbows on the sink, I tried to catch my breath. He didn’t know anything. Of course he didn’t. Because I’d never told him anything. I’d never told anyone anything. I’m not very good with children, I lied.
Please, Sunny. I’d ask Elanie, but she watched him the other day, and, evidently, it didn’t go well. Sai told his moms that she sat on the couch and scowled at him the entire time. Except for when they tried to play Galactic Ship Builders and she stole all the pieces, built an F1 hypercraft, and made Sai pretend to be her pit crew for two hours while she became ‘the first bionic to win the Worlds Championship.’
A snort slipped through my dread. That’s Elanie for you.
Senator Ramesh should be back before midnight, Chan went on. I’d watch Sai myself, but I have a meeting with the captains in an hour.
Maybe it would be okay. Maybe I was ready to spend some time with a child again. Maybe, it might even be fun. Be brave, Sunny. Be brave . Of course, Chan. What time do I need to be there?
Would right now work?
You bet.
So much for date night.